“My purpose has not been to make a technique but to make exercises which are useful for the purpose of training dancers. Dance technique is flexible. The whole point in art, in life, is flexibility.” - Merce Cunningham

Dance New Amsterdam

Wednesday 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Saturday 1:00pm - 2:30pm

Taught by Rashaun Mitchell, Daniel Squire,

Robert Swinston, and Melissa Toogood

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ROBERT SWINSTON was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and attended Middlebury College and The Julliard School, where he received a B.F.A. in dance. He danced with the Martha Graham Apprentice Group, the José Limón Dance Company, and with Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theatre. He joined MCDC in August 1980 and became assistant to the choreographer in July 1992. Since Merce Cunningham’s death in July 2009, Swinston assumed the role of director of choreography, overseeing the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group, and the Company’s work with the Cunningham Educational Outreach Program. Since 1998, Swinston has assisted in various Cunningham archival reconstructions including Suite for Five (1956-58), Summerspace (1958), and Ocean (1994), and the recent revivals of Squaregame (1976), Duets (1980), and Roaratorio (1983) for the Legacy Tour. He has assisted in the staging of Cunningham works on other companies, including Boston Ballet, White Oak Dance Project, Rambert Dance Company, and New York City Ballet. In 2003, Swinston received a “Bessie” Award for his performance in the revival of Cunningham’s How to Pass, Kick, Fall, and Run. In 2009, Swinston was named a trustee for the Merce Cunningham Trust.

RASHAUN MITCHELL was born in Stamford, Connecticut, and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He started dancing at Concord Academy in Massachusetts and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 2000. He received the Viola Farber-Slayton Memorial Grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts in 2000. Since then he has danced with Pam Tanowitz, Chantal Yzermans, Donna Uchizono, Risa Jaroslow, Sara Rudner, and Richard Colton. He joined MCDC in January 2004 and is currently on faculty at the Cunningham Studio. In 2007 he was the recipient of a Princess Grace Award: Dance Fellowship. His own choreography has been presented in New York at the Skirball Center, the La Mama Theater, Mt. Tremper Arts and The Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston.

JENNIFER GOGGANS began dancing in her hometown of Owensboro, KY, and continued her studies at the Nutmeg Ballet in Connecticut. She received her BFA in dance from SUNY Purchase in 2000, and joined MCDC that same year. Goggans has been a faculty member of the Merce Cunningham Studio since 2005 and has taught master classes in the United States and across Europe.  In addition, she has staged Cunningham’s Cross Currents for both the Augusta Ballet and the Verb Ballet. Goggans has performed with the Louisville Ballet, MOMIX, Chantal Yzermans, Christopher Williams, and has created costumes for Daniel Squire’s [sic], RoseAnne Spradlin’s Survive Cycle, and Tere O'Connor's Wrought Iron Fog.

MELISSA TOOGOOD earned a BFA  in Dance Performance from New World School of the Arts, Miami, FL under Dean Daniel Lewis.  She began working with Cunningham as a member of the CDF Repertory Understudy Group in November 2005.  Melissa joined MCDC in June 2008.  A faculty member at the Merce Cunningham Studio since 2007, she has taught repertory workshops in her native city of Sydney, Australia. Melissa worked with Pam Tanowitz Dance, Miro Dance Theatre, was a founding member of the Michael Uthoff Dance Theatre and performed with writer Anne Carson.

CAROL TEITELBAUM was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1986 to 1993. She received an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Michigan and danced in the Lucinda Childs Dance Company and the Manuel Alum Dance Company before joining MCDC. Ms. Teitelbaum has staged Cunningham repertory at State University of New York at Purchase, Barnard College, Ballet de Lorraine, and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. She has taught master classes and held guest teaching positions at many institutions, including La Guardia High School of the Performing Arts, the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, the University of Michigan, and the Conservatoire de Paris. Ms. Teitelbaum is a certified Feldenkrais Practitioner.

JEAN FREEBURY faculty member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio since 1996 and SUNY/Purchase since 2008. Former member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company 1992-2003. She received her training at The Alberta Ballet School, North Carolina School of the Arts and London Contemporary Dance School. She was awarded a Canada Council Grant to study in New York at the Merce Cunningham Studio in 1991. She has also taught workshops, and staged Merce Cunningham’s work at various institutions most recently for The American Dance Festival in 2010 (Inlets 2) and in Feb. 2011 for the University of Michigan (MinEvent). She has also danced for Ellen Cornfield, Douglas Dunn, Glen Rumsey, Kota Yamazaki, Elke Rindfliesch and currently with Pam Tanowitz.

BANU OGAN was born in Ankara, Turkey and grew up in Bloomington, Indiana where she studied ballet with Lila Higgins and won a National Society of Arts and Letters Career Award in dance. In 1991, Banu graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1993 to 2000 and originated roles in ten new works. Since leaving the company she has performed in pieces by former Cunningham dancers Foofwa d'Imobilite, Ashley Chen, and Glen Rumsey and she has also worked with The Seldoms, a Chicago-based dance company directed by Carrie Hanson. Banu has been a faculty member of the Merce Cunningham studio since 1998 and has also taught technique class and repertory workshops in Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Brazil and Turkey. She has re-staged Cunningham's work for the Royal Swedish Ballet, for students at New World School for the Arts in Miami, Florida; for ATON/Dino Verga Danza in Rome, Italy; for students at Columbia College, Chicago; and the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She is currently a full-time faculty lecturer at Columbia College as well as performing and teaching at the Juilliard School.

DANIEL SQUIRE trained in dance with Dorothy Stevens & Louise Browne, then at White Lodge & the Rambert school. He has worked with Ian Spink, Michael Clark, Matthew Hawkins, John Scott, Kimberly Bartosik and Merce Cunningham. He teaches the technique—and sets the work—of Merce Cunningham internationally. He has also trained in acting at The Barrow Group, Atlantic Acting School, & (in Shakespeare) at RADA. He co-stars in Jill Kathryn Awbrey's upcoming feature Pretty Broken Things.