EDUCATION/ TEACHER BIOS

Iréne Hultman

Iréne Hultman was born in Sweden and is based in New York City. From 1983-1988, Hultman was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company where she also worked as Rehearsal Director from 2006-2009. In this role, she installed Trisha Brown's Early Works at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Centre George Pompidou, and Les Toullieries to name a few. She was the Artistic Director of Iréne Hultman Dance from 1988 - 2001. Her company received national and international recognition and premiered work at The Joyce Theater with Black Tie Optional (2001) Nordic Love Act 2 (1998) and Cascade (1996) and at Danspace Project in NYC, Love Betrayal and a Bowling Trophy (2000), Tango-Babe (1995), Red Cap (1992). She choreographed seven opera productions including Mozart's Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute for Drottningholm's Palace Theater in Stockholm and new operas like Sport och Fritid at The Royal Swedish Opera. Her commissions have included Firebird for Gothenburg Opera Ballet and I find comfort for Pina Bausch Company 2 (FTS). Hultman is the co-founder of Järna-Brooklyn, a Swedish-American cultural entity that encourages artistic experimentation and a founding member of the multi-media collective Fire Work in Stockholm. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship in Choreography and a Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts Award and support from The Jerome Foundation, the Harkness Foundation for Dance, the American Scandinavian Foundation and Meet the Composer. In 2010, she curated Movement within Stream, the first dance event to ever be performed at Storm King Art Center. Ms. Hultman continues to foster her interests in research and collaborations between artistic fields and across continents. She serves on The Bessie Committee and the Danspace Project's Artist Advisory Board.

Stacy Matthew Spence

Stacy Matthew Spence is a choreographer, teacher, and dancer based in New York City. His work, which has been performed on stage as well as in buildings, museums, and galleries, has been presented by Danspace Project, Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, Edge at the London Contemporary Dance School, the University of New Mexico, and the OtherShore Dance Company in New York. From 1997-2006, he was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company, contributing to the creation of Brown's opera L'Orfeo and seven other pieces. He continues to work with the company teaching classes and restaging Brown's choreography. Spence received his MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and was awarded a 2015-16 Workspace Artist in Residence by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Düsseldorf); "Falstaff“ and "Stiffelio“ (National Theater Mannheim) and others. Photo of Another Story as in falling © 1993 Beatriz Schiller

Laurel Jenkins

Laurel Jenkins is a choreographer, dancer, and teacher. As a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 2007­2012, she developed original roles in Brown's final works and she continues to perform and restage pieces for the company. Jenkins has also danced with Sara Rudner, Liz Lerman, and Vicky Shick. Her work has been presented in Los Angeles by REDCAT, Automata, Highways, the Electric Lodge, the Getty Center, the Hammer, and the Fowler Museum, and in New York by Danspace Project, and by Berlin's Performing Presence Improvisation Festival, and Tokyo's Sezane Art Gallery. She has been commissioned to choreograph for LA Contemporary Dance Company, CSULB, and The Wooden Floor. With the support of the Asian Cultural Council, Jenkins traveled to Phnom Penh, Cambodia this year to work with Chey Chankethya and Amrita Performing Arts. Jenkins recently performed the role of Iseme in Peter Sellars' opera Oedipus Rex and Symphony of Psalms, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. She received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, an MFA from UCLA, and is certified in the Skinner Releasing Technique.

www.laureljenkins.com