Magpie Music Dance Co.

Katie Duck is a dancer, choreographer and teacher. From 1973-6 she toured with the company Salt Lake City Mime Troupe. She left the United States in 1976 to live in Amsterdam, Holland and toured throughout Europe as a performer in solo productions, in duet with Carlos Traffic, and in improvisations with the local music artists.

In 1979, she moved to Italy where she formed the company GRUPPO, which toured through out Europe with her one hour productions Rutles, The Orange Man, Brown eye Green eye and Mind the gap and several others . In 1986 she accepted a senior lecturer position at Dartington College of Arts teaching for the theater department and led the choreography course. In 1991 she accepted a position at the AHK dance department in Amsterdam where she teaches movement research, improvisation (presence), workshops and technique. She founded the Company Magpie in 1995 to reflect her work with improvisations musicians (1995- to now).

Throughout her career, Katie Duck has worked with music and dance artists who share her passion for collaborating music, text and dance in performances. She has performed and collaborated in productions with music artists Tristan Honsinger, Michael Moore, Derek Bailey, Han Bennik, Andy Moore (the EX) and many others, with dance artists Alessandro Certini, Virgilio Seina (in Gruppo), Steve Paxton, Julyen Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and many others. Since 1995 she she been collaborating with the Magpie dance and music artists . Besides participating as a performer and composer, she has initiated numerous dance and music improvisation projects in her three bases Holland, Italy and England.

In her current base Amsterdam, her initiatives include an improvisation series (monthly) at the Fijnhout Theater, the Muiderpoort Theater (1994-9), The Melkweg Theater (2000-2001), OT301 Cultural center (2002-2007 currently active), a (yearly) Improvisation festival at the Frascati Theater (1994-9), Magpie (from 1995-2007 – currently active). She also designs a workshop series in Amsterdam for Magpie and visiting artists.

Presently she tours to Asia, the USA, England, Scandinavia and Europe with her solo work, professional workshops, with Magpie, is a contracted teacher for both the SNDO choreography and Modern Dance departments at the AHK Hooge School voor de kunsten in Amsterdam and continues to collaborate with music and dance artists all over the world.