MEGAN L. GARGANO (she/her) is a native of Cleveland, Ohio where she began her training in 2003 at the Royal School of Ballet under the direction of Joanne Hughes Morscher. In addition, Megan studied at The Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, BalletMet, performed with The Pennsylvania Ballet and participated in several dance festivals throughout Ohio.

In 2012, Megan received her BFA in Performance and Choreography from Ohio University School of Dance where she developed her own artistic voice under the mentorship and direction of Madeleine Scott, Marina Walchli, Mickie Geller, Travis Gatling, Tresa Randall, John Bohuslawsky and Gladys Bailin. While studying at OU, Megan performed the reconstruction of Alwin Nikolais piece Noumenon Mobilus, under the direction of Alberto del Saz. She has performed in faculty works by Mickie Geller and guest work by Adriana Durant, Stefanie Batten Bland and Sean Curran.

July 2010 Megan studied at the Laban Centre in Greenwich, London where she furthered her studies in Limon and Release Techniques, choreography and contact improvisation. In 2010 Megan set original work at the Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights and in 2011 her work “Formally Phrased, with the exception of a few” was selected for adjudication at the American College Dance festival held at Grand Valley State University, Michigan.

In 2009, Megan co-founded The Movement Project, a professional dance company located in Cleveland, whose mission is to challenge perspectives, evoke social change and bridge communities through the power of movement. TMP has produced over 30 evening length concerts, has created over 50 new works, produced 6 original dance films, and has performed at various venues such as Cleveland Public Theatre, The Breen Center, Dumbo Dance Fest in NYC, Baldwin Wallace University, Ohio University and Transformer Station. In 2019, TMP collaborated, performed and produced a sold-out concert with Pam Tanowitz and her NYC company Pam Tanowitz Dance.

TMP has received funding by The Fedora Network, Puffin West Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Ohio Arts Council and Tremont Trek for programming aimed at supporting artists, youth and the communities of NE Ohio. In 2015, TMP launched the Cleveland Artist Initiative, a program designed to support and fund the creation of new work by Cleveland artists. Over 68% of TMP's operating budget was dedicated to paying artists and in 2019 TMP collaborated with over 100 artists and organizations throughout the year.