Sarah L. Swenson, M.F.A.
EDUCATION
M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts in Dance (2000)
California State University/Long Beach (Choreography & Performance Emphasis) GPA 4.0
Recipient of the Graduate Dean's List Award of University Artists and Scholars
awarded to the top 1% of Graduate Students, May 26, 2000
Thesis: Process and Product: Three Approaches to Choreography
California State University/Long Beach, 2000
EDUCATION
M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts in Dance (2000)
California State University/Long Beach (Choreography & Performance Emphasis) GPA 4.0
Recipient of the Graduate Dean's List Award of University Artists and Scholars
awarded to the top 1% of Graduate Students, May 26, 2000
Thesis: Process and Product: Three Approaches to Choreography
California State University/Long Beach, 2000
Pilates Certification ~ Body Arts & Science International/Rael Isacowitz/ (2005)
Studied with Pilates Master Kathy Grant (1983-1996)
Teacher Training Certificate ~ Dance Education Laboratory of Harkness Dance Center, NYC. Laban Movement Analysis-based (1996)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Center/Certificate of Merit (1986)
New York University/Tisch School of the Arts (1976 - 1978)
Essays:
At Work With The Dance Constructions
Viola Farber, Black Lives Matter and the 21st Century
Films:
How To Make A Red Flower (2023)Lockdown Garden (2020)Where The Sea Meets The Land (2020)
Studied with Pilates Master Kathy Grant (1983-1996)
Teacher Training Certificate ~ Dance Education Laboratory of Harkness Dance Center, NYC. Laban Movement Analysis-based (1996)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Center/Certificate of Merit (1986)
New York University/Tisch School of the Arts (1976 - 1978)
Essays:
At Work With The Dance Constructions
Viola Farber, Black Lives Matter and the 21st Century
Films:
How To Make A Red Flower (2023)Lockdown Garden (2020)Where The Sea Meets The Land (2020)
EMPLOYMENT
MoMA [Museum of Modern Art, New York City]:
Dance Constructions Instructor and Installation Specialist- 2012 to present
[and other Forti performance works]
Principal stager and International Performance Coordinator for Simone Forti’s
Dance Constructions, now in the collection at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), New York City.
Selected installations: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea; São Paulo Bienale, Sao Paolo, Brasil; Vleeshal Center for Contemporary Art, Middleburg, Netherlands; Musée Carré d’Art, Nimes, France; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne,
Australia; Museum of Modern Art, New York City; National Gallery Singapore, Republic of Singapore; Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel, Switzerland; Il Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy; Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany; Venezia Biennale Danza, Venice, Italy; Accademia Nazionale di Danza Roma, Rome, Italy; The Watermill Center/Robert Wilson, New York, and others.
Instructor and Performance Coordinator of other Forti performance works:
Cloths, Face Tunes, Song of the Vowels, Rollers, Scramble, Landscape Partners, Over-Under & Around (with Steve Paxton & Tricia Brown).
Performer of Forti’s classic solos: Zoo Mantras/Sleepwalkers, News Animations, Solo No.1, and Illuminations with Charlemagne Palestine.
California State University/Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
Lecturer in Dance: 2019, 2015, 2006, 2005
Teaching Associate: 1998 - 2000
Guest Choreographer 2019, 2013
Dance majors Modern Dance Technique, non-majors Modern Dance Technique, Introduction to Modern Dance [lecture/practical], Beginning Ballet, undergraduate Solo Composition, concert direction, festival planning, graduate advisement, undergraduate choreography advisement.
ON DISPLAY Global - 2016 to present
Director and performer of Heidi Latsky’s international disability rights project. Installation cities include Monteroni di Lecce, Italy; Irvine, CA; Boston, MA; Seoul, Korea; New York, NY
Irvine Valley College, Irvine, CA
Lecturer in Dance: 2019, 2011-2016
Modern Dance Technique, Dance Composition
Guest Artist Choreographer: 2019, 2011-2016
The Colburn School/Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Modern Dance Chair, Modern Dance Faculty 2011-2014
Resident Choreographer: 2010 – 2014
Guest Choreographer 2015, 2016, 2017
Chair responsibilities included faculty recruitment, supervision, and review; curriculum development, student mentoring, Guest Artist recruitment, and concert production.
Taught all levels of Modern Dance technique and repertoire, ages 7-19, and Advanced
Studies Professional Training Program. Live orchestra collaborations.
Ongoing Guest Instructor.
California State University/Fullerton, Fullerton, CA
Lecturer in Dance: 2010 - 2013, 2016
Modern Dance Technique for dance majors
Guest Artist Choreographer 2012
Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA), Santa Ana, CA
Classical/Contemporary Division. Modern technique, Improvisation & Composition
Conservatory Instructor: 1999 - 2002
Choreography commissions: 2000, 2001, 2016
Guest Artist Repertory and Modern Technique: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
The Wooden Floor (previously Saint Joseph Ballet), Santa Ana, CA
Director of Dance Education 2008 - 2010
Administration, management and development of the core dance program focused on minority youth. Included curriculum development, year round class scheduling and staffing; faculty recruitment, observation, and evaluation; program statistics research and analysis; budgeting; annual registration coordination and analysis; strategic planning, policy development and implementation in the areas of enrollment, attendance, retention, attrition; student evaluations, and a variety of special projects, including occasional grant writing assistance to development. Very good knowledge of Blackbaud/Raiser’s Edge. Daily management and supervision of program staff. Taught Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Modern Technique, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Ballet; Floor Barre, Composition Laboratory, Rehearsal
Direction, and Repertory.
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Lecturer in Dance: 2005 Intermediate-Advanced Lester Horton technique
Guest Choreographer: 2005
Lecturer in Dance 2000 - 2002: Intermediate-Advanced Lester Horton technique
Missouri Valley College, Marshall, MO
Chair: Theatre, Music & Dance: 2003 - 2004
Administrative responsibilities included curriculum review and development for all departments; student and faculty advocacy; oversight of all performing arts productions; budget management; Student Appeals Review Panel of the Student Government Association; institutional committees; recruitment; launched the Visiting Artist Program with two musical artist residencies.
and
Assistant Professor of Dance: 2002 – 2004
Taught all levels of Modern Dance Technique, Ballet, and Jazz; Composition; Dance History, Integrating Ethnic Dance, and Pilates. Authored the revision of Dance Minor curriculum. Dance concert direction, and musical theatre and choral choreography, and co-direction of theatrical productions. Founder and Artistic Director of Missouri Valley College Repertory Dance Ensemble. Initiated the first Composers/Choreographers Workshop pairing music composition and dance composition students in collaborative projects for performance, co-taught with Dr. Judy Ransom, DMA.
Cerritos College, Norwalk, CA Adjunct Professor in Dance: 2000 - 2002
Beginning and Intermediate Modern Dance Technique, Improvisation & Composition,
Guest Choreographer, faculty choreographer and performer.
Re-staged Exit, choreography by Deborah Hay.
The Alvin Ailey School, New York City, NY Faculty & Administration: 1986 - 1996
• Rehearsal Director, Ailey III, student participation in Alvin Ailey's Memoria
• Techniques of Performance Class (repertory, coaching, choreography) for Professional Division
• Lester Horton Dance Technique for Professional Division, Junior Division, and adults
• AileyCamp/Baltimore, Modern Faculty, summer dance camp for at-risk youth (3 years)
• Horton for Actors (for The Actor's Studio)
• Assistant Teacher, New Visions Dance and Music Project for blind and visually
impaired adults
• Floor-barre & Ballet
• Pilates-based Body Conditioning
• Concert Direction
• Ailey School Administrator
• International Student Advisor and DSO (Designated School Official INS)
• Financial Aid Assistant
• PPAS Professional Performing Arts School Faculty in association with The Ailey School
Ballet Hispanico, New York City, NY Faculty: 1995 - 1996
Beginning, intermediate, advanced Horton technique, faculty choreographer
Chancellor’s Model School Project of New York City Guest teacher & choreographer: 1992 & 1993. We Are The World, an international study project involving cultural dances, music, and UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child. 7th and 8th Grades at The Asher Levy School, Sponsored by Columbia University and Exxon Corporation.
*
MoMA [Museum of Modern Art, New York City]:
Dance Constructions Instructor and Installation Specialist- 2012 to present
[and other Forti performance works]
Principal stager and International Performance Coordinator for Simone Forti’s
Dance Constructions, now in the collection at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), New York City.
Selected installations: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea; São Paulo Bienale, Sao Paolo, Brasil; Vleeshal Center for Contemporary Art, Middleburg, Netherlands; Musée Carré d’Art, Nimes, France; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne,
Australia; Museum of Modern Art, New York City; National Gallery Singapore, Republic of Singapore; Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel, Switzerland; Il Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy; Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany; Venezia Biennale Danza, Venice, Italy; Accademia Nazionale di Danza Roma, Rome, Italy; The Watermill Center/Robert Wilson, New York, and others.
Instructor and Performance Coordinator of other Forti performance works:
Cloths, Face Tunes, Song of the Vowels, Rollers, Scramble, Landscape Partners, Over-Under & Around (with Steve Paxton & Tricia Brown).
Performer of Forti’s classic solos: Zoo Mantras/Sleepwalkers, News Animations, Solo No.1, and Illuminations with Charlemagne Palestine.
California State University/Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
Lecturer in Dance: 2019, 2015, 2006, 2005
Teaching Associate: 1998 - 2000
Guest Choreographer 2019, 2013
Dance majors Modern Dance Technique, non-majors Modern Dance Technique, Introduction to Modern Dance [lecture/practical], Beginning Ballet, undergraduate Solo Composition, concert direction, festival planning, graduate advisement, undergraduate choreography advisement.
ON DISPLAY Global - 2016 to present
Director and performer of Heidi Latsky’s international disability rights project. Installation cities include Monteroni di Lecce, Italy; Irvine, CA; Boston, MA; Seoul, Korea; New York, NY
Irvine Valley College, Irvine, CA
Lecturer in Dance: 2019, 2011-2016
Modern Dance Technique, Dance Composition
Guest Artist Choreographer: 2019, 2011-2016
The Colburn School/Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Modern Dance Chair, Modern Dance Faculty 2011-2014
Resident Choreographer: 2010 – 2014
Guest Choreographer 2015, 2016, 2017
Chair responsibilities included faculty recruitment, supervision, and review; curriculum development, student mentoring, Guest Artist recruitment, and concert production.
Taught all levels of Modern Dance technique and repertoire, ages 7-19, and Advanced
Studies Professional Training Program. Live orchestra collaborations.
Ongoing Guest Instructor.
California State University/Fullerton, Fullerton, CA
Lecturer in Dance: 2010 - 2013, 2016
Modern Dance Technique for dance majors
Guest Artist Choreographer 2012
Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA), Santa Ana, CA
Classical/Contemporary Division. Modern technique, Improvisation & Composition
Conservatory Instructor: 1999 - 2002
Choreography commissions: 2000, 2001, 2016
Guest Artist Repertory and Modern Technique: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
The Wooden Floor (previously Saint Joseph Ballet), Santa Ana, CA
Director of Dance Education 2008 - 2010
Administration, management and development of the core dance program focused on minority youth. Included curriculum development, year round class scheduling and staffing; faculty recruitment, observation, and evaluation; program statistics research and analysis; budgeting; annual registration coordination and analysis; strategic planning, policy development and implementation in the areas of enrollment, attendance, retention, attrition; student evaluations, and a variety of special projects, including occasional grant writing assistance to development. Very good knowledge of Blackbaud/Raiser’s Edge. Daily management and supervision of program staff. Taught Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Modern Technique, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Ballet; Floor Barre, Composition Laboratory, Rehearsal
Direction, and Repertory.
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Lecturer in Dance: 2005 Intermediate-Advanced Lester Horton technique
Guest Choreographer: 2005
Lecturer in Dance 2000 - 2002: Intermediate-Advanced Lester Horton technique
Missouri Valley College, Marshall, MO
Chair: Theatre, Music & Dance: 2003 - 2004
Administrative responsibilities included curriculum review and development for all departments; student and faculty advocacy; oversight of all performing arts productions; budget management; Student Appeals Review Panel of the Student Government Association; institutional committees; recruitment; launched the Visiting Artist Program with two musical artist residencies.
and
Assistant Professor of Dance: 2002 – 2004
Taught all levels of Modern Dance Technique, Ballet, and Jazz; Composition; Dance History, Integrating Ethnic Dance, and Pilates. Authored the revision of Dance Minor curriculum. Dance concert direction, and musical theatre and choral choreography, and co-direction of theatrical productions. Founder and Artistic Director of Missouri Valley College Repertory Dance Ensemble. Initiated the first Composers/Choreographers Workshop pairing music composition and dance composition students in collaborative projects for performance, co-taught with Dr. Judy Ransom, DMA.
Cerritos College, Norwalk, CA Adjunct Professor in Dance: 2000 - 2002
Beginning and Intermediate Modern Dance Technique, Improvisation & Composition,
Guest Choreographer, faculty choreographer and performer.
Re-staged Exit, choreography by Deborah Hay.
The Alvin Ailey School, New York City, NY Faculty & Administration: 1986 - 1996
• Rehearsal Director, Ailey III, student participation in Alvin Ailey's Memoria
• Techniques of Performance Class (repertory, coaching, choreography) for Professional Division
• Lester Horton Dance Technique for Professional Division, Junior Division, and adults
• AileyCamp/Baltimore, Modern Faculty, summer dance camp for at-risk youth (3 years)
• Horton for Actors (for The Actor's Studio)
• Assistant Teacher, New Visions Dance and Music Project for blind and visually
impaired adults
• Floor-barre & Ballet
• Pilates-based Body Conditioning
• Concert Direction
• Ailey School Administrator
• International Student Advisor and DSO (Designated School Official INS)
• Financial Aid Assistant
• PPAS Professional Performing Arts School Faculty in association with The Ailey School
Ballet Hispanico, New York City, NY Faculty: 1995 - 1996
Beginning, intermediate, advanced Horton technique, faculty choreographer
Chancellor’s Model School Project of New York City Guest teacher & choreographer: 1992 & 1993. We Are The World, an international study project involving cultural dances, music, and UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child. 7th and 8th Grades at The Asher Levy School, Sponsored by Columbia University and Exxon Corporation.
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