Sarah Swenson is an American modern dance choreographer, dancer, and teacher.
18 Facts About Sarah Swenson
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Sarah Swenson trained in early modern dance forms, and later studied postmodern dance.
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Sarah Swenson began her career in the early 1980s in New York City, first as a student and later a teacher at the Alvin Ailey School, and was Rehearsal Director and Performance Coach for the Alvin Ailey Student Performance Group, for which she created her first works.
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Sarah Swenson was the Associate Artistic Director of Seraphim Dance Theatre, founded by the late Raymond C Harris.
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From 2004 to 2011, Swenson collaborated with Simone Forti before becoming a principal stager for Forti's 1960s opus Dance Constructions in 2012, and then International Project Coordinator following their 2015 acquisition by the Museum of Modern Art.
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Sarah Swenson attended Newton South High School where she majored in Theater Arts.
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Sarah Swenson initially studied classical ballet, and at age thirteen started attending the Jacob's Pillow School where she received her first exposure to modern dance.
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Sarah Swenson received her undergraduate education at Tisch School of the Arts before enrolling at the Alvin Ailey School where she received a Certificate of Merit in 1985.
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Sarah Swenson's performing career began as a member of the Alvin Ailey Student Performance Group or Ailey III, in 1984.
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Sarah Swenson was an assistant teacher in the New Visions Dance Project, a music and dance program for the visually impaired, where she met visually impaired dancer, Suleiman Rifai.
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Sarah Swenson later joined her dance partner, the late Raymond C Harris, in the creation of Seraphim Dance Theatre in 1995.
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Sarah Swenson spent a brief period at the Dance Institute of Washington DC in 1996, staging the works of former Alvin Ailey principal dancer, the late Kelvin Rotardier.
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In 1998, Sarah Swenson began studying with Simone Forti in Los Angeles, and in the decade that followed, she collaborated with Forti on a series of works.
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In 2004, Sarah Swenson founded Vox Dance Theatre, later incorporated as a non-profit in 2010.
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Sarah Swenson has been a member of the Rudy Perez Performance Ensemble since 2004, and became a Trustee of The Rudy Perez Trust on the occasion of his death on September 29,2023.
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In 2015, Sarah Swenson was commissioned by Dancing Wheels Company of Cleveland, Ohio, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as Dancing Wheels' 35th anniversary.
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Sarah Swenson serves as the principal teacher and stager and International Project Coordinator for Simone Forti's Dance Constructions, acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in December 2015.
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Sarah Swenson has staged works by Rudy Perez and Viola Farber.