Hilary Palanza Gutkin
Founder and Chief Creative Officer, International Museum of Dance
Hilary Palanza Gutkin is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of the International Museum of Dance (IMOD), an accomplished arts leader, dancer, and educator originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hilary began her career performing and teaching with the David Herrera Performance Company in San Francisco and the National Dance Institute in New York City. In 2009, she founded the Children's Center for Dance, a community-focused institution that served over 2,000 children, providing high-quality dance education to youth in the Bay Area. Simultaneously, she founded Palanza Dance, a performing arts company that presented over thirty award-winning works on stages and in museums. She earned a BA in Dance from Colorado College and a Master’s in Public Affairs from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley.
While in San Francisco, Hilary worked with leading arts institutions in leadership positions, including the San Francisco Friends School, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Nagata Dance, and Celebrate the Beat in Aspen (Colorado). Beyond performance and education, she was a dedicated leader and advocate for the arts through her nonprofit development and consultation work with organizations like Central Market NOW in San Francisco and the Zambaleta School of Music, with bases in both Cairo (Egypt) and San Francisco (California).
In late 2018, she founded the International Museum of Dance, an organization dedicated to celebrating the global art of dance. As Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Hilary has grown IMOD to serve over 13,000 youth and over 500 dance artists, building strategic partnerships with a dozen cultural institutions worldwide.
Hilary Palanza Gutkin’s dedication to the arts and her visionary leadership have established her as a vital force in promoting dance and culture on an international scale.
FAVORITES: Hilary’s favorite song to dance to at home is Freedom by Jon Batiste. Her favorite place that she has traveled to is a tie between Santorini, Greece, and the Nrityagram Dance Village in Bangalore, India.