Trisha Brown Dance Company

Trisha Brown Dance Company was a renowned modern dance company founded by Trisha Brown in 1970. The company was known for its innovative and collaborative approach to dance, often working with artists from other disciplines such as Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage, and Merce Cunningham. With a strong focus on postmodern dance, the company's work was heavily influenced by the Judson Dance Theater and the Grand Union. The company's early years were marked by performances at The Kitchen, a SoHo-based venue that showcased experimental art and music, including works by Philip Glass and Steve Reich.

● History

The company's history began in the early 1970s, when Trisha Brown started creating dances that explored the relationship between movement and gravity, often using improvisation and contact improvisation techniques developed by Steve Paxton and Nancy Stark Smith. During this period, the company performed at various venues, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The company's early work was also influenced by the Downtown Manhattan art scene, which included artists such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and Robert Wilson. As the company grew, it began to collaborate with other artists, including Laurie Anderson, Trisha Brown's longtime friend and colleague, and Meredith Monk, a fellow downtown Manhattan-based artist.

● Artistic Style

The company's artistic style was characterized by its use of chance procedures, improvisation, and collaboration with artists from other disciplines, such as visual art and music composition. This approach was influenced by the work of John Cage, who often used indeterminacy in his compositions, and Merce Cunningham, who developed a chance procedure-based approach to dance. The company's style was also marked by its use of everyday movement, which was influenced by the work of Yvonne Rainer and Steve Paxton. The company's dancers, including Brenda Daniels, Lisa Kraus, and Elizabeth Garren, were trained in a variety of techniques, including ballet, modern dance, and contact improvisation, and were encouraged to develop their own unique movement styles, often influenced by the work of Pina Bausch and Tania Bruguera.

● Notable Works

The company created many notable works, including Man Walking Down the Side of a Building (1970), a site-specific dance that took place on the side of a building in SoHo, and Roof Piece (1971), a dance that took place on the rooftops of Lower Manhattan. Other notable works include Glacial Decoy (1979), a dance that featured sets and costumes designed by Robert Rauschenberg, and Set and Reset (1983), a dance that was set to music by Laurie Anderson and featured lighting design by Jennifer Tipton. The company also performed works by other choreographers, including Merce Cunningham and Yvonne Rainer, and collaborated with artists such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich on music composition and sound design.

● Company Members

The company's members included many notable dancers and choreographers, such as Brenda Daniels, Lisa Kraus, and Elizabeth Garren. The company also worked with a variety of musicians, including Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich, who composed music for many of the company's dances. Other company members included dramaturg Martha Clarke, who worked on the company's narrative-based dances, and costume designer Sandy Powell, who designed costumes for many of the company's productions, including collaborations with The Wooster Group and The Builders Association.

● Tours and Performances

The company toured extensively throughout its history, performing at venues such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Walker Art Center, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The company also performed at international festivals, including the Avignon Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In addition to its stage performances, the company also created site-specific dances, such as Man Walking Down the Side of a Building and Roof Piece, which took place in public spaces throughout New York City, including Times Square and Central Park. The company's performances were often reviewed by critics, including The New York Times's Anna Kisselgoff and The Village Voice's Deborah Jowitt, who wrote about the company's work in the context of the downtown Manhattan art scene.

● Legacy

The company's legacy continues to be felt in the world of modern dance and beyond, with many of its former members going on to become prominent choreographers and dancers in their own right, including Stephen Petronio and Ralph Lemon. The company's innovative approach to dance and collaboration has also influenced a wide range of artists, from visual artists like Matthew Barney and Shirin Neshat to musicians like Bjork and Thom Yorke. The company's work has been recognized with numerous awards, including a Bessie Award and a National Medal of Arts, and its dances continue to be performed and celebrated around the world, including at the Guggenheim Museum and the Tate Modern. Category:Dance companies