Sir Robert Paul Cohan (26 March 1925 – 13 January 2021) was a British dancer, choreographer, and the founding artistic director of The Place,

London Contemporary Dance School London Contemporary Dance School (informally LCDS) is a contemporary dance school located in London, England and a part of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. It was founded by Robin Howard in 1966 to train new dancers for his company, Londo ...

, and London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT), which he directed for 20 years. Cohan also worked with the Yorke Dance Project and the Batsheva Dance Company in Israel.

Life and career

Robert Cohan was born in New York City to a Jewish family. His family has said that while he was born late on 26 March 1925, his birth certificate inaccurately listed him as being born on 27 March, and he celebrated his birthday across both days. Cohan served in the US Navy in World War II, and while on leave he saw a performance of Robert Helpmann's Miracle in the Gorbals by Sadler's Wells Ballet in London in 1944. Cohan joined

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 ...

's company (the Martha Graham Dance Company) in 1946, becoming one of her regular partners on stage and later a teacher in her dance school. He left in 1957 but came back in 1962, rising to co-director in 1966. He left in 1969 to launch the

London Contemporary Dance Group The London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT) was a contemporary dance company, based at The Place, founded by Robin Howard with Robert Cohan as its Artistic Director. Founded in 1967, and strongly influenced by the ideas of American modern and post ...

, based at the

Adeline Genée Theatre Adeline may refer to: People * Adeline (given name) * Yves-Marie Adeline (born 1960), French Catholic writer Places * Adeline, Illinois, village in Maryland Township, Ogle County, Illinois, US Arts and entertainment * Adeline Records, recording ...

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

, having already launched The Place in London in 1967. In 1989 Cohan retired, though he did work intermittently. Cohan lived in France. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

2019 Birthday Honours The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...

for services to dance. Cohan died in London on 13 January 2021, at age 95.

Publications

* ''The Dance Workshop'', Gaia Books Ltd, 1989,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohan, Robert 1925 births 2021 deaths American Jews American choreographers American emigrants to England American emigrants to France American male ballet dancers Artists from Brooklyn British choreographers British emigrants to France British male ballet dancers British people of American-Jewish descent Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Dancers from New York (state) Knights Bachelor Laurence Olivier Award winners Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom

Life and career

Publications

References

Further reading

External links