Dr. Ilya Vidrin is Assistant Professor of Creative Practice Research and core faculty at the Institute for Experiential Robotics. Born into a refugee family, Ilya’s work engages with and investigates ethics of interaction, including the embodiment of care, trust, cultural competence, and social responsibility. As an interdisciplinary research-practitioner, Ilya research draws on concepts and methods in social epistemology, performance philosophy, ethics of care, and cognitive psychology. Ilya has been featured as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” (2022), and has been an artist-in-residence at the MIT Media Lab, Harvard ArtLab, L.A. Contemporary Dance Company, North Atlantic Ballet, Ballet Des Moines, Jacob’s Pillow, the National Parks Service, The Walnut Hill School, Interlochen Arts Academy, Boston Center for the Arts, Le Laboratoire, Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), and New Museum (NYC).
Ilya is an alum of Northeastern, where he pursued undergraduate studies in Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience. He holds a Master’s Degree in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University, and a doctorate in Performing Arts from Coventry University (United Kingdom). His field research involved working with The Royal Swedish Ballet, Berlin Staatsballett, The Cambrians, Erick Hawkins Dance Company, and dance artists including Sidra Bell, Aszure Barton, Ohad Naharin, Brian Brooks, Jill Johnson, Wendy Whelan, and William Forsythe.