PRESS RELEASE:
Trisha Brown Dance Company 40th Anniversary Lecture Series

Trisha Brown Dance Company
in association with
Dance Theater Workshop
announces the

Trisha Brown Dance Company
40th Anniversary Lecture Series

January 13 at 7:30
February 16 at 7:30
March 22 at 7:30
April 11 at 3:00
May 23 at 3:00

New York, NY December 21 - Trisha Brown Dance Company (TBDC) and Dance Theater Workshop announce a new lecture series celebrating TBDC’s 40^th Anniversary. Launching on January 13, the series kicks off with a lively discussion moderated by Wendy Perron with veteran dancers Diane Madden and Carolyn Lucas. The conversation will offer a rare behind-the-scenes look into the company’s creative process and a chance to listen to stories from all around the world.

Lectures will take place at Dance Theater Workshop in the Bessie Schönberg Theater. Tickets are free with a suggested donation of $10 at the door. Reservations are not required, but can be made with Box Office at 212.924.0077.  Box office hours are Monday - Friday from 5pm - 9pm and Saturday - Sunday from 12pm - 8pm.  Dance Theater Workshop is located at 219 West 19th Street between 7^th and 8^th Avenues.

Biographies

Trisha Brown Dance Company has presented the work of its legendary artistic director for over 38 years. Founded in 1970 when Trisha Brown branched out from the experimental Judson Dance Theater to work with her own group of dancers, TBDC offered its first performances at alternative sites in Manhattan’s SoHo. Today, the Company is regularly seen in the landmark opera houses of New York, Paris, London, and many other theaters around the world. The repertory has grown from solos and small group pieces to include major evening-length works and collaborations between Ms. Brown and renowned visual artists.

Wendy Perron, editor in chief of Dance Magazine, had a thirty-year career as a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and writer. She was a member of the Trisha Brown Company in the 1970s, danced with many other choreographers, and led her own dance company in the 1980s. She appears in the documentary film “Retracing Steps: American Dance Since Postmodernism.” She has taught dance at many colleges including Princeton, Bennington, NYU, and dance centers like DTW and the Trisha Brown Studio. She has also been associate director of Jacob’s Pillow and is currently artistic advisor for the Fall for Dance festival at NY City Center. Wendy has written for many publications including The New York Times, The Village Voice, and of course, Dance Magazine. She posts a blog at www.dancemagazine.com/blogs/wendy.

Carolyn Lucas (Choreographic Assistant) has been a member of the Company since 1984.  In 1993 she was appointed Choreographic Assistant and since then has been involved with the creation of Brown’s works in dance.  She attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and received a B.F.A. from SUNY Purchase in 1984.

Diane Madden has been a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company since 1980, acting as Rehearsal Director from 1984-2000 and returning to this role in 2010. The 10 year interim was spent as Special Projects Director reviving repertory both within the company and at Paris Opera Ballet, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Scottish National Ballet, and Ballet Rambert. Diane continues to dance for the company in the creative process as well as in performance. Her teaching incorporates anatomically based technique, improvisation, composition, and performance skills.  She has taught all over the world, most recently at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, TILT in Milan, and at the London Dance International Festival. In 2010 Diane will be completing two collaborative works. One is with sound/video artist Iver Finlay, dancer Marit Sandsmark and visual artist Peter Warren to be performed in Norway and NYC. Another is with dancer/choreographer Polly Motley to be performed throughout New England. She received a New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award in 1989, and the Princess Grace Foundation has recognized her with two awards, in 1986 for Performance and in 1994 for Sustained Achievement.

Upcoming Events in the Trisha Brown Dance Company Lecture Series

February 16 at 7:30pm: Diane Madden, Julie Martin and Trisha Brown discuss the premiere of Opal Loop in 1980 and the process of reconstructing the work in 2009-2010.

March 22 at 7:30: Details to be announced.

April 11 at 3:00:  Art Historian, Susan Rosenberg; Curator, Peter Eleey; and Dramaturge, Guillaume Bernardi, discuss the work from their perspective.

May 23 at 3:00: Former TBDC dancers Eva Karczag, Lisa Kraus, Stacy Spence, Keith Thompson, Stephen Petronio, and Vicky Shick. Having all pursued their own choreographic careers, they will gather to discuss how their time with TBDC influenced their own choreography.

Funding
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts.

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Dance Theater Workshop is the preeminent U.S. based center for dance and performance that maintains an uncompromising mission to identify, present, and support independent contemporary artists and companies to advance dance and live performance in New York and worldwide. Dance Theater Workshop supports innovative artists through all facets of their creative process and offers audiences the opportunity to experience and engage with artistic expression in bold and evocative ways.

Dance Theater Workshop’s 2009-2010 Season Supporters   (as of July 1, 2009)

Private support provided by: American Masterpieces: Dance Initiative of the New England Foundation for the Arts; The Carnegie Corporation of New York; Chervenak-Nunnalle Foundation; The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Ford Foundation; French United States Exchange in Dance of the New England Foundation for the Arts; The Howard Gilman Foundation; The Mertz Gilmore Foundation; The Greenwall Foundation; The William Randolph Hearst Foundations; The Jerome Foundation; The Lambent Foundation; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts; National Performance Network; The New York Community Trust; New York State DanceForce; The Jerome Robbins Foundation; Rockefeller Brothers Fund; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; The Scherman Foundation; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Trust for Mutual Understanding; and The Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund.

Corporate support provided by: Bloomberg L.P. and Consolidated Edison Company of New York.

Public support provided by the following government agencies and elected representatives: National Endowment for the Arts; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; Kate D. Levin, Commissioner; Speaker Christine C. Quinn; New York City Council; New York State Council on the Arts; New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; Senator Thomas K. Duane, New York State Senate.

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