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Stephen Petronio rendition of The Courtesan and the Crone by Anna Halprin, 2016. Exhibition detail from Ally, produced in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum. Photographed by Carlos Avendaño. Courtesy of the artists and The Fabric Workshop and Museum.

Questions of Practice: Choreographer Stephen Petronio on Performance and Ephemerality

Questions of Practice: Choreographer Stephen Petronio on Performance and Ephemerality

Choreographer Stephen Petronio discusses how his previous creations represent moments in time that live unconsciously in the body. He says his past works are a “reminder of the places that I’ve poured myself into and how they affect where I might be going in the future, or what I might want to discard from that past.”

Choreographer Stephen Petronio on performance and ephemerality. Filmed at The Fabric Workshop and Museum on April 22, 2016.

With Center support, The Fabric Workshop and Museum presents Ally, a performance-as-exhibition conceived by visual artist Janine Antoni in collaboration with Petronio and modern dance pioneer Anna Halprin. Ally is on view through July 31, 2016. View the performance schedule here.


Stephen Petronio has honed a unique language of movement that speaks to the intuitive and complex possibilities of the body. In the past 30 years, Petronio has created over 35 works for his company, and has been commissioned by some of the most prestigious modern and ballet companies around the world. Petronio is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award, and a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award.