- David Gordon (dance)
David Gordon is a
dancer ,choreographer , writer and theatrical director prominent in the world ofpostmodern dance and performance.David Gordon, a native of New York City, performed in the companies of
James Waring andYvonne Rainer in the 1960s, when he was a founding artist in the Judson Church dance performances and also showed dances at theLiving Theatre . In the 1970s he was a founding member of the improvisational group, The Grand Union. In 1971 he formed thePick Up Performance Company (incorporated in 1978 as a non-profit organization), which helps to support and administer his work in live performance and media. He is aGuggenheim Fellow (1981 and 1987) and has been a panelist and chairman of the dance program panel of theNational Endowment for the Arts . His video work has appeared on "Great Performances ",KTCA 's "Alive TV", theBBC , andChannel 4 in Great Britain."The Mysteries and What's So Funny?" (1991), written and directed by Gordon with music by
Philip Glass and visual design byRed Grooms , was awarded aBessie Award and anObie Award . The script was published in "Grove New American Theater", edited by Michael Feingold.Gordon collaborated with his son, playwright
Ain Gordon on "The Family Business", which premiered atDance Theater Workshop in New York City in February 1994, received another Obie Award, and was presented atNew York Theatre Workshop and at theMark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 1995.In 1994, for the
American Repertory Theatre (ART) inCambridge, Massachusetts and theAmerican Music Theatre Festival (AMTF) inPhiladelphia , Gordon directed and choreographed the original production of "Shlemiel the First", written byRobert Brustein , based on the stories ofIsaac Bashevis Singer , set to traditionalklezmer music with new lyrics byArnold Weinstein . [According to Alvin Klein, writing in the " [http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?_r=2&res=990CE0D61E38F93AA35757C0A963958260&oref=slogin&oref=login New York Times] ":"Shlemiel" is choreographed and directed by Mr. Gordon who, it appears, regards its eight musicians (the Klezmer Conservatory Band) as cast members in an interweaving of music and moving stage pictures, of words, spoken and sung. It can be said that Singer is the original author, Mr. Brustein is the adapter and Mr. Gordon is the auteur.
] Subsequent productions have been seen at theGeffen Playhouse in Los Angeles (for which Gordon won Dramalogue Awards for best direction and choreography in 1997) and theAmerican Conservatory Theatre (ACT) inSan Francisco . The show also toured throughoutFlorida and inStamford, Connecticut .Gordon received a National Theatre Artist Residency Grant (funded by The
Pew Charitable Trusts and administered byTCG ) to work with theGuthrie Theater inMinneapolis , where he directed and choreographedThe Firebugs byMax Frisch for their mainstage in 1995.Ain and David Gordon collaborated again on the text for "Punch & Judy Get Divorced", with music by
Edward Barnes and lyrics byArnold Weinstein , which premiered at AMTF in 1996 and was subsequently presented by ART. They also collaborated on "The First Picture Show" with music byJeanine Tesori , for ACT and the Taper.Other productions David Gordon has created as writer, director and choreographer include "Autobiography of a Liar" (1999), "FAMILY$DEATH@ART.COMedy" (2001) and "Private Lives of Dancers" (2002). In 2000, he was commissioned by ACT to write an adaptation of
Kenneth Grahame 'sThe Wind in the Willows , with music byGina Leishman , which was called "Some Kind of Wind in the Willows". [http://www.ginaleishman.com/projects-compositions.cfm]In 2004, Gordon made "Dancing Henry Five," which utilized
William Walton 's music forLaurence Olivier 's film ofShakespeare 's Henry V, as well as dialogue from the film and recorded dramatic recitations of the text byChristopher Plummer and others. This production has been seen in New York, Minneapolis andLawrence, Kansas , the University of Maryland,Lexington, Kentucky , and San Francisco.He has adapted and directed
Eugene Ionesco 's "The Chairs " (presented inLondon ,Seattle and at theBrooklyn Academy of Music in New York City),Aristophanes ' "The Birds " (2006, as "Aristophanes in Birdonia") and "The Roundheads and the Pointheads" byBertholt Brecht andHanns Eisler (2002-2009, as "Uncivil Wars: Collaborating With Brecht and Eisler"). Gordon has choreographed dances for, among other companies,American Ballet Theatre ,Dance Theatre of Harlem andMikhail Baryshnikov 'sWhite Oak Dance Project , for whom he also wrote and directed the retrospective of postmodern dance, "Past/Forward", in 2000.David Gordon is a member of the
Actors Studio , and a founder of the [http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm Center for Creative Research] . He is married toValda Setterfield , a dancer and actress who was for many years a featured performer with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. She appears regularly in Gordon's work, and has been referred to as his "muse ".Notes
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