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COMPANY HISTORY
DANIEL GWIRTZMAN DANCE COMPANY
With a large repertory noted for its entertaining flair, stylistic diversity, musicality, and humor, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2023, is known for its accessibility and high-energy performances. Blending virtuosic precision with pedestrian ease, the dancers are renown for their charisma, “a troupe I’d follow anywhere” (The Village Voice), a “troupe of fabulous dancers” (Backstage) that “can’t help but smile” (The New Yorker). Operating with the philosophy that everyone can join the dance, the nonprofit has partnered with various institutions since its inception in 1998, demonstrating a commitment to education through multigenerational interactive programming. To read more, click HERE.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Night and Dreams
Evolution
Attachment
The Yard
Martha's Vineyard
Joyce SoHo
The Company was formed in 1998, made its New York City debut that summer at Columbia University and Joyce SoHo, and its New England debut that fall as part of a month-long residency at The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard. While on the island, DGDC worked with elementary and high school students and community members of all ages. A collaborative project, which resulted in the evening-length dance Evolution, featured local dancers alongside the Company and premiered at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center. In December, Night and Dreams premiered at Dancers Responding to AIDS’ the remember project at St. Mark’s Church in Manhattan’s East Village.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Plasma Field
Volcano
Cycles
Welcome to the World of Dance
Washington Square Repertory
the remember project
In 1999, Volcano premiered as part of the Jennifer Muller/The Works’ HATCH series. In May, Cycles was presented at Joyce SoHo as part of their summer programming. DGDC also presented Welcome to the World of Dance. In July, Plasma Field premiered at the Merce Cunningham Studio. Then in November, The Company performed alongside the Washington Square Repertory Company at the Frederick Loewe Theatre. To close the year, Obsession was presented at DRA’s the remember project.
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Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Summer Fever
Current
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Valentine's Day Concert
Martha's Vineyard
Welcome to the World of Dance
The Company began the year with a Valentine’s Day concert. Over the summer, DGDC was in residence at The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard, where Summer Fever was developed. Summer Fever premiered in August at The Flea Theater in NYC. DGDC also presented Welcome to the World of Dance at The Flea that month. The Company returned to Martha’s Vineyard in October to perform at Oak Bluffs School. Then, as part of DRA’s the remember project, DGDC performed Current.
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Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Activities
Intoxication
Rally
An Evening of Jazz, Tango, & Swing
Martha's Vineyard
Philadelphia Fringe Festival
2001 began with Activities premiering at Dixon Place in March. It was then performed again at The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard in July. In August, the Company performed in An Evening of Jazz, Tango, and Swing with U.S. Arts in Beacon, New York. Intoxication was performed at The Flea Theater in August and then again at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in September. In October, DGDC returned to the HATCH series to present Rally and Intoxication. Rally was then performed again in December in DRA’s the remember project.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
New Territory
Scenarios
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Fire Island Dance Festival
Joyce SoHo Artist Residency
Princeton University
In spring of 2002, the Company performed Cycles as part of Joyce SoHo Presents. DGDC then travelled to Philadelphia to perform at The Kimmel Center in May. Obsession was performed during the Fire Island Dance Festival, presented by DRA. Then, the Company took part in the Joyce SoHo Artist Residency and presented Dance Talks: A Series of Conversations and Open Rehearsals with Artists and Audiences in August. During this residency, the Company worked on developing Evolution. DGDC performed in DRA’s Dancing for Life! in Bryant Park as well as in DRA’s 8th Annual Fire Island Dance Festival. DGDC then performed at Princeton University in November. In early December, the Company was again a part of DRA’s the remember project, where they performed Scenarios. At the end of the year was the premiere of New Territory at Joyce SoHo.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Puzzle
Renascimento
Running on Full
Fuse Festival
US Arts, Beacon, NY
Dancing for Life!
In 2003, the Company focused on educational outreach with several school programs and tours. Puzzle was performed at Symphony Space, presented by DRA. As part of Fuse: The NYC Celebration of Queer Culture, DGDC performed at the HERE Arts Center. In July, the Company returned to The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard and presented Explorations, a choreography workshop designed to immerse young community members in creating dance. While at The Yard, DGDC also hosted On the Lawn, an interactive community workshop which taught folk dances from around the globe. In August, the Company was in residence at US Arts in Beacon, New York and was featured in the Dance on Earth Festival. Puzzle was performed at DRA’s Dancing for Life! at Bryant Park at the end of the summer, and Running on Full was performed at DRA’s the remember project. The Company travelled to Bahia, Brazil and premiered Renascimento in December.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Two As One
Poles
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Desmond-Fish Library
NY Department of Education
the remember project
In the spring, DGDC performed Two As One: A Program of Duets at the Desmond-Fish Library in Garrison, New York. During the summer and fall, Daniel worked with the NYC Department of Education on a Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts for grades K-12. Daniel and the Company were commended by Department of Education Office of the Arts Senior Manager Sharon Dunn for their work at the end of the year. DGDC again took part in DRA’s 10th annual the remember project.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Chapters
Scenarios
Built on Stilts
Dance Now/NYC Festival
Martha's Vineyard
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Over the summer, DGDC was in residence at The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard, where the Company worked on Explorations, Built on Stilts, and Scenarios. Scenarios was then performed in the Dance Martha Dance! Choreographer’s Festival in August. In September, the Company partook in the Dance Now/NYC Festival where Puzzle was performed. In November, Character was presented at FAN at the 92nd Street Y. Chapters then premiered in December at the Ailey Citigroup Theater.
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Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Character
Indiana
Cycles
ACDA's National Gala
North Carolina Dance Theatre's Innovative works Series
In May, Daniel performed Character at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the American College Dance Association’s National Gala. Summertime and Indiana were both developed and presented at The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. In October, the last fifteen minutes of Encore were presented at Long Island University. At the end of the year, Cycles premiered as part of the North Carolina Dance Theatre’s Innovative Works series.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
The Rehearsal
Encore
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Soaking WET Dance Series
Dancing at the Crossroads
The Joyce Theatre's 25th Anniversary
In January, Company members Jamie Scott and Andrew Cowan performed The Rehearsal, which later in the year became the first twenty minutes of Encore. Before its premiere, Encore previewed at the Ailey School at Fordham University with the freshman BFA class. The Rehearsal was then performed at the Soaking WET Dance Series at the West End Theatre in NYC. As a complete evening-length work, Encore then premiered at Joyce SoHo in June. As a part of the Solstice in Times Square Event, DGDC performed Encore in DRA’s Dancing at the Crossroads at the end of June. The work was then presented again in The Joyce Theater’s 25th anniversary season, at the University of Michigan’s Department of Dance, at The Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts at Long Island University in Brooklyn, and then on a NYC public school tour funded by a grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs.
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Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Timebomb
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Rural Retreat in Hertfordshire
10th Anniversary
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In January, Daniel, along with twenty-six other dance leaders from around the world, was invited to partake in the 2008 Rural Retreat at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, UK. The retreat, hosted by DanceEast, was an international think tank on the future of dance. Timebomb premiered in December at the Baryshnikov Arts Center as part of the Company’s 10th Anniversary Season.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Tribe
In The Studio
Breaking
Encore at the Von Ussar Dance Gallery
Tribe at the Jewish Body Festival
DanceNOW Festival
DGDC presented the event series In the Studio during August of 2009 at the New York City Center Studios. At the end of the month, Reform premiered at the Queens Museum of Art. In September, the Company performed excerpts from Encore at the Von Ussar Dance Gallery at the Ailey Citigroup Theater. Then, DGDC performed in the annual American Dance Guild Performance Festival, held at the Manhattan Movement Arts Center. Also in September, Breaking premiered at the DanceNOW Festival at the Dance Theater Workshop in NYC. The Company performed Encore at the New York Musical Theater Festival that year, also held in the Manhattan Movement Arts Center. At the end of October, Tribe premiered, commissioned by Nextbook as a part of their Jewish Body Festival in the Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC.
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Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
The Lecture
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DanceBreak
"Doing It All"
Washington Heights Summer MT Festival
In January, DGDC was selected to perform at DanceBreak, an annual dance showcase for six chosen NYC choreographers, in March. Daniel was featured in an article titled “Doing It All” in the February issue of Dance Teacher magazine. Over the summer, the Company performed Encore in the Washington Heights Summer Musical Theatre Dance Festival. Daniel’s solo The Lecture premiered in November at the Ailey Citigroup Theater.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
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Dance at the Gym
Washington Heights Summer Dance
Nazareth College Dance Festival
During the summer of 2011, DGDC presented Dance at the Gym, a free series of interactive programs including lectures, performances, and workshops. The program culminated in the premiere of the dance Reforming. The Company also led two weeks of intensive training for both student and professional dancers as a part of the Washington Heights Summer Dance Festival. The Company then participated in the Nazareth College Dance Festival, where they were featured in the news for leading a dance parade on ArtWalk on University Avenue.
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Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
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Jacob's Pillow
Inception to Exhibition Space Grant
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During 2012, DGDC was awarded the Inception to Exhibition Space Grant. Over the summer, the Company performed at Jacob’s Pillow Summer Dance Festival in Beckett, Massachusetts.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
An Evening of New
and Vintage Dances
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Abrons Arts Center
Character at the Capezio Store
Djerassi Resident Artists Program
In February of 2013, the Company presented An Evening of New and Vintage Dances, hosted by Inception to Exhibition. Then in April, the Company performed a program of premieres and reconstructions at the Abrons Arts Center’s Underground Theater. Volcano was taught to students in Kenyon College’s Dance Ensemble during a May residency in Ohio. Also that month, DGDC performed dances from the Company’s rep alongside students at the Bronx Academy of Letters. Daniel was invited to Bahia, Brazil for a residency hosted by the Sacatar Foundation, where he created new work, collaborated with local artists, and performed. At the end of the summer, the Company participated in Summer on the Hudson: Harlem Dances, presented by the City of New York Parks & Recreation. In October, Daniel performed Character at the flagship Capezio store in Manhattan at an event hosted by Sing For Hope. Later that month, DGDC went on a North Carolina Teaching Tour, visiting many schools throughout the state. Daniel also took part in the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in northern California.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
The Oracle
Chegada
No Tresspassing
15th Anniversary
Speaking One's Voice
Joffrey Does Encore
For the Company’s 15th Anniversary Season, 15 events were presented over 15 weeks, starting with the premiere of the dance film Encounter in February. Also in February, the Company had a residency with The Jazz and Contemporary Trainee Program with the Joffrey Concert Group. Following this, the Company premiered dances for the camera, including Joffrey Does Encore, No Trespassing, Sisyphus, and Life Coach Danny. The weekly events continued with premieres of films made in Brazil, including Chegada, Pier, Into the Streets, Crab World, and Rock the Boat. The final films released from the Company’s repertory were Scenarios, Clue, and Tribe. The events culminated with the premiere of The Oracle, live at BAM Fisher, at the end of May. The Oracle was performed again as a part of the Wassaic Project Summer Festival in August. In the fall, Daniel travelled to the Tennessee Dance Festival before being in residence at the University at Buffalo to teach Encore. Volcano was reimagined during a residency in November at Kennesaw State University. DGDC presented a choreographic workshop titled Speaking One’s Voice at the end of the month at DANY Studios in NYC. In December, Daniel held workshops for students in Georgia and North Carolina before presenting Speaking One’s Voice again in North Carolina.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Mapping
Together
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Go! at the Zuckerman Museum of Art
Sfakiotes Residency in Lefkada, Greece
60x60 Dance XV Festival Mix
Mapping was presented in March of 2015 as part of the Inception to Exhibition Dance Festival. In Atlanta that month, Company apprentices premiered Go!, a durational dance that was performed for two hours during the opening of Pause at the Zuckerman Museum of Art. Mapping then travelled to North Carolina to be featured in the Charlotte Dance Festival. At the end of the month, the duet Together premiered at the Nazareth Arts Center's Spring Dance Festival. DGDC then held a residency in Atlanta in May, where they performed The Oracle. The Company was a part of the Higher Ground Dance Festival in Manhattan in June, while also working on Project CHORD with students at Kennesaw State University through July. Also in July, the Company performed at Bryant Park and was in residence at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn. Through July and August, the Company was also a part of the Sfakiotes Residency Programme in Lefkada, Greece. The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning commissioned the Company to headline its Making Moves Festival at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in September, before the Company performed an excerpt of Accelerate in the Jamaica Performing Arts Center Fundraising Gala in October. Also in October, DGDC performed Obsession at the Cheatham Hill Fall Festival in Marietta, Georgia. Back in NYC that month, the Company performed in the 60x60 Dance XV Festival Mix. In November, students in the Kennesaw State University Dance Company performed a new work choreographed by Daniel. In December, DGDC performed an excerpt from The Oracle for the American Dance Guild Performance Festival at the Ailey Citigroup Theater in NYC. During 2015, DGDC was also featured in acclaimed dance photographer Lois Greenfield’s book, Moving Still.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Doodling
Terrain
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Ménerbes, France Residency
Murcia, Spain Residency
Booking Dance Festival
The Company began the year with a January performance of The Oracle at the Booking Dance Festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center. In March, the Company travelled to Rochester, New York to partake in the Movement and Dance Festival at Nazareth College, where they again performed The Oracle. Daniel then presented an in-progress solo work, Doodling, at Gibney Studios in April. Over the summer, Daniel received two fellowships to work on choreography and film abroad. The first was from the Brown Foundation Fellows Program and took place in June at the Dora Maar House in Ménerbes, Southern France. He continued to work abroad through July with the second fellowship from the Aktuelle Architektur Der Kultur in Murcia, Spain, where he choreographed and produced the film Terrain. Then, in September, the Company premiered Doodling at the 92nd Street Y before performing Character in Atlanta in October at the 7 Stages Theatre. To close out the year, Terrain premiered in November at the Fenòmens Festival in Barcelona, Spain.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Affront
Snapshots
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The Encore Project
Project CHORD
Key West Residency
In 2017, the Company celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the premiere of Encore with The Encore Project. Throughout the year, Encore was performed across the country by the Company, other professional companies, pre-professional training programs, and university and arts high school dance departments. Then, Terrain was selected to be screened in the Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest Festival and The Set/NYC in April. Also that month, Daniel presented the Company's Project CHORD: Choreographic Help On Realizing Dance at NYU/Tisch School of the Arts Department of Dance's Integrating Dance and Technology In University Dance Programs Conference. In May, the Company had a residency at Cheatham Hill Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. During June and July, the Company was in residence at The Studios of Key West and worked towards the premiere of the dance Snapshots. Affront premiered at WAXworks in Brooklyn in August. The year closed with a final performance of Encore with DGDC as the featured guest company at the YourMoves Festival in Jersey City and a return to Key West, Florida for a performance of Snapshots.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Follow
Intersection
Self-Portait
Battery Park Festival
Gdański Festiwal Tańca
Washington Heights Higher Ground
2018 began with the premiere of Follow in January at Triskelion Arts. In March, Daniel performed Character in Washington Heights’ Higher Ground Festival. Later that month, the Company performed Encore at the ACDA Northeast Conference held at Montclair State University's Department of Theatre and Dance. Then, Well, Git It! from Encore was presented at the New York Jazz Choreography Project in April in Manhattan. The following month, Intersection previewed at the State University of New York, Buffalo State College's Flexible Theater and was set to be performed in April of 2019. Later in May, DGDC performed Affront at Baruch College for the Italian Dance Connection. Affront was also performed in New Dance Alliance’s 32nd Performance Mix Festival at University Settlement, NYC in June. Daniel then travelled to Poland to perform Doodling at the GdaÅ„ski Festiwal TaÅ„ca. DGDC shot Self-Portrait during their July residency at The Wheelhouse in Mt. Tremper, NY. Then, the company returned to The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard during the summer. Summertime Suite returned to the Battery Dance Festival in August before the Company travelled to the Keybank Rochester Fringe Festival in September to perform Encore. DGDC then had a residency at Georgian Court University, followed by a tour of several California and Arizona colleges. The year ended with the Company’s return to the Movement and Dance Festival at Nazareth College and the Key West Dance Collective in Florida.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Intersections
Redo
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Catskills Residency
Welcome to the World of Dance
Wyoming Tour
The Company’s 20th Anniversary Season kicked off with a residency in the Catskills. Back in NYC, Intersections was performed at the 92nd Street Y, before the Company presentedWelcome To The World of Dance in February. From February to May, the Company also had a residency at the Philadelphia High School for Girls. Then, DGDC partook in the Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan in March. While in Michigan, Daniel went on a teaching tour at several colleges and universities. Redo premiered at Dixon Place in June, before Daniel danced through Paris, Provence, Athens, and the Greek islands of Aegina, Syros, and Andros in July. Upon his return, Daniel taught at a week-long intensive at The Studios of Key West for their Modern Dance Workshop in early August. The Company then went on tour in Wyoming, including a performance at The Whitney Center for the Arts in Sheridan. In October at the National Dance Education Organization's 21st annual conference, Daniel presented a paper titled A Life in Choreography: Longevity and Legacy, using the Company as a case study for the primacy of archiving and documentation, and presented a movement workshop, Viewpoints and Perspectives: Using Viewpoints as a Creative System for Inclusion and Discourse.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
The Fantasyland Project
The Toast: Raise a Glass
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Upstate NY Residency
NDEA Virtual Programming
The Fantasyland Project
In May, Daniel curated and moderated an enthusiastically-received Webinar for the National Dance Education Organization: Re-Framing and Re-Energizing: Dancers, Choreographers, and Companies in the Time of COVID. Though intended to be performed as a live event, the premiere of The Fantasyland Project was held virtually in July. In August, the Company travelled to Ithaca, New York for a residency where Parade, Willow, and Dollhouse were choreographed and filmed. In the fall, Daniel virtually premiered The Toast: Raise A Glass, a dance choreographed for the New York State Dance Education Association (NYSDEA)'s Virtual Awards Ceremony. The Fantasyland Project was then screened again in early November.
Dances Premiered
Highlights/Residencies
Parade
Willow
Dollhouse
Dance With Us!
Dandelion
Charged
2021 began with a virtual Valentine’s Day showing of a 2019 performance of An Evening of Love Dances, featuring commentary by Daniel and Company members Derek Crescenti and Vanessa Martínez de Baños. In April, Terrain screened in Nepal as a part of the ViDEOSKiN II Festival. The dance film Charged, which Daniel choreographed, premiered in Flatlands Dance Theatre’s streaming event, The Solo Series, in early May. Later in the month, the dance film Dandelion premiered, presented by NYC’s Green Space. The Company was then featured on NYC’s WKTU, where Daniel spoke about the summer launch of the Dance With Us project. In December Daniel performed Character at Florida Atlantic University.
Significant Event
Films Screened
Willow
Dollhouse
Charged
In May the enCore Dance on Film festival, which features short movies by dance filmmakers from around the world, screened Willow, in Atlanta. In July, the Company's Dollhouse has been selected to screen in The American Dance Festival's Movies By Movers annual film festival dedicated to the celebration of the conversation between the body and the camera. In September, Thessaloniki Cinedance International announces screened Charged in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Dances Premiered
Films Screened
e-Motion
Charged
Charged, which showcases an over-caffeinated Everywoman in her kitchen on the brink of disaster, continues to gain acceptance into film festivals. In February it screened at the Third Coast Dance Film Festival in Reno, NV, in March at the Opine Dance Film Festival in Bryn Mawr, PA hosted by the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, and in June at American Dance Festival's Movies by Movers Festival, ADF's 90th Anniversary season. e-Motion (CLICK TO READ ABOUT THE WORK) premieres at The Cherry Arts, in Ithaca, NY and everywhere online via livestream May 26-June 4. Co-produced by The Cherry Arts & DGDC.
