John R. Jasperse (born October 8, 1963) orgenroth 2004 p.187 is an American

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and dancer. Since 1990 he has been

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

and choreographer of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based John Jasperse Company.John Jasperse performer biography in ''Misuse…'' program (2007)John Jasperse Company Repertory: Becky, Jodi, and John
, John Jasperse Company official site, accessed online 21 October 2007. This is the citation for him dancing his own works. 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 " ts are designed to be integral to the dance," with dancers often moving or otherwise interacting with sets and props. Originally from

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...

, Jasperse graduated from

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

in 1985; since then he has been based in New York City. He worked 1987–1993 with

Jennifer Monson Jennifer Monson (born March 14, 1961) is an American dancer and choreographer. She has been actively creating dance work since the 1980s. She works with dance improvisation and creates choreography that is at times improvised or devised through ...

; in 1988 and 1989 he performed with

Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker Anne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker (, born 1960 in Mechelen, Belgium, grew up in Wemmel) is a contemporary dance choreographer. The dance company constructed around her, , was in residence at La Monnaie in Brussels from 1992 to 2007. Biography ...

'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 The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

's Next Wave Festival, the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

, the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, t ...

(

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

), the

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) 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 ...

, and

Tanz im August Tanz im August (; "Dance in August") is an annual festival for contemporary dance in Berlin. It was founded by Nele Hertling in West Berlin in 1988, and is now presented by the Hebbel am Ufer (HAU) theatre company on various stages in Berlin. ...

in Berlin.

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

White Oak Dance Project White Oak Dance Project was a dance company founded in 1990 by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Mark Morris. The company took the name of the animal preservation and land plantation owned by philanthropist and Baryshnikov friend Howard Gilman. Gilman built ...

Batsheva Dance Company The Batsheva Dance Company (Hebrew: להקת בת שבע) is a renowned dance company based in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was founded by Martha Graham and Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild in 1964. Its inception was inspired by Israel's growing intere ...

and the

Lyon Opera Ballet Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

have all commissioned work from him.About Us
John Jasperse Company official site, accessed online 21 October 2007. Among his and his company's many awards, grants, and fellowships are a

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been ...

award (1998), a

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has commi ...

Award in Performing Arts, two

Bessie Awards The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

(2001 for Jasperse, 2002 for the Company), and grants from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

(1992, 1994, 1995–96) and

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

(1988, 1994 and 2000). Jasperse received a 2003

Foundation for Contemporary Arts The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...

Grants to Artists Award. In 2011 he was named a Fellow of

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

. Jasperse's 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

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, France (since 2003). In 2008, Jasperse partnered with

Jonah Bokaer Jonah Bokaer (born October 1, 1981) is an American choreographer and media artist. He works on live performances in the United States and elsewhere, including choreography, digital media, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and social enterprise. ...

of Chez Bushwick to co-found the Center for Performance Research (CPR) in Williamsburg, New York.

Notes

References

* John Jasperse Company, ''Misuse liable to prosecution'', program for performance October 18–October 20 at

On the Boards On the Boards (OtB) is a non-profit contemporary performing arts organization in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1978. Originally located at Washington Hall in the Central District, the organization moved in 1998 to their current location in U ...

, Seattle, Washington, a co-production with the Brooklyn Academy of Music, commissioned in part by

Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (also called Pe ...

(NYC). *"John Jasperse", 187:204 in Joyce Morgenroth, ''Speaking Of Dance: Twelve Contemporary Choreographers on Their Craft'', Routledge 2004, .

External links

John Jasperse Company
official site
John Jasperse Company at On the Boards
(2007) includes audio interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Jasperse, John Living people American choreographers 1963 births Sarah Lawrence College alumni