Moses Pendleton (born March 28, 1949) is a choreographer, dancer and the artistic director of

MOMIX MOMIX is a dance company based in Washington, Connecticut, founded in 1981 by choreographer Moses Pendleton. MOMIX developed out of work Pendleton did for a celebration of Erik Satie at the Paris Opera in 1978. The company is named after a sol ...

. MOMIX is a dance company that he formed in 1981 as an offshoot of the

Pilobolus ''Pilobolus'' is a genus of fungi that commonly grows on herbivore dung. Life cycle The life cycle of ''Pilobolus'' begins with a black sporangium that has been discharged onto a plant substrate such as grass. A herbivorous animal such as a h ...

, which he had co-founded while a senior at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1971. He remained a full-time member with the company until 1980. He choreographs dance sculptures that bring together acrobatics, gymnastics, mime, props, and film.

Early years

Born and raised on a dairy farm in

Lyndonville, Vermont Lyndonville is a village in the town of Lyndon, in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. Lyndonville's population was 1,136 at the 2020 census. It is the closest community to the Lyndon campus of Northern Vermont University. History In 1883 ...

. Pendleton exhibited

Holstein Friesian Holstein Friesians (often shortened to Holsteins in North America, while the term Friesians is often used in the UK and Ireland) are a breed of dairy cattle that originated in the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and Schleswig-Hols ...

s at the Caledonia County Fair. He attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1971 with a BA in English Literature. In that same year he co-founded Pilobolus, which won acclaim for its blend of acrobatics, body sculpture, and humor.

Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (, , ), born Pietro Costante Cardino (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shap ...

presented the group on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1977. Pendleton left the company to start MOMIX four years later.

MOMIX

Pendleton performed a solo dance called "MOMIX" with Pilobolus at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

at Lake Placid. The following year MOMIX became the name of the company he founded with Alison Becker Chase. Over the past 40 years MOMIX repertoire has included full-evening works such as Passion, with a score by

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

; In Orbit; Baseball; Opus Cactus; Lunar Sea; MOMIX: Remix; Botanica; Alchemy and the company's latest creation, Alice.

Inspiration and ideology

Pendleton takes much of his inspiration for his work from the natural world, plants, animals and minerals. On stage, portrays resemble sunflowers and marigolds. Pendleton states, "we're less of a dance company than a physical, visual theater, using props and costumes to create fascinating pictures."

Choreography and performance

Pendleton has been active as a choreographer and a performer for other companies. * 1979 - choreographed and performed in the "Integrale Erik Satie" staged by the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...

, including a revival of the 1924 Dadaist ballet " Relache." *1980 - choreographed the Closing Ceremonies for the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. *1980 - remounts "Relache" for the Joffrey Ballet in New York *1982 - creates the role of the Fool for Yuri Lyubimov's production of

Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

's "

Khovanshchina ''Khovanshchina'' ( rus, Хованщина, , xɐˈvanʲɕːɪnə, Ru-Khovanshchina_version.ogg, sometimes rendered ''The Khovansky Affair'') is an opera (subtitled a 'national music drama') in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was writte ...

" at Milan's

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

*1982 - stages and performs in the Deutsche Opera's production of "Tutuguri", based on the writings of Antonin Artaud, in Berlin. *1985 - choreographs

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

's "Pulcinella" for the Ballet de Nancy *1987 - choreographs Rameau's "Platee" for the

Spoleto Festival USA Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of America's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due ...

*1988 - supplies choreographic "mise-en-scene" for a revival of Cocteau's "Les Maries de la Tour Eiffel" for the inauguration of the Florence Gould Hall at the Alliance Francaise in New York *1989 - choreographs "AccorDION" for the Vorbuhne-Zurich Theatre *1991 - "Passion" with MOMIX *1993 - contributes the choreography for Lina Wertmüller's production of "Carmen" with the Munich State Opera *1994 - "Baseball" with MOMIX *1997 - "Sputnik" with MOMIX *2000 - choreographs (with Danny Ezralow and David Parsons) "Aeros" with the Romanian Olympic gymnastics team *2002 - "Opus Cactus" with MOMIX *2004 - choreographs 12 weeks of Italian RAI-TV’s number-one-rated live variety show, Fiorello *2005 - "Lunar Sea" with MOMIX *2008 - choreographs "Picarte" for

Diana Vishneva Diana Viktorovna Vishneva (''also trans.'' Vishnyova; russian: Диана Викторовна Вишнёва; born 13 July 1976) is a Russian ballet dancer who performs as a principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet (formerly the Kirov Bal ...

of the

Kirov Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

*2008 - "F.L.O.W." for Diana Vishneva *2008 - Choreographs for Mercedes Benz at Frankfurt Auto Show *2009 - "Botanica" with MOMIX *2013 - "Alchemy" with MOMIX *2013 - Choreographs "Doves of Peace" for Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremony *2015 - "Viva Momix Forever" with MOMIX in honor of 35th Anniversary Season *2015 - Choreographs for Dubai National Day *2018 - Choreographs for Pirelli Calendar Event in NYC *2019 - "Alice" with MOMIX *2020 - "MOMIX 40" Celebration of 40th Anniversary

Film and television

*1970s - participation in several "Dance in America" and "Great Performances" PBS specials with Pilobolus *1970s - appearances on " To Tell the Truth," "

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

," and "

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

" *1982 - "Moses Pendleton Presents Moses Pendleton" for ABC Arts, winner of a

CINE Ciné film or cine film is the term commonly used in the UK and historically in the US to refer to the 8 mm, Super 8, 9.5 mm, and 16 mm motion picture film formats used for home movies. It is not normally used to refer ...

Golden Eagle award *1984 - Julian Lennon's "Too Late for Goodbyes" directed by

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic ''The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institute ...

*1989 - choreography for Prince's "Batdance" music video for the movie "

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

" *1991 - choreography appears in the film "FXII" *1991 - co-stars with Charles Dutoit in the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

winning Rhombus Media film of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" with the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orch ...

. *1990s - choreographs rock videos for the bands White Lion and Shadowfax, and for singer

Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She was the vocalist for D Mob, which had the s ...

. *1990s - directs numerous special programs for Antenne ll in France and RAI Television in Italy *1993 - "

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

" for Munich State Opera *1994 - contributes to the

3D IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

film "Imagine" released at IMAX theaters worldwide *2003 - "White Widow," danced by Emily Patterson and excerpted from MOMIX's In Orbit show, is included in the Robert Altman film The Company *2004 - choreographs 12 weeks of Italian RAI-TV’s number-one-rated live variety show, Fiorello

Awards and distinctions

*1972 - with Pilobolus, recipient of the Scotsman Award at the Edinburgh Festival *1975 - with Pilobolus, recipient of the Berlin Critics Prize *1977 - appointed a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

*1994 - receives the Gold Medal of the

Arena di Verona Festival Arena di Verona Festival (Verona Arena Festival) is a summer festival of opera, located in the city of Verona Italy. Since 1936, it has been organized under the auspices of an official body, first the Ente Autonomo Spettacoli Lirici Arena di Verona ...

as director of MOMIX *1998 - recipient of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts' Governor's Award. *1999 - recipient of the Positano Choreographic Award *2002 - receives the American Choreography Award (with Daniel Parsons and Daniel Ezralow) from the Academy of Dance on Film for Outstanding Achievement in Television, Variety or Special (for "Aeros: Illusion of Flight") *2010 - recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and keynote speaker at Commencement ceremonies *2012 - appointed Accademico of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana (established 1821), the first choreographer ever to receive such a distinction.

Other projects

An avid photographer, Pendleton's work has been exhibited in London, Milan, Montreal and Aspen, and Rome. Pendleton is the subject of the book Salto di Gravita by Lisavetta Scarbi (in Italian, 1999). Pendleton was a 1998 recipient of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts' Governor's Award.

Notes

Sources

Chamber Dance Company
(includes photo)
PBS Documentary Series
(includes video)

External links

MOMIX websiteSelby/Artists MGMT – Artist RepresentationArchive film of Ocellus with choreography by Moses Pendleton, Robby Barnett, Lee Harris, Jonathan Wolken performed in 1985 at Jacob's Pillow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pendleton, Moses American choreographers Living people People from Lyndonville, Vermont 1949 births