Zachary Gonder

Zachary Gonder was born in Grayslake, IL outside of Chicago. He started dancing at the age of five at a local dance studio named the Dance Connection. He then attended the Chicago Academy for the Arts, a performing arts high school in the city under the tutelage of choreographer Randy Duncan. During the summers, he attended multiple intensives including Joffrey Ballet Chicago, LINES Ballet, Ballet West, The Juilliard School Summer Program, Nederlands Dans Theater, and was a summer apprentice with River North Dance Chicago. He has performed on the Harris Theater and the Auditorium Theater in Chicago for events such as “Eat to the Beat” and the annual “Dance For Life”. In the summer of 2015, Zachary also traveled to Copenhagen with his fellow colleagues Mason Manning and Jack Ironstone to perform in the Copenhagen International Choreography Competition. He performed “Transient Altar Spaces” choreographed by Mason Manning. During his time at Juilliard, he has performed works by Austin McCormick, Jose Limon, Aszure Barton, Pam Tanowitz, Richard Alston and Gustavo Ramirez Sansano. He has attended the Movement Invention Project summer intensive, Bodytraffic in L.A., Axis Connect, run by Cherice and Charissa Barton, Springboard Danse Montreal, and Arts Umbrella in Vancouver, Canada. Zachary also has an interest in choreography and was chosen to be one of six dancers to choreograph for Juilliard’s Choreographers and Composers edition 2016.