Shura Baryshnikov is an Associate Professor of the Practice in Theatre Arts & Performance Studies (TAPS) at Brown University where she has instructed since 2011. For nine years, she served as Head of Physical Theatre for the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs for Actors and Directors where she designed and managed the movement curriculum for the conservatory. Baryshnikov has designed a number of courses in TAPS, including Choreography, Viewpoints Technique, Contemporary Partnering, and Contemporary Dance Studio Project, an ongoing training, research, and repertory model for intermediate to advanced contemporary dancers at Brown. In her studios, Shura employs research in a range of postmodern dance and improvisatory frameworks including contemporary floorwork and Release Techniques, Contact Improvisation, and Action Theatre. In 2025, Shura was also certified as a Countertechnique® teacher, a movement system to help the dancer think about the dancing body, focusing on the process of incorporating information into action.
Professionally, Baryshnikov works broadly across dance, theater, and opera as a performer, choreographer, and director. Shura co-founded the contemporary dance project Doppelgänger Dance Collective and the Contact Improvisation research and performance ensemble SetGo. She has worked closely with dance artists Heidi Henderson, Gabriel Forestieri, Paul Singh, Sarah Konner, and Betsy Miller, among others, and with directors such as Anne Bogart, Melia Bensussen, Maria Mileaf, and Kimberly Senior. Choreographic and performance credits include projects at Apple TV, Hartford Stage Company, Baryshnikov Arts, Trinity Repertory Company, FirstWorks, Motion State Arts, Emmanuel Music, Urbanity Dance, The Gamm Theatre, Odyssey Opera, and the Contemporary American Theater Festival. Baryshnikov directed Svadba, a cinematic opera for Boston Lyric Opera, which received the award for Artistic Creation at the 2nd Annual OPERA America Awards for Digital Excellence in Opera in 2023. Baryshnikov is a member of Actors' Equity Association, the American Guild of Musical Artists, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
