Matthew Farmer is currently the Dorothy Wiley DeLong Endowed Chair of the Dance at Hope College, the Co-Artistic Director of R.G. Dance Productions and the Co-Artistic Director of H2 Dance Co. Farmer has had great success as a director, educator, choreographer, performer, and author. He is the co-author of the book Introductory Modern Dance: A Teaching Manual, and his second book (Teaching Dance Improvisation: A Beginner’s Guide) is available beginning October 2024. He is the former Director of Dance at Anderson University, a former Associate Director and company member of LehrerDance, and former company member of The Peter Sparling Dance Co. While dancing for Sparling, Matthew received his MFA from the University of Michigan in Dance Performance and Choreography. Farmer received his BA in Theatre and Dance from Hope College. As a soloist and guest performer, his performance credits include The Stars of Ballet and Broadway, Dance Chicago, Chicago Dance Festival, Dance in the Desert Festival, Men Dance Michigan, Next Step Dance, Chicago Humanities Festival, The Rein Orange (Duesberg, Germany) The European Cultural Bid (Liverpool, UK), The Roof (Germany), The Summer Stage (Brugge, Belgium), and various other festivals. Farmer has also had the privilege of performing in works by Avi Kaiser, Sergio Antonino, Merce Cunningham, Laura Dean, Matthew Thornton, Doug Varone, and many more.
Farmer specializes in teaching Modern, Contemporary, Improvisation and Jazz technique. His teaching and faculty credits include Hope College, Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Universidad Espíritu Santo, University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Anderson University, Dancer’s Inc. National Conventions, Chicago National Association of Dance Maters, Southern Association of Dance Masters, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Interlochen Arts Academy, Cecchetti Council of America, Cecchetti International Classical Ballet, and a host of festivals and master classes nationally and internationally. Farmer’s choreography spans the field of dance, and can be seen on college campuses, professional dance companies, international festivals, theaters companies, competitive dance teams, and musical theater venues throughout the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, France, and Ecuador.