As art grows increasingly inaccessible, I aim to tell stories through multidisciplinary vehicles - movement, voice, theatrics, props, visuals, & prose - beyond the confines of traditional theater.
I believe that these diverse methods, when driven by community & collaboration, are vital for the accessibility of narrative.
Photo by Mylo Ornowski.
Mads Ward (they/them) is a freelance artist who combines the languages of dance, design, prose, and theatrics to create engaging, multi-disciplinary work. They are also a student at the University of Utah pursuing a dual Honors B.S. in Sociology and Urban Ecology through the College of Architecture and Planning.
Originally from North Carolina, Mads received their formal dance training at Charlotte Ballet Academy - alongside summer programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet & Ballet West - before accepting a trainee position with Charlotte Ballet in 2019. They moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, to work with Ballet West as a trainee in 2020. After injury and re-evaluation of their creative goals, Mads stepped into the world of contemporary dance. They joined SALT Contemporary Dance's second company in 2021 and spent three seasons under the direction of Amy Gunter-Lolofie. While at SALT, Mads was fortunate to work in process with guest artists including Courtney Mazeika, Alice Klock of FLOCK, Noelle Kayser, Nicole von Arx, and Elijah Labay. Mads has also trained at BODYTRAFFIC, Orsolina28 (Nunes/FLOCK), and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago summer programs.
Pictured with Charlotte Stehmeyer.
Pictured with Manny Santos and Charlotte Stehmeyer.
In 2022, Mads began developing their improvisational practice - guided by gesture, storytelling, & playful "sandbox" imagination - and recording it in an online journal, @madsismoving. The practice led to Mads' curiosity about the use of props, dialogue, & soundscapes better to communicate narratives through movement in nontraditional performance spaces.
Mads has worked with 801 Salon for two years as a performer in the choreographic flash incubator, PlayGround, and in the 2024 colorful music and movement improvisational installation, PRISMATIC. They participated in Repertory Dance Theater's 2023 Regalia production and 2025 productions of EMERGE and Regalia. They have created work with dancers and musicians for SLC Arts Council's Shoreline Swell as well as a solo in collaboration with the University of Utah's School of Music for their Winter Composition Concert. Mads has performed in a two-hour, live durational improvisation scored by Constance Anderson at the DeepFake Film Festival, in adjudicated work at the RedRock Dance Festival, an evening-length show supported by RDT's LINK series, and in work representing the University of Utah at ACDA, among other venues.
As a choreographer and creator, Mads first began collaborating with Maeve Friedman in their co-creation, "It Used to Rain for Me, Too", for a cast of SALT2 dancers in their 2023 production of PLAYPRETEND. In 2024, they continued their collaboration with Maeve to create and perform "Follow the Chords so Sweetly": a work performed with live musicians, Bly Wallentine and Erik Malloy, at 12 Minutes Max, Monday Movement Lab, and Queer Spectra Arts Festival in 2025. Their most recent collaborative work, GALILEO, premiered in PlayGround (2025) supported by RDT's LINK series, in which Maeve and Mads were one of 5 choreographers selected to create and present work in 10 hours.
Photos by Shelby Taylor. Pictured with Alex Seager.
Their film and acting experience includes the lead, 'Vi', in Nora Price's "Bunionhead" - a body-horror short film exploring themes of reproductive and bodily autonomy - and one of the performers of SISSY: a 16mm dance film by Constance Anderson utilizing live plant armor and the historic Clubhouse space to explore strength in femininity. Mads has modeled for Rusted Salt Photography and Lucero Hair & Wellness for their National American Hair Association (2025) competition submission.
Mads is a proud performing member of Fleet Cooperative - Salt Lake City's artistic co-op and creators of CABARET (2024) and GNAW (2025) - and the leader of Fleet's design and merchandise. They have taught for Fleet Cooperative's workshops, Dance Class for Humans, and Rowland Hall's summer program.
Photos by Christina Mellor.
