"Breathtaking brilliance...one is left spellbound with the feeling of having walked into a dream."
— Theater Jones, Dallas, TX
Bridgman | Packer Dance
Bridgman|Packer Dance was founded by Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer, Guggenheim Fellows in Choreography and New York Dance and Performance Awardees (The Bessies), are acclaimed for their innovative integration of choreography and video technology that explodes the partnering form into a magically populated stage where image and reality collide. They multiply and transform their own video images, juxtaposing and blending them with their live choreography. While blurring the lines between the live and the virtual, their works explore one's relationship to self, to the other, and to the outer environment. Integral to their mission is bringing performance to diverse and underserved communities, engaging the public in interactive video installations, and offering movement and technology workshops for all ages and experience levels.
CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer, Co-Artistic Directors of Bridgman|Packer Dance, have collaborated in choreography and performance since 1978. Decades later, they continue to be a vital and present voice in the dance ecosystem. In 2001, they expanded their choreographic vision, stretching the boundaries of dance by merging it with video technology. They continue to receive international critical praise for seamlessly melding these two art forms. In 2017, they received a New York Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding Production (The Bessies) for their work Voyeur. In New York City they have been presented by Lincoln Center, City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival, 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival, Dance Theater Workshop (now New York Live Arts), Dance New Amsterdam, Central Park Summerstage, The Sheen Center, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center.
Bridgman|Packer Dance has toured throughout the USA, performing at festivals and art centers, including Spoleto Festival USA, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Florida Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, Dance St. Louis, and Philadelphia’s Annenberg Center. They have appeared abroad in Europe, Asia, The Middle East, and Central America in festivals including Munich International Dance Festival, Festival Internacional de Artes Escénicas (Panama), Kintetsu Theater (Osaka, Japan), Festival Internacional Chihuahua (Mexico), The Beirut Spring Festival (Lebanon), High Fest International Arts Festival (Armenia), and Tancforum (Budapest).
The 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to Bridgman and Packer was the first in the history of the Guggenheim Foundation to be given to two individuals for their collaborative work. They are also recipients of 12 National Endowment for the Arts Grants (2007-2021), a 2013 National Dance Project Touring Award, a 2020 NDP Finalist Grant Award, NEFA Expeditions Grants (2008, 2012, 2015), three Choreography Fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts a New York State Council for the Arts Grant, and four National Performance Network’s Creation Fund Awards. They have received five “First Light” Commissions from DTW (now New York Live Arts), a Danspace Project Commissioning Initiative, as well as commissions from the 92nd Street Y New Works in Dance, and Portland Ovations. Their international touring has been supported by USArtists International, American Dance Abroad, Performing Americas Project, National Performance Network, and La RED de Promotores Culturales de Latinoamérica y el Caribe.
Bridgman|Packer Dance's New York City Season at The Sheen Center was chosen as "Best of 2016" in both The Village Voice and Huffington Post, and their performance at Dallas City Performance Hall was chosen as "Best of 2017" by theatrejones.com. Their stand-alone dance film Look Out (2018) in collaboration with drone camera cinematographer Gavin Preuss was selected for Screendance Miami and received Best Cinematography at the Los Angeles Experimental Dance & Music Film Festival and Best Drone Film at the Beyond Earth Festival. Their film Embrace in the Time of COVID-19 (2020) received Best Choreography Award at the Global Shorts Film Festival and Best Dance Film at the Los Angeles Experimental Dance & Music Film Festival.