Kannen Glanz, a native of Casper, Wyoming, is a dancer and choreographer currently dancing with SALT Contemporary Dance in Salt Lake City, Utah, under the direction of Amy Gunter-Lolofie. Kannen began his formal dance training at the age of five at Rising Star Tumbling and Dance Studio in Casper, Wyoming.

In 2016, Kannen relocated to Natick, Massachusetts, to attend Walnut Hill School for the Arts under the direction of Michael Owen. While at Walnut Hill, Kannen performed in repertory works by Samuel Kurkjian, Antony Tudor, and Gerald Arpino, as well as new creations by Walnut Hill faculty and guest choreographers such as Levi Marsman. In 2019, Kannen made his New York City debut performing Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations at the Joyce Theater in Chelsea to honor Walnut Hill’s 125th founding anniversary.

In the fall of 2020, Kannen continued his formal dance training at The Juilliard School under the direction of Alicia Graf Mack, with the goals of refining his technique and finding his artistic voice. Kannen performed world premieres by Tiler Peck, Rena Butler, and Jamar Roberts, as well as repertory works by Ohad Naharin, Trisha Brown, Justin Peck, and Jessica Lang. For his fourth year, Kannen participated in a professional exchange program, which allowed him to jumpstart his dance career with the Second Company at Cincinnati Ballet while completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

During his time at Cincinnati Ballet, Kannen learned and performed works by Jodie Gates, Gerald Arpino, George Balanchine, Anna Marie-Holmes, Victoria Morgan, and Yoshihisa Arai. Kannen also had the pleasure of creating a number of choreographic works for the Second Company and Academy Performance Ensemble.

Kannen’s professional development expanded his artistic work beyond year-round training and took him across the globe. Kannen has attended summer programs at Colorado Ballet, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Ballet Austin, Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Juilliard School, Boston Ballet, Medhi Walerski Intensive Program at Orsolina28, and the Contemporary Ballet and Contemporary programs at The School at Jacob’s Pillow, where he premiered new creations by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Jennifer Archibald, Rena Butler, Sidra Bell, and Antoine Vereecken with Studio Wayne McGregor. Following his time at Jacob’s Pillow, Kannen was the recipient of the 2022 Lorna Strassler Award for Student Excellence presented by Jacob’s Pillow, which is awarded based on performance skill excellence, a demonstrated unwavering dedication to the arts, and vision of their role in dance. Kannen was most recently a member of the Biennale di Venezia College Danza under the direction of Wayne McGregor, preparing new creations by Wayne McGregor, Cristina Caprioli, Javier Sauco, and Enrique Flores for the 18th International Festival of Contemporary Dance.

Kannen’s choreographic work has been an equal priority in his movement practice and continues to be an avenue for his personal expression. Kannen’s time at Juilliard allowed him to choreograph various independent projects presented through Juilliard’s student choreographic workshops. A highlight of his choreographic journey was participating in the Choreographers and Composers program in his third year. Kannen was one of six choreographers selected to partake in the program, which pairs each choreographer with a composer from the Music Division at Juilliard to create a new concert work. Kannen’s piece Filling The Space In Between was the culmination of this time and was shared in collaboration with Wisconsin-born composer Jacob Beranek. Additionally, Kannen’s pieces Away, Not Gone and Secedewere selected by the Juilliard Dance Committee to be performed at Juilliard’s Choreographic Honors 2022 and 2023 programs, which select 15 student choreographic works to be shown on Juilliard’s main stage at Lincoln Center. Kannen’s choreographic practice continued as he returned to Jacob’s Pillow in 2024 as an Ann and Weston Hicks Choreography Fellow under the direction of Risa Steinberg and Dianne McIntyre.