Lauren Reed grew up in Milwaukee, WI where she trained at Young Dance Academy, Milwaukee High School of the Arts, and Milwaukee Ballet. She graduated Cum Laude with honors from Butler University with a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Religion. Upon moving to Chicago, Lauren trained in Lou Conte’s scholarship program under the direction of Claire Bataille. Lauren has participated in summer programs including Luna Negra Dance Theater, SpringboardX, and Springboard Danse Montréal.

Lauren has danced professionally with Project606 Dance, Aerial Dance Chicago, and Ensemble180. On a project basis, her performance credits throughout the Midwest include Jessica Miller Tomlinson Choreography, Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater, Jin Wen Yu, Marlene Skog at UW Madison, Meghann Arts with the DePaul theater department, Todd Rhoades, and others.

Lauren has set choreography on Project606 Dance in 2017 and 2018. Aerial Dance Chicago invited her to create a new work entitled “Dragging Along” for the company in December 2018 and then asked her to expand it for a mainstage performance at Ruth Page in July 2019. She was selected to create a dance film for ProjectBound’s 1 Hour Project in 2018. In 2019, her piece “Bolt”, originally choreographed in 2017 for Where Beauty Rises at Links Hall, was performed again at Trifecta Dance Collective’s New Light Choreography Showcase. Her work “Whole of Hope” was invited to perform in the 2019 Inaside Choreographic Sponsorship Event. In 2020, Lauren was commissioned to choreograph a new work for Momenta Dance Company and presented a solo for the Trifecta Dance Festival.

Lauren is also involved in arts administration. In 2018, she became the Communications Associate for Springboard Danse Montréal. Beginning in 2019, she became the Event Coordinator for SpringboardX in New York, managing the administrative side of the workshop. She has been the Development Coordinator for Aerial Dance Chicago since 2017, writing grants and assisting with strategic planning. Lauren is the Grant Manager for Wonder Works Children’s Museum in Oak Park and since 2013 has been creating curriculum and leading a youth development program called Teen Leaders Club for the YMCA of Metro Chicago. 

Lauren has set choreography on Project606 Dance in 2017 and 2018. Aerial Dance Chicago invited her to create a new work entitled “Dragging Along” for the company in December 2018 and then asked her to expand it for a mainstage performance at Ruth Page in July 2019. She was selected to create a dance film for ProjectBound’s 1 Hour Project in 2018. In 2019, her piece “Bolt”, originally choreographed in 2017 for Where Beauty Rises at Links Hall, was performed again at Trifecta Dance Collective’s New Light Choreography Showcase. Her work “Whole of Hope” was invited to perform in the 2019 Inaside Choreographic Sponsorship Event. In 2020, Lauren was commissioned to choreograph a new work for Momenta Dance Company and presented a solo for the Trifecta Dance Festival.

Lauren is also involved in arts administration. In 2018, she became the Communications Associate for Springboard Danse Montréal. Beginning in 2019, she became the Event Coordinator for SpringboardX in New York, managing the administrative side of the workshop. She has been the Development Coordinator for Aerial Dance Chicago since 2017, writing grants and assisting with strategic planning. Lauren is the Grant Manager for Wonder Works Children’s Museum in Oak Park and since 2013 has been creating curriculum and leading a youth development program called Teen Leaders Club for the YMCA of Metro Chicago. 

Since 2013, Lauren has taught dance and aerial arts to all ages throughout the Chicagoland area. She is certified to teach IMAGE TECH for Dancers™, a weight bearing somatic technique created by Alexandra Wells. She is one of only 9 teachers globally and was part of the initial teacher cohort. In a non-professional capacity, Lauren has a passion for exploring Chicago’s social dance communities, most recently swing and lindy hop.