Paul Sanasardo (born 15 September 1928) is an American dancer,

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 ...

and dance teacher of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent.

Life and career

Sanasardo was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, to a Sicilian family from

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, Italy. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, studied dance with

Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-195 ...

and

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped the dance world and is still taught in academies worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over s ...

, and made his debut in 1952 with the Erika Thimey Dance Theater. In 1955 he performed with

Anna Sokolow Anna Sokolow (February 9, 1910 – March 29, 2000) was an American dancer and choreographer. Sokolow's work is known for its social justice focus and theatricality. Throughout her career, Sokolow supported the development of modern dance arou ...

and in 1957 and 1964 with Pearl Lang. He also danced with

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 ...

and in musicals on Broadway. Sanasardo founded the Paul Sanasardo- Donya Feuer Dance Company in 1957 and the Studio for Dance school (later Modern Dance Artists Inc.) in 1958. He served as the artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company from 1977 to 1981.From 1981 till disbanding his company in 1986, he ran a second story dance studio on 21st street. After disbanding his company he continued choreographing and teaching. His works continue to be performed by several companies, including

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 ...

Works

Selected works include: *''Fatal Birds'' (1966) *''Pain'' *''The Path'' *''Bells'' *''Shadows'' *''Consort for Dancers'' *''Children in the Mist'' *''Cyclometry'' (1971) *''The Seven Last Words'' (music by Kancheli, 1994) *''Sleepless Nights in the City'' *Abandoned Prayer *Metallics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanasardo, Paul 1928 births Living people American choreographers Artists from Chicago American male ballet dancers