Stephen Pelton, Choreographer/Artistic Director, Stephen Pelton Dance Theater (Guest Teacher)
Stephen Pelton brings two decades of performance, choreography, and teaching experience to his role as artistic director of his dance company. A native of Rye, New York, he began dancing in 1979 at the State University of New York at Purchase. He continued his studies at Connecticut College, graduating with a BA in Dance and English in 1985, after which he spent five years in Boston dancing with Gerri Houlihan’s Boston Dance Project, Susan Rose Danceworks and Dance Collective.
Stephen moved to San Francisco in 1989, where he began teaching modern technique in local studios including New Performance Gallery, Footwork, San Francisco Dance Center and at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He danced with the Della Davidson Dance Company beginning in 1991 until establishing SPDT in 1993.
In 2000, Stephen began his work as a freelance technique and choreography teacher in Europe. He now divides his time between London and San Francisco, teaching contemporary dance technique and choreography at schools and studios including The Place, London Studio Centre and Central School of Ballet as well as master classes and technique and choreography workshops in Berlin, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Lucca, Italy. SPDT has participated in several artist-in-residency programs including the Djerassi Resident Artists’ Program, The Jon Sims Centre Air Space Residency and the American Dance Festival’s Young Choreographers and Composers in Residence Program.