Today we’d like to introduce you to Han Myers.
Han, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hey everyone, I’m Han!
I grew up in a small, agricultural community in Eastern Washington, near the Idaho border. As a child, I was fascinated with Olympic figure skating. There weren’t any ice skating rinks or classes nearby, so my mother decided to enroll me in dance at age 6, and I was immediately hooked.
The local studio I attended was right down the hill from my house and offered many different styles of dance, and I quickly fell in love with jazz, modern and ballet. It was a recreational studio and we performed several times a year for our families and friends.
When I was in middle school, the studio changed ownership. Suddenly, the focus was technique, artistry, and high-quality training. We had uniforms, rules, and mandatory schedules. I thrived under this structure and intensity and soon I was learning classical repertoire and dancing en pointe with a partner, in a tutu. I was learning about ballet history, iconic performers, and famous composers. I was dancing for hours each day after school. I’d come home so late that my mother would have already wrapped up dinner for me on a plate in the fridge, and I was loving every minute of it.
This was a huge turning point for me, because I realized dancing could be my career, and not just a hobby. My dance instructors were very encouraging, so I decided to dedicate all my time and energy to making my dreams come true. Everything else was just noise, and when I was dancing everything just felt right.
My goal was to be a professional ballerina. With the help of my family, friends, and mentors, I was able to attend summer programs, auditions, master classes, and professional performances. These experiences were both inspirational and scary, as I was able to see how tough the competition really was. I was still determined, though.
I decided to pursue a degree in dance, as I knew I wanted to have a college education and I wasn’t confident I could land a company position straight out of high school. I decided to take a gap year and concentrate on strengthening and stretching as much as I could. Something interesting, many collegiate dance programs encourage you to choose a concentration and I just wasn’t ready to choose between styles, so I decided to attend The Hartt School, at the University of Hartford because they have a strong ballet AND modern dance program with a pedagogy concentration. I had already started teaching at my studio in high school and I knew that would always be a component of my career. I also received a scholarship, so that sealed the deal!
During my time at Hartt, I was exposed to so much. I went in thinking I knew everything about dance, and left realizing I knew nothing about dance. It was very humbling. I had never been around so much talent. It was definitely a transition.
The school is in Connecticut, just a mega bus ride away from New York City and Boston, and I was able to see the crème de la crème of dance performances and I was able to take open classes alongside professionals. It was truly a whole new world, and I was constantly inspired by all of these experiences.
Although I have many positive memories, I also had some obstacles during my time in undergrad. My training was halted when I caught mononucleosis, twice in a year. It set me back physically but also mentally and emotionally. I was beginning to feel the weight of everything and I began wondering if I was really cut out for this career. Attending auditions over and over again only to be denied each time really damages your psyche, and my motivation was starting to dwindle. The faculty had high standards for us, and it was a difficult for me to keep up with it all. My physical stamina was behind those of my peers and I began growing an inferiority complex.
Eventually I snapped out of it, and found my spark again. I think it was the composition classes. I was intrigued by choreography, design, and movement invention, and learning the tools to create made me feel passionately about dance again. Plus, others were commenting on my work positively, which is always helpful as an artist. During this period of time I realized a career in dance can be so much more.
Some highlights from these 4 years include: attending the Joffrey Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Group, and the Martha Graham Summer Dance Programs, and taking numerous master classes with highly influential dancers including Gregory Dolbashian, Misty Copeland, Sidra Bell, Doug Varone, among many others. Lastly, my graduating composition project was also very fulfilling. I collaborated with a Hartt School composer and we created a double screen installation dance work.
After graduation I stayed in Connecticut for about 6 months as a physical therapy aide before realizing I wanted to return to the Pacific Northwest. I had many unsuccessful company auditions and was feeling defeated. Plus, I had developed a back injury during my last year of school that was becoming increasingly debilitating. I returned to Washington and began teaching, choreographing, and performing as a freelance artist.
Over the next 5 years I became really interested in filming dance and curating performances with local artists including dancers, musicians, sculptors, photographers, poets, painters, etc. I was designing programs, posters, and creating themes for each show. At first the turnout was only 5-10 people, and eventually after 4 shows I was able to round up 100 people in the audience, which was very memorable! I was gaining momentum again and wanted to dive into a bigger city. A few memorable moments during these years include 2 performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest arts festival in the world. The first time I went with my best friend who performed a solo work that we choreographed together. The second time around I decided to perform my own solo work with a composition written by my composer from the Hartt School.
In 2020, my husband and I moved from the PNW to Atlanta, in the midst of covid. It was difficult to cut into the dance scene during this period of time, and I had some knowledge of wine and spirits from my bartending days. I then began a slightly off brand journey into the world of wine. I studied wine for several years and passed 2 exams so that I could work towards becoming a sommelier. I started to wonder if this would be a more consistent career path, and at the time it was.
Eventually I was able to land a few dance related jobs and I dropped the wine thing. I was a flamenco dancer in the Atlanta Opera’s Barber of Seville and I had the opportunity to create my first evening length dance collaboration at 7Stages Theater via the Atlanta Fringe Festival.
I was becoming more and more entranced with dance and film and how they relate to one another. This led me to my grad school era, where I earned my Masters Degree in Screendance at London Contemporary Dance School. Moving to London for grad school will always be one of the most influential, valuable and memorable parts of my life. I learned so much and enjoyed every minute of my time abroad. It was absolutely invigorating and so inspiring.
I graduated in 2024 and moved back to Atlanta, ready to hit the ground running. I am now a faculty member at Atlanta Ballet, Callanwolde School of Dance and Luma Dance & Acrobatics. I also do graphic design, web design, and marketing. I still take ballet classes regularly and am able to perform at least once per year. My schedule also allows me to work on my own creative film and choreography projects.
It took a long time to get to this point, and I am excited for what comes next.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Besides the illness and injury, the biggest challenges are in my mind. It is so easy to get discouraged and/or compare yourself to others, and I sometimes struggle with self-confidence. I have to constantly remind myself that I do belong and I do have the knowledge and expertise, and that I am an experienced career artist.
Now that I am a dance educator, my job is to instill confidence in my students and create a welcoming and encouraging environment in the studio so that they feel supported and like they belong.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in screendance, also known as dance film or video dance. I would describe it as the choreography of light, sound, movement, the camera, and the edit. It’s such an interesting space to explore. I like to think my films have a surrealist component as I like to combine live dancers with objects moving via stop motion animation.
I am proud of my film Amygdala, a project I completed in London during my time in grad school. I created a journey through the ear into the brain where a solo dancer was trapped. The film plays with themes of hearing/listening and miscommunication. The music was composed specifically for this work and features an endoscopic camera into my physical ear and stop motion of silicone ears dancing upon a velvet cloth. The work was featured at several film festivals and was made into an installation that was on view at Studio Wayne McGregor.
My other favorite project is a film titled Érett (Ripe). I made this film during covid when I was really bored. I took some white shower curtains and pinned them up to create a clean backdrop. I decided to improvise and I wore a pink dress, pearls and some glasses and heels. I covered the floor with fruits and vegetables, as I was aiming to create a still life painting that comes to life. Then I just destroyed all of it to one of my favorite pieces by Vivaldi. It was cathartic. I collaborated with an animator and the result was a one minute film of still life reimagined.
I really enjoy being on camera, but I also love to direct and be behind the camera and in the editing suite.
What’s next?
I am working on a new film project about a piece of paper and my friend in London who created the music composition for Amygdala is working on a new composition for the work.
Another plan I have is to create a screendance festival where audience members can come watch films for free and have thoughtful discussions with the artists.
Of course I will also continue to teach, dance and perform when I can!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/hanmyers
- Instagram: @han_myers_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/han.myers.2025/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/han-myers
- Other: https://vimeo.com/hanmyers
Image Credits
Ben Herndon, Julian Mejia, Alycia Rock, Nick Beymer, Taylor Breeden, Garry Platt, Izzy Bridge, Jenai Taylor
