Natalie Gilbert is a pianist, accompanist, composer, and teacher and was ADF Music Director from 1981 to 2011. Natalie is also a nationally certified massage therapist and bodyworker licensed in NC. She has an active piano teaching studio with students of all ages, emphasizing improvisation and all styles of music. She currently plays for dance classes at Duke University and for the Carolina Ballet summer dance intensive. She also was music coordinator at OSU Department of Dance and a founding board member of the International Guild of Musicians in Dance. Music degrees: Oberlin (BA), Ohio State University (MA).
Natalie lived in NYC for 16 years, freelancing as a cocktail pianist, and was on the faculty of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Dance. A featured interview was published in The Body Eclectic: Evolving Practices in Dance Training, edited by Melanie Bales and Rebecca Nettl-Fiol. She has composed music for choreographers including Liz Lerman, Dan Wagoner, Ze’eva Cohen, Sally Hess, Linda Tarnay, Jessica Fogel, Peter Goss, and Viola Farber. Past faculty positions: C.I.D. in Paris, New World School of the Arts in Miami, and Carolina Friends Middle School. Also, part of ADF/Korea from 1990 through 1992. nataliegilbert.com