Venetia Stifler is an Emmy-nominated choreographer and director, and the Executive and Artistic Director of The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, guiding the vision of the organization left to Chicago by the dance icon and pioneer Ruth Page. She is also the Artistic Director of CDI/Concert Dance, Inc., the official contemporary dance company of the Ruth Page Center, which performs choreography by Ms. Stifler herself, and other leading contemporary artists, while also exploring and re-envisioning Ruth Page’s work.

In 1981 she formed CDI/ Concert Dance, Inc., a company on which she could explore choreography as a collaborative art. Described by the Chicago Sun-Times as “wonderfully dramatic,” Concert Dance, Inc. has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Trained as a dancer, Ms. Stifler worked in both Chicago and New York with such legendary artists as Jennifer Mueller, Alwin Nikolais, and Merce Cunningham. She went on to a national and international performing career that spanned over a decade. Ms. Stifler holds a Ph.D. in Dance and Choreography, and serves as Coordinator of Dance at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, where she is a tenured faculty member. She was selected in 2015 to NewCity’s annual “Players 2015” list, which honors leaders within the Chicago arts and culture community by recognizing those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make art happen in Chicago.