Game Drive
World Premiere—2012
A new work under construction inspired by Jeanne Ruddy’s recent Safari in Kenya, Africa.
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Jennifer Higdon
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
Length: 14 min.
World Premeire—May 10th, 2012—Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Philadelphia
MonTage à Trois
World Premiere—2011
View Video
MonTage à Trois combines three elements: dance, music and painting. Created specifically for the galleries of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, it is inspired by the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts’ theme, Paris 1910-1920 and by Elizabeth Osborn’s paintings.
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, Igor Stravinsky
Paintings: Elizabeth Osborne
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
Video Design: Ellen Fishman-JohnsonWorld Premiere—April 14, 20011—Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, in conjunction with the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts 2011.
LARK
World Premiere—2009
View Video
“Bathed in golden light, five dancers connected and frolicked to Ellen Fishman-Johnson’s jaunty score while their shadow images flickered in step. In one lovely sequence, each stood balanced on one leg, the other lifting upward at the knee, recalling a small flock of beautiful flamingos.” Janet Anderson, Philadelphia Citypaper
“[LARK] is a clean dive into nonnarative dance.” Merilyn Jackson / The Philadelphia Inquirer
“[LARK]. . .fresh, snappy and filled with humor.” Merilyn Jackson / The Philadelphia Inquirer
“[Ruddy] took a risk pitting her dancerly LARK against Clarke's highly theatricalized Sandman. But it paid off as the audience bridged the gulf enthusiastically.” Merilyn Jackson / The Philadelphia Inquirer
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Ellen Fishman-Johnson
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. JakubowskiPerformed by:
Rick Callender
Thayne Alexander Dibble
Ian Dodge
Janet Pilla
Christine TaylorLength of dance: 21 min.
World Premiere—2009
Sandman
World Premiere—2009
View Video
Sandman was inspired by the photographs of Diane Arbus, Ralph Eugene Meatyard and Helen Levit.
Choreography: Martha Clarke
Music: Arthur Solari, with music by John Lurie
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
Performed by:
Rick Callender, Thayne Alexander Dibble, Ian Dodge, Janet Pilla, Meredith Riley Stewart, Christine TaylorLength of dance: 25 min.
Quasi Normal
World Premiere—2008
View Video
Quasi Normal is composed of three sections, all informed by the idea that the past contains the building blocks for the future works.
The movement vocabulary in the first section is inspired by the body positions of the body in the Mary Wigman work, Niobe, a kind of mourning-dance.
In the second section, improvisations were extrapolated from the choreographic sketches of Dore Hoyer, a dancer and follower of the Wigman branch of German expressionist dance, or Ausdruckstanz.
In the final section, movement impulses were inspired by the play between opposing forces: yin/yang, permanence/fleetingness, positive/negative
“[The dancers] magnificent fluidity of movement looks bred to practice Linke’s expressionist technique.” Broad Street Review, a Philadelphia-based online publication
Choreography: Susanne Linke
Guest Artist : Brigitta Herrman
Music: Tomasz Sikorski, Michael von Hintzenstern
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. JakubowskiLength of Dance: 25 min.
World Premiere—April 10, 2008—The Performance Garage, Philadelphia
Breathless
World premiere—2005
reimaged - 2008
View Video
In 1925, Theodore Dreiser published a novel centered around the drowning of an unmarried pregnant woman by the unborn child's father. He believed life offered him better prospects.
In 1996, a young unmarried Delaware woman was murdered and her body entombed on the ocean floor by her powerful, politically connected lover, who refused to permit her to end their affair. In 1997, a Philadelphia man drugged and strangled his wife (and mother of his young daughter) and placed her body in the bathtub, in order to collect insurance proceeds and continue to pursue a professional stripper. In 2002, a Californian fertilizer salesman murdered his pregnant wife and set her adrift in the San Francisco Bay, culminating a pattern of infidelity.
Breathless is informed and inspired by these stories. Spanning many months, the scenes include a pastoral lakeside, room interiors, an insurance company office and a stripper bar.
“. . .the duo made an antagonistic duet into something quite moving.” Philadelphia Inquirer
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Original Sound Score: Jorge Cousineau
2008 Sound Score: Ellen Fishman-Johnson
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
Photographic Projections: Bob Emmott
Video Projections: Jorge CousineauLength of Dance: 25 min.
World premiere—2005—The Mandell Theater, Philadelphia
Reimaged with new score and choreography—April 10, 2008—Performance Garage, Philadelphia
Ocean 1: Wetlands
World Premiere—2007
View Video
Inspired by the Southern New Jersey Wetlands, this work uses modern movement, text, and images to explore environmental threats and their ongoing effects on Earth's waterways, landscapes, and wildlife. Replete with references to shellfish, ospreys and even styrofoam, Ocean1: Wetlands is a compelling homage to everything alive and green and the importance of its preservation.
“. . .tightly constructed and superbly performed.” Philadelphia Inquirer
“The star piece of Ruddy's show was the self-choreographed Oceans I: Wetlands, a call to arms to save New Jersey's natural habitats.” —Janet Anderson / Philadelphia City Paper
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Ellen Fishman-Johnson
Set Photography: Bob Emmott
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. JakubowskiLength of Dance: 25 min.
World Premiere—2007—Performance Garage, PhiladelphiaInformation on the creation of Oceans 1:Wetlands
Short Term Memory
World Premiere—2007
View Video
Short Term Memory, by New York City writer/director/choreographer Jane Comfort, examines the boundaries of space; physical, emotional and psychological. Using a score with a Souse March and everyday sounds, Comfort creates a humorous crowd-pleaser that reveals our quirky insecurities.
“[A] wonderful work centered on control and command.” Philadelphia Citypaper
Choreography: Jane Comfort
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
Assistant to the Choreographer: Christine TaylorLength of Dance: 12 min.
World Premiere>—2007>—The Performance Garage
Still
World Premiere—2006
Still explores the fragmented aspects of love through abstract gestures and sometimes subtle, sometimes explosive interaction, expressing the complexities and elusive journey of the heart.
Choreography: Robert Battle
Music: Arvo Part
Costumes: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
Assistant to the Choreographer: Meredith Riley StewartLength of Dance: 13 min.
Woa Cholena
World premier—2006
Set on three women and one man, this dance explores movement for movement's sake. Woa Cholena is Native American for “the great white bird”.
“. . .were birdlike in their stylized passés, shoulder stands and grand jetés.” Philadelphia Inquirer
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Stravinsky's Concerto for 12 instruments (1920, arr. 1952)
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. JakubowskiLength of Dance: 6 min.
World premiére—2006—The Performance Garage
Songs Without Words
World Premiere—2004
View Video
Reinking, the recognized Fosse acolyte, is known for her roles in the film All that Jazz and on Broadway in Chicago.
Songs Without Words is created especially for Jeanne Ruddy Dance, with music by Dudley Moore. A luscious new work with six women, and three men. Reinking has created a work that expresses the beauty and vulnerability of first love.
“[Songs Without Words] is a sensuous work, ignited by the smoldering virtuosity of partners. . .Its bold expressive trajectory was marked by the duo's convoluted coupling and compelling ensemble passages for three couples and three chairs.” Dance Magazine
“So beguiling, it made me want to fall in love.” Citypaper
Choreography: Ann Reinking
Guest Artist: Zane Booker
Music: Dudley Moore
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. JakubowskiLength of Dance: 25 min.
World Premiere—June 17 2004—The Mandell Theatre, Philadelphia
Out of the Mist, Above the Real
World Premiere—2004
View Video
Out of the Mist, Above the Real's inspiration first came from the topography and spirit of Ireland where both Jeanne and Daniel have traveled. The musical composition is an Irish Cantata for Soprano, Uilleann Pipes, Children's, Youth and Mixed Choruses. It is based on poems that express a search for ancient origins. The title is from the poem The Irish Cliffs of Moher" by Wallace Stevens.
Out of the Mist, Above the Real was commissioned by the CME New Millennium Institute and Dr. Doreen Rao, who conducted its' world premiere at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland on July 27, 2002. Lyrical. Sacred.
“ . . .held the audience in thrall . . .„ The Philadelphia Inquirer
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Daniel Brewbaker
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. JakubowskiOriginal Dancers
Jeanne Ruddy
Kimberly Braton Lantz
Janet Pilla
Gabrielle Revlock
Katharine Savage
Meredith Riley Stewart
Paul Struck
Christine Taylor
guest artist: Brigitta Heerman
featuring: Juliette Snyder and Noa Buzby.Length of Dance: 25 min.
World Premiere—2004—The Mandell Theater
The System
Philadelphia Premiere—2002
View Video
This duet explores a mature relationship with its long developed habits and unspoken boundaries.
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy and Peter Sparling
Original Score: Frank Pahl
Visual Artist: Terry Rosenberg
Spoken Text: Charles Baxter
Costume Design: Alison Roberts
Lighting Design: Peter J. JakubowskiLength of Dance: 11 min.
Voices and Echoes
World Premiere—1999
View Video
Voices and Echoes speaks to the sorrows of women and the strengths found in their lifelong mutual support. The title reflects the four "voices" of the dancers, while "echoes" addresses the many movement canons found in their work.
“[the dancers] seemed to flow out of the instruments of the stirring live accompaniment…responding to the richness of the cello, almost like the notes were bowing their torsos.” Dance Magazine
Choreography: Igal Perry
Original string quartet composed by John Mackey and performed live live by Curtis Student Quartet
Costumes: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Nanette Hudson JoyceLength of Dance: 15 min.
World Premiere—1999—The Merriam Theater, Ten Thousand Feet Festival
No Fear of Flying—First Leg
Premiere—June 2000
View Video
No Fear of Flying incorporates a gestural vocabulary developed in collaboration with the dancers, along with the use of experimental use of text, movement, and dramatic characterization. The building of strong female characterizations and themes related to the "diva" are explored.
“. . .Irrepressibly crowd pleasing. . .” The Philadelphia Inquirer
Choreography: Mark Dendy
Costumes: Cloe Fox
Lighting: John Hoey
Music: Peggy Lee, Nancy Sinatra, and Australian Dijeridoo musicLength of Dance: 25 min.
Premiere—June 2000—The Wilma Theater
Significant Soil
Premiere—June 2000
View Video
Life takes on new meaning after faced with the possibility of death. It is here that the soul asks the deeper questions of purpose, of the meaning of one's life. It is the incredible gift of a reprieve from such an early sentence that one strives for a renewed life built on significant soil.
“Brilliant and disturbing. . .brought to mind the fragility, grandeur and redemptive strength of the human body.” Dance Magazine
“The 10th anniversary performances marked my introduction to Jeanne Ruddy Dance and, for me, the experience was absolutely transformational. I have never witnessed vulnerability, honesty and pure emotion more poignantly than in Jeanne's SIGNIFICANT SOIL. The choreography, the look and feel of the space, the costuming, the music all culminated in a rare artistic experience to be treasured.” —Anne Ewers / President and CEO, Kimmel Center
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Costumes: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting and Set Design: John Hoey
Music: Philip Glass Violin ConcertLength of Dance: 25 min.
Premiere—June 2000—The Wilma Theater
Suite Reel
Premiere—2001
View Video
“Suite Reel celebrates America’s rural past with a series of 10 quick sketches, accompanied by a versatile bluegrass/barbershop quartet ensemble. . .” The Philadelphia Inquirer
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Appalachian Bluegrass Music
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. JakubowskiMusicians:
Lawrence Cohen, guitar and arrangments
William Dominick, fiddle
Beth Mead Sullivan, banjo
Jennie Heitler-Klevans, vocals
George Abramson, guitar and mandolin
Ray Duffy, guitar
Bill Hangley, guitar Joe Spinelli, bassBarbershop Quartet:
Length of Dance: 25 min.
Premiere—2001—The Painted Bride
Enfold
View Video
Choreography: Zvi Gotheiner
Music: Zarah
Costume design: Alison Roberts
Lighting: Peter J. JakubowskiLength of Dance: 6 min.