When I see something good that reminds me what dancing can be at its most basic,
I'm faint with pleasure.
The village Voice
company
Seán Curran Company "When I see something good that reminds me what dancing can be at its most basic, I'm faint with pleasure," hailed Deborah Jowitt in The Village Voice after seeing the Seán Curran Company in performance. Pleasing audiences is exactly what the Company has been doing since it burst onto the dance scene in 1997. Known for his wit, intelligence, ingenuity and uncanny physical humor, Seán Curran successfully blends a myriad of influences into a purely original style.
The company's first major commission came in 1997 from Celebrate Brooklyn for the piece Folk Dance For the Future. Until then, Curran, who took traditional Irish step dancing lessons as a child, had resisted using his Irish voice in the pieces he created. Folk Dance for the Future marked the beginning of Seán Curran's incorporation of his Irish background into his choreographic works. With the 1999 National Dance Project commission by the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the company achieved national prominence, and has since been commissioned by The Joyce Theater, The New Victory Theater, Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church, Symphony Space, the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Project, and Central Park Summerstage, among many others.
Seán Curran Company's newest work, Left Exit, premiering at the Debartolo Center for the Performing Arts at the Unviersity of Notre Dame, will examine spirituality, faith, and religion, illuminating the common desire for significance and purpose in one's life.
seán curran
Seán Curran began his dance training with traditional Irish step dancing as a young boy in Boston, Massachusetts. He went on to make his mark on the dance world as a leading dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. He received a New York Dance and Performance (“Bessie”) Award for his performance in Secret Pastures.
A graduate and guest faculty member of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Curran was an original member of the New York City cast of the Off-Broadway percussion extravaganza Stomp, performing in the show for four years. He has performed his solo evening of dances at venues throughout the United States as well as at Sweden's Danstation Theatre and France's EXIT Festival.
Recent projects for Curran include productions of Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night's Dream for The Shakespeare Theater, the twentieth anniversary production of Nixon in China and Street Scene at Opera Theater of St. Louis; choreography for the New York City Opera productions of L'Etoile, Alcina, Turandot, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Capriccio, and Acis and Galetea; the Playwrights Horizons' production of My Life with Albertine; and Shakespeare in the Park's As You Like It. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut choreographing Romeo and Juliette, and most recently, he directed Salome for Opera Theatre of St. Louis and the San Francisco Opera.
Curran's work has also appeared on Broadway in James Joyce's The Dead for Playwrights Horizons and The Rivals at Lincoln Center Theater. He has created works for Trinity Irish Dance Company, ABT II, Denmark's Upper Cut Company, Sweden's Skänes Dance Theater, Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Ririe Woodbury Dance Theater, and Dance Alloy, as well as for numerous college and university dance departments.
Curran has taught extensively at the American Dance Festival, Harvard Summer Dance Center, Bates Dance Festival, and Boston's Conservatory of Music. Irish American Magazine selected Curran as one of its "Top 100" in the year 2000. Curran was awarded a Choreographer's Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts in 2002.
Happiest when making new work or performing, Seán Curran hopes to continue being an ambassador for the art of dance by building and educating the dance audiences of tomorrow.
dancers
Elizabeth Coker Girõn (Associate Artistic Director/Dancer) trained at the Washington School of Ballet and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba before joining The Washington Ballet for several seasons. She has been a member of the Seán Curran Company since 2006, and its Associate Artistic Director since 2009. Elizabeth has been creating work and performing with Ana Isabel Keilson since 2008.
Elizabeth graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University in 2006 with a degree in psychology and dance and earned an MA in 2010 from Teachers College of Columbia University in the field of Motor Learning and Control. She is currently a doctoral student at Teachers College, researching uses of motor imagery by dancers.
Rebecca Arends (Dancer) holds a B.A. in History and Afro American Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ms. Arends attended The Ailey School under the direction of Denise Jefferson and was awarded the Oprah Winfrey Foundation Fellowship. Other select New York performance credits include ROSARIO, Judith Jamison's Divining, Alvin Ailey's Memoria with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Tino Sehgal's Kiss at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Most recently, Rebecca played Anybodys in the El Paso Opera's West Side Story. Rebecca is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has been featured in commercials, print ads and voice overs.
Andrew Avery (Dancer) was privileged as a young dancer to appear in feature films and music videos under the direction of Paul Thomas Anderson, Jerry Mitchell, and others. He has worked as a guest artist for Sacramento Ballet (Fresno), Commonality Dance (Los Angeles), and Joe Goode Performance Group (San Francisco). Andrew has trained with Doug Varone and Dancers as well as Trisha Brown Dance Company. Since receipt of BFA in Dance and Philosophy from NYU, he has performed with Christopher Williams Dance (NYC), Alexandra Beller/Dances (NYC), and Gibney Dance Company (NYC). Andrew came to play with the Seán Curran Company in August 2011.
Evan Copeland (Dancer) Born in Framingam, MA, raised in Camp Hill, PA, Evan grew up dancing at the Wevodau Dance Center and loved the oldies! He continued his training at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where he received his BFA in dance and got to breifly study abroad at the Salzburg Experimental Acadamy of Dance(SEAD). He went on to work with The Seán Curran Company, as well as with Kyle Abraham/A.I.M., Wendy Blum, Stephen Koplowitz, Brook Notary, Elke Rindfleisch, and Shen Wei Dance Arts. He is involved with the Circle Rules Football Federation created by Greg Manley.
David Gonsier (Dancer) was born and raised in New York City. He came late to the dance world, starting his training while studying philosophy at Skidmore College. Since graduating and returning to New York he has trained at the Paul Taylor and Alvin Ailey schools, as well as with a great many wonderful teachers and choreographers. In modern concert dance, opera productions, and musicals he has toured across the US, Europe, and Asia.
Tony Guglietti (Dancer) received his B. F. A. in dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Upon graduation he became a founding member of the Seán Curran Company and performed from 1997 to 2004 and is thrilled to return. As well as dancing with Seán, Tony has had the privilege of working and dancing with Peter Pucci, Brian Brooks Moving Company, Ben Munisteri and has also preformed on stage with the NYC Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Tony is currently the dance director of the Pomfret School’s dance program (Pomfret, CT). He also has taught at schools throughout the northeast including Harvard University, Roger Williams University, Adelphi University, and the Groton School. Tony also holds seven scoring records for the NYU hockey team and is currently a Division I ice hockey referee. Thank you to Seán and this amazing company for the opportunity to come back and perform again.
Christina Robson (Dancer), originally from Boston, MA, graduated summa cum laude from Roger Williams University where she studied Dance Performance and Visual Arts. During her junior year Christina studied abroad at the London Contemporary School. Later that Summer she traveled to France with Washington University's MADE in France program where she studied closely with David Dorfman, Lisa Race and Au Cul du Loup object theater company. Christina has had the opportunity to work with Kelli Wicke Davis, Kate Weare, Tiffany Mills, Neta Pulvermacher, Jenny Rocha and Kyle Abraham. Upon graduating she made the move to the big apple and is totally thrilled to be working for The Seán Curran Company, as well as projects with Kinodance and Deganit Shemy and dancers.
Shane Dennis Rutkowski (Dancer) graduated with honors from Fordham University Lincoln Center. Credits include: Seán Curran Company, Alison Chase Performance, "Tap Kids", and "Step Up 2: The Streets." When not on stage he teaches at Steps on Broadway. For more check out www.shanewho.info
Rachel Salzman (Dancer) was born and raised in New York City, where she trained at the School of American Ballet and at the Paul Taylor School. Rachel has worked with CorbinDances, Ramon Oller, LottDance, and Jody Sperling/Time Lapse. Also a circus artist, Rachel performs her own choreography on aerial hoop, silk, and hammock as well as a fusion of dance, hand-balancing, and contortion. She performs regularly in NYC and London for the Box, Floating Kabarette, and Hiro Ballroom, among others. Recently she was part of the American exhibition at the Venice Biennale performing a 17-minute acrobatic solo on a replication of a first class airline seat.
Jin Ju Song-Begin (Dancer) is a choreographer, dancer and dance teacher from Seoul, Korea. Her work has been performed in Korea, Japan, and the USA. She has worked with prominent choreographers both in and outside of Korea. She was an original member of Dance Company The Body from 2003-2006 in Seoul. She holds a Masters Degree in Choreography from Kookmin University and an Undergraduate Degree from Chung Ang University in Seoul, Korea, where she achieved numerous awards and scholarships. She received two full scholarships to the American Dance Festival (2003 & 2005) where she performed and choreographed. She was invited to showcase her work in the Dance Biennale Tokyo in 2004 and 2006. She was twice commissioned by the Choi Seung Hee Dance Festival in Korea (2006 & 2008). Recent performances of her work include performances at Dixon Place (Body Blend Series) and the Reverb Choreographic Festival in New York as well as performances in Seoul. Her work has involved solos, ensemble works, and experimental works relying on "found movement" and "chance operations". She frequently collaborates with composers and live music performances.
staff
Joe Doran (Production Manager/ Technical Director) has worked with Armitage Gone! Dance, HT Chen and Dancers, Gabrielle Lansner and Co., and Martha Graham Dance Company, among others. He is the producing artistic director and resident designer of Equilateral Theatre Company, a nonprofit organization he founded in 2004. He recently designed an adaptation of "The Tempest" starring Olympia Dukakis for the Alpine Theatre Project. Regionally, Joe has designed for Historic Swift Creek Mill Theatre and Richmond VA’s Festival of the Arts at Dogwood Dell. He is the 2008 and 2009 recipient of the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Lighting Designer. He is an artistic member of Resonance Ensemble in NYC. Graduate of North Carolina School of the Arts. Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. www.joedorandesign.com
John Pendleton (Tour Manager) After several years as a guide/group leader/interpreter in the Soviet Union, China, Mongolia and other countries, John moved to work in the performing arts as interpreter/tour manager for Soviet dance and ballet companies and orchestras performing in the United States. This led to arts presentation and company management work and national and international tours with the Metropolitan Opera Presentations department, ICM and IMG Artists, the Aga Khan Music Initiative and The Edinburgh International Festival. Among John's touring arts projects were tours of the Bolshoi Opera, Ballet and Orchestra, Hamburg Ballet, NDT, the St Petersburg Philharmonic, National Ballet of China, and National Ballet of Cuba. John was also Company Manager at Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. In his free time, John likes to restore and rehab houses.
