Nancy Bannon
Nancy Bannon received her BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School. While in school, Nancy was honored to receive The Martha Hill Prize and a Princess Grace Award for her dancing. There she met Doug Varone and, following Juilliard, was invited into his company (1993-2000). Nancy was featured throughout the repertoire and is known for creating many roles, teaching master classes and workshops internationally and directing Varone’s works for various universities and companies. Recently, she has been invited to develop new work with Varone. For two years, Nancy also created and performed with Tere O’Connor Dance in his highly theatrical work and in 2001, was asked to dance a lead role in Lar Lubavitch’s company. She began studying acting in 1995 and quickly became involved in the development of theater work and plays. As an independent artist, she has been creating original dance and theater, seeking a fresh approach to combining those disciplines since 1997. Her projects have been presented in both types of venues, including Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church, Movement Research at Judson Church, the 92nd Street Y, BAX, Joyce SoHo and many universities. Nancy’s theatrical vision has led to the creation of work praised as "exceptionally poignant material that continues to resonate long after the entertainment has ended."* Creative influences include extensive studies in dance forms, acting (Earle Gister, Richard Feldman, Kelly Kimball), film and creative writing. Nancy has been a Movement Research Artist-in-Residence, taught on the faculties of Rutgers University and SUNY Purchase as well as throughout NYC and is a certified yoga teacher. She has led countless master classes and creative residencies for many organizations including: The Jose Limon Dance Company, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, NYU, Juilliard, SUNY Purchase, among many others, American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, Chisenhale (London), Santa Barbara Festival, and in Toronto, Tokyo, Paris, Kalamata, Greece, among others. She also served as script consultant, dance consultant and actors’ coach for the Broadway play, “Match”, directed by Nicholas Martin and as a member of selection panels for The Princess Grace Foundation dance awards and Movement Research. Nancy is active as a writer and actor in Naked Angel’s cold reading series as well and has been a guest teacher at Juilliard. She is the recipient of a second Princess Grace Award (Statue-1998) and a 2001 New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Award citing her as a “slicing, slashing, flying powerhouse of a dancer” and “an emotional whirlwind as an actress”.
“Nancy Bannon excels at creating handsome, vigorous movement and understanding the awkwardness and despair that plague human relationships. Show is perfect. An atypical piece, Nightswimming, casts Limon veteran Nina Watt as- of all things- a tree viciously cut down. Here Bannon’s exquisitely calibrated choreography details the disruption of the thrumming systems that constitute botanical life, while Watt embodies a mute consciousness of the fatal attack-a kind of biological shock and grief- that offered profound ramifications.” Tobi Tobias, Village Voice
“Her art speaks volumes about the world around us tackling major societal issues. Bannon demonstrates an invaluable aesthetic that stands equally strong in the world of art and the world of social instigation.” Offoffoff.com
*Sarah Carlson, Offoffoff.com