Gretchen received her formal training from the Grand Rapids Ballet School and Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet training program; she had the opportunity to work with Alonzo King, Patricia Barker, Maurya Kerr, Arturo Fernandez, Shannon Gillen, Giaconda Barbuto, and Gregory Dawson. Upon graduation, she joined Dark Circles under the direction of Joshua Peugh. There, original works were set on her by Peugh, Sidra Bell, Eoghan Dillon, and Mark Caserta. Once in Los Angeles, Gretchen began creating and performing her own works, as well as performing for Rosanna Gamson, Mike Tyus, Alejandro Perez, and Laurie Sefton. She values the disciplining of the self through understanding the body, the mind, and how to use those to communicate ideas piercingly and honestly. Gretchen is a collaborator on Mike Tyus and Luca Renzi’s My Body is an Instrument.