Up next, Dancers Making Moves Podcast host Carly Vanderheyden talks with Hayley Barker about her work as an educator, choreographer, teacher, personal trainer and performer. Exploring themes of ancestral inspiration, dancers as business people, and ways of communicating with students and collaborators. Listen now to learn more about Hayley's journey through different dance communities in Australia, Chicago, and most recently, St. Louis!
Hayley Barker is a St. Louis-based freelance artist specializing in release-based contemporary dance and floorwork. Her performance credits span St. Louis, Chicago, and Melbourne, and she has danced as a guest artist with MADCO and Resilience Dance Company. She has performed work by Sidra Bell, Andrea Weber on behalf of Merce Cunningham, Anouk van Dijk, Rosanna Tavarez, Carl Fink, Dawn Karlovsky, Kelly Anderson Dance Theater, Gilbert Douglas, Emilee Lord, Emily Duggins-Ehling, Amanda Ramirez, and Marlee Doniff.
Her movement journey began in color guard, touring the U.S. three times with the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps Color Guard. The rigor, artistry, and athleticism of this experience laid the foundation for her dynamic and expressive approach to dance. She is an alum of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), where she deepened her understanding of movement and performance.
A dedicated student of Countertechnique since 2017, Hayley has attended three One Body One Career intensives and will travel to Amsterdam this summer to continue her studies. She has also been a student of energy work with Pilar Lesko since 2020.
As a choreographer, she was a guest artist for SIUE’s Dance in Concert, where she created sun is fire, we are burning. She has also set three solos on herself in her professional career: play, on being young, and tell me how to live without doubt.
Beyond performance, Hayley is a personal trainer and Dynamic Stretch Lead at Life Time Frontenac, a COCA Teaching Artist, and guest teacher for MADCO and Resilience Dance Company. She integrates biomechanics and somatic practices into her teaching, guiding students toward greater efficiency, awareness, and artistry.
Hayley believes in movement as a force for connection and transformation. She acknowledges her family, friends, ancestors, and teachers for shaping her artistic voice and journey. With every performance and creation, she asks: Could this be the way we heal humanity?
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