"Whatever happened to 'avant-garde'? Anyone wanting a visual meaning of the phrase in its genuine sense needs look no further than the Trisha Brown Dance Company." Philip Key, Arts editor- Daily Post (Liverpool, England)

Born in Aberdeen, Washington Trisha received her B.A. in dance from Mills College in 1958 and her D.F.A. at Bates College in 2000. She trained with well known choreographers and dancers- Anna Halprin, Yvonne Rainer, Steve Paxton and Simone Forte. She was a founding member of the Judson Dance Theatre in 1962. The Trisha Brown Dance Company, a New York based company, was founded by Brown in 1970. To this day it is one of the leading modern dance companies in the world. The company currently consists of twelve dancers.
Trisha Brown has choreographed site-specific works such as "Walking on the Wall"1971 and "Accumulation" 1971. From walking on walls to dancing on rooftops, her creative works have gone so far as dancers floating on rafts in water. I am convinced Trisha can set an experience and environment for her audience in the most unique of ways. Her more large scale works, "Glacial Decoy" 1980 and "Set and Reset" 1983 were performed on stage. The costumes and sets for "Glacial Decoy" were done by Robert Rauschenberg, a very well known artist of our time. Brown has created over 35 dances in her time as director of the company. She uses a diverse selection of sound for her performances, including classical, opera, jazz or silence. Her most recent dance "Astral Convertable" previewed last month in Moscow.
Trisha Brown is one of the most widely acclaimed choreographers to emerge from the post-modern era. Brown has pushed the limits to what could be seen as appropriate movement, changing modern dance forever.

What is your dance lineage?

I have danced since I was a child, generally ballet and modern. I grew up with a studio background in a small town. My studio taught me a lot about how to use your creative mind. It taught me to think as an artist and person rather than just a dancer. We were taught how to improvise at a young age and mostly learned from the techniques of Doris Humphrey and Jose Limon. I was fortunate enough to have worked with some very talented instructors and artists; Ann Mosey, Amy Beversdorf and Pam Luedke. At the age of fourteen I also joined a youth Company in my home town that traveled and performed around Cental Wisconsin; ballet, modern, African, jazz and folk dancing. Post graduation, while attending college I found myself thinking about dance in a more serious and intelligent manor. I was beginning to be interested in how I can take my dancing and choreography to a new level. Mostly recently, this past summer I took part in the Trisha Brown Summer Intensive in New York City and plan to travel to Vienna Austria this next summer to attend Impulz Tanz.

What are your interests?

I am interested in many different ways and styles of work. I have always loved watching contemporary styles of ballet; William Forsythe, Hubbard Street, Alonzo King's Lines Ballet; the technique and skill that these dancers have are beyond a level of impression. The choreography and way of movement brings forth a new age of ballet that I really enjoy seeing. I recently have begun to be interested in performed improvisations and movement with technology. A few months ago I saw Hubbard Street Dance Chicago perform a group improvisation in the Chicago Art Institute. I was interested to see how the dancers would interact with the audience and the objects around them. I liked the excitement of the unexpectedness in choices of movement. I think technology also will be a big part of art and dance in the future. Use of video, photographs, mixed music ect. can come to accompany the performance in an appealing way.

Why should the public care about you, or your work?

As I am exploring and beginning to dig deeper into my own chorography I hope that the public can see my work the way I do. Because of my background in dance I tend to go towards more pedestrian and gestural style of movement, although that too is evolving and changing all the time. I like to use the space and create an atmosphere for the audience to see. I use my inspiration as a starting point for my own work in hopes to be able to create something new and inventive with it. I would hope to think my colleges , teachers, and friends see my work as original and imaginative.