Dana Tai Soon Burgess (born February 26, 1968) is an American choreographer and dancer. In May 2016 Burgess was named the Smithsonian's first-ever choreographer in residence at the National Portrait Gallery. His work has tended to focus on the "hyphenated person" - someone who is of mixed ethnic or cultural heritage - as well as issues of belonging and societal acceptance.Guide to the Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. and Moving Forward: Contemporary Asian American Dance Company Records, 1988-2012
Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University He serves as a cultural envoy for the U.S. State Department, an appointment he uses to promote international cultural dialogue through "the global language of dance". Throughout his career, Burgess has performed, taught, and choreographed around the world.

Early life and education

Burgess was born in California but grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the son of visual artists Joseph James Burgess Jr. and Anna Kang Burgess. He began dancing at the age of 16 after a brief childhood career as a competitive martial artist. His mother is descended from the first group of Korean immigrants to come to America. His earliest

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian American ...

ancestors are Chin Hyung Chai, who arrived in Hawaii aboard the ''Gaelic'', known as the "first ship", in 1903, and Man Soo Kang who arrived on the ship ''Manchuria'' in 1904.Duk Hee Lee Murabayashi
"Korean Passengers Arriving in Honolulu 1903-1905"
''Resources for Research on Koreans in Hawaii.'' March, 2001. They became Hawaiian plantation workers. After graduating from Santa Fe High School in 1985, Burgess attended the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

and studied dance and Asian history. Burgess graduated in 1990 and moved to Washington, D.C., where he attended the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

and completed a Masters in Fine Arts in 1994. He has trained with notable dancers, such as Tim Wengerd and Judith Bennahum. He also studied the

Michio Itō was a Japanese dancer who developed his own choreography style in Europe and America. He was the son of Kimiye Iijima and architect Tamekichi Ito who was educated at the University of Washington; he was one of nine children, and the brother of D ...

technique in Washington, D.C.

Career

Choreography & Dance Company

In 1992, Burgess established the Moving Forward: Contemporary Asian American Dance Company. This was renamed in 2005 to Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. (DTSB&Co.) and again in 2013 to Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC). It is the preeminent contemporary dance company in the Washington, D.C. area. In 2006 he retired from dancing due to a bad back. But in 2008 he returned to the stage as a stand-in for one of his dancers, which resulted in a ''Washington Post'' review by critic Sarah Kaufman called "Retired Burgess Hasn't Lost A Step" that said "Burgess has emerged as the area's leading dance artist, consistently following his own path and producing distinctive, well-considered works." The performance included the premiere of ''Hyphen'', a surrealist dance work featuring video images by

Nam June Paik Nam June Paik (; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super h ...

from the 1960s, which Burgess was granted special access to. In May, 2014 he was quoted in ''Smithsonian'' magazine as saying his artistic focus had shifted to exploring the idea of cultural "confluence"."Museums and How the Arts are Presenting Identity So That It Unites, Not Divides"
'Smithsonian Magazine.' May 29, 2015. Burgess has retired from dancing due to a back injury, but is still teaching, researching and choreographing extensively.Kaufman, Sarah

''The Washington Post.'' September 23. 2012. In May 2016 Burgess was named the Smithsonian's first-ever choreographer in residence at the National Portrait Gallery. Burgess has collaborated with renowned lighting designer

Jennifer Tipton Jennifer Tipton (born September 11, 1937) is an award winning American lighting designer. She has designed for dance, theater, and opera. She is known for working on many productions of American Ballet Theatre. Life and career Tipton was born in ...

, designer Han Feng, sculptor John Dreyfuss, artist CYJO, among others.

Touring

Burgess's dance works have been performed in numerous venues, including 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 ...

La Mama La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...

, the

United Nations headquarters zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg , im ...

, Dance Place, the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...

, the Asia Society, and the Lincoln Center Out of Doors. He spoke and presented his dance ''Dariush'' at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

at the invitation of President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

in May 2013 as part of National Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.Bird, Mary
"Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. at the White House"
''The Georgetowner'' June 5, 2013. Burgess's choreography has also been commissioned by Ballet Memphis and the Kennedy Center. His work "The Nightingale" toured to over 70 American cities. Burgess' work has focused on the immigrant experience and cultural divides, which has resulted in several of his performances being showcased on prominent State Department sponsored tours around the world. He has taught, lectured, performed and toured around the world in countries such as Surinam, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Korea, China, India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Venezuela, Germany, Latvia, Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, Peru, and Cambodia, among others.

Recent work

On August 11, 2013, Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company performed a new dance work ''Revenant Elegy'' at The National Gallery of Art, inspired by their

Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pa ...

and the Ballets Russes Exhibit, organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum of London.National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
"Exhibition Calendar: Dance Performance"
August 2013. This was followed by a residency at the National Portrait Gallery, where Burgess created a dance work called ''Homage'' inspired by the museum's "Dancing the Dream" exhibition. Both ''Revenant Elegy'' and ''Homage'' were performed at the

in February, 2014. He was the first Smithsonian choreographer-in-residence at the National Portrait Gallery from 2013-2014. In April 2014, Burgess premiered the new work ''Confluence'' there to critical acclaim. Burgess and his dancers were featured as part of the museum's “Dancing the Dream” exhibition, where his portrait hung alongside modern-dance pioneers including

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in ...

and Martha Graham, and contemporary 'masters'

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

and Mark Morris. Audiences and museum tourists were able to observe the "living exhibit" of Burgess choreographing and rehearsing with his dancers from August, 2013 through July, 2014. Burgess' portrait was previously featured at the National Portrait Gallery in the KYOPO exhibit, a work by artist CYJO in 2011.Trescott, Jacqueline
"'What is an Asian American?' at the National Portrait Gallery"
''The Washington Post.'' August 11, 2011. Burgess's 2008 surrealist work "Hyphen" was re-staged to be included alongside an orchestral multimedia performance called "KYOPO: Multiplicity" by CYJO in the museum's Kogod Courtyard in 2012. In May 2014 he told ''Smithsonian'' magazine that his work ''Confluence'', created as part of DTSBDC's residency at National Portrait Gallery, explored “an underlying inter-connectedness" of all people. When asked if this work was "influenced by America’s increasingly diverse population", he said, “Yes, I think the cultural terrain is changing as is my company’s focus. Somehow I feel that my aesthetic is embracing a much larger vision of humanity’s shared emotional journey.” In November 2014 the

Korean Cultural Center Korean Cultural Centers (Korean: 한국문화원, Hanja: 韓國文化院) are non-profit institutions aligned with the Government of South Korea that aim to promote Korean culture and facilitate cultural exchanges. History Starting from 2009, th ...

of Washington, DC presented an exhibition called "Ancestry, Artistry, Choreography" about Burgess, his immigrant ancestors, and his dance company that "document dhis multicultural background and its influence on his ballet-meets-contemporary work".Sabin, Brooke
"D.C.'s 'Little Dancer' Goes Big Time"
''Where Magazine''. October 24, 2014. The exhibition featured family photographs and artifacts, including his grandfather's 1903 passport, as well as 22 large photographs, costumes, props and video from the dance company's 22-year history.Korean Cultural Center
"Ancestry, Artistry, Choreography: Exhibition Opening Reception and Performance"
November 2014. Burgess premiered ''Picasso Dances'', a work inspired by four

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

paintings at the

Kreeger Museum The Kreeger Museum is a modern and contemporary non-profit art museum located in Washington D.C. It is located in the former home of David Lloyd Kreeger and Carmen Kreeger and it contains the art collection they acquired from 1952 to 1988. Arch ...

, in March 2015 to critical acclaim. The piece was a result of a 3-month residency at the museum.Wren, Celia
"From canvas to stage"
''The Washington Post.'' March 27, 2015. In September 2015 he premiered "We choose to go to the moon", a dance created in partnership with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

and inspired by John F. Kennedy's 1962 speech of the same name, the

space race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the t ...

, and "humanity's shared relationship with the cosmos", at the

. The tech-heavy and multimedia performance included interviews conducted by Burgess with astronauts (including

Bruce McCandless Bruce McCandless I (August 12, 1911 – January 24, 1968) was an officer of United States Navy who received the Medal of Honor during World War II for his heroism on board , during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13, 1942. He retired ...

), space scientists and experts, and a New Mexican medicine woman. The work received favorable reviews and significant press attention. In May 2016 Burgess was named the Smithsonian's first-ever choreographer in residence at the National Portrait Gallery. Starting in 2021, Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company launched a short dance film series, with each video honoring social justice icons, including

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United ...

, William A. Campbell,

Charlayne Hunter-Gault Charlayne Hunter-Gault (born February 27, 1942) is an American civil rights activist, journalist and former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, CNN, and the Public Broadcasting Service. Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes were the ...

J. Rosamond Johnson John Rosamond Johnson (August 11, 1873 – November 11, 1954; usually referred to as J. Rosamond Johnson) was an American composer and singer during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, he had much of his career in New York C ...

, Earl Warren, Cesar Chavez and

Dolores Huerta Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Cesar Chavez, is a co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organiz ...

, and

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

. Burgess launched ''Slant Podcast'', "a discussion series with Asian-American luminaries from the arts, academia, journalism, and other sectors about identity, belonging, and creating in America" in June of 2021. Tony-winning playwright

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yell ...

was the first guest.

Youth programs

At the time he founded his dance company, Burgess also established the Moving Forward: Asian American Youth Program, which was a summer program for Asian American youth. The program still operates under the name DTSB Asian American Youth Program, and is a year-round mentoring program for high school students. Feeling "caught between different cultural worlds" as a child, Burgess has said he created the program as a way for young people to explore identity, artistic self-expression, and their Asian American heritage. DanaBurgessNationalMall

Teaching

Burgess has taught at the

Kirov Academy of Ballet The Kirov Academy of Ballet (formerly the Universal Ballet Academy) was a ballet school in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1989. It closed in May 2022 due to financial issues. Facilities The Kirov is located on a 1.2 acre campus in northeas ...

and the

Washington Ballet The Washington Ballet (TWB) is an ensemble of professional ballet dancers based in Washington DC. It was founded in 1976 by Mary Day, and has been under the artistic directorship of Julie Kent since 2016. Septime Webre was artistic director fo ...

in Washington, D.C., the

Hamburg Ballet The Hamburg Ballet is a ballet company based in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1973, it has been directed by the American dancer and choreographer John Neumeier. In addition there is a ballet school, , established in 1978. The performances of the Hamb ...

in Germany, the National Ballet of Peru, San Marcos University in Peru,

Sejong University Sejong University (SJU; ) is a private university located in Seoul, South Korea known for its standing in hospitality and tourism management, dancing, animation and rhythmic gymnastics. Founded as the Kyung Sung Humanities Institute, it was rename ...

in Korea, as well as in China, Mongolia, India, Jordan, and the British Virgin Islands, among others. Burgess' teaching career has also included George Mason University, Georgetown University, the University of Maryland and George Washington University. At 26 Burgess became Director of Georgetown University's dance program in 1994. He began teaching at George Washington University in 2000, where he is currently Professor of Dance.Theatre & Dance Faculty
"Dana Tai Soon Burgess". Department of Theatre & Dance"
August 24, 2017. Burgess designed and oversaw the implementation of a new, global distance and onsite learning MFA program for dance at the George Washington University in 2011. He chaired George Washington University's Department of Theatre and Dance from 2009 to 2017.Media Relations
"GW Names Award-Winning Artist Dana Tai Soon Burgess as Chair of Department of Theatre and Dance"
Office of Media Relations" July 10, 2009. He has served on the board of Asian American Arts and Media and was a commissioner for the Commission for the Arts and Humanities for the District of Columbia and as a commissioner for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Affairs for Washington, DC.Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Affairs
"Mayor swears in new commissioners"
Government of the District of Columbia, February 11, 2013.

Awards and recognitions

In 1994 he received the award for Outstanding Emerging Artist at the 12th Annual Mayor Arts Award Ceremony. His dance company was awarded the Mayor's Arts Award for Excellence in 2005.Gilbert, Sophie
"Dana Tai Soon Burgess on 20 Years of Dance"
''Washingtonian Magazine''. September 17, 2012. He has completed two senior Fulbrights in dance and won seven Metro D.C. Dance Awards as well as the Pola Nirenska Award. He has been honored by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

and was a prominent feature in the Smithsonian exhibition "A Korean American Century" as part of the Korean American Centennial Celebration in 2003.Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program
"Korean American Centennial Celebration"
The George Washington University. February 4, 2003. Stacy Taus-Bolstad mentioned Burgess and some of his career highlights in her 2005 book ''Koreans in America'' alongside comedian

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

under "Famous Korean Americans".Taus-Bolstad, Stacy. ''Koreans in America''. Lerner Pub Group. March 2005. In 2009 Burgess was featured in advertisements for the "New 202" campaign produced by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities to highlight art and culture in the nation's capital.D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities
"The New 202"
''Art 202 Blog.'' August 17, 2010. He has been referred to as the "poet laureate of Washington dance".Kaufman, Sarah

''The Washington Post.'' October 25, 2010. In 2012 he was described as "not only a Washington prize, but a national dance treasure" by Pulitzer Prize winner Sarah Kaufman. Since 2013, Burgess has been the first choreographer-in-residence at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. March 18, 2017 was declared Dana Tai Soon Burgess Day in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A short documentary about Burgess and the dance company, with funding from the Humanities Council DC, called "Passages from the Journey", was premiered online in December 2020. In February, 2021 he received the Aaron Stein Memorial Fund Award from the

American Group Psychotherapy Association The American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) is a not-for-profit multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to enhancing the practice, theory and research of group psychotherapy. Membership American Group Psychotherapy Association is a nati ...

. Burgess was the 2021 recipient of the

Selma Jeanne Cohen Selma Jeanne Cohen (September 18, 1920December 23, 2005) was a historian, teacher, author, and editor who devoted her career to advocating dance as an art worthy of the same scholarly respect traditionally awarded to painting, music, and literatur ...

Dance Lecture

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

, presented by the Fulbright Association.

Personal life

In 2011, "The Reliable Source" reported that Burgess became engaged to yoga teacher and playwright Jameson Freeman while touring the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.The Reliable Source
"Love, etc."
''The Washington Post''. August 10, 2011. The couple married in Santa Fe, New Mexico in September 2015. Freeman won the Democratic primary for the 86th district of the West Virginia House of Delegates in May, 2022. He lost in the general election to the Republican incumbent.

References

External links

*
Guide to the Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. and Moving Forward: Contemporary Asian American Dance Company Records, 1988-2012, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University
Interviews:
Passages from the Journey, a short documentary about Burgess and DTSBDCFox 5 MorningCHOREOGRAPHY COMES TO SMITHSONIAN: DANA TAI SOON BURGESS DANCE COMPANY TO INTERPRET PORTRAIT GALLERY’S “THE FACE OF BATTLE"BBC News: Nasa has collaborated with one of America's leading choreographers to create a modern dance about space explorationNational Portrait Gallery: Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Smithsonian's First Choreographer-in-residenceARIRANG TV: The INNERview with Dana Tai Soon Burgess

National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works Podcast: Dana Tai Soon Burgess, dancer and choreographerDana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company at National Portrait GalleryBurgess: Art vs. EntertainmentDana Tai Soon Burgess and Company: Dancing Through the Asian American Experience (Interview)Dana in his kitchen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Dana Tai Soon Living people Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico American male dancers American choreographers American people of Korean descent 1968 births People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Columbian College of Arts and Sciences faculty Fulbright alumni