Karole Armitage
Encyclopedia
Karole Armitage is an American dancer and choreographer currently based in New York City. She is Artistic Director of Armitage Gone! Dance, a contemporary ballet company that performs several times annually in New York City as well as touring internationally. Dubbed the “punk ballerina” in the 1980s and recently Tony-nominated for her choreography of the Broadway musical Hair, Armitage distinguishes her company from its contemporaries through her extreme versatility and originality.
to create a work for the American Ballet Theatre
. Three years later, Rudolph Nureyev commissioned one of her works for the Paris Opéra Ballet. She created five ballets for the Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris during the 1980s.
From 1995 to 1998, she served as the director and choreographer of the company MaggioDanza in Florence
, Italy
, moving on to become resident choreographer of the Ballet de Lorraine in Nancy, France
, in 1999, where she was to remain until 2002. In 2004, she was the director of the International Festival of Contemporary Dance at the Venice Biennale
. Returning to New York City after 15 years abroad, she founded her current company, Armitage Gone! Dance, in 2005.
Armitage's recent collaborators include British composer Thomas Adès
, artists; Jeff Koons
Jean-Paul Gaultier
, Christian Lacroix
, Brice Marden
, David Salle
, Peter Speliopoulos
, and Broadway designers; Clifton Taylor
, and Philip Taaffe
. She has commissioned music from many composers and her company regularly performs to live music. The themes of her pieces are as diverse as Audubon
's Birds of America
. In a recent work "Three Theories" was inspired by Brian Greene
's popular science book The Elegant Universe
. This premiered at the 2010 World Science Festival
(the physics
of black hole
s and string theory
).
Armitage stated that "Physics makes me dream. I try to think outside the box and open up my mind. I like science. Science always questions authority. This conflict between theories seemed to me so dramatic and so incredibly fundamental."
Armitage has created dances for numerous companies including the Paris Opera Ballet, White Oak Dance Project, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Lyon Opera Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, the Washington Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Kansas City Ballet, the Bern Ballet, The Washington Ballet and Rambert Dance Company. She has directed operas from the baroque and contemporary repertoire for many of the prestigious houses of Europe. These operas include; Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Lyric Opera in Athens and Het Muzik Theater in Amsterdam.
In addition to working for the stage, Armitage has worked with pop music, including choreography for Michael Jackson
’s "In The Closet" and Madonna
’s "Vogue". Armitage has also worked with classical music, such as that of composers Bela Bartok ("Time is the echo of an axe within a wood", György Ligeti
("Ligeti Essays") and, more recently of György's son, Lukas Ligeti
. In a conversation with Lukas Ligeti for BOMB Magazine
, Armitage described the challenge of choreographing Itutu. "Itutu" is a dance piece set to both Ligeti’s own compositions and those of Burkina Electric. Burkina Elecrtic is a musical group in which Ligeti works with electronica and Burkinabe popular music. This was an opportunity to "make these disparate, contradictory musical worlds mean something theatrical."
She has also choreographed several movies in collaboration with director, James Ivory, including The Golden Bowl and The White Countess. Her work has been the subject of two documentaries made for television: The South Bank Show (1985), directed by David Hinton and Wild Ballerina (1998), directed by Mark Kidel. Her ballet Rave was filmed for television for the European channel Arte.
to dub her the "punk ballerina". Her first piece, Ne, was set to punk
music and freely utilized neon lighting. She continued this style of combining classical ballet with punk in Drastic Classicism, adding out-of-the-ordinary costumes to the mix.
Armitage's eclecticism extends to all aspects of her work. Her dance style itself is modern punk with obvious classical roots and a strong classical Japanese influence, but also uses social dance and incorporates numerous aspects of classical ballet including pointe work. She lists classical ballet, Merce Cunningham
, and punk as her three presiding influences. She requires the members of her company to be experienced in both modern dance and ballet. Armitage described her ideal company dancers as "virtuosos in the sense that they have a wide range of ability to control their bodies but who don’t look academic."
2. Armitage is now choreographing for the Cirque du Soleil 2012 tent show in Montreal, Canada.
Early life and early career
Born in Madison Wisconsin, Armitage grew up dividing her time in two places: Lawrence, Kansas and Gothic, Colorado. This was the site of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory where her father, a biologist, did research. Armitage began studying ballet in Lawrence, Kansas at the age of four with former New York City Ballet Dancer, Tomi Wortham, followed by classes in Crested Butte, Colorado with Shirley Strabhaur. She then continued her studies with Ballet West in Aspen and Salt Lake City, at the School of American Ballet the Harkness House in New York City, at North Carolina School of the Arts, and with Massine in London. Armitage began her professional career in 1973 as a member of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève in Switzerland. This was a company directed by George Balanchine and Patricia Neary which was rooted in the Balanchine aesthetic and devoted exclusively to his repertory. There she performed many Balanchine masterworks including Agon, The Four Temperaments and Serenade. From 1976–1981 she was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company where she danced in leading roles across the globe.Choreography
In 1978, she created her first piece as a choreographer piece titled Ne, then followed by Drastic-Classicism in 1981. Throughout the 1980s, Armitage led her own company, which was based in New York City. Her company toured internationally and was known for its collaborations with artists David Salle and Jeff Koons. In 1984, she was invited by Mikhail BaryshnikovMikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
to create a work for the American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
. Three years later, Rudolph Nureyev commissioned one of her works for the Paris Opéra Ballet. She created five ballets for the Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris during the 1980s.
From 1995 to 1998, she served as the director and choreographer of the company MaggioDanza in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, moving on to become resident choreographer of the Ballet de Lorraine in Nancy, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in 1999, where she was to remain until 2002. In 2004, she was the director of the International Festival of Contemporary Dance at the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
. Returning to New York City after 15 years abroad, she founded her current company, Armitage Gone! Dance, in 2005.
Armitage's recent collaborators include British composer Thomas Adès
Thomas Adès
Thomas Adès is a British composer, pianist and conductor.-Biography:Adès studied piano with Paul Berkowitz and later composition with Robert Saxton at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London...
, artists; Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier , born 24 April 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French haute couture fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. In the past, he has hosted the television series Eurotrash....
, Christian Lacroix
Christian Lacroix
Christian Marie Marc Lacroix is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded.-Early life:Lacroix was born in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône in southern France. At a young age he began sketching historical costumes and fashions. Lacroix graduated from high school in 1969...
, Brice Marden
Brice Marden
Brice Marden , is an American artist, generally described as Minimalist, although his work defies specific categorization. He lives in New York and Eagles Mere.Marden is represented by the Matthew Marks Gallery.-Life:...
, David Salle
David Salle
David Salle is an American painter who helped define postmodern sensibility by combining figuration with a varied pictorial language of multi-imagery...
, Peter Speliopoulos
Peter Speliopoulos
Peter Speliopoulos, born in 1961 in Springfield, Massachusetts, is a Greek American fashion designer.-Life as a designer:Speliopoulos studied fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York and graduated with a BFA in 1981. Speliopoulos is best friends with fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi who also...
, and Broadway designers; Clifton Taylor
Clifton Taylor
Clifton Taylor is a theatrical Designer who is based in New York.-Biography:Clifton Taylor, scenic and lighting designer for the theater has worked on Broadway, and in the spheres of Opera and Ballet throughout the world...
, and Philip Taaffe
Philip Taaffe
Philip Taaffe is an American artistTaaffe was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey and studied at the Cooper Union in New York, gaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1977....
. She has commissioned music from many composers and her company regularly performs to live music. The themes of her pieces are as diverse as Audubon
John James Audubon
John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...
's Birds of America
Birds of America (book)
The Birds of America is a book by naturalist and painter John James Audubon, containing illustrations of a wide variety of birds of the United States. It was first published as a series of sections between 1827 and 1838, in Edinburgh and London....
. In a recent work "Three Theories" was inspired by Brian Greene
Brian Greene
Brian Greene is an American theoretical physicist and string theorist. He has been a professor at Columbia University since 1996. Greene has worked on mirror symmetry, relating two different Calabi-Yau manifolds...
's popular science book The Elegant Universe
The Elegant Universe
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory is a book by Brian Greene published in 1999, which introduces string and superstring theory, and provides a comprehensive though non-technical assessment of the theory and some of its shortcomings...
. This premiered at the 2010 World Science Festival
World Science Festival
The World Science Festival is a science festival held in New York City that is held annually in the summer. The 2008 inaugural festival was held May 28 – June 1 and consisted mainly of panel discussions and on-stage conversations, accompanied by multimedia presentations.The festival was the...
(the physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
of black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
s and string theory
String theory
String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything , a manner of describing the known fundamental forces and matter in a mathematically complete system...
).
Armitage stated that "Physics makes me dream. I try to think outside the box and open up my mind. I like science. Science always questions authority. This conflict between theories seemed to me so dramatic and so incredibly fundamental."
Armitage has created dances for numerous companies including the Paris Opera Ballet, White Oak Dance Project, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Lyon Opera Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, the Washington Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Kansas City Ballet, the Bern Ballet, The Washington Ballet and Rambert Dance Company. She has directed operas from the baroque and contemporary repertoire for many of the prestigious houses of Europe. These operas include; Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Lyric Opera in Athens and Het Muzik Theater in Amsterdam.
In addition to working for the stage, Armitage has worked with pop music, including choreography for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
’s "In The Closet" and Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
’s "Vogue". Armitage has also worked with classical music, such as that of composers Bela Bartok ("Time is the echo of an axe within a wood", György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
("Ligeti Essays") and, more recently of György's son, Lukas Ligeti
Lukas Ligeti
Lukas Ligeti is a composer and percussionist. His work incorporates elements of jazz, contemporary classical, and various world musics.- Background :...
. In a conversation with Lukas Ligeti for BOMB Magazine
Bomb Magazine
BOMB is a quarterly magazine edited by artists and writers. It is composed, primarily, of interviews between creative people working in a variety of disciplines — visual art, literature, music, film, theater and architecture....
, Armitage described the challenge of choreographing Itutu. "Itutu" is a dance piece set to both Ligeti’s own compositions and those of Burkina Electric. Burkina Elecrtic is a musical group in which Ligeti works with electronica and Burkinabe popular music. This was an opportunity to "make these disparate, contradictory musical worlds mean something theatrical."
She has also choreographed several movies in collaboration with director, James Ivory, including The Golden Bowl and The White Countess. Her work has been the subject of two documentaries made for television: The South Bank Show (1985), directed by David Hinton and Wild Ballerina (1998), directed by Mark Kidel. Her ballet Rave was filmed for television for the European channel Arte.
Choreographic style
Armitage is known for her eclectic style, which caused Vanity FairVanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
to dub her the "punk ballerina". Her first piece, Ne, was set to punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
music and freely utilized neon lighting. She continued this style of combining classical ballet with punk in Drastic Classicism, adding out-of-the-ordinary costumes to the mix.
Armitage's eclecticism extends to all aspects of her work. Her dance style itself is modern punk with obvious classical roots and a strong classical Japanese influence, but also uses social dance and incorporates numerous aspects of classical ballet including pointe work. She lists classical ballet, Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, and punk as her three presiding influences. She requires the members of her company to be experienced in both modern dance and ballet. Armitage described her ideal company dancers as "virtuosos in the sense that they have a wide range of ability to control their bodies but who don’t look academic."
Awards and honors
In the spring of 2009, Armitage was awarded France’s most prestigious award, Commandeur dans L’ordre des Arts et des Lettres.Interesting Facts
1. In the summer of 2010 Armitage started to work with the MIT- based composer Tod Machover on his opera titled "Death and the Powers". In this opera Armitage incorporated chorepgraphy for robots.2. Armitage is now choreographing for the Cirque du Soleil 2012 tent show in Montreal, Canada.