Jessica Iwanson, (born 21 April 1948 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a choreographer and artistic director of Iwanson International School of Contemporary Dance in Munich, Germany.
Since 1974, Jessica Iwanson has lived in Munich, where for more than 30 years she strongly influenced the history of contemporary dance. 2001, she was awarded the medal 'München leuchtet' by the City of Munich for her lifework.[citation needed] Jessica Iwanson is one of the founders of the Choreographic Association of Munich (1987) and the Bavarian Association of Contemporary Dance (1997).
Iwanson was brought up in Stockholm, Sweden where she studied at the Stockholm Ballet Academy and met teachers/choreographers like Birgit Cullberg, Kathrine Dunham, Walter Nicks, Warren Spears, and Alvin Ailey. 1966/67 she spent 1 year studying at the Martha Graham School in New York where she, among other company dancers, still had Martha Graham personally as a teacher. Further studies at the Alvin Ailey School brought her to teachers like Denise Jefferson and Milton Meyers.
Besides the work with her own company, Iwanson choreographed at numerous state theatres in Scandinavia, was artistic director at 'Riksteatern' in Sweden and director at 'Carte Blanche' the contemporary dance company of Norway (91/92). Best known internationally is her TV-dance-drama 'Nightbirds' (1997), influenced by paintings of Edward Hopper and broadcast in a great number of countries.
In 2007 Iwanson, together with her husband Stefan Sixt, started Germany's first foundation for contemporary dance, 'Iwanson-Sixt-Stiftung zeitgenössischer Tanz'. Among others, Ismael Ivo, artistic director of the dance section of the Biennale Venice, is a member of the board. The foundation offers rehearsal space for young choreographers and once a year awards the 'Isadora-Prize' to personalities for their merits within contemporary dance.
Modern dance in the United States is a form of contemporary dance that was developed in the United States in the 20th century. African American modern dance also developed a distinct style.
Alvin Ailey Jr. was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center as havens for nurturing Black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance.
Anna Sokolow was an American dancer and choreographer known for the social justice focus and theatricality of her work, and for her support of the development of Modern Dance in Mexico and in Israel.
Pearl Lang was an American dancer, choreographer and teacher renowned as an interpreter and propagator of the choreography style of Martha Graham, and also for her own longtime dance company, the Pearl Lang Dance Theater. She is known for Appalachian Spring (1944), American Masters (1985) and Driven (2001)
Frances Rings is an Aboriginal Australian dancer, choreographer and former television presenter. She was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and is a Kokatha woman. She became artistic director for Bangarra Dance Theatre in 2023.
Miya Hisaka Silva is the founder and director of El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea de El Salvador. Miya is the producer and director, teacher, dancer, choreographer, international presenter and city-planner. She has worked in El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, France, Italy, England, Jordan, Thailand, China, Canada and throughout the United States.
Judith Ann Jamison is an American dancer and choreographer. She is the artistic director emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate artistic director Matthew Rushing.
Ariyan Annette Johnson, credited as Ariyan Johnson, is an American actress, television director, dancer and choreographer. Johnson is best known for her role as Chantel Mitchell in the 1992 indie drama film Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. She also portrayed Aisha on the second season of The WB comedy series The Steve Harvey Show (1997–98).
Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was considered to have been developed as a rejection of, or rebellion against, classical ballet, and also a way to express social concerns like socioeconomic and cultural factors.
Daniela Malusardi is an Italian choreographer, teacher and dancer.
Jeraldyne Blunden (1940–1999) was the founder and artistic director of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.
Christine Dakin is an American dancer, teacher and director, a foremost exponent of the Martha Graham repertory and technique.
Denise Adele Jefferson was an American dance educator who served as the director of the Ailey School of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1984 until her death.
Jacqulyn Buglisi is an American choreographer, artistic director, dancer, educator, and founder or co-founder of multiple dance institutions. Buglisi, with Terese Capucilli, Christine Dakin and Donlin Foreman, founded Buglisi Dance Theatre in 1993/94.
Elisa Monte is an American artistic director, choreographer, and dancer who founded Elisa Monte Dance in New York City. Monte's first choreographic work, Treading (1979), defined her as an important innovator and contributor to contemporary dance. Her signature style, recognized as "daring, intense, and passionate, is classical and highly athletic."
Noemi Lia Lapzeson was an Argentine dancer, choreographer and educator. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship for the field of choreography in 1999.
Kathryn Posin is an American choreographer known for her musical and sculptural fusing of ballet and modern dance genres. In addition to choreographing, she has also taught technique and composition at several American universities. Her most recent season with The Kathryn Posin Dance Company commissioned by 92nd Street Y in February 2016 received an award from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and an Arts Works Grant from the NEA in 2017.
Tracy Inman is an American dancer, choreographer, and educator who performed with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He is currently the co-director of The Ailey School and a choreographer & consultant for the television series Pose.
Hope Boykin is an American dancer, choreographer, educator, director, writer, and speaker who is a former member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Her mission is to create and share "within an environment of acceptance, brings new levels of awareness. Exploring, developing, and teaching a sound and healthy approach to movement and expression, promotes growth. Lifting and leading young and aspiring artists to a secure foundation and a concrete understanding evolves a confidence and an assurance which will be unmatched. There are no limits." She has inspired many with her journey to sharing her continued explorations with others on her path to search for hope. She continues to exhibit that her voice is indeed relevant and continues to remain significant within the dance community and world today.
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