Jacqulyn Buglisi

Jacqulyn Buglisi
Name	Jacqulyn Buglisi
Occupation	Choreographer; Artistic Director; Dancer; Educator
Known for	Founder and Artistic Director of Buglisi Dance Theatre

Jacqulyn Buglisi is an American choreographer, performer, and educator known for her theatrical modern dance works and leadership of Buglisi Dance Theatre. Her career spans concert choreography, site-specific performance, and community-engaged projects that intersect with institutions in the performing arts, higher education, and cultural heritage. Buglisi’s work has been presented by companies, festivals, and venues across the United States and internationally, reflecting collaborations with institutions and artists in contemporary dance, theater, and visual art.

Early life and education

Born and raised in the United States, Buglisi trained in classical ballet and modern dance at regional studios before attending professional conservatories and universities renowned for performing arts. Her formative studies connected her to lineage-bearing figures and institutions in American modern dance, linking pedagogical threads from pioneers associated with Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and José Limón. Early mentorships and scholarships enabled her to study at studios and companies where teachers and directors affiliated with the Juilliard School, New York University, and the American Dance Festival fostered her technical and choreographic development.

Dance career and choreography

Buglisi’s early professional career included performing with prominent choreographers and ensembles in New York City and on national tours, aligning her with repertory from modern dance legacies and contemporary choreographic voices. She collaborated with directors and companies that had appeared at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, and worked alongside artists who were alumni of the Martha Graham Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Parsons Dance Company. Her choreography has been commissioned and presented by festivals and institutions such as the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Joyce Theater, the New York City Center, and international festivals that program works by the Royal Ballet School alumni and European contemporary ensembles.

Buglisi’s choreographic language synthesizes codified modern techniques with theatrical dramaturgy, drawing on influences from choreographers who trained under Doris Humphrey, Hanya Holm, and Erick Hawkins. Her ensembles often foreground narrative, text, and sculptural partnering, resonating with productions staged at venues like Lincoln Center Out of Doors, the Guggenheim Museum performance series, and interdisciplinary programs at the Park Avenue Armory. She has collaborated with composers, lighting designers, and visual artists who have worked with dance institutions including the Metropolitan Opera, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Ballet Theatre.

Buglisi Dance Theatre and major works

As founder and artistic director of Buglisi Dance Theatre, she established a repertory company that produced evening-length works, site-based performances, and community events. The company’s presentations have been curated by organizations such as Dance/NYC, New York Foundation for the Arts, and local arts councils, and have taken place at venues including St. Patrick’s Cathedral for large-scale liturgical works, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for thematic spectacles, and public spaces programmed by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Major works by the company address historical, spiritual, and social themes and have been commissioned by performing arts presenters, museums, and universities. Projects have engaged with narratives and archives curated by institutions like the Library of Congress, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and historical societies, often incorporating texts and visual materials from playwrights, poets, and historians associated with the PEN America community, the Poetry Society of America, and university presses. The company’s repertory has toured regionally and internationally, appearing in festivals and seasons programmed by organizations such as Dance Umbrella, Spoleto Festival USA, and international cultural institutes.

Teaching, workshops, and advocacy

Buglisi has maintained an extensive teaching portfolio, offering master classes, workshops, and residency programs at academic and professional institutions. She has taught at conservatories and universities including the Juilliard School, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Barnard College, and the New School, as well as summer intensives affiliated with the American Dance Festival and the School at Jacob’s Pillow. Her pedagogy emphasizes technique, improvisation, repertory, and choreographic process, aligning with curricula used at conservatories such as the Boston Conservatory and the Berklee College of Music’s dance programs.

Her advocacy work includes leadership in professional networks and service on panels for arts funding organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and private foundations that support choreography and community arts programming. Buglisi has mentored emerging choreographers through residencies sponsored by foundations, artist-run incubators, and university arts centers, contributing to initiatives affiliated with the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York and regional arts alliances.

Awards, honors, and recognition

Throughout her career, Buglisi and her company have received fellowships, grants, and commissions from municipal, state, and national arts funders, as well as recognition from presenting organizations and critics. Awards and honors have included project grants from cultural councils, choreographic commissions from performing arts presenters, and artist residencies at institutions that support dance research and creation, such as theaters associated with the National Performance Network and university arts programs. Reviews and profiles have appeared in performing arts periodicals and regional newspapers that cover dance seasons at major venues like the Joyce Theater and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Personal life and legacy

Buglisi’s personal life intersects with a network of collaborators, educators, and institutional partners in the performing arts and higher education. Her legacy is evident in the students she coached, the repertory she created, and the institutional collaborations that have sustained site-based and community-centered works. Her contributions continue to influence choreographers, teachers, and presenters connected to modern dance lineages, university dance departments, and presenting organizations nationally and internationally.

Category:American choreographers Category:American female dancers Category:Contemporary dance