Hilary Palanza Gutkin
Founder and CEO, International Museum of Dance
Hilary Palanza Gutkin is the Founder and CEO of the International Museum of Dance (IMOD) and is an accomplished arts leader, dancer, and educator, originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hilary began her career performing and teaching with the David Herrera Performance Company in San Francisco and the National Dance Institute in New York City. In 2009, she founded the Children's Center for Dance, a community-focused institution that served over 2,000 children, providing high-quality dance education to youth in the Bay Area. Simultaneously, she founded Palanza Dance, a performing arts company that presented over thirty award-winning works on stages and in museums. She earned a BA in Dance from Colorado College and a Master’s in Public Affairs from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley.
While in San Francisco, Hilary worked with leading arts institutions, including the San Francisco Friends School, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Nagata Dance, and Celebrate the Beat in Aspen (Colorado). Beyond performance and education, she has been a dedicated advocate for the arts through her nonprofit development and consultation work with organizations like Central Market NOW in San Francisco and the Zambaleta School of Music, with bases in both Cairo (Egypt) and San Francisco (California).
In 2018, she founded the International Museum of Dance, an organization dedicated to celebrating the global art of dance. As CEO, Hilary has grown IMOD to serve over 3,000 youth and over 500 dance artists, building strategic partnerships with a dozen cultural institutions worldwide. Her leadership has emphasized diversity and inclusion, with over 50% of executive and board roles at IMOD held by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Hilary Palanza Gutkin’s dedication to the arts and her visionary leadership have established her as a vital force in promoting dance and culture on an international scale.
FAVORITES: Hilary’s favorite song to dance to at home is Freedom by Jon Batiste. Her favorite place that she has traveled to is a tie between Santorini, Greece and the Nrityagram Dance Village in Bangalore, India.