HENNING RÜBSAM 

Choreographer, Dancer, Producer, Master Teacher, Dance Writer & Historian

ARTISTIC/CREATIVE EXPERIENCE: 

Artistic Director/Choreographer SENSEDANCE, NYC – 1992 to present: • Annual New York City performance seasons with ten-member company  

  • Tours within USA, Europe, Central and South America 

Freelance Choreographer – 1985 to present: 

  • International Ballet-Galas in Central and South America, incl. “Gigantes de la Danza”  (Mexico City – Auditorio Nacional) & “Venezuela del Mundo” (Opera House Caracas) • Choreographic works in current repertoire of companies such as  

Ballet Moderno de Guatemala “Brass Blues” — Keshet Dance Company “Borque Bosque” — ODC-Jam San Francisco “Basie’s Basement”, and various universities and dance academies, most  recently for the The Ailey School/Fordham University BFA program “SHOALMATES” to Mozart’s Horn  Concerto in D – Fall 2018 

  • One of 25 artists in ALWIN NIKOLAIS CENTENNIAL EDITION of “From The Horse’s Mouth” – NYC • Resident Choreographer, Hartford City Ballet (Dartanion Reed, director) – 2006 to 2020 (when the  company shut its doors to the COVID pandemic): 

commissions as well as revivals of works originally choreographed for other companies • Annual choreography & teaching residency at Texas Academy of Ballet (Carolyn Bognar, director) – 2007 to present 

Choreographer and/or stage director for plays, operas, music & commercial events: • Reimagining 2030 – Choreographer/Performer for United Nations Int’l Conference on Sustainable  Development/SDSN Youth at Columbia University, NYC  

  • Planet Fitness celebration of “going public” at New York Stock Exchange 
  • “Circle of Life” Fundraising Gala – Norwalk Maritime Aquarium, CT  
  • “The Spirit of Sepharad” – The Jewish Museum, NYC  
  • Outer Critics Circle Award Winner Lanie Robertson’s Off-Broadway “Cannibal’s Waltz” – Abingdon  Theater Company, NYC  
  • Meg Okura & Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble  
  • Playwright Florence Weintraub’s “Listeners Borne as Bone” – The Kitchen, NYC 

Producer and Curator (selected events): 

  • BEVERLY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL at 92Y (with performances and panels), June 2018  • RADICAL BODIES (May 31, 2017) – 50th anniversary of “Parades and Changes” by Anna Halprin with  works by Simone Forti, Yvonne Rainer, and Jose Limón – The Kaye Playhouse, NYC (2017) • ERIC BENTLEY CENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE at Town Hall, NYC, December 2015 – incl. Tony  Kushner, Michael Riedel, Karyn Levitt, Austin Pendleton, Philip Lopate 
  • BEVERLY BLOSSOM MEMORIAL GALA 2015 – The Kaye Playhouse, NYC 
  • Benefit performances for “Dancers Responding to AIDS” (DANCEGIVING) 

…having presented many dance artists, incl.: Carlos Molina (Boston Ballet) Ramon Thielen (Dance Theatre of  Harlem) Amanda Cobb & Dartanion Reed (American Ballet Theatre) Andrea Long & Max van der Sterre (New  York City Ballet) Akua Parker & Samuel Roberts (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) Penny Hutchinson (Mark  Morris) Jane Schnorrenberg (Della Davidson) Jamie Bishton (Twyla Tharp) Lorn MacDougal, Alain le Razer,  Beverly Blossom, Eryn Dace Trudell, Sondra Loring, Kyle Sheldon, Christine Reisner, Nan Friedman, Rachel  Whiting, Duncan Macfarland, Sian Ferguson, Sarah Michelson, Violetta Klimczewska, Douglas Nielsen, Ella &  Mark Magruder, Betsy Fisher, Debra Noble, David K. Bagley, Tandy Beal, Simone Forti, and Prima Ballerina  Assoluta Eva Evdokimova.

EDUCATION: 

  • M.A. in Dance Education, Hunter College – 2016 
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts, The Juilliard School, New York City – 1991 

DANCER (STAGE/FILM): 

  • SENSEDANCE, NYC – 1992 to present. 
  • Alwin Nikolais/Murray Louis Dance, NYC – 1992/93. 
  • José Limón Dance Company, NYC – 1990/91. 

Guest artist with numerous choreographers and ensembles, 1985 – present, including: as Dance Performer in operas, plays and special events: 

o Tribute to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library for  the Performing Arts – From The Horse’s Mouth – 2019 

o “The Lehmann Trilogy” – directed by Sam Mendes, Park Avenue Armory 2019 o “Paradise Interrupted” – composer Huang Ro, director Jennifer Wen Ma,  Lincoln Center Festival 2016 

o “De Materie” – composer Louis Andriessen, director Heiner Goebbels,  

Park Avenue Armory 2016 

Beverly Blossom, Maurice Bejart’s Ballet of the XX Century Brussels, David Rousseve,  Duncan Macfarland’s DanceArtCompany, Penny Hutchinson, Jody Sperling,  

Sue Bernhard, Brian Levy, Felice Lesser, Andre Doutreval’s Ballett-Arena Kassel, and in works by 

Doris Humphrey, José Limón, Anna Sokolow, Mark Haim, Bonnie Mathis,  

Wally Cardona, Paul Taylor, Eryn Dace Trudell, Isadora Duncan, Kurt Joos; 

  • Faun in Nijinsky’s choreography of Debussy’s “L’Apres-midi d’un Faune” • Prufrock in dance film “Prufrock” (after T.S. Eliot) produced by  

Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute 

  • Appeared as Dancer in Beeban Kidron’s 1993 film “Hookers Hustlers Pimps and Their Johns”  – Channel 4/Wonderland production 
  • Dancer/choreographer in documentary “Miss Hill – Making Dance Matter” (Award-winning documentary about the life and work of dance visionary Martha Hill. Film  opened “Dance on Camera Festival” at NYC’s Lincoln Center 2014, release 2015) • Dancer/choreographer in documentaries: 

“ANOTHER TOUR” (G. Vander Veer), “Behind The Curtain” (S. Wiest), 

“The Choreographer’s Process” (S. Speliotis), “Retracing Steps” (Tanja Meding), and  in documentaries for U.S. television produced by DANCEVISTA 

DANCE TECHNIQUE/DANCE COMPOSITION: 

  • Guest teacher for international ballet & modern dance ensembles as well as universities, including Martha Graham Dance Center (Summer Intensive 2017), Escuela Nacional de Danza Clásica y Contemporánea INBA – Mexico City (Winter 2016/17/18), UNAM – Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Winter 2016/17/18), Ballet Nacional del Peru, Ballet Moderno de Guatemala, Ballet  Kaiserslautern, Ballet Kassel, Ballet Gießen, Tanzwerkstatt Hamburg, University of Idaho – Moscow,  Washington State University, UC Berkeley, Sacramento State University, New York University, Emory  University, Lewis-Clarke State College, Stephens College, Hunter College, Richard Stockton State  College, Roger Williams University, RI (directed/choreographed site-specific campus event for dancers  & non – dancers), ODC – San Francisco, Ad Deum – Houston, Weberschule Düsseldorf – Germany,  Oure Idraetshøjskole – Denmark, Universidad de Lima – Peru, UNITEC Auckland – New Zealand. • Guest artist residencies in NYC High Schools: 

Brooklyn Tech H.S. — La Guardia High School for Performing Arts — Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School

DANCE HISTORY & LECTURES: 

  Faculty, The Juilliard School – fall semester 2006 to present 

 Introduced a dance history & appreciation program at Juilliard for the general public. Dance History Seminar courses: 

“Ballets Russes and other Explorations in Dance in the 1920’s” (Fall 2020) 

“Dance 101: An Introduction to History and Terminology” (Fall 2020) 

“West Side Story” (Summer 2020) 

“Revolution in Dance: Fuller, Duncan, Nijinsky and Dance before World War I” (Spring 2020) 

“Enduring works by Trisha Brown, Donald McKayle, and Paul Taylor” (Spring 2020) 

“Dance in the New Millennium” (Fall 2019) 

“Inside Juilliard Dance” (Summer 2019) 

“Spring Dance at Juilliard: Legacy, Memory, Inspiration” (Spring 2019) (Bill T. Jones & Martha Graham) “The Artistry of Dance: How to Watch with Understanding and Joy” (Spring 2019) 

“Producing Dance in New York City this Season” (Fall 2018) 

“Process in Progress: Choreography Behind The Scenes” (Summer 2018) 

Juilliard Dance: Inspiration, Creation, Collaboration” (Spring 2018) (Cunningham, Tharp, C. Pite) “Dance at Lincoln Center – Agents of Change: 1983-2000 (Fall 2017)” 

“Swan Lake” (Summer 2017) 

“Rooted in Music – Alston, Duato, Morris” (Spring 2017) 

“Dance Stars of Lincoln Center – The First Twenty Years” (Fall 2016) 

“Blurring The Lines: Kylian, Robbins, and Taylor” (Spring 2016) 

“Dance Today, Yesterday, And Tomorrow” – Genealogy of Dance (Fall 2015) 

“Graham and Cunningham: Two Masters at Juilliard Spring Dance” (Spring 2015) 

“Dance and The Movies” (Fall 2014) 

“Twyla Tharp: Baker’s Dozen and Spring Dance at Juilliard” (Spring 2014) 

“Beyond Baryshnikov: The development of male dance technique” (Fall 2013) 

“Juilliard Dances with Live Music” (Spring 2013) 

“Contemporary Dance Masters in Rehearsal, on Stage, and in Review” (Fall 2012) 

“Juilliard Dance Repertory” (Spring 2012) 

“Swan Lake” (Fall 2011) 

“Les Noces” (Spring 2011) 

“Terpsichore: The Muse of Dance” (Fall 2010) 

“Composers and Choreographers: Past and Present Collaborations” (2009) 

“José Limón & Antony Tudor – Choreographers, Teachers and Humanists” (2008) 

“The Artistry of Dance: Watching Dance with Understanding and Joy” (2006 & ‘07) 

Host & Moderator of panel discussion “What makes a muse?” (Juilliard, Dec. 2010) with guests Robert Garland, Matthew Neenan and Luca Veggetti 

Interviews with guest speakers, including  

Prima Ballerina Assoluta Eva Evdokimova, Academy Award winner George Chakiris, Marge Champion,  Penny Hutchinson, Molissa Fenley, Stephen Petronio, Marcelo Gomes, Robert LaFosse, Irina Dvorovenko,  Juan Rodriguez, Amar Ramasar, Wim Vanlessen, Howard Sayette, Colin Russell Jones, Douglas  Turnbaugh, Greg Vander Veer, Patsy Tarr, Carol Sumner, Risa Steinberg, Linda Kent, Laura Glenn, Terese  Capucilli, Phyllis Lamhut, Donald Mahler, Sarah Stackhouse, Anthony Ferro, Alberto Del Saz, Janis  Brenner, Lawrence Goldhuber, Mac Twining, Nattie Trogdon, William Whitener, Alexandra Damiani, Jeff  Edwards, Antonio Brown, Stacy Spence, Robert Johnson, Elizabeth Kendall, Mindy Aloff, Wendy Perron,  Andrew Wentink, Ninotchka Bennahum, Nancy Dalva, Debra Levine, Publicist Audrey Ross, Lighting  Designer Clifton Taylor, Conductor Nimrod Pfeffer, Costume Shop supervisor Traci DiGesu, Production  Managers Keith Michael and J.B. Barricklo, Lincoln Center Library Jerome Robbins Dance Division  Education Coordinator Kathleen Leary, former ABT Artistic & Executive Director Jane Hermann,  Founding Director of Contemporary American Dance Museum Alice Stock, Juilliard Dance Division  directors Alicia Graf Mack and Lawrence Rhodes, and Juilliard president Joseph W. Polisi. 

  

  • Faculty member of The Ailey School/Fordham University BFA Dance Program since Fall 2019 • Faculty, Peridance Capezio Center – Certificate Program, NYC – Fall 2015 
  • Faculty, SUNY PURCHASE – Purchase College Conservatory of Dance – Spring 2011 • Speaker, GEL Conference, NYC – 4/2007 & workshop at GEL – 4/2011 www.gelconference.com • Lecture “History of Modern Dance” – Lincoln Center Young Patrons Program, NYC  • Lecture “Martha Hill and Dance in America” 1997 – present (often in conjunction with touring) • Mentor in Mentoring Program at The Juilliard School since the program’s inception (2006 – present) 

JOURNALISM: 

  • Contributor, THE HUDSON REVIEW. 2018 – present 
  • Senior editor and contributor of The Dance Enthusiast. 2012 to present • Articles and reviews for POINTE, Dance Magazine, Ballet Review, Juilliard Journal.  1994 to present 
  • American Correspondent for European magazine Dance For You, 2004 – 08 • Cover features for Dance Magazine Annual (aka Stern’s Performing Arts Directory), 1995 (on Doris Humphrey) and 1996 (Anna Sokolow) while Editor of publication. • Managing Editor – Dance Magazine College Guide, 1993 – 96 

AWARDS: 

Distinguished Artist Award – Bergen College, NJ; Alfried Krupp von Bohlen- und Halbach  Prize; Lincoln Center Fellowship; DRA Award; Jerome L. Greene Fellowship; Manhattan Spirit  Award; Emerging Choreographer Award from Stephens College as well as monetary awards  by German Consulate New York and German Foreign Ministry in Berlin for choreographic  work with SENSEDANCE 

VOLUNTEERISM: 

  • Board member, Beverly Blossom Foundation – since inception in 2015 
  • Board member (former vice president & annual chair of award or gala committee), Martha Hill Dance Fund – 2001 – 2020 
  • Artist Advisory Council, Dancers Responding to AIDS – since 1995