Larry Keigwin 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 the
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 ...
of
KEIGWIN + COMPANY.
Life and career
Keigwin was raised in
Wading River on Long Island with three brothers, one of them his twin. Though his brothers were “very jocky,” he chose instead to pursue gymnastics, join a circus training program, and perform in school musicals. Keigwin auditioned for and performed in a number of “Club MTV” episodes before attending
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
to study dance.
Following graduation in 1994,
he danced with artists including Penny Arcade, Robin Becker, David Roussève, Varla Jean Merman
Zvi Gotheiner John Jasperse
John R. Jasperse (born October 8, 1963) orgenroth 2004 p.187 is an American choreographer and dancer. Since 1990 he has been artistic director and choreographer of the New York City-based John Jasperse Company.John Jasperse performer biography in ...
,
Jane Comfort
Jane Comfort of Oak Ridge, Tennessee is an American choreographer, director, and dancer. She is the founder and artistic director of Jane Comfort and Company based in New York, NY.
Biography
Jane Comfort earned a B.A. in Painting from the Univ ...
,
Julie Taymor
Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...
,
Doug Elkins,
Doug Varone
Doug Varone is an American choreographer and director. He works in dance, theater, opera, film and fashion. He is an educator and advocate for dance. His company, Doug Varone and Dancers, has been performing for over three decades.
Education
Var ...
, and
Mark Dendy
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fin ...
.
It was this last artist, Dendy, who invited Keigwin to choreograph and perform a solo (what eventually became “Mattress Suite”) as part of Dendy's own program at the
Joyce Theater
The Joyce Theater (“The Joyce") is a 472-seat dance performance venue located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The building opened in 1941 as the Elgin Theater, a movie house, and was gut-renovated and reconfigured in 1981-82 to re ...
. This opportunity launched Keigwin's career as a contemporary dance choreographer.
Larry Keigwin's work has been commissioned by Works & Process at the
Guggenheim, The
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
, The
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
's Choreographic Institute, and The
Martha Graham
Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide.
Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...
Dance Company. He was the
Vail International Dance Festival
Damian Woetzel (born May 17, 1967) is an American choreographer.
Woetzel was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, where he performed from 1985 until 2008. He also frequently performed with companies like the Kirov Ballet and Americ ...
’s first artist in residence in 2010. He also staged the opening event of the 2010
Fashion Week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashion ...
, choreographed the musical Tales of the city and the off-Broadway production of
RENT
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
, worked with the pop band
Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner were an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in Chicago after meeting in school. The name is a combination of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner.
Career
Originally a duo formed by classi ...
, and held the role of associate choreographer for both The
Radio City Rockettes
The Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since , performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Rad ...
and the Off-Broadway musical The Wild Party. Keigwin has also created Keigwin Kabaret, a fusion of modern dance, vaudeville, and burlesque presented by the Public Theater at
Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...
and 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 ...
. He is a co-founder of the Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, a multi-disciplinary festival designed to increase cultural opportunities in the region, as well as provide creative residencies to young, emerging choreographers.
Keigwin + Company
Since K+C's premiere performance at
Joyce Soho
The Joyce Theater (“The Joyce") is a 472-seat dance performance venue located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The building opened in 1941 as the Elgin Theater, a movie house, and was gut-renovated and reconfigured in 1981-82 to re ...
, Keigwin has created 16 dances, including the large-scale choreographic event Bolero and recent works such as Runaway (2008), the site-specific Sidewalk (2009) and Bird Watching (2010).
Over the past eight years, K+C has presented performances throughout
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 ...
and nationwide at venues including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Summerdance Santa Barbara, New York City Center, The
Joyce Theater
The Joyce Theater (“The Joyce") is a 472-seat dance performance venue located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The building opened in 1941 as the Elgin Theater, a movie house, and was gut-renovated and reconfigured in 1981-82 to re ...
, the
American Dance Festival
The American Dance Festival (ADF) under the direction of Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter hosts its main summer dance courses including Summer Dance Intensive, Pre-Professional Dance Intensive, and the Dance Professional Workshops. It also hos ...
,
Bates Dance Festival
Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...
, and more.
Repertory
*Urban Birds (2002)
*Female Portraits (2002)
*Mattress Suite (2003)
*Angels of Anxiety (2004)
*Natural Selection (2004)
*Love Songs (2006)
*Caffeinated (2007)
*Elements (2008)
*Runaway (2008)
*Megalopolis (2009)
*Sidewalk (2009)
*Triptych (2009)
*Bird Watching (2010)
*Exit (2011)
*Trio (2011)
*Contact Sport (2012)
*12 Chairs (2012)
Reception
Keigwin's style, which toes the line between art and pop culture, has met with both positive and negative reviews.
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
journalist Roslyn Sulcas calls Keigwin's work “witty, kinetic and musically responsive, mixing the stretched lines of ballet with the more weighted, blunt quality of contemporary dance, often integrating everyday gestures and pop-culture references.”
The New York Press describes Keigwin's work as “witty, sexy, fashion-conscious and full of attitude while also being haunting.”
New York Times dance critic Gia Kourlas noted that Keigwin, in his massive community piece Bolero, “made a dance about a community add up to more than a community dance.”
New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay writes that Keigwin “has it in him to be an artist of rewarding originality...Most of the evening, however, suggests he finds it convenient to make choreography that is at best cute.”
Keigwin was named one of
"25 to Watch" in 2004 by ''
Dance Magazine
''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including ''Pointe' ...
''.
Awards
Larry Keigwin was one of the 2011 Society of Directors and Choreographers' Joe A. Callaway Award Recipients, which "recognizes excellence in the craft of directing and choreography during the New York City theatre season."
He was awarded the
American Dance Festival
The American Dance Festival (ADF) under the direction of Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter hosts its main summer dance courses including Summer Dance Intensive, Pre-Professional Dance Intensive, and the Dance Professional Workshops. It also hos ...
's Doris Duke Award for New Work in 2004, 2006, 2008.
In 1999, he received a Bessie Award for his performance in Dream Analysis by Mark Dendy.
References
External links
KEIGWIN+COMPANY Official WebsiteArchive footage of K+C performing Love Songs in 2011 at Jacob’s Pillow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keigwin, Larry
American choreographers
Hofstra University alumni
1972 births
Living people
People from Wading River, New York