Xan Burley + Alex Springer, artistic and life partners, were based in New York City from 2007 to 2018 and now live in Florida as Assistant Professors of Contemporary Dance Practice at the University of Florida. They make dance-theatre performances at the intersections of improvisation, choreocinematics, media and technology, and site-adaptive choreography. In addition, they collaborate on transdisciplinary projects with sound designer and visual artist Will Owen.
Their choreography has been presented throughout the U.S. at venues such as the American Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out, Center for Performance Research, Movement Research at the Judson Church, Danspace Project, NDA Performance Mix Festival (2017), the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought, and the 92Y, among others. They have been artists-in-residence at the Marble House Project (Dorset, VT), University Settlement (NYC), and Center for Performance Research (Brooklyn, NY), and developed a site-specific commission for Jacob’s Pillow (Lee, MA) as research fellows. Their work has been commissioned by a number of repertory companies and universities, such as Zenon Dance (Minneapolis, MN), Hartford Dance Collective (Hartford, CT), Emory University, and Smith College, to name a few.
They have held teaching appointments and fellowships at schools such as the University of Maryland, SUNY Purchase, Smith College, and Wesleyan University. As performers, they have toured nationally and internationally with Doug Varone and Dancers, and enjoyed working with artists such as Chris Aiken, Jeanine Durning, Shannon Gillen, Angie Hauser, and many others. They hold Bacherlor’s degrees from the University of Michigan (2007) and MFA degrees in Choreography and Performance from Smith College (2020).
“”parts”” is a series of reluctantly postmodern episodes entwining textual anti-analysis (or) anti-textual analysis, bodies rendered figural and autofictive at once, and self-referential failure. A group of performers dance in flurries that distort their perceptions of time, intimacy, and effort.
“My creative history with New Dance Alliance goes a way long. Since my friend, Chivas Sandage brought me to New Dance Alliance to rehearse in early 90’s, the place has become a part of my creative life. The long time existence of the studio and Performance Mix Festival are vital to the artists who seek and explore deep into their process. Whenever I step into the studio, it’s a new space with a lot of memories. I lie down on the floor, listen to my body, and I dance. It is valuable. The time in the space nurtures my practice and artistic vision. Karen’s vision of Lift-Off residency, feedback sessions, providing peer to peer connections are more significant than ever. It has been helping us to get through 2020 and we are going into 2021.”
– Nami Yamamoto
New Dance Alliance
182 Duane Street
New York, NY 10013
All venues are wheelchair accessible.
