Ann Carlson
Encyclopedia
Ann Carlson is an American
dancer, choreographer and performance
artist
whose work explores contemporary social issues
. She has performed through the United States
an internationally and has won a number of awards.
. She graduated
magna cum laude with a BFA in modern dance
from the University of Utah
in 1976. In 1983 she became one of the first students of the University of Arizona
to earn a graduate degree in dance
. Even though Carlson received extensive dance
training as a child, she defined dance as "any conscious movement in time and space". Carlson came to this conclusion when she was 12 years old after attending a lecture and demonstration by Murray Louis
at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. Because of her broad view of dance, Carlson often tackles important issues in her work and believes that whatever methods are needed to convey a message are the methods that need to be utilized. As a result Carlson takes her work far beyond the confines of traditional "dance" into a realm that could be called performance art
.
career performing. During this time Carlson performed with Territory Dance Theater in Tucson, Arizona
and Meredith Monk
. She performed her first solo concert in 1986 and performed to music
composed
by Stewart Wallace
and Phillip Glass. As a choreographer, Carlson’s work has been performed throughout the United States
; some notable places her choreography
has been featured have been Washington D.C., New York
, Chicago
, Houston and Los Angeles
. Internationally her work has been performed in West Germany, Prague and Mexico City. Carlson’s choreography has earned her a New York Dance and Performance Award in 1988, American Dance Festival
Award in 1988, the CalArts Alpert Award in Dance in 1995, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award in 1998.
of this piece includes a straight chair, a television set, a white picket fence, and, most notably, a real live dog. Other animals are later featured, including a goldfish, a cat and a goat. Carlson said she wanted "to make works that could respond to a living being, that I couldn’t choreograph in the way that I’d been taught to choreograph".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dancer, choreographer and performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
whose work explores contemporary social issues
Social issues
Social issues are controversial issues which relate to people's personal lives and interactions. Social issues are distinguished from economic issues...
. She has performed through the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
an internationally and has won a number of awards.
Beginnings in Dance
Calson was born in Park Ridge, IllinoisPark Ridge, Illinois
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 37,775 people, 14,219 households, and 10,465 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,374.6 people per square mile . There were 14,646 housing units at an average density of 2,083.8 per square mile...
. She graduated
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
magna cum laude with a BFA in modern dance
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
from the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
in 1976. In 1983 she became one of the first students of the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
to earn a graduate degree in dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
. Even though Carlson received extensive dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
training as a child, she defined dance as "any conscious movement in time and space". Carlson came to this conclusion when she was 12 years old after attending a lecture and demonstration by Murray Louis
Murray Louis
Murray Louis is an American modern dancer and choreographer. He grew up in Manhattan, not far from Henry Street where his company was to be founded years later. At the same time, his sister took him to many of the early modern dance concerts. After his discharge from the Navy in 1946, Mr...
at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. Because of her broad view of dance, Carlson often tackles important issues in her work and believes that whatever methods are needed to convey a message are the methods that need to be utilized. As a result Carlson takes her work far beyond the confines of traditional "dance" into a realm that could be called performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
.
Career
Carlson spent the late 1970s to the early ‘90s of her danceDance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
career performing. During this time Carlson performed with Territory Dance Theater in Tucson, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and Meredith Monk
Meredith Monk
Meredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
. She performed her first solo concert in 1986 and performed to music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
composed
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
by Stewart Wallace
Stewart Wallace
Stewart Wallace is an American composer and cantor. He has spent much of his career composing experimental operas, from the dance-centered Kabbalah to the surrealist Hopper's Wife...
and Phillip Glass. As a choreographer, Carlson’s work has been performed throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; some notable places her choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
has been featured have been Washington D.C., New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Houston and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Internationally her work has been performed in West Germany, Prague and Mexico City. Carlson’s choreography has earned her a New York Dance and Performance Award in 1988, American Dance Festival
American Dance Festival
The American Dance Festival is a six and four-week school for dance and a six-week summer festival of modern dance performances, currently held at Duke University and the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, North Carolina....
Award in 1988, the CalArts Alpert Award in Dance in 1995, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award in 1998.
Style of Work
Some critics refer to Carlson’s work as dance-theater and some refer to it as talking dancing. Her work often incorporates different movement components, speaking or acting components, and props or sometimes animals. A piece entitled The Dog Inside the Man Inside represents all these areas of Carlson’s work and is from a series of work called Animals. The setupTheatrical scenery
Theatrical scenery is that which is used as a setting for a theatrical production. Scenery may be just about anything, from a single chair to an elaborately re-created street, no matter how large or how small, whether or not the item was custom-made or is, in fact, the genuine item, appropriated...
of this piece includes a straight chair, a television set, a white picket fence, and, most notably, a real live dog. Other animals are later featured, including a goldfish, a cat and a goat. Carlson said she wanted "to make works that could respond to a living being, that I couldn’t choreograph in the way that I’d been taught to choreograph".
External links
- Jack Anderson: "The Dance: Ann Carlson's 'Animals'" 7 February 1988, The New York Times