Tere O'Connor (born 1958) is an American dancer,

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 educator.

Life and career

Tere O'Connor was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, and graduated in 1979 with a B.A. from

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 ...

. He performed in the companies of

Rosalind Newman Rosalind Newman (born November 12, 1946) is an internationally acclaimed choreographer who has created a body of over 70 works. Career Newman's original New York City company, Rosalind Newman and Dancers, had major seasons in New York at the Joyc ...

and

Matthew Diamond Matthew Diamond (born November 26, 1951) is an American film and television director, producer and choreographer best known for directing '' Dancemaker''. Life and career Matthew Diamond was born in New York City, the son of Irwin and Pearl (n� ...

, and began working as a choreographer in 1982. He regularly collaborates with composer

James Baker James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...

in works for the Tere O'Connor Dance company. O'Connor's works have been performed internationally. Notable dancers and choreographers including

Lucy Guerin Lucy Mary Guerin (born 1961) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. Her work is described as post-modern. Life and career Lucy Guerin was born in Adelaide, Australia, and began her dance education at local dance schools. She graduated fro ...

have danced with his company. From 1990-99, O'Connor was an instructor in Dance at Tisch School of the Arts,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, and he became a professor at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

in Urbana-Champaign. He also teaches at Movement Research in New York City. Since 1989 he has been a member of the Artists Advisory Board of

Danspace Project Danspace Project is a performance venue for contemporary dance. Its performances are held in St. Mark's Church in the East Village area of the Manhattan borough of New York City. History Founded in 1974 by Barbara Dilley, Mary Overlie, and Larr ...

at St. Mark’s Church in New York City.

Honors and awards

*2009

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 *2006 New York Foundation for the Arts BUILD Grant *2003, 2005, and 2006

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

Multi Arts Production Grant *2005 New York Dance and Performance Award *2001

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 Awardhttp://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/grant_recipients/tereoconnor.html *

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 ...

Fellowships in Choreography *New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships in Choreography *1999 New York Dance and Performance Award *1993 Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship *1988 New York Dance and Performance Award

Works

Selected works include: *2001 ''Choke'' *1999 ''Hi Everybody!'' *1998 ''The World Is a Missing Girl'' *1998 ''House'' *1996 ''Mother'' *1995 ''Greta in the Ditch'' *1994 ''The Death of Generous Henry'' *1988 ''Heaven up North''

References

External links

Official site

Tere O'Connor Dance RAMMED EARTH (excerpts)

Archival footage of Tere O'Connor Dance performing O'Connor's ''Cover Boy'' in 2013 at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Tere 1958 births Living people Modern dancers Contemporary dance choreographers Dance in New York City State University of New York at Purchase alumni National Endowment for the Arts Fellows Tisch School of the Arts faculty University of Illinois faculty Bessie Award winners American choreographers Artists from Rochester, New York