Life as a Modern Dancer

Category: Choreographers

  • My Dance Week: Megan Bridge

    Photo: Bill Hebert I’ve been living and working in Philadelphia as a professional dancer and choreographer for fifteen years. From 2000-2005 I was a member of Group Motion Dance Company. I left the company after five years so that I’d have time to focus more on my own choreographic work, but I still love dancing…

  • What I Look for in a Dancer….

    Rebecca Lazier, Choreographer        Photo: Anna Finke What do you look for in a dancer? How do you find your dancers? From Rebecca Lazier (Brooklyn, NY): That is a tricky question! There is certainly a "je ne sais quoi" aspect to noticing which dancer that inspires me. I can see two equally accomplished dancers but one will be compelling…

  • Dancing and Reflecting: Dancers in Their 50s

    Risk, balance, love, perspective……….artists in their 50s in their own words….. What does it mean to take risks at this particular moment in time? -Jennifer Monson   Randee Paufve; photo by Kegan Marling From Peter DiMuro: Current passions and curiosities: Passion is a strong word: if I took everything at the same passionate speed I did 20…

  • Dancing and Reflecting: Dancers in Their 40s

    Rebecca Lazier        Photo: Julie Lemberger Some great quotes pulled from artist profiles on the blog…… Jennifer Salk: I got my dream job at 40 in Seattle at the University of Washington and knew I had found home both geographically and in terms of my job. I continued to make a lot of dances, perform and work…

  • What I Look for in a Dancer……

    Photo courtesy of Jennifer Monson         Photo by Ian Douglas What do you look for in a dancer? How do you find dancers? From Nina Haft: Trust, candor and humor. An insatiable appetite for inquiry. Patience and kindness. Movement-wise, I am drawn to dancers with clear, fluid and sensual head-tail connections and spatial intelligence. I work…

  • Dancing and Reflecting: Dancers in Their 60s

    Images courtesy of Ellen Bromberg From Vicky Shick: My 60s:  I feel quite lucky to be able to be still dancing, still teaching, still performing and still making pieces. I feel more adventurous and less worried about riskier undertakings – not that I don’t fret. Performed with two choreographers with whom I had not yet worked…

  • Blog Series: Building a Dance Company

    Kate Weare; photo by Keira Heu-Jwyn Chang Over the past 3 years, choreographers have shared on the blog about their weekly schedules, balancing artistic and administrative work, and paying for projects. Below are thoughts from New York based choreographers Kate Weare, Ivy Baldwin, and Rebecca Lazier as well as Los Angeles based choreographer Stephan Koplowitz. Click…

  • Artist Profile #100: Keith Johnson (Long Beach, CA)

    From Blog Director Jill Randall: In the fall of 1996, Keith Johnson came and spoke in my Senior Seminar course at the University of Utah. I was very taken by him, and this conversation has stayed with me for many years. Keith was one of the first professional dancers I heard speak honestly and directly…

  • Artist Profile #99: Donna White (Salt Lake City, UT)

    Photo: Diane Cotsonas   The Path to Here: An Interview with Donna White From Blog Director Jill Randall: In April 2014, I had the opportunity to interview Donna White in person, before she retired from the Department of Modern Dance at the University of Utah. (Donna still continues her work as Associate Dean in the Graduate…

  • Artist Profile #96: Molly Heller (Salt Lake City, UT)

    Photo: Sara Parker Hometown:  Boise, ID Current city:  Salt Lake City, UT Age:  31  Attended an arts high school?  No, in fact my only dance experience prior to college was tap dancing once per week from ages 13-17. College and degree:  A major part of my dance and theatre training was at Boise State University,…