Sarah Council Dance Projects

Artist Statement

My name is Sarah Council; I create emotionally evocative and physically honest modern dance works for my Astoria, Queens-based dance company, Sarah Council Dance Projects (SCDP). SCDP was formed in 2007 as a platform for my choreographic investigations and the creation of new works. These works emerge from a collection of personal experiences, research, and observations and are shaped by periods of deep exploration and experimentation. Whether my work takes an intimate focus and expresses observations of day to day life or takes a wider scope and is inspired by a social justice issue that concerns me as a person and an artist, my goal is to say things that matter.

Biography

Sarah Council is a choreographer and teacher based in New York City. She founded Sarah Council Dance Projects (SCDP), a project-based dance company, in 2007 as a platform to explore her choreographic ideas. Her choreography has been presented at the Riverside Theatre, The 92nd St. Y, the LaGuardia Performing arts Center, The Flea Theater, The Secret Theater, The LABA Theater, Merce Cunningham Studio, Solar One, Dance Theater Workshop, Triskelion Arts, Topaz Arts, Times Square Arts Center, Green Space, Dance New Amsterdam, Gowanus Arts, and Franklin Marshall University located in Lancaster PA. SCDP has received funding from the The Queens Council on the Arts and was honored to participate in the LEAP Dance Project, a competitive program for Queens Dance professionals that is geared toward building leadership in the dance field. Sarah also works in the New York City Public Schools as a teaching artist for Together in Dance, teaching creative movement and modern dance to children of all ages.

Before relocating to New York City, Sarah resided in Washington DC where her choreography was presented at the Jack Guidone Theater and Dance Place and funded by a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The Washington Post described her choreography as being “…uncommonly honest and expressive”. While in DC she was also able to dance with DC choreographers/companies Citydance Ensemble, Deborah Riley Dance Projects, Sharon Mansur/Impact, Gesel Mason, Cynthia Word, and Helanius Wilkens, as well as teach in many studios and public schools throughout the region. Sarah holds a BFA in modern dance performance from the University of Oklahoma. While at OU she received several awards for excellence in performance and choreography and worked with teachers and choreographers, Denise Vale, Ko Yukihiro, Derrick Minter, and Earl Mosley performing nationally and internationally.

Find out more at www.sarahcouncildance.com

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