Salvatore LaRussa

SALVATORE LARUSSA- (CHOREOGRAPHER/ ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/ SLDT) a native New Yorker, born and
raised in Queens, NY, is a graduate of Hofstra University with a BA in Dance and a minor in Drama
Studies, under the direction of Lance Westergard. LaRussa premiered his first NYC season in
2004 which marked the start of his company, Salvatore LaRussa Dance Theatre. SLDT has performed
extensively in New York City in traditional and non-traditional spaces, including New York Live Arts
(Present), Ailey Citigroup Theater (2010-2019), Merce Cunningham Studio (2005-2009), the Goldman-
Sonnenfeldt Auditorium (2007), DEEP (2008), Green Space (2009), and Knitting Factory (2010), and have been part of numerous festivals and symposiums in NYC and across the country, including the Emerging America Festival at the A.R.T. at Harvard University (2010); Masculinity and Embodied Practice with Movement Research & Urban Research Theater (2009); Blooms Dance Festival (2008); and the Queens Art Express (2010). Commissions and residencies have included Joyce Foundation & Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Mellon Anchor Tenant Program (2009-2010), Hofstra University, Susanne Bartsch: art-a- porter, PS1/ MOMA (2018), and Gritty Cherries Productions (2006-2008). LaRussa received critical acclaim in Dance Europe Magazine where Tim Martin writes, “…another example of LaRussa’s excellent sense of dance theatre” (2005), named one of the Top Five Queens Trendsetter by the It’s Queens magazine (2011), honored on NY1 News (2012), Queens’ Person of the Week (2016), and Queens Citation of Honor, Art Directors, by the Hon. Queens Borough President, Melinda Katz (2018). LaRussa has been part of numerous panelists for the Queens Council on the Arts and was featured in their artSPY TV Series: Dance in Queens. In 2009, LaRussa founded Salvatore LaRussa Dance Theatre – THE ACADEMY/ LARUSSA STUDIO, a performing arts institution and home for his company and the
“QNZdanz” program, including, “FREE SUNDAY PERFORMING ARTS”, an annual dance festival (2009-
Present), in Queens, NY. LaRussa’s dance credits include Robin Becker Dance (2000-2004), Now Dance
(2002), La Compania (2003), Michael Mao’s ballet, “Firecracker” (2000-2004), and numerous projects
with Broadway Choreographer, David Marquez, including Tom Sawyer (Broadway) (2001) and the Alan
Awards (2002).