Game Drive
World Premiere—2012
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Jennifer Higdon
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
Length: 14 min.
MonTage à Trois
World Premiere—2011
MonTage à Trois combines three elements: dance, music and 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-Johnson
LARK
World Premiere—2009
“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
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Ellen Fishman-Johnson
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. JakubowskiLength of dance: 21 min.
Sandman
World Premiere—2009
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
Length of dance: 25 min.
Quasi Normal
World Premiere—2008
“[The dancers]...magnificent fluidity of movement looks bred to practice Linke’s expressionist technique.” Broad Street Review
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.
Breathless
World premiere—2005
Reimaged—2008
“. . .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.
Ocean 1: Wetlands
World Premiere—2007
“. . .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.
Short Term Memory
World Premiere—2007
“[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.
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.
Songs Without Words
World Premiere—2004
“[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.
Out of the Mist, Above the Real
World Premiere—2004
“ . . .held the audience in thrall . . .„ The Philadelphia Inquirer
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Daniel Brewbaker
Costume Design: Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. JakubowskiLength of Dance: 25 min.
Falling In ...
World Premiere—2004
Falling in...consists of three female solos, each depicting a woman’s journey toward an essential truth.
“. . .intensely physical. . .” Philadelphia Citypaper
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Music: Portuguese Fado, Nigel Kennedy, and Joni Mitchell
Costume Design: Christina Gianninni, Jeanne Ruddy, Alison Roberts and Jeffrey Wirsing
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
Patient Spider
2003
Set to the adagio and fugue from Bach’s Sonata No. 3 for Unaccompanied Violin, the work refers to a poem by Walt Whitman,A Noiseless Patient Spider.
Choreography: Peter Sparling
Music: Bach
Costume Design: Jeffrey Bauer
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
The System
Philadelphia Premiere—2002
This duet explores a mature relationship with its long developed habits and unspoken boundaries.
Choreography: Janet Lilly 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
“[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.
Suite Reel
Premiere—2001
“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. JakubowskiLength of Dance: 25 min.
No Fear of Flying—First Leg
Premiere—June 2000
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.
“. . .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.
Significant Soil
World Premiere—June 2000
“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.
Enfold
Choreography: Zvi Gotheiner
Music: Zarah
Costume design: Alison Roberts
Lighting: Peter J. JakubowskiLength of Dance: 6 min.
Marie's Diary
1986
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Live Accompaniment: Meng-Chieh Liu
Music: Olivier Messiaen
Costume Design: Christina Gianniani
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
Choreography: Jeanne Ruddy
Live Accompaniment: Meng-Chieh Liu
Music: Olivier Messiaen
Costume Design: Christina Gianniani
Lighting Design: Peter J. Jakubowski
Four Screaming Women
1982
Four Screaming Women originally premiered the night the Equal Rights Amendment was defeated.
Text/Choreography: Jane Comfort
Lighting Designer: Peter J. Jakubowski