Lives in New York, NY
Born 1963, Brooklyn NY
Choreographer, Dancer
I am truly, madly deeply, in love with movement. I am also acutely aware of stillness and how a narrative may unfold from either place. My choreography is grounded in an ongoing interest in the body. My investigation is of nuance and gesture, and the emotion and drama inherent in the physical form. While creating this dance language, I am both terrified and inspired. The dance emerges out of this process, not from a predetermined notion. I trust my intuition as I am drawn into a world dislocated from something I know.
The stark and fascinating difference between lifting/moving my right arm and lifting/moving my left arm is something I see and feel. My engagement is with how I see and feel this difference, and with what it means in relation to how and what the body communicates. My desire is to find what is inherently necessary to the work, to meticulously extract, to choose fiercely, to use necessity as a driving force. The experience of performing is crucial to the work. Each time I want to find anew the spontaneity and immediacy as if I am discovering the piece for the first time.
1985 B.F.A., SUNY Purchase
Professor of Dance, Barnard College
2010 Bird, Bear, Gray Violet-Blue, premiered at University of California, Merced, CA
2009 Fanfare and Suedehead, premiered at The Kitchen, New York, NY
2008 Suedehead (Quartet), premiered at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
2005 Wanderlust, Kentucky, premiered at Dance Theater Workshop, New York, NY
2010 - 2011 The Jerome Robbins New Essential Works Grant
2001, 2008 New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Awards
Jodie Melnick, photo by Julieta Cervantes
Jodie Melnick, photo by Julieta Cervantes