Who Am I?

I am an Emmy-nominated choreographer and director, 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. I am also the Artistic Director of CDI/Concert Dance Inc., the official contemporary dance company of the Ruth Page Center, which performs choreography by myself and other leading contemporary artists while also exploring and re-envisioning Ms. Page's work.

Upon her death in 1991, Ruth Page left behind a rich artistic legacy that included a school of dance, archival library, theater, offices for arts groups, groundbreaking choreography, and The Ruth Page Center for the Arts. A commitment to meeting the needs of the Chicago dance community led to a re-focus and re-organization of the Ruth Page Center in 1999, resulting in the Executive Director position and renewed life for the organization. Since becoming its Executive and Artistic Director in 2000, I have helped to bring into greater focus the Ruth Page Center's mission of ensuring that children and dance artists have a place to study, work and perform at the highest level of excellence.

I re-envisioned production of Ruth Page's groundbreaking 1947 "ballet carton" Billy Sunday came alive again in 2007 with several stage productions and in the PBS documentary produced by HMS Media. A two-year project, Billy Sunday not only brought this masterpiece work to new audiences, but also garnered several Emmy nominations from The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Before my official role with the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, I served, and continues to serve, as Artistic Director for the Ruth Page Dance Series (RPDS), a festival of dance she created in 1991 in honor of Ms. Page to showcase the rich variety of dance styles and artists in Chicago and which is produced in conjunction with Northeastern Illinois University. The RPDS has produced over 40 Chicago area dance companies in the last 25 years in venues throughout the Chicagoland area. In 1999 I took the RPDS to Scotland to be part of the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival, garnering a "Best of the Fest" by the Sunday Times of Scotland. The Series' eclectic programming of live music, classical song, opera, visual arts - all combined with dance -- was also described by The Times of Scotland as "a witty interaction between the art forms."

In 1981 I 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, I worked in both Chicago and New York with such legendary artists as Jennifer Mueller, Alwin Nikolais, and Merce Cunningham. I went on to a national and international performing career that spanned over a decade. I hold 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. Ms. Stifler 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.