From the Horse’s Mouth
JAMIE CUNNINGHAM, a native of Toronto with honors degrees (BA and MA) in English Literature and Drama from the University of Toronto, has worked professionally as an actor, dancer, director, choreographer and writer. He is a graduate of the London Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he studied acting, voice (under Iris Warren and Kristin Linklater), dance and directing. He also studied dance, yoga, and tai chi in New York. His choreography credits include Twelfth Night and Don Giovanni at the Stratford (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival, Lorca’s Yerma for Canadian television, and over two dozen works for his own ensemble – Acme Dance Company – which he ran from 1968 to 1983. He has created pieces for performance spaces ranging from proscenium theatres to swimming pools, to the Mall in Washington DC, to the steps of the US Treasury Building on Wall Street. Introducing elements of acting, singing and music, as well as dance, several of these pieces have been designed to be performed by a company of up to 150 volunteers – dancers and non-dancers alike. In 1980, Mr. Cunningham directed and choreographed the Opera St. Louis’ production of Brecht-Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, featuring his Company members. He has also directed productions of As You Like It, Private Lives, The 3 Penny Opera and What the Butler Saw, as well as the North American preview of the award-winning English play The Harlot’s Curse. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, The Creative Artists Public Service Program, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the American Dance Festival. He is currently a tenured professor in the University of Delaware Theatre Department, where he teaches acting, directing, voice, and movement.
TINA CROLL, a founding member of Dance Theater Workshop, came to New York after graduating from Bennington College. She studied with Merce Cunningham, Erick Hawkins and Nina Fonoroff and performed in the companies of Jose Limon, Judith Dunn, Jeff Duncan, Jack Moore, Arthur Bauman, James Cunningham among others. She established Tina Croll + Company in New York City and performed with her company at Judson Church, Dance Theater Workshop, the Theatre of the Riverside Church, and also toured extensively throughout the United States. After a period spent exploring the spiritual aspect of dance, a quest that took her to India and Europe, Croll moved to the west coast. In 1993 she returned to her roots in New York City and has been performing her work at DTW, Danspace Project, P.S. 122, The Kitchen, The Kaye Playhouse, Joyce Soho, The Duke on 42nd Street, and other locations. Recent productions commissioned by Danspace Project include Ancient Springs an evening-length work with a cast of 20 and Balkan Dreams, a collaboration with Zlatne Uste, a twelve piece Balkan Brass Band, where 8 modern dancers and 12 folk dancers joined with 18 musicians. Other collaborations include an improvisation group, “the Gang of Four,” with Wendy Perron, Douglas Dunn, and Kenneth King. Ms. Croll and Jamie Cunningham continue to perform their ongoing project. From the Horse’s Mouth, produced for the past 14 years in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Minneapolis, Miami, Philadelphia, Boston, Honolulu and Toronto, as well as Jacob’s Pillow and the American Dance Festival. Ms. Croll is the recipient of grants from the NEA, NYSCA, Harkness Foundation, DTW, Bennington College, and other organizations.
Find out more at www.horsesmouth.org
Donate to From the Horse's Mouth
