Stephen Petronio (born March 20, 1956) 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 the artistic director of

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 ...

-based Stephen Petronio Company. Stephen Petronio was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. He grew up in nearby Nutley and graduated in 1974 from

Nutley High School Nutley High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Township of Nutley, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Nutley Publi ...

. He received a B.A. degree from

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...

, where he began dancing in 1974. Prior to pursuing a career in dance, Petronio studied pre-medicine before being inspired by the dancing of

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

and

Steve Paxton Steven Douglas Paxton (January 21, 1939 – February 20, 2024) was an American experimental dancer and choreographer. His early background was in gymnastics while his later training included three years with Merce Cunningham and a year with Jos� ...

, with whom he studied contact improvisation. From 1982 to 1987 he was a member of Channel Z, an improvisation performance ensemble based in New York City. Other members of the ensemble included Daniel Lepkoff, Diane Madden, Robin Feld, Randy Warschaw,

Paul Langland Paul Langland (born February 6, 1951) is an American dancer, singer, choreographer and Arts Professor at New York University. Career Langland's professional career began in 1972. In his work as a dancer and choreographer he has spanned many di ...

, and Nina Martin. Petronio became the first male dancer of the

Trisha Brown Trisha Brown (November 25, 1936 – March 18, 2017) was an American choreographer and dancer, and one of the founders of the Judson Dance Theater and the postmodern dance movement. Brown’s dance/movement method, with which she and her danc ...

Company (1979 to 1986), and founded Stephen Petronio Company in 1984. He has gone on to build a unique and powerful language of movement in a career that spans over 35 years. Stephen Petronio Company has toured extensively across the United States and to 26 other countries throughout the world, with over 35 New York City engagements including 15 seasons at The Joyce Theater. Petronio has worked with songwriters, musicians, and composers, including

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical opera ...

(''Bud'', 2005, ''Bud Suite'', 2006, and ''BLOOM'', 2006),

Laurie Anderson Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson (born June 5, 1947) is an American avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker whose work encompasses performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and sculpting,Amirkhanian, Cha ...

(''City of Twist'', 2002),

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

(''The Island of Misfit Toys'', 2004),

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...

(''Strange Attractors'', 1999),

James Lavelle James Lavelle (born 22 February 1974) is an English electronic musician, record label owner and curator. He founded the Mo'Wax record label in 1992, and has been the only constant member of UNKLE. He directed the 2014 edition of the Meltdo ...

(''Strange Attractors II'', 2000), Wire (''MiddleSexGorge'', 1990),

Diamanda Galás Diamanda Galás (born August 29, 1955) is a Greek American musician, singer-songwriter, and visual artist. She has campaigned for AIDS education and the rights of the infected. Galás's commitment to addressing social issues and her involvemen ...

(''#4'', 1997),

Sheila Chandra Sheila Savithri Elizabeth Chandra (born 14 March 1965) is a retired English pop singer of Indian descent. She began her career as an actress in the late 1970s before launching a music career in the early 1980s. Her career ended prematurely in 2 ...

(''Not Garden'', 1999),

Lenny Pickett Lenny Pickett (born April 10, 1954) is an American saxophonist and musical director of the ''Saturday Night Live'' band.

(''#3'', 1986),

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

(''Underland'', 2003), Fischerspooner (''Beauty and the Brut'', 2008),

Jonny Greenwood Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Radiohead, and has composed numerous film scores. He has been named one of the greatest guitarists by numer ...

(''Ghostown'', 2010), Ryan Lott (''Tragic/Love'', 2009 and ''Singing Light'', 2010), Nico Muhly (''I Drink the Air Before Me'', 2009), David Linton (numerous works, 1986–2001),

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

, his cousin Clams Casino (''Locomotor'', 2014) and the

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

br>Stephen Petronio Company Repertory
He regularly collaborates with visual artists, including Robert Longo (American Landscapes, 2019)

Cindy Sherman Cynthia Morris Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters. Her breakthrough work is often co ...

(''The Island of Misfit Toys and The King is Dead'', 1994 and ''I Drink The Air Before Me '', 2009),

Anish Kapoor Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the United Ki ...

(''Strange Attractors II''),

Donald Baechler Donald Baechler (November 22, 1956 – April 4, 2022) was an American painter and sculptor associated with 1980s Neo-expressionism. He had lived in Manhattan and Stephentown, New York. Early life and education Baechler was born in Hartford, ...

(''Extravenous'' and ''A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream'', 1997),

Stephen Hannock Stephen W. Hannock (born March 31, 1951) is an American painter known for his atmospheric landscapes––compositions of flooded rivers, nocturnes and large vistas––which often incorporate text inscriptions that relate to family, friends or ...

(Not Garden, 1999), and Charles Atlas (''Wrong Wrong'', 1990), as well as fashion designers Benjamin Cho, Rachel Roy,

Tara Subkoff Tara Lyn Subkoff (born December 10, 1972) is an American actress, conceptual artist, director, and fashion designer. Raised in Connecticut, Subkoff relocated to Los Angeles in 1991, enrolling at the Otis College of Art and Design before pursu ...

/Imitation of Christ,

Leigh Bowery Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery's performances featured striking costumes and make-up and were conceptual, flamboyant, outlandish, and sometime ...

, Tanya Sarne/Ghost, Paul Compitus, Michael Angel, Tony Cohen, Adam Kimmel, Jillian Lewis, and Manolo. Stephen Petronio Company's resident lighting designer and long-time collaborator is Ken Tabachnick. Petronio has been commissioned to create new works for numerous companies, including National Dance Company Wales, Ballet de Lorraine, William Forsythe's Ballett Frankfurt (1987), the Tulsa Opera (1990), the Deutsche Opera Berlin (1992), the Lyon Opera Ballet (1994), the Maggio Danza Florence (1996), and the Ricochet Dance Company of London (1998) Stephen Petronio received a 1999

Foundation for Contemporary Arts The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...

Grants to Artists Award. Petronio received a

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 ...

in 1988, fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts in 1985 and 2004, the first of the American Choreographer Awards in 1987, and a New York Dance & Performance Award (Bessie) in 1986. He has been awarded choreography fellowships from the NEA from 1985 to 1988, and company grants from the NEA, like the Advancement Program Grant in 1994. He also received the New York State Council on the Arts consecutively since 1988. In 2007 Petronio was inducted into the Nutley, New Jersey Hall of Fame.

References

*Bremser, Martha. "Stephen Petronio." Fifty Contemporary Choreographers. London .a.: Routledge, 1999. 189–92. Print.

External links

Official Stephen Petronio Company Web Site

National Arts Center Canada Press Release, 2004

Archival footage of Stephen Petronio performing #3 in 1987 at Jacob's Pillow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petronio, Stephen American choreographers Living people 1956 births Hampshire College alumni Artists from Newark, New Jersey Nutley High School alumni People from Nutley, New Jersey