David Neumann is an American

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

, dancer, and actor. He is known for his magnetic energy and his charismatic performances. He is a 2019 Tony nominated choreographer for

Hadestown ''Hadestown'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial vers ...

Early life

Born in 1965 in Paris, Neumann grew up in

South Brunswick, New Jersey South Brunswick is a Township (New Jersey), township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is centrally located within the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region and is an outer-ring subur ...

, and graduated from South Brunswick High School in 1983. He was infatuated with movement from a young age and had incredible energy as a child. He describes the particular problems this posed for his parents saying that they devised a “weird bungee cord kind of harness thing, so whenever I got a good burst of speed, I would always return to where I started. I was very, very active as a kid.” Neumann eventually used this energy into dance. He was part of his high school's dance company and experimented with popular dance forms in clubs and informal performance spaces. He eventually went on to perform with the late club legend

Willi Ninja William Roscoe Leake (April 12, 1961 – September 2, 2006), better known as Willi Ninja, was an American dancer and choreographer known for his appearance in the documentary film '' Paris Is Burning''. Ninja specialized in voguing and was a ...

, well known for his appearance in the film Paris is Burning. Neumann went on to study theater at the

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

, while continuing to dance. He first started working with Doug Elkins during that time. He went on to be a founding member of the Doug Elkins Dance Company and he worked with them for eight years.

Career

After his graduation in 1988 Neumann continued dancing and worked with the Doug Elkins Dance Company, with whom he toured nationally and internationally. Neumann has continued to work within the dance field while also expanding to include work in theatre, opera and film. He has worked with directors such as Hal Hartley, Laurie Anderson, Robert Woodruff, Lee Breuer, Peter Sellars, JoAnn Akalaitis, Chris Bayes, Mark Wing-Davey, Daniel Sullivan, Les Waters and Molly Smith. Neumann has received various critical accolades for his work both as a dance and as a choreographer. Notably he received a Bessie award in 1991 for his performance and in 1998 for his choreography. Neumann founded his own company called the advanced beginner group in 2001. His work has been supported by various grants including th
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Grants to Artists award (2011), 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 co ...

Award, a 2007 Meet the Composer Grant, a 2004 Rockefeller Foundation Multi-Arts Production grant and a 1993 Princess Grace Fellowship in Theater. This group has received various commissions and most recently appeared at

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Jacob's Pillow is a Dance studio, dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The facility itself was listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 2003. History The site of Jacob's Pi ...

Personal life

Neumann is married to singer/actress

Erica Sweany Erica Sweany is an American actress, dancer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. She has performed on Broadway, in film and on television. Biography Born and raised in Colorado, she is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). Caree ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neumann, David American modern dancers American choreographers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Musical theatre choreographers People from South Brunswick, New Jersey South Brunswick High School (New Jersey) alumni State University of New York at Purchase alumni