Susie McHugh + Dancers creates dance that immerses audiences in the emotional and physiological landscapes of people navigating complex mental states. Drawing on Susie McHugh’s lived experience with serious mental illness and her professional work on a mental health hotline, the company offers work that is both precise and deeply felt, balancing rigorous choreography with profound emotional resonance.

 

McHugh utilizes movement as a storytelling tool, combining careful attention to performance quality with intentional gesture experimentation and research. Vulnerability is central to her process, allowing the work to explore emotional and psychological truths while maintaining clarity, precision, and dramatic presence. Her choreography is recognized for layered, nuanced narratives that integrate these elements to create work that is both technically assured and emotionally immediate.

 

Drawing on her own experiences with mental illness and neurodivergence, McHugh’s work is deeply personal while intentionally designed to resonate universally. Through Susie McHugh + Dancers, she cultivates a creative space rooted in human connection, encouraging audiences to confront and recognize their own truths. By stripping away the performance of normalcy, her choreography illuminates moments that are raw, rarely shared, and profoundly human, fostering empathy, reflection, and shared understanding.