Dancing Directors
In each of these videos, we see the company director onstage—either alone or alongside their dancers. That’s the only common denominator among these diverse artists and the various ways that they choose to show themselves.
Next:
Prehistoric Body Theater
Ghosts of Hell Creek: Stone Garuda, 2025
The co-directors of this Indonesian company are fully integrated into the performing ensemble, which brings an embodied celebration of humanity’s shared evolutionary ancestry to the stage.
Next:
New York Swings
Lindy Hop & Authentic Jazz, On-Going Traditions, 2025
An influential advocate in the Lindy Hop community, Gaby Cook both directs and performs with New York Swings, seen here at the 2025 Season Opening Gala.
Next:
David Dorfman Dance
(A)Way Out of My Body, 2024
David Dorfman is both seen and heard in this group work which he conceived as “a meditation on the frailty and power of the body.”
Next:
Rennie Harris Puremovement
Nuttin' But a Word, 2023
Rennie Harris appears larger-than-life onscreen throughout this work, while he can be seen dancing with his company members in P-funk, recorded here in 2005.
Next:
The Hood Lockers
Shuckin' n Jivin' on Rt. 130, 2023
Company directors Andrew Ramsey and Marcus Tucker (aka Riot and Epic) are fully woven into their company here, performing as part of the Pillow’s 2023 Hip Hop Across the Pillow celebration.
Next:
SOLE Defined
Body Language, 2023
Since founding the company in 2011, Quynn Johnson and Ryan Johnson continue to display their knowledge of percussive dance as performers with their ensemble from its base in Washington DC.
Next:
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Concertiana, 2019
After taking over the directorship of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Michael Novak continued performing his role in Taylor’s final work where he seems to step out of the crowd—perhaps anticipating his own ascendancy.
Next:
Caleb Teicher & Company
Bzzz, 2019
The prodigiously talented Caleb Teicher functions as just another member of the group here, though the shock of white hair on his forehead makes him easy to spot.
Next:
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Passage to the Silk River, 2014
The late Taiwanese dancer Nai-Ni Chen (1959-2021) created this solo for herself as a tribute to her ancestors.
Next:
Seán Curran Company
Folk Dances for the Future (Traditional Methods/Postmodern Techniques), 2004
Seán Curran gives himself one humorous solo moment in this excerpt, but we otherwise see him here as part of two different trios—combining the forms of Irish step dancing and contemporary dance in his own inimitable way.
Next:
Doug Varone
The Bench Quartet, 2003
Surrounding himself with fellow dancers of his own generation, Doug Varone programmed this early work as part of a unique evening of chamber dances that he designated as “Doug Varone’s Short Fictions.”
Next:
Rosy Co.
Chinoise Flower, 2000
Choreographer Kota Yamazaki places himself among nine other performers who careen through the stage space with alarming speed, constantly shifting the focus through overlapping entrances and exits.
Next:
Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE
Water, 1999
Brown positions himself as the most visible dancer in a lineup at the start of this clip, but he soon blends into the group as the movement begins.
Next:
JAZZDANCE by Danny Buraczeski
Swing Concerto, 1995
Watch for Danny Buraczeski’s entrance as the middle dancer in a group of three who enter about halfway through this clip, and you won’t be able to take your eyes off him!
Next:
Mal Pelo
Sur-Perros del Sur, 1992
Company co-directors Pep Ramis and María Muñoz are the performers seen screaming at each other in this clip, while the work’s third performer hangs from a rope.
Next:
New Amsterdam Ballet
Coup d'Estoc, 1991
Choreographed by Christian Holder, this ballet featured company directors Martine van Hamel and Kevin McKenzie in an adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
Next:
Halau Hula O Hoakalei
Aia Molokaʻi Kuʻu Iwa, 1990
Throughout most of the performance, Helen Hoakalei Kamau’u was tucked among the musicians behind the greenery, but she ventured into center stage for this special encore.
Next:
Bebe Miller Company
A Haven for Restless Angels of Mercy, 1986
Just a year after she founded her own company, Bebe Miller is seen on the recently-inaugurated outdoor stage, first in a solo passage and then intermingled with her dancers.
Next:
Trisha Brown Dance Company
Lateral Pass, 1986
While Trisha Brown is the lone dancer who remains visible when the curtain closes in a theatrical coup, each dancer here is seen as a distinct individual with his or her own trajectory.
Next:
Solomons Company/Dance
Steps #9: Raw Meet, 1985
Just as Ken Schafer’s music kicks in and a trio of dancers exits, Gus Solomons jr literally takes over the stage, showing off his impossibly long limbs.
Next:
Charles Moulton Dance Company
Display, 1981
There is no apparent hierarchy among these three dancers, aside from the fact that one of them is the choreographer whose name is on the company.
Next:
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Septet, 1955
Cunningham himself can be seen here darting about the stage in a dark leotard, from his company’s Pillow debut in 1955.
Next:
José Limón Dance Company
The Moor's Pavane, 1951
In this final sequence from the dance widely acknowledged as his masterpiece, José Limón brings the Shakespearean tale of Othello to its tragic close.
Explore Playlists
Ted Shawn's Men Dancers
Finale from The New World, 1936
Though costumed the same as his dancers and initially indistinguishable from the group, Ted Shawn soon emerges as the leading figure in this dance which was performed live with The Philadelphia Orchestra.