WATCH: Tere O’Connor in Conversation with Rashaun Mitchell – Danspace Project
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WATCH: Tere O’Connor in Conversation with Rashaun Mitchell

A black and white image of 5 dancers in contorted action, all moving left, holding and supporting each other.
Rehearsal photo from The Goodbye Studies (2015). Photo: Daniel Arnold.

On Monday, June 28 at 5pm (ET) via Zoom, Veteran Danspace Project artist Tere O’Connor offered a public presentation and discussion of his new work, Rivulets, set to premiere in 2022. Although the work was postponed from its scheduled 2021 premiere due to the pandemic, O’Connor connected to his beloved dance community with this glimpse into the creative process and his ongoing research as situated in this moment. The evening included video excerpts from the process and a conversation with esteemed colleague and choreographer, Rashaun Mitchell.

TERE O’ CONNOR is the artistic director of Tere O’Connor Dance in NYC and a Center for Advanced Studies Professor at the University of Illinois. He has created over 40 works for his company and many commissions, including Lyon Opera Ballet and Mikhail Baryshnikov. He received a 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, among numerous other grants and awards and has won three BESSIES. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014. An articulate and provocative educator, he has taught at festivals and universities around the globe. He’s currently researching his new work Rivulets to premiere Fall 2022 in NYC.

RASHAUN MITCHELL is a choreographer, performer and teacher living and working in NY. He is a 2014 Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of the 2012 NY Dance and Performance Award (Bessies) for “Outstanding Emerging Choreographer”. His choreography has been commissioned by New York Live Arts, Danspace Project, Baryshnikov Arts Center, and many others, as well as numerous site-specific venues and universities. Other awards include a 2007 Princess Grace Award: Dance Fellowship, a 2013 Foundation for Contemporary Art “Grant to Artist,” and a 2011 New York Dance and Performance (“Bessie”) Award for “Sustained achievement in the work of Merce Cunningham 2004-2012.” Mitchell is a Cunningham Trustee and licensed stager of the repertory. His work with ongoing partner, Silas Riener, involves the building of collaborative worlds through improvisational techniques. Their work together has been commissioned by BAM/ Next Wave, The Barbican, EMPAC, The Walker Art Center and numerous other venues worldwide.

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