Katie Rose McLaughlin Turns the Isolation of the Pandemic Into a Choreographed Dance Piece

Katie Rose McLaughlin is an Obie and Drama League Award-winning choreographer and director based in New York City, originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is the Artistic Director of Designated Movement Company, an avant-garde dance theater company.

Silver Lining commissioned this work from Katie Rose McLaughlin as part of the small.artists Global series, supported by GoDaddy & JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Chen is known for visceral, emotionally charged choreography that uses the body as a political vessel — exploring identity, cultural belonging, and the stories of marginalized communities. Her credits include Cabaret at CenterREP, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at GEVA and Syracuse Stage, and performance works at Lincoln Center, New York Fashion Week at MoMA, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the World Expo USA Pavilion in Shanghai. She was a 2023 Bessie Award nominee for Outstanding Choreographer/Creator, a 2021 GALLIM Moving Women Artist-in-Residence, and is the 2025 SDCF Director Fellow working on Sumo at The Public Theater.