Parsons Dance Company

PARSONS DANCE

Parsons Dancers
Background information
Origin New York, NY
Genres Dance
Years active 1985 – present
Website Dance Website

Parsons Dance is a contemporary dance company founded by choreographer David Parsons. The company tours nationally and internationally, and includes an annual season in New York. Based in New York City, Parsons Dance was founded on July 17, 1985, by David Parsons and lighting designer Howell Binkley. Since its founding, Parsons Dance has toured to six continents. Parsons Dance is the only dance company in history to perform at all three Spoleto Festivals (Italy, Australia and the US) in a single season.

Parsons Dance has been seen on PBS, Bravo, A&E and the Discovery Channel. Millions watched worldwide as Parsons Dance performed live in New York’s Times Square, as part of the internationally broadcast, 24-hour Millennium New Year’s Eve celebration on December 31, 1999.

The company consists of nine full-time dancers. It maintains a repertory of more than 80 works, twenty of which feature commissioned original scores by composers and musicians including Dave Matthews, Michael Gordon, Milton Nascimento, John Mackey, and Phil Woods.[1] Parsons Dance has collaborated with many other artists, including Julie Taymor, William Ivey Long, Annie Leibovitz, Donna Karan and Alex Katz.

Company Members

David Parsons, Sarah Braverman, Christina Ilisije, Jason McDonald, Steven Vaughn, Ian Spring, Elena D'Amario, Lauren Garson, Eric Bourne, Melissa Ullom

Current Repertory

The company is currently presenting the following performances:[2] Caught, Bachiana, Hand Dance, Mood Swing, Nascimento, Nascimeno Novo, Sleep Study, Slow Dance, Swing Shift, The Envelope, Remember Me.

Outreach

Dancer Abby Silva leads a master class at the Parsons Dance Company in May 2006.

The company offers master classes in modern dance, ballet and jazz techniques, lectures and demonstrations of repertory and/or elements of production, and workshops and seminars on nutrition, fitness and the art of dance. They also hold post-show discussions and offer the Parsons Dance Study Guide, designed in collaboration with the Ferst Center for the Arts, which serves as an educational dance resource for teachers and students.

Parsons Dance also holds an annual summer intensive dance workshop for pre-professional and professional dancers in New York City, designed to have participants work and interact with Parsons Dancers while taking classes in contemporary dance, ballet technique and Parsons repertory.

History

Since 1985, Parsons Dance has toured an average of 32 weeks per year, to a total of more than 235 cities, 30 countries, six continents and millions of audience members. Many others have seen Parsons Dance on PBS, Bravo, A&E Network, and the Discovery Channel. Millions watched Parsons Dance perform live in Times Square as part of the internationally broadcast, 24-hour Millennium New Year’s Eve celebration. In New York City, Parsons Dance has been featured at The Joyce Theater, City Center, New Victory Theater, Central Park Summerstage, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and The World Trade Center.

References

  1. ↑ Tobey, Cheryl (January 1, 2001). "Heading Into Battle: David Parsons and New Choreographers". PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art. 67: 93–98.
  2. ↑ "2010–2011 Mixed Rep". Parsons Dance Company. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
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