Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

Kate Vermillion Lyons is a movement artist and dance educator from Bloomington, Indiana.  Following her studies at Indiana University, she moved to Boulder, Colorado where she was a company member and instructor for 3rd Law Dance/Theatre, company member and rehearsal director for Nosilla Dance Project, and guest artist for Industrial Dance Alliance. 

Kate is currently Adjunct Faculty at Indiana University where she teaches for the Contemporary Dance and Musical Theatre B.F.A. programs and is the Rehearsal Director for their guest artists including Camille A. Brown, Caroline Dahm, Stefani Nelson/Maya Orchin, DaEun Jung, La Miera Goldberg, Sue Samuels, Erik Abbott-Main, and Christa Smutek.  In addition to these rolls, she is also the recruitment liaison for the department.

Outside of her work in academia, Kate is a choreographer exploring the intersections of natural environments and modern humanity. Kate was awarded a slot for the 2025 Vashon Artist Residency where she researched and developed her newest work BEACH which is set to premier in August 2026 at the Constellation Playhouse in Bloomington, IN.  She received an Artist Advancement Grant from Bloomington Arts Commission in 2026 to help produce the show.  In 2023, Kate received an Emerging Artist Grant from Bloomington Arts Commission to produce her evening length solo, ASH: a multidisciplinary collaboration with sculptor Bert Gilbert and composer Craig Michael Davis.  Other recent projects include performances with Elizabeth Shea Dance with whom she has performed for over a decade, her 2019 collaborative work Wintertraumen with composer Chi Wang of the Jacob’s School of Music, and teaching community movement classes for adults and children.  In 2026, she founded her project-based dance company, Vermillion Dance Theatre.