Alanna Newkirk was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. In 2013 she received her BFA magna cum laude with a concentration in choreography from Marymount Manhattan College. During her years at Marymount she presented four pieces for Dancers at Work; performed in pieces by faculty members Katie Langan, Nancy Lushington, Jeff Shade, and Pedro Ruiz; and in notable works such as excerpts from Robert Battle’s Channels II, Shen Wei’s Map, Lar Lubovitch’s Legend of Ten, and Ray Mercer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. In 2011 she was a featured dancer in the documentation of Twyla Tharp’s The One Hundreds. Alanna believes un-ironically in ghosts. Alanna has danced with several NYC-based companies, including XAOC Contemporary Ballet, MoveWorks, and mishiDance. In 2015 she presented “On My Terms” for XAOC's Project Ignite and in 2016 for AAS14 she presented “Brought to you by…” For Columbus City Ballet School, Alanna has choreographed contemporary ensemble pieces and solos presented at YAGP in 2017 and 2018.