Skirball Salon: Seán Curran and the Art(s) of Collaboration

Seán Curran’s career in the arts spans 35 years, beginning with traditional Irish step dancing as a child in Boston. A sought-after choreographer and director for opera and theatre, notable projects include Salome (Opera Theatre of St. Louis, San Francisco Opera, Opera Montreal, San Diego Opera); Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for The Shakespeare Theater; Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Shalimar the Clown, Ariadne on Naxos, Nixon in China, and Daughter of the Regiment at Opera Theater of St. Louis; NYC Opera productions of L’Etoile, Alcina, Turandot, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Capriccio, and Acis and Galetea; Shakespeare in the Park’s As You Like It; the Metropolitan Opera’s Romeo and Juliette; and on Broadway in James Joyce’s The Dead, Cymbeline, and The Rivals at Lincoln Center Theater. A graduate of New York University, Curran now serves as Arts Professor and Chair of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Dance. As a dancer, he is known for his early performance work with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, receiving a “Bessie” award for his role in Secret Pastures, and as an original New York City cast member of STOMP! His 30 choreographic works for his contemporary dance ensemble, Seán Curran Company, are characterized by collaborations across artistic genres and have toured to nearly 100 venues in the U.S., Europe and Asia with seasons in New York City at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Dance Theater Workshop, The Joyce Theater, The Guggenheim Museum, New Victory Theater, 92nd Street Y/Harkness Dance Project, Danspace Project, Symphony Space, Central Park Summerstage, and Celebrate Brooklyn. Seán Curran Company’s highly regarded service to the field includes donation of performances and classes to the American Civil Liberties Union NYC Chapter, Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Residence (a safe house for LGBTQ youth), Dancers Responding to AIDS and the Hetrick-Martin Institute.