Bill Shannon

infobox person
name=Bill Shannon

---

caption=
birth_date=1970
birth_place= Nashville, Tennessee
known_for=Disabled dance
occupation=Performer
website= [http://www.WhatisWhat.com whatiswhat.com]

Bill Shannon (1970) is an American artist who resides in Brooklyn. [http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/varekai/creators/shannon.htm Bill Shannon] ] Shannon holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. [http://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/grant_recipients/billshannon.html Bill Shannon] ] Born with a degenerative hip condition [cite web
url=http://media.www.middleburycampus.com/media/storage/paper446/news/2002/04/10/Arts/Bill-Shannon.The.crutchmaster.Break.Dances.On.Crutches-233784.shtml
title=Bill Shannon, the 'CrutchMaster,' Break Dances on Crutches
publisher=The Middlebury Campus
author=Prouty, Kate
date=2002-04-10] , he developed a way to express himself through dance and skateboarding on crutches.

Performances

Performances and video work include:
* Kaaitheater, Brussels
* Performance Space 122, NYC
* The Kitchen, NYC
* Sydney Opera House Studio Theater, Australia
* The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
* Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, OR
* Central Park Summer Stage, NYC
* Dance City, Newcastle, England
* Contact Theater, Manchester, England
* Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
* Arizona State University, Tempe
* The Exit Festival, Cretiel, France
* Amman International Festival of Independent Theater, Amman, Jordan
* The Holland Festival, Amsterdam; Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland
* URB Festival, Helsinki, FI
* Melbourne Fringe Festival
* Teatro de la Ciudad in Monterrey, Mexico

In 2002, he completed a project with Cirque du Soleil choreographing parts of their production Varekai.

His visual and multimedia art have been exhibited in contemporary museums, galleries and fairs include:
* ArtDC in Washington, DC (2007)
* Kiasma
* Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art in Finland (2005)
* Tate in Liverpool, England (2003)
* Headlands Center for the Arts in San Francisco (2005).

Awards

* Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch" in 2001
* John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2003)
* Foundation for Contemporary Performance Art Award
* Colbert Award for Excellence: The Downtown Arts Projects Emerging Arts Award
* Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Interdisciplinary Arts Fellowship

Grants

* National Endowment for the Arts
* the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts
* Jerome Foundation
* New York Foundation for the Arts
* New York State Council for the Arts
* James E. Robison Foundation
* Bossak-Heilbron Charitable Foundation
* The Harkness Foundation for Dance
* Arts International: The Fund for U.S. Artists at International Festivals.

Competitions

* 2000: Mantis Battle (Solo Category) in NYC; placed second in ProAms Florida (Abstract Category)
* 2002: "Most Creative Street Dancer" by the LA Urban Dance Festival.

References

External links

* [http://www.speakoutnow.org/userdata_display.php?modin=50&uid=132 Boundaries Blurred: Hip Hop Dance and Disability]
* [http://www.danceumbrella.com/BillShannon.htm Bill Shannon 'Crutchmaster' in his acclaimed work, Spatial Theory]