Apogee Arts & Alison Chase - Choreographer Apogee Arts & Alison Chase - Choreographer

Apogee Arts & Alison Chase - Choreographer

Profile of Alison Chase

Alison Chase is a choreographer, director, master-teacher and theatrical artist. Alison founded Apogee Arts to enable her to pursue her passion for multidimensional story telling, fusions of film and dance; site-specific works; and museum installations. Through Apogee Arts Alison pursues her creative vision in bold collaborations with others artists, writers, designers, composers, photographers, filmmakers, projection designers, dancers and musicians.

Alison is well known as a choreographer and as a Founding Artistic Director of Pilobolus Dance Theater. In October 2008 Alison was named the Maine Arts Commission's 2009 Performing Arts Fellow. Until December 2005 Alison was co-artistic director and developer of Pilobolus Dance Theatre's educational programs. Alison's wide range of interest and ability has seen her through everything from replacing a warm-up band for the Frank Zappa Show to collaborating with the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall to working with a Diné medicine woman named Walking Thunder.

With her husband and their three children she lives on the coast of Maine.

• Alison's Background

Alison Chase was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Alison received her B.A. in Intellectual History and Philosophy from Washington University and her M.A. in Dance from UCLA. Alison had been Choreographer-In-Residence and Assistant Professor of Dance at Dartmouth College for three years when she became a founding Artistic Director of Pilobolus Dance Theatre in 1973 - an evolution from her Dartmouth dance class on collaboration and improvisation.

At the Milan Festival in 1980, Alison went on to premiere the company Momix with Moses Pendleton. She continued teaching at Yale for six years in the Theater Studies program, and in addition to working as Artistic Director and choreographer for Pilobolus Dance Theatre she headed the company's educational outreach for fourteen years.

Alison was a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1980, the Connecticut Governor's Award in 1997, the Scripps Award in 2000 , and the CINE Golden Eagle Award in 2002. She has choreographed for La Scala Opera, the Geneva Opera, the Ballet du Rhin, the Fete de l'Humanite and Radio City Music Hall.

• Alison's Awards

  • Maine Arts Commission - Performing Arts Fellow 2009
  • The CINE Golden Eagle Award 2002
  • Scripps Award 2000
  • Connecticut Governor's Arts Award 1997
  • Laurel Award 1992 - Life Time Achievement
  • Guggenheim Fellowship 1980