Terese Capucilli is an American

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

r, interpreter of the roles originally performed by

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 ...

. She is one of the last generation of dancers to be coached and directed by Graham herself. A principal dancer with the

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's ...

for twenty-six years, she became associate artistic director in 1997 and from 2002 to 2005 served as artistic director, with

Christine Dakin Christine Dakin (born August 25, 1949, New Haven) is an American dancer, teacher and director, a foremost exponent of the Martha Graham repertory and technique. Performances Dakin is known for her performances of Ms. Graham's roles and for thos ...

, seeing the organization and its dancers through the rebirth of the company. A driving force of Graham's work for nearly three decades, she is now Artistic Director Laureate.

Early years

Born in Syracuse, New York, the middle child in a family of seven children, Capucilli received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It was fo ...

where she studied with such prominent teachers as Kazuko Hirabayashi, Carol Fried, Mel Wong, Jim May, Aaron Osborne, Bill Bales, Rosanna Seravalli, Anne Parsons and Royes Fernandez. There she had the opportunity to delve into the work of choreographers,

Anna Sokolow Anna Sokolow (February 9, 1910, Hartford, Connecticut – March 29, 2000, Manhattan, New York City) was an American dancer and choreographer known for the social justice focus and theatricality of her work, and for her support of the developm ...

, Mel Wong, Kazuko Hirabayashi,

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

and

Doris Humphrey Doris Batcheller Humphrey (October 17, 1895 – December 29, 1958) was an American dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Along with her contemporaries Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham, Humphrey was one of the second gen ...

. In 1978, upon graduation, she was offered a scholarship at the

Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance is located in New York City and is the headquarters to the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and the Martha Graham Dance Company, which is the oldest continually performing dance company in the ...

and asked to join the

in March 1979. That same year she was one of four performers chosen to dance in honor of

in the CBS-TV presentation of the

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...

. The following year, in the featured role of Young Clytemnestra she was partnered by

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

House in New York City.

Career

In the years to follow, Capucilli became a prominent figure on the Graham stage, touring the world and performing in all of Graham's major work. Dancing a diversity of roles, they include Jocasta in ''

Night Journey The Israʾ and Miʿraj ( ar, الإسراء والمعراج, ') are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632) took during a single night around the year 621 (1 BH – 0 BH). With ...

'', The Bride in ''

Appalachian Spring ''Appalachian Spring'' is a musical composition by Aaron Copland that was premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite. The music, scored for a thirteen-member chamber orchestra, was created upon c ...

'', The Principal Sister in '' Deaths and Entrances'', She Who Dances in ''Letter to the World'' (with

Kathleen Turner Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards. Turner became widely k ...

as She Who Speaks), Hecuba in ''Cortege of Eagles'', Joan in ''Seraphic Dialogue'', Mary Queen of Scots in ''Episodes'', She Who Seeks in ''Dark Meadow'', Medea in ''

Cave of the Heart ''Cave of the Heart'' is a one-act ballet choreographed by Martha Graham to music (''Medea'' suite) by Samuel Barber.Martha Graham Dance Company Repertory http://marthagraham.org/press-presenters2/repertory It was first performed on May 10, 1946, w ...

'', Empress of the Arena in ''

Every Soul is a Circus ''Every Soul Is a Circus'' is a comedic ballet choreographed by Martha Graham. The dance premiered on December 27, 1939, at the St. James Theatre in New York City. The original score was composed by Paul Nordoff. Philip Stapp created the set. Edyt ...

'', The Virgin in ''

Primitive Mysteries ''Primitive Mysteries'' is a modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Louis Horst. Graham also designed the original costumes. The piece premiered on February 2, 1931 at the Craig Theatre in New York City. From the first perfo ...

'', The Woman in '' Errand into the Maze'', the title roles in ''Hérodiade'', ''Phaedra'', ''

Heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

,'' and ''Judith'' and Graham's classic solo, ''

Lamentation A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...

'', among others. Roles created for Capucilli include The Chosen One in ''The Rite of Spring'', Crescent Moon in ''Temptations of the Moon'' and the lead role in Graham's final ballet ''

Maple Leaf Rag The "Maple Leaf Rag" (copyright registered on September 18, 1899) is an early ragtime musical composition for piano composed by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, and became the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent compos ...

''. Graham's 1937 solo, '' Deep Song'', was reconstructed for her in 1988 and in the years to follow, Capucilli continued to be instrumental in the research and reconstruction of many early Graham solos, bringing to the stage ''

Salem Shore ''Salem Shore'' is a solo modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham to original music by Paul Nordoff. The piece premiered on December 26, 1943 at the 46th Street Theater in New York City. The ballet featured costumes by Edythe Gilfond and a ...

'', (performed with, and narrated by

Claire Bloom Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', and has starred in nearly sixty film ...

) and not seen since 1947, and "Spectre-1914", from the 1936 work ''Chronicle'', last performed by Martha Graham in 1938. She assisted Sophie Maslow in the reconstruction of its final section, "Prelude to Action", becoming historically the first dancer after Martha Graham to perform this work as well as '' Deep Song'' and "Spectre-1914". Lecturing often on the nature of the reconstructive process, she has since developed lectures delving deeply into the journey of the interpretive artist. On film, she danced ''Errand into the Maze'' in ''An Evening of Dance and Conversation with Martha Graham'' for WNET and for Tokyo's NHK, where she also filmed the "Lament" from ''Acts of Light''. At the Paris Opera, she filmed ''

''. In works choreographed for the Graham Company, roles were created for her by Twyla Tharp (''Demeter and Persephone''), Robert Wilson (''Snow on the Mesa''), and Lucinda Childs (''Histoire''). Capucilli appeared in historic performances in 1987 of ''

'' dancing the role of The Bride to

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 ...

's Husbandman and

's Preacher and was invited in 1988 to perform ''Errand into the Maze'' at the Soviet-American Making Music Together festival in Boston. She was partnered again by Baryshnikov in Graham's ''

'' (at the 1989 ABT/Graham Gala at the MET) and in 1991, ''

El Penitente ''El Penitente'' is a modern dance work by Martha Graham performed to music by Louis Horst. It premiered on August 11, 1940, at the Bennington College Theater, Bennington, Vermont, with costumes by Edythe Gilfond and a set by Arch Lauterer. Isamu ...

'' at

City Center A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

. subsequently touring the work with Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project in Paris and London. Capucilli was invited by

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...

to perform in UNICEF's The Return festival in art-starved

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

, Kosovo, in 1999. Capucilli is an associate founder and dancer of Buglisi Dance Theatre (formerly Buglisi/Foreman Dance) a company formed with colleagues Jacqulyn Buglisi, Donlin Foreman and

. Since 1991, she has collaborated in numerous works choreographed for her including ''Runes of the Heart'', ''Threshold'', ''Field of Loves'', ''Suspended Woman'', ''Requiem'', ''Frida'', and the solo, ''Against All Odd'', an 11-minute tour de force on

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

. Appearances have included 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

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

; San Marino Stage, Italy;

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

; the

Jacob's Pillow Jacob's Pillow is a dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The organization is known for a Summer dance festival. The facility also includes a professional school and extensive archives a ...

Festival; Teatro Nuovo in

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

with

Carla Fracci Carolina "Carla" Fracci (; 20 August 1936 – 27 May 2021) was an Italian ballet dancer, actress and ballet director. Considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century, she was a leading dancer of La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan, th ...

's Italian Ballet; Prague's International Dance Week '93; Kaatsbaan; seven guest appearances at the

Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, New York, northwest of Jamestown in the Western Southern Tier of New York State. Established in 1874, the ...

; Oriente-Occidente Festival 2009 in

Rovereto, Italy Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River. History Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier b ...

, and residences throughout the world. She appears in eleven BDT works commissioned for filming by the

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

. Capucilli serves on the faculty of 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 ...

and in 2008 she staged and directed Martha Graham's ''

'' for the department's annual Spring Dances. Ten years prior, Capucilli had set and coached the

Colorado Ballet Colorado Ballet encompasses a 31-member professional performing ballet company, a studio company for advanced dance students, an Academy, and an education and outreach department. Based in downtown Denver, Colorado, Colorado Ballet serves more tha ...

in Graham's ''

'', which marked the first time in history that this classic work was performed by any company other than

's. Highly sought after as a teacher and lecturer, Capucilli recently collaborated in launching danz.fest, the first international summer school/dance festival in Cattolica, Italy, now in its third year. The program brings together for the first time the classical ballet of the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

, the technique of

and Butoh dance philosophy taught by the masters of their art to young dancers through the professional level. She is featured in photographs by Lisa Levart and

Martha Swope Martha Joan Swope (February 22, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American photographer of theatre and dance. Early life and education Born in Tyler, Texas, she studied at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, before becoming a student at the Schoo ...

in Donlin Foreman's book ''Out of Martha's House''. In 1999 she was invited by

Susan Sontag Susan Sontag (; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, philosopher, and political activist. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she published her first major work, the essay "Notes on 'Camp'", in 1964. Her ...

and

Annie Leibovitz Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...

to be photographed for Leibovitz's book ''Women'' and for her Pirelli Calendar series. Capucilli is a recipient of a 1985/86 dance fellowship from the

Princess Grace Foundation-USA The Princess Grace Foundation – USA is a charity organization named after Princess Grace of Monaco, which supports emerging performers in theater, dance, and film in the form of awards, grants, scholarships, and fellowships. The Foundation ho ...

and the following year was awarded the Princess Grace Statuette. In 2001 Capucilli was honored with the

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' ...

Award and, in 2010, with the Presidential Distinguished Alumni Award from

Purchase College Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly between ...

. Capucilli received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fini International Dance Festival in 2016. A Special Projects Grant from the Princess Grace Foundation—USA was awarded to Capucilli in 2014 in support of her film, ''Lawrence 'Reed' Hansen: The Sacrosanct Accompanist—a musical journey through Martha Graham's dance technique''. Produced, directed and co-edited by Capucilli it was filmed at

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 elit ...

and The

Martha Graham School Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance is located in New York City and is the headquarters to the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and the Martha Graham Dance Company, which is the oldest continually performing dance company in the ...

in NYC documenting Hansen's vast knowledge of

's physical language. The only film of its kind, it takes the viewer into the spontaneous triangular energy of teacher, dancer and accompanist in the dance classroom and is filmed, uncommonly, from the accompanist point of view. It is a portrait of the artist as well as an educational tool taking the viewer through Graham's floor work, which is so vital to the technique.

awarded her The John Erskine Faculty Prize 2017 for her work to archive the film and its raw materials.

References

External links

An interview with Terese Capucilli
by Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower, May 5, 2004
Dance magazine interview
by Emily Macel, July 2009
Press release
"Actor Philip Bosco Awarded Honorary Degree at Purchase College's 38th Commencement Ceremony – Distinguished Alumni Awards Michael Powell, journalist; Terese Capucilli, dancer", May 14, 2010
The Juilliard School Dance Faculty official website
Terese Capucilli.
Official website
Buglisi Dance Theatre.
Trailer:Lawrence 'Reed' Hansen: The Sacrosanct Accompanist—a musical journey through Martha Graham's dance technique
Trailer 2018 Lawrence 'Reed' Hansen: The Sacrosanct Accompanist {{DEFAULTSORT:Capucilli, Terese Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Modern dancers Martha Graham