Bridgman | Packer Dance: Ghost Factory

Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer, Co-Artistic Directors of Bridgman|Packer Dance, have collaborated in choreography and performance since 1978. Decades later, they continue to be a vital and present voice in the dance ecosystem. In 2001, they expanded their choreographic vision, stretching the boundaries of dance by merging it with video technology. They continue to receive international critical praise for seamlessly melding these two art forms. In 2017, they received a New York Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding Production (The Bessies) for their work Voyeur at The Sheen Center.

The 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to Bridgman and Packer was the first in the history of the Guggenheim Foundation to be given to two individuals for their collaborative work. Bridgman and Packer are recipients of twelve grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (2007-2021) and grants from New England Foundation for the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, National Dance Project, USArtists International, Performing Americas Project, and La Red. They have received three Choreography Fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts (including 2022), four National Performance Network Creation Fund Awards, and choreographic commissions from Dance Theater Workshop (now New York Live Arts), Portland Ovations, Danspace Project, American Dance Asylum, and The 92nd Street Y New Works in Dance Fund.

Based in New York City, they have been presented by City Center Fall For Dance Festival, Lincoln Center, The Baryshnikov Arts Center, The 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival, Dance Theater Workshop (now NYLA), Danspace Project, The Sheen Center, and Central Park’s Summerstage.

They have toured throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, The Middle East, and Central America, performing in festivals, art centers, and universities. These include:

Spoleto Festival USA
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Munich International Dance Festival
The Institute for Contemporary Art/Boston
The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (St. Paul)
Festival Internacional de Artes Escenicas (Panama)
Aronoff Center for the Arts (Cincinnati)
Bates Dance Festival
Kintetsu Theater (Osaka, Japan)
Festival Internacional Chihuahua, Encuentro en la Cultura (Mexico)
Tancforum (Budapest)
Beirut Spring Festival (Lebanon)
High Fest International Arts Festival (Armenia)

Offering workshops in their unique approach to Contemporary Dance Partnering and Live Performance with Video Technology, Bridgman and Packer have been guest artists at over one hundred and fifty universities including New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, The Juilliard School, California Institute of the Arts, Ohio State University, Arizona State University, and the University of Utah. Bridgman and Packer are recipients of a Dance Theater Workshop Digital Fellowship. They have been highlighted in Dance Magazine’s issue on “Great Partnerships.” Their work in live performance and video technology is featured in the book Gegenwelten, Zwischen Differenz und Reflexion (Against Worlds, Between Difference and Reflection) by Jurgen Schlader and Franziska Weber, published in Munich in 2009. Bridgman|Packer Dance’s New York City Season at The Sheen Center was chosen as “Best Of 2016” in both The Village Voice and Huffington Post, and their performance at Dallas City Performance Hall was chosen as “Best of 2017” by theatrejones.com.

Fiscal Sponsorship provided by Foundation for Independent Artists, Inc., a non-profit organization administered by Counterpart.