A conversation with newly appointed Director of Dance John Jasperse '85 and New York City dance critic, scholar, author, choreographer, and performer, Deborah Jowitt. Following recent performances of Jasperse's new work, Remains, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival, this discussion will focus on critical aspects in the evolution of his choreographic work.
Deborah Jowitt began to perform professionally in 1953, to choreograph in 1961, and to write about dance for the Village Voice in 1967. Most recently, she has performed her own solo Body (in) Print and appeared in productions of From the Horse’s Mouth. She has published two collections of her critical writings, Dance Beat (1977) and The Dance in Mind (1985), in addition to Time and the Dancing Image (1988) and Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theater, His Dance (2004). She edited and contributed to Meredith Monk (1997). She is currently at work on a critical biography of Martha Graham. Her essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and since leaving the Village Voice in 2011, she has posted her dance reviews at DanceBeat. She lectures and conducts workshops worldwide, and taught in the Dance Department of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts until June 2016.
John Jasperse is a dance artist living and working in New York City since graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1985. Jasperse has created 17 evening-length works for John Jasperse Projects, as well as several commissioned works for other companies including White Oak’s Dance Project, Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv, Israel and Lyon Opéra Ballet in France, as well as two co-productions with Ballett Frankfurt and the Forsythe Company in Frankfurt, Germany. His work has been presented internationally in 24 US cities and 29 countries across the globe, at festivals and venues including recent performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater as part of its Next Wave Festival 2016. Jasperse is the recipient of numerous awards, including a 2014 Doris Duke Artist Award, two “Bessie” Awards, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among many others. Jasperse is co-founder of CPR—Center for Performance Research in Brooklyn. He was appointed Director of Dance at Sarah Lawrence College in August 2016.