Sarah Michelson is an extraordinary choreographer. Never comfortable with success or the easy way out, she pushes questions to the wall, most recently with her Devotion series (2012–), which transmutes the very history of dance and its worlds into an elaborate, constantly evolving exploration of the meanings of movement. Born in Manchester, England, and living in New York since 1991, Michelson makes highly original works that surprise with their stark intelligence and brutal beauty. But the rarity and intense specificity of her dances means they are often unknown outside circles of devoted viewers. These audiences and the places they inhabit and the cities in which they live are the sublime material for her art. Here is the firsthand story of her remarkable career, told by a few of her work’s most engaged viewers and participants.

 

This book—featuring all original essays and interviews as well as a complete list of works to date—testifies to Michelson’s central position in the history of dance. 128 pp.; 40 illus.

 

Modern Dance is a series of monographs exploring dance makers in the twenty-first century. Each volume focuses on a single choreographer, presenting a rich collection of newly commissioned texts along with a definitive catalogue of the artist's projects. View the other titles in the series: Boris Charmatz and Ralph Lemon.