Michael Kelly Bruce began dancing with Harriette Ann Gray at the famous Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He continued working with her for five years at Stephens College, Missouri where he received his BA in 1970.
After a year in Holland working closely with Lucas Hoving and performing with several Dutch companies, he moved to NYC, working with Anna Sokolow, Mary Anthony, and Fred Mathews. From 1974 through 1981, he danced with the Repertory Dance Theatre performing the historic choreography of Ted Shawn, Doris Humphrey, Helen Tamiris, and Jose Limon, as well as Viola Farber, Lar Lubovitch, Douglas Dunn, Bruce Marks, and Mathew Diamond.
He served as a guest performer and choreographer with companies across the country; as co-director of The Coast in San Francisco; and as a faculty member of workshops, colleges, and universities including Harvard Summer Institute, Mills College, Southern Methodist University, and Texas Christian University.
Michael was a faculty member at Ohio State University from 1990 to 2017 teaching Kinesiology for Dancers, Floor Barre, Pilates Matwork and Reformer, Repertory, and Choreography. In 2015, Michael won the President and Provost Award for Distinguished Faculty Service at The Ohio State University. He retired after 27 years and is now Emeritus Associate Professor at OSU