John Jasperse
Encyclopedia
John Jasperse is an American
choreographer and dancer. Since 1990 he has been artistic director
and choreographer of the New York City
-based John Jasperse Company.
Joyce Morgenroth describes his work as "wry" and "often spoken of in oppositional pairs" of which the most central is "…the interplay between his tightly conceived structures and his elusive movement style." His dancers are involved in an "interactive choreographic process" and "[s]ets are designed to be integral to the dance," with dancers often moving or otherwise interacting with sets and props.
Originally from Rockville, Maryland
, Jasperse graduated from Sarah Lawrence College
in 1985; since then he has been based in New York City. He worked 1987–1993 with Jennifer Monson; in 1988 and 1989 he performed with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker
's company Rosas in Belgium
.
Jasperse's work has been performed in the United States, Brazil
, Chile
, Israel
, Japan
, and throughout Europe
, including such venues as the Brooklyn Academy of Music
's Next Wave Festival, the Venice Biennale
, the Walker Art Center
(Minneapolis, Minnesota
), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
, and Tanz im August in Berlin
. Mikhail Baryshnikov
's White Oak Dance Project
, Batsheva Dance Company
and the Lyon Opera Ballet have all commissioned work from him.
Among his and his company's many awards, grants, and fellowships are a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
award (1998), two Bessie Awards
(2001 for Jasperse, 2002 for the Company), and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts
(1992, 1994, 1995-96) and New York Foundation for the Arts
(1988, 1994 and 2000). In 2003 he was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Grants to Artists Award.
John Jasperse evening-length works are Rickety Perch (1989), Eyes Half Closed (1991), furnished/unfurnished (1993), Excessories (1995), Waving to you from here (1997), Madison as I imagine it (1999), Giant Empty (2001), just two dancers (2003), CALIFORNIA (2003), Prone (2005), Becky, Jodi, and John (2007) and Misuse liable to prosecution (2007).
, France
(since 2003).
In 2008, Jasperse partnered with Jonah Bokaer
of Chez Bushwick to co-found the Center for Performance Research (CPR) in Williamsburg, NY.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
choreographer and dancer. Since 1990 he has been artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
and choreographer of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based John Jasperse Company.
Joyce Morgenroth describes his work as "wry" and "often spoken of in oppositional pairs" of which the most central is "…the interplay between his tightly conceived structures and his elusive movement style." His dancers are involved in an "interactive choreographic process" and "[s]ets are designed to be integral to the dance," with dancers often moving or otherwise interacting with sets and props.
Originally from Rockville, Maryland
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...
, Jasperse graduated from Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
in 1985; since then he has been based in New York City. He worked 1987–1993 with Jennifer Monson; in 1988 and 1989 he performed with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Anne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker is one of the most prominent choreographers in contemporary dance...
's company Rosas in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Jasperse's work has been performed in the United States, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, including such venues as the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
's Next Wave Festival, the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
, the Walker Art Center
Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is considered one of the nation's "big five" museums for modern art along with the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Hirshhorn...
(Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
, and Tanz im August in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
's White Oak Dance Project
White Oak Dance Project
The White Oak Dance Project was a dance company founded in 1990 by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Mark Morris to be the touring arm of the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation....
, Batsheva Dance Company
Batsheva Dance Company
The Batsheva Dance Company is an internationally acclaimed dance company based in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was founded by Martha Graham and Baroness Batsheva De Rothschild in 1964....
and the Lyon Opera Ballet have all commissioned work from him.
Among his and his company's many awards, grants, and fellowships are a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
award (1998), two Bessie Awards
Bessie Awards
The New York Dance and Performance Awards, informally known as the Bessie Awards in honor of Bessie Schonberg, are awarded annually for innovative achievement in dance and related performances, particularly so-called "downtown" performances...
(2001 for Jasperse, 2002 for the Company), and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
(1992, 1994, 1995-96) and New York Foundation for the Arts
New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts was created in conjunction the in 1971. The organization gives grants to individual artists and writers and developing arts organizations with a mission to '.'-NYFA's Programs:...
(1988, 1994 and 2000). In 2003 he was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Foundation for Contemporary Arts , originally known as Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City founded by artists Jasper Johns , John Cage, Elaine de Kooning and others in 1963. FCA offers financial support and recognition to contemporary...
Grants to Artists Award.
John Jasperse evening-length works are Rickety Perch (1989), Eyes Half Closed (1991), furnished/unfurnished (1993), Excessories (1995), Waving to you from here (1997), Madison as I imagine it (1999), Giant Empty (2001), just two dancers (2003), CALIFORNIA (2003), Prone (2005), Becky, Jodi, and John (2007) and Misuse liable to prosecution (2007).
John Jasperse Company
The John Jasperse Company, founded in 1985, has two managing structures: Thin Man Dance, Inc. in New York (since 1998) and Association Chapitre II in LyonLyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(since 2003).
In 2008, Jasperse partnered with Jonah Bokaer
Jonah Bokaer
Jonah Bokaer is an internationally acclaimed choreographer and media artist. He has dedicated a short lifetime to expanding live performance through choreography, digital media, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and social enterprise, in the United States and internationally.-Education:Originally...
of Chez Bushwick to co-found the Center for Performance Research (CPR) in Williamsburg, NY.
External links
- John Jasperse Company, official site
- John Jasperse Company at On the Boards (2007) includes audio interview