Donald Byrd (choreographer)
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Donald Byrd (born 1949) is an American
modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...
choreographer, known for themes relating to social justice, and in particular, racism.


Early life and education

Byrd was born July 21, 1949, in
New London, North Carolina New London is a town in Stanly County, North Carolina, Stanly County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 600 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, and was estimated to be 724 as of 2019. The town lies between Albemarle, N ...
, to Jeter Byrd Jr., and Emmarene Clark ''(maiden;'' 1928–1999). His parents divorced shortly after he was born; and soon after that, with his mother, he moved from New London to
Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...
. Donald's mother remarried and, around the time he was entering the fifth grade, she and her new husband moved to the
Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
. Donald stayed in Clearwater and was raised by his maternal grandmother, Willie Mae Clark ''(née'' Willie Mae Chester; 1910–1993), through high school, until he graduated 1967 from Pinellas High, a bygone segregated school (closed after June 1968) in the Greenwood section of downtown Clearwater. Growing up, his first love, according to biographies, was music. To that end, Byrd studied classical flute; and as a flutist, he became a member of the Pinellas Youth Symphony. He was also a drum major with the Pinellas High School band – the Panthers Marching Band. In high school, Byrd participated in theatrical projects and the debate team. Byrd's first exposure to dance came when he was 16 years old. Two dancers from
Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th-century. Sty ...
's
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
Edward Villella Edward Villella (born October 1, 1936) is an American ballet dancer and choreographer. He is frequently cited as America's most celebrated male dancer of ballet at the time. He has won numerous awards, including the Daytime Emmy Award for Out ...
and
Patricia McBride Patricia McBride (born August 23, 1942) is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet. McBride joined the New York City Ballet in 1959. She became a principal in 1961, becoming the company's youngest principal. ...
– conducted a lecture-demonstration in Clearwater, which Byrd attended. The dancers left an impression on Byrd, though it was several years later before he began formal training in dance. In 1967, Byrd attended
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, initially majoring in philosophy, though he had thoughts of becoming an actor. At Yale, Byrd attended every play produced by the School of Drama and the
Long Wharf Theatre Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared. Fo ...
. Yale was also where Byrd experienced overt racism for the first time, in the form of slurs and insults, these contrasting with the institutionalized racism of segregation that he had encountered growing up in the South. The summer after his first year, Byrd's prowess on the flute earned him the opportunity to join an ensemble that toured Europe. On his return from Europe, Byrd decided to leave Yale, where he did not feel entirely welcome, and enroll in
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
in Boston. One of the first friends Byrd made at Tufts was
William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. For his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award for B ...
. By this time, Byrd had begun to study acting seriously. It was from Hurt that Byrd first heard about the
Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...
. On Hurt's suggestion, Byrd attended a performance of Ailey's signature work, '' Revelations.'' As put by his biography in ''
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,'' "the performance was indeed a revelation for Byrd; for the first time in his life, he became aware of the theatrical power of dance."


Higher education timeline

: 1967–1968: Attended
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
for one year : 1968–1974: Attended
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
and, in 1974, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree : Studied with
Mia Slavenska Mia Slavenska, née Čorak (20 February 1916 – 5 October 2002) was a Croatian-American soloist of the Russian Ballet of Monte Carlo in 1938–1952 and 1954–1955. Biography Mia was born in Slavonski Brod in the Croatian family of the pharmac ...
for six years : 1969–1973: Attended Cambridge School of Ballet,
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
: Attended Harvard Summer Dance Center in the 1970s; he taught repertory dance classes there in the 1980s : 1972: Attended
London School of Contemporary Dance London Contemporary Dance School (informally LCDS) is a contemporary dance school located in London, England. Previously part of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, since 2022 LCDS has been independently registered with the Office for Student ...
: 1976: Attended
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...
Center


Career

In 1972, Byrd began his professional career as a member of the
Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the compa ...
Dance Company. In 1976, he was a member of
Gus Solomons Jr. Gus Solomons Jr. (August 27, 1938 – August 11, 2023) was an American dancer, choreographer, journalist, and educator. He was a leading figure in postmodern dance and experimental dance. Early life Gus Martinez Solomons Jr. was born in Cambridg ...
's, Dance Company.


Donald Byrd/The Group

For 24 years, beginning 1978, Byrd was the founding artistic director of Donald Byrd/The Group, which toured extensively, nationally and internationally until 2002, when he suspended operations due to financial duress. The Group was based in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
from 1978 to 1983 and in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
from 1983 to 2002.


The Spectrum Dance Theater

Since 2002, Byrd has been artistic director of The Spectrum Dance Theater, based in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
. He is credited with having elevated Spectrum to a company of national rank. Spectrum Dance Theater premiered Byrd's work ''Shot'' in January 2017, at the Seattle Repertory Theater. The performance included multimedia (video) and even a lecture in the middle in an acclaimed albeit visceral depiction of the 2016 fatal
shooting of Keith Lamont Scott Keith Lamont Scott was a 43-year-old African-American man who was fatally shot on , 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina, by Brentley Vinson, an African-American city police officer. It sparked both peaceful and violent protests in Charlotte. The ...
in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
, and the pleading of his wife, Reykia Scott – "Stop! Please don't shoot!" "Don't shoot him! Don't shoot him! He has no weapon! He has no weapon. Don't shoot him!" Charlotte is about from New London, Byrd's place of birth.


Choreographer

Byrd has choreographed more than 80
modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...
works for his own companies and other companies, including the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...
, the
Dayton Contemporary Dance Company Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, which was founded in 1968 by Dayton, Ohio native, Jeraldyne Blunden, is the oldest modern dance company in Ohio, and one of the largest companies of its kind between Chicago and New York City. History The Dayt ...
(for years, since 1989),
The Philadelphia Dance Company The Philadelphia Dance Company (also known as Philadanco) is a professional dance company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that specializes in contemporary dance. The organization was founded in 1970 by artistic director Joan Myers Brown. The ...
(Phildanco). Byrd also has choreographed for classical companies. He has worked with acclaimed theater and opera companies, including the
New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions are ...
/
Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: A ...
,
La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a nonprofit professional theater on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under the ...
, the
Intiman Theatre Intiman Theatre is a resident theater company in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1972 by Margaret "Megs" Booker, who named it after Strindberg's Intimate Theater in Stockholm. Through its history, the professional theatre company has been based ...
, the
San Francisco Opera The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...
, the
Seattle Opera Seattle Opera is an American opera company based in Seattle, Washington. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of eight to ten performances each, often featuring double casts in major roles to all ...
, and the
New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...
. The
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...
premiered Byrd's work ''Greenwood'' on December 6, 2019, at
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in New York City. Byrd described his work as "theater of disruption" "it disrupts our thinking about things, especially, in particular, things around race." The dance performance addresses a 1921 racist mob attack in
Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
's segregated
Greenwood District Greenwood is a historic freedom colony in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As one of the most prominent concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States during the early 20th century, it was popularly known as America's "Black Wall Street". ...
, which, at the time, was one of the country's most affluent African-American communities, known as " America's Black Wall Street." Byrd uses the ''
Rashomon is a 1950 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shinobu Hashimoto. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura, it follows various people who describe how a ...
'' method, depicting three scenarios of what might have happened in an elevator.


Educator

Byrd was dance instructor at the
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...
from 1976 through 1982, a period when other notable colleagues taught there, including Cristyne Elizabeth Lawson (born 1935) (Dean), Larry A. Attaway ''(né'' Larry Amos Attaway; born 1949), Rebecca Bobele (1946–1995), Gloria Bowen,
Mia Slavenska Mia Slavenska, née Čorak (20 February 1916 – 5 October 2002) was a Croatian-American soloist of the Russian Ballet of Monte Carlo in 1938–1952 and 1954–1955. Biography Mia was born in Slavonski Brod in the Croatian family of the pharmac ...
(1916–2002), Tina Yuan (born 1947), and Sandra Neels. Byrd taught at
University of California-Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...
,
Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
, and
Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
. In 1993, he was Associate Artist at the
Yale Repertory Theater Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented stud ...
. Byrd has been member of board of directors for the
Dance Theater Workshop Dance Theater Workshop, colloquially known as DTW, was a New York City performance space and service organization for dance companies that operated from 1965 to 2011. DTW merged with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company to form New York Live ...
and Dance USA in Washington, D.C., the national service organization for professional dance, established in 1982.


Awards

* Special mention, 3rd Grand Prix International Video Dance Festival, 1990 *
Bessie Award The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...
, 1992, for ''The Minstrel Show'' * Emerging Dance Award, Metropolitan Life Foundation *
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
, 2025Guggenheim Foundation (April 15, 2025)
Announcing the 2025 Guggenheim Fellows: "Notable Individuals in the 2025 class of Guggenheim Fellows include: Choreography: Monica Bill Barnes & Robbie Saenz de Viteri, Donald Byrd."
Retrieved April 18, 2025.


Selected works


Collaborators

Among many others, Byrd has collaborated with composer Mio Morales on several works, including: * 1988: ''Shards,'' choreography by Donald Byrd; music by Mio Morales * 1993: ''The Minstrel Show,'' acts for coons, jigaboos, and jungle bunnies, presented by
Dance Theater Workshop Dance Theater Workshop, colloquially known as DTW, was a New York City performance space and service organization for dance companies that operated from 1965 to 2011. DTW merged with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company to form New York Live ...
; artistic direction and choreography by Donald Byrd; original music by Mio Morales * ''Drastic Cuts,'' choreography by Donald Byrd; music by Mio Morales * 1992: ''A Folk Dance,'' premiered in 1992 by the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...
; choreography by Donald Byrd; music by Mio Morales * 1988: ''Partite,'' presented by Donald Byrd/The Group; choreography by Donald Byrd; music by Mio Morales


Organizations

: The Donald Byrd Dance Foundation, Inc., a New York not-for-profit corporation established February 7, 1985


Quotes



Videography


"Fall Studio Series 2010: An Inside Look,"
Spectrum Dance Theater ''via'' YouTube * ''Donald Byrd: Conscientious Choreographer,'' ''via'' YouTube), produced by
Drew Jacoby Drew Jacoby (born September 2, 1984) is an American contemporary ballet dancer. As of 2020, she is a principal dancer of Royal Ballet of Flanders. Early life Jacoby was born in Boise, Idaho in 1984. She trained at the School of American Ballet ...
(born 1984) and Joshua Martens (flourished 2010), New York City: TenduTV (2011), 10 minutes; , , , , ,
Donald Byrd excerpt
Spectrum Dance Theater (2011) * ''Shards,'' choreographed by Byrd, performed by Ailey 2 on their 2011 UK tour * ''The Mother of Us All,'' Spectrum Dance Theater (2011) * ''Dance, Dance, Dance,'' choreographed by Byrd, performed by the Spectrum Dance Theater (2016) ''via'' YouTube * ''Shot,'' choreographed by Byrd, performed by the Spectrum Dance Theater (2017) * ''Bhangra Fever,'' choreography by Byrd, performed by the Spectrum Dance Theater (2018) * ''Donald Byrd Choreography,'' performed by the Spectrum Dance Theater (2019) * ''Greenwood,'' premiered 2019 by the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...
(2019) ''via'' YouTube * ''Harlem Nutcracker,'' discussion by Byrd, choreographed by Byrd, performed by the Spectrum Dance Theater (2019)


Notes and references


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Donald 1949 births 20th-century African-American artists 20th-century American artists 20th-century American dancers 21st-century African-American artists 21st-century American artists 21st-century American dancers African-American choreographers African-American male dancers American choreographers American male ballet dancers California Institute of the Arts faculty Modern dance American modern dancers Ohio University people People from Clearwater, Florida Tufts University alumni University of California, Santa Cruz people Wesleyan University people Yale University people Living people