He moved to New York City on a scholarship as a student at of the Joffrey Ballet School. He returned to the University of Utah in 1967 and was awarded a master of fine arts degree in modern dance in 1970.[citations needed]
In 1970, he founded the Bill Evans Solo Dance Repertory. [citation needed]
In 1974, Evans formed his own professional ensemble, the Bill Evans Dance Company (BEDCO). [citation needed]
In 1976, he moved BEDCO to Seattle, Washington. [citation needed] He also became artistic director of Dance Theatre Seattle/Bill Evans Dance Company School.[2]
In 1977, he founded the Bill Evans Summer Institute of Dance in Seattle.
In 1983-1984, Evans was the artistic director, resident choreographer and company teacher of Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers, the oldest professional modern dance company in Canada.[3]
In 1986, Evans became associate professor and director of contemporary dance at Indiana University, where BEDCO was in residence.[citation needed]
In 1988, Evans joined the faculty at the University of New Mexico, Theatre and Dance Department as Full Professor and Head of Dance. His company was based in New Mexico for 16 years. [citations needed]
In 1992, he set up the Bill Evans Rhythm Tap Ensemble. He founded the New Mexico Tap Festival and Dance Tap Jam in 1999. [citations needed].
Evans has choreographed more than 250 works.[citations needed] Some of his pieces are: For Betty, Quartet for Jamie, Octet for Jacquie, Requiem for Janet, For Tim, The Legacy, Impressions of Willow Bay, Colony, Bach Dances, Tres Tangos, Jukebox, When Summoned, Tin-Tal, Five Songs in August, Yes Indeed, Los Ritmos Calientes, Velorio, Saintly Passion, Barefoot Boy With Marbles in His Toes, Climbing to the Moon, Albuquerque Love Song, Dreamweaver, Together Through Time, Rhythms of the Earth, Within Bounds, Hard Times, Craps, Naturescape Unfolding, Diverse Concerto, Multiple Margaret, Alternating Current, Prairie Fever, Doin' M' Best, Keep On Tryin', Remembering, Cuttin' A Rug, Field of Blue Children, Mixin' It Up, Double Bill Echoes of Autumn and Suite Benny. He has collaborated with jazz musicians, including Bill Evans the jazz pianist—with whom he created Double Bill and Mixin It Up, in 1978 and 1979. Other famous collaborators have included ballerinas Cynthia Gregory and Christine Sarry.[4]
In 1976, Evans worked internationally in the field of somatics-based dance technique. [citation needed]
Since 1999, his summer programs have shared his pedagogy of dance technique with dance educators. [citation needed]
In 2002, he founded a Certification Program in the Evans Method of Teaching Dance Technique. [citation needed]
In 2003, Evans founded the annual Somatic Dance Conference and Performance Festival. [citation needed] Conferences/Festivals have taken place at the College of Brockport (2013-2014), Dean College (2015) and Hobart and William Smith Colleges (2016-2019). An additional conference called Dance Science and Pedagogy, took place at New Mexico State University in 2016. [multiple citations needed]
Publications and Organizations
His book, Reminiscences of a Dancing Man: A Photographic Essay of a Life in Dance was published by the National Dance Association in 2005. [citation needed] He wrote a monthly column, Tips for Modern Teachers, for Dance Studio Life 2011-2014. [citation needed]
In 1997, he was selected as the National Dance Association Scholar/Artist. [citation needed] NDA published his keynote address, Teaching What I want to Learn. [date & citation needed]
In 2001, he received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence and Achievement in the Arts. [citation needed]
In 2011, he received the Outstanding Service Award from the National High School Dance Festival. [citation needed]
In 2013, he was also made an honorary member of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science. [citation needed]
In 2014, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Dance Guild at the Ailey City group Theatre in New York City. [citation needed]
In 2015, he received the Choreography Fellowship from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. [citation needed]
In 2017, the Bill Evans Dance Company received the Dorry Award for Providence's Best Dance Performance of the Year. [citation needed] Evans completed a Fulbright Specialist residency, at Universidad Nacional in Heredia, Costa Rica. [citation needed]
His choreographic works have been selected for gala performances at numerous regional conferences of the American College Dance Festival Association, and at three of the ACDFA National Festivals. [multiple dates & citations needed]
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↑ Crabbe, Michael; Botaitis, James (March 4, 2015). "Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers". Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers, by Rose Eichnbaum, published by Wesleyan University Press, 2008
Seven Statements of Survival: Conversations with Dance Professionals (Carolyn Carlson, Bill Evans, Garth Fagan, Deborah Jowitt, Joann Keali’Nohomoku, Madeleine Nichols and Andrea Snyder), edited by Renata Chilchowska, published by Dance and Movement Press, 2007
Will Modern Dance Survive? Lessons to be Learned from the Pioneers and Unsung Visionaries of Modern Dance, written by Beth Soll, published by the Edwin Mellon Press, 2002
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