MEREDITH RAINEY choreographer|educator|artist

BIOGRAPHY

Picture this: 15-year-old, African American teenager living in Fort Lauderdale with my single mother, sister and, on occasion, my brothers. Having the fortunate experience of witnessing my girlfriend dance. She was rehearsing a solo that she would be performing to audition for a position in the Dillard School of the Performing Arts. Now, not knowing anything about dance I said to her after she finished dancing, “That was really nice.” She then asked if I had any suggestions I then said (with great hubris), “Well, you know when that high note in the music came maybe you should have kicked instead of going to the floor.” This was my first choreographic act. Soon after this episode I applied for Dillard School of the Performing Arts myself, after some persuasion from my girlfriend and my guidance counselor. I got in and took ballet, Graham technique and jazz, as well as the other mandatory courses. Every class was a new and exciting challenge. I felt a new-found energy and possibility with every new step. At the top was ballet. I was really drawn to the rigor, discipline and the dedication to constant improvement. Needless to say, the ballet stuck.

I worked really hard for the next two years in high school. I also took extra classes from Brenda Gooden, a former Pittsburgh Ballet dancer who was the head of the dance program at Pine Crest, a private school in the area. After graduating from high school, I auditioned for and joined the Fort Lauderdale Ballet in their 1984/85 season. I was quickly thrown into pieces, and I had to learn quickly to catch up to the level of the other two male dancers in the company. It felt a bit like trial by fire and fortunately my innate ability to kinesthetically incorporate choreography, technique, and corrections helped me progress quickly and solidify my position in the company. It was an unpaid position, but I got free classes and worked in the office for a very small fee. The spring of 1985 I auditioned for many summer programs at professional companies and landed at the Milwaukee Ballet summer program with a full scholarship. This was an exciting time with lots of firsts - first time away from home, living alone, flying on a plane, and most importantly a time of, finding and bringing into being my identity as an artist, performer, and gay man.

At the end of the Milwaukee Ballet summer program, I was asked to stay for the following year as a trainee. Then a few months later I was asked to join the company as an apprentice--making me the first African American dancer in the Milwaukee ballet. In 1987 I was asked to join the newly formed Pennsylvania- Milwaukee Ballet, a joint venture that lasted two seasons. Upon its ending in 1989 I joined the Pennsylvania Ballet where I remained for the bulk of my performing career. I was promoted to soloist in 1999 and retired from the company in 2006. I continued to dance for two more years with Ballet X before truly leaving the stage in 2008.

During those 17 years with Pennsylvania Ballet I was privileged also to perform with Dance Theatre of Harlem in the summer of 1997 as a demi-soloist, and with Complexions Contemporary Ballet as a guest artist from 2001 to 2002. My proudest moment performing as a guest artist was in “The River” by Alvin Ailey with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in a gala performance in Honor of Masazumi Chaya. Having seen the Ailey company for years and knowing the pride, honor, and prestige they bring to the African American experience in the United States and around the world, I felt truly blessed to have performed just once on the same stage with this company.

I have had the pleasure of performing works by choreographers George Balanchine, Alvin Ailey, Mary Anthony, Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovitch, José Limón, John Butler, John Cranko, and William Forsythe. I have also originated roles with and for Jean Grand-Maître, Robert Weiss, Jorma Elo, David Parsons, Trey McIntyre, Kevin O’Day, Adam Hougland and Matthew Neenan. These choreographers and their work have influenced me as a performer, creator and educator. I was fully invested in the process of creating and sometimes re-creating works and also encouraged to be an engaged and a thoughtful movement collaborator.

The evolution into choreography seemed a natural transition and it afforded me opportunities to continue in the field of dance. Upon retiring from the Pennsylvania Ballet in 2006, I realized the I needed to find my voice outside of the classical ballet world in which I had spent all of my career. To that end I spent two years as part of the Susan Hess Modern Dance Studio’s, “Choreographer’s Project”. Here, we took part in workshops, peer-to-peer critique and collaboration, open studio showings and

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MEREDITH RAINEY choreographer|educator|artist choreographic discussions/conversations with leaders in the field, such as Simon Dove. I was also paired with personal mentor Ralph Lemon for guidance.

With some new skills and strategies learned, I hung out my shingle as a choreographer and to varying degrees I have been successful. I have created commissioned works for Ballet X, Brandywine Ballet, Delaware Ballet, Hubbard Street 2, Incoln Ballet (Ballet Clássico Nacional de Colombia), Pennsylvania Ballet and Phrenic New Ballet. I have made and continue to make works for higher learning institutions such as American University, Bryn Mawr College, Drexel University, Goucher College, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Swarthmore College, Temple University, and The University of the Arts. My work has been performed throughout North and South America and Europe, as a part of the Miami International Ballet Festival, the International Ballet Festival of Ecuador, the First and Second International Ballet Festival of Calí, (Colombia) and as a part of Incoln Ballet’s tour to Madrid, Spain.

Having worked for many different companies and institutions and seeing how some of these organizations ran. I started to wonder how I might do it differently and what it might be like to run my own organization. Running a company was an idea that was always in the back of my mind. It became a serious possibility during the “New Edge” Residency that I was awarded in 2008 by the Community Education Center of Philadelphia (a wonderful time to start a company just before the great recession).

During this residency I realized just how much I enjoyed bringing people together to work on a common goal. So, at the end of that collaborative process I started Carbon Dance Theatre. In a short amount of time Carbon Dance Theatre had taken flight, garnering critical acclaim in P. The company was presented in New York, NY; Baltimore, MD; and Pittsburgh, PA and was a resident company at Drexel University.

For the next five years from 2009 -2013 everything I did was in service to the company. I learned quite a bit about myself and building an organization from the ground up. Welcome lessons in planning, listening, compromise, resilience, humility, and purpose helped me vision and shape an organization I was very proud of. These lessons were at times clear, easy, and affective while at other times disappointing, hard-fought and discouraging. As you may imagine this became increasingly depleting and I found myself longing a change.

After some deep soul searching and lots of discussions with colleagues and loved ones, I decided to shutter Carbon Dance Theatre in 2014. I realized I desired more time to concentrate on artistic projects and teaching in higher education and less on managing Carbon Dance Theatre. Since then I have taught and created work for American University, Bryn Mawr College, Gaucher College, Muhlenberg College and Swarthmore College. I have also lead master classes in Chicago for Hubbard Street 2, in Washington D.C. for American University, and in Baltimore for Gaucher College. I am currently an adjunct professor at Drexel University and Master Lecturer at University of the Arts and truly grateful for the students and colleagues that I encounter and work with every day at these institutions.

I feel real gratitude to still be in the field and discipline that I love. There have been lots of challenges, but I have had my fair share of awards and honors. In the past I have been awarded grants and fellowships from the PA Council on the Arts Fellowship Grant for Choreography in 1995 & 2002, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Artist as Catalyst Grant in 2001, the Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts in 2002, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts Finalist in 2003, a Dance Advance Grantee in 2010, and The Joyce Theater Foundation’s The A.W.A.R.D. Show! Philadelphia 2011 winner.

When I look back on where I started as a young kid in this field, we call DANCE. I didn’t know anything, I trusted that it was where I was supposed to be. I left home, found myself, traveled to foreign countries, danced for major companies, performed with amazing artists, started and closed my own company, created works that I am truly proud of, made great friends, married an amazing man, and taught some incredible students. Through DANCE I achieved things I didn’t imagine possible in 1985, that movement is a constant in my life and gives me life.

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MEREDITH RAINEY choreographer|educator|artist

EDUCATION 2018 – 2019 University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA (Master of Fine Arts – Dance) 1985 – 1986 Milwaukee Ballet School, Milwaukee, WI 1984 – 1985 Magda G. Aunon School of Ballet, Fort Lauderdale, FL 1982 – 1984 Dillard School of Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL 1980 – 1984 Dillard High School, Fort Lauderdale, FL

DANCE EXPERIENCE 2016 – 2018 Pitch Dance, Philadelphia, PA 2009 – 2010 Carbon Dance Theater, Philadelphia, PA 2005 – 2008 Ballet X, Philadelphia, PA 2001 – 2002 Complexions Contemporary Ballet, New York, NY Guest Artist 1989 – 2006 Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadelphia, PA Soloist 1998-2006 Corps de ballet 1989-1998 1997 Dance Theatre of Harlem, New York, NY Demi-soloist 1997 1987 – 1989 Pennsylvania-Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee, WI & Philadelphia, PA Corps de ballet 1987-1989 1985 – 1987 Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee, WI Corps de ballet 1986-1987 Apprentice 1985-1986 1984 – 1985 Fort Lauderdale Ballet, Fort Lauderdale, FL Corps de ballet 1984-1985

DIRECTING EXPERIENCE 2017 - 2018 Pitch (a dance co.) – Co-Artistic Director 2017 S.kin to SKIN – Film Direction – Dance 2015 S.kin – Film Direction – Dance (Debut) 2010 - 2014 Carbon Dance Theatre – Artistic Director/Choreographer 2009 CEC Residency – Collaboration with 2 designers 1 composer (Second full evening work) 2001/2002 Mixed Company – Collaboration with Relâche Ensemble (First full evening of work)

AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS & RESIDENCIES 2018 Dance Fellowship: University of the Arts 2018 Life Experience Scholarship: University of the Arts 2014 Gaucher College Residency 2011 The A.W.A.R.D Show! 2011: Philadelphia 2010 Swarthmore Project Residency at Swarthmore College 2010/2011 Dance Advance Grant (The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage) 2008 CEC New Edge Residency 2006 Swarthmore Project Residency at Swarthmore College 2004 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship 2002 Winner - Hubbard Street 2 Choreography Competition 2002 Independence Foundation Artist Fellowship 2002 Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation “Artist as Catalyst” Grant 2002 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship 1997 Seven Arts Magazine “Rising Star” Award 1996 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship

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MEREDITH RAINEY choreographer|educator|artist

MEMBERSHIPS 2019 - present International Association of Blacks in Dance 2007 - 2012 Board Member, Philadelphia Dance Projects 1996 - 2000 Board of Trustees, Pennsylvania Ballet 1985 - present American Guild of Musical Artists 1983 - 2006 Founding Choreographer & Member of the Artistic Advisory Committee, Shut Up and Dance

TEACHING EXPERIENCE 2017 - present Swarthmore College (Associate in Dance Performance) 2014 - 2015 Temple University (Adjunct Faculty) 2014 Goucher College – Master Class 2012 - present University of the Arts (Master Lecturer) 2011 - 2015 Philadelphia Dance Academy (Instructor & Boys Program Instructor) 2009 - 2013 Peabody Preparatory (Instructor) 2008 - present Drexel University (Adjunct Assistant Professor) 2007 - 2011 Gwendolyn Bye Dance Center (Instructor) 2007 - 2010 Dance Theatre of Pennsylvania (Instructor) 2006 - 2010 Dance Arts – Cherry Hill (Instructor) 2006 - present Brandywine Ballet (Instructor) 2002 Hubbard Street 2 – Master Class 2000 Bryn Mawr College – Master Class 2000 Swarthmore College – Master Class 1997/1999 Bryn Mawr College – Master Class

TEACHING STATEMENT

As a teacher I work to inspire. My job is to find fresh approaches that help reimagine how ballet technique can be taught making it inspiring and inclusive, while also supporting the rigor and discipline the art deserves. Ballet is known for the pursuit of perfection, the perfect body, the perfect technique, the perfect turn out, extension, arabesque, pirouette, and jeté. These subjective ideas of perfection have to be challenged and re-thought. Having danced professionally for over 25 years and in the field for over 35, it has become clear to me that this re-thinking starts in the studios with the young dancing artist. I structure my classes to be empowering and inclusive. I believe that any body can dance, if they want too. I tailor the class to fit the needs of the dancers in the room. Always taking into account their motivation for being there, the level of their skill and the overall needs of the class. I draw on my history as a dancer and choreographer (both good and bad experiences) to give my students practical advice. I also instill the idea of a more intimately interconnected view of the technique to other forms and to other aspects of their lives and how they see themselves in the world.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS BALLET - BEGINNER This studio course introduces the fundamentals of classical ballet vocabulary with a focus on anatomically correct alignment, movement quality, and musicality. Physical conditioning for ballet is built into the class sessions. Students are made aware that hands-on correction is an essential element of ballet training and be prepared for physical adjustment in the classroom.

BALLET - INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED The Intermediate and or advanced level course in ballet technique concentrates on movement vocabulary, critical analysis of movement combinations, muscular stamina, flexibility, line, and artistry. This class is intended for intermediate to advanced ballet students to hone their skills and improve their overall artistic approach to their technique. Students at this level are expected to focus their physical, technical, and intellectual alongside their artistic achievements. Students are also be expected to have a working knowledge of ballet vocabulary.

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MEREDITH RAINEY choreographer|educator|artist

BALLET PARTNERING Classical to Contemporary This intermediate to advanced course takes students and first introduces them to the technique of classical partnering. The principles of hand-holds, promenades, lifts and tosses lead to more advanced ideas of weight sharing and off-balanced partnering. All of which are introduced in a structured and methodical manner. I believe that partnering can be a metaphor for how we conduct ourselves as citizens in the world. The concepts of trust, compromise reliability and responsiveness that are tied into my teaching of partnering are values that are useful well outside of the studio.

SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS 2012 William Forsythe’s ‘Improvisational Technologies’ - Presenter 2010 - 2012 Arts Action Research (consultancy) - Participant 2007 - 2008 Susan Hess Modern Dance Choreographer’s Project - Participant 2007 - 2008 Artists U - Participant 1999 Carlisle Project “Melding of Traditions Phila. Workshop” - Participant 1996 Carlisle Project “New Impulses Crossover Workshop” - Participant 1995 Carlisle Project “New Impulses Workshop” - Participant 1995 Carlisle Project “Ballroom Dancing Workshop” - Participant

CHOREOGRAPHIC WORKS 2020 Oh to see without my eyes./ Stockton University (Sufjan Stevens) 2019 With No Choice, They Will Move/ Bryn Mawr College (Arvo Pärt) 2019 Out of This Becoming/American University (Claude Debussy, Claire M. Singer) 2018 To be unseen, having been set apart/ University of the Arts (Paul Lansky, Claire M. Singer) 2018 In this Quiet Quiver/ University of the Arts (Ilan Isakov) 2017 In Between this Direction/ University of the Arts (Meijering, Richter) 2017 Dowsing the Low/ Bryn Mawr College (Ezio Bosso) 2017 Request/ Pitch Dance (Arvo Pärt) – created in collaboration w/Tania Isaac 2016 (In)Visible/ Pitch Dance (Bach, Chopin, Cousineau) - created in collaboration w/Tania Isaac 2016 Rush/ Stockton University (Henrick Schwarz) 2016 In your secrets, you are./ Drexel University (Arvo Pärt) 2015 Swan Lake Act 2/ Brandywine Ballet (Pyotr Tchaikovsky) 2015 Blank/ University of the Arts (Scanner aka. Robin Rimbaud) 2015 Willy Nilly/ Drexel University (J.S. Bach) 2015 The Roar/ University of the Arts Spring Concert (Apparat & Ellen Allien, Zoe Keating) 2015 Boxing Aurora/ Bryn Mawr College (Kevin Volans) 2014 A Roar on the Other Side of Silence/ University of the Arts Winter Concert (J.S.Bach) 2014 Chaconne/ Goucher College (J.S.Bach) 2014 Syna/ University of the Arts Spring Conert (Hilary Hahn, Hauschka) 2014 Secretum - Having been set apart/ Peabody Institute (Joby Talbot) 2014 For Jiri/ Drexel University Winter Concet (Giovanni Battista Pergolesi) 2013 Graffiato/ Bryn Mawr College (Apparat/Allien) 2013 3 in the matter of 3/ University of the Arts Spring Concert (King/Kline) 2013 Fashioned from the Opinion/ Drexel University (Mark Kuss) 2013 I Awoke To Find Myself Standing in the Rain/ Drexel University (Max Richter) 2012 Science per Forms/ Carbon Dance Theatre, (Gabriel Prokofiev) 2012 Looking For A Small Thought/ Shut Up and Dance, (Caroline Shaw) 2012 Per Cinque/ Peabody Institute, (Vivaldi) 2012 I Am Not I/ Peabody Institute, (J.S. Bach) 2012 Up Against Itself/ Drexel University, (Caroline Shaw) 2011 Waiting Room/ Carbon Dance Theatre, (Franz Schubert) 2011 Green/ Bryn Mawr College, (Björk) 2011 Upon the Point of Intersection/ Peabody Institute, (Michael Nyman)

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MEREDITH RAINEY choreographer|educator|artist

2010 Under the Red/ Swarthmore College, (Maurice Ravel) 2010 Caged/ Danse 4 Nia, (Joby Talbot) 2010 The Line Will Move/ Muhlenberg College (J.S. Bach) 2009 They Break/ Ballet X, (David Lang) 2009 Look Inside/ CEC “New Edge” Residency, (Jorge Cousineau) 2009 Seeds/ Drexel University (Arvo Pärt) 2009 Make Haste Slowly/ Brandywine Ballet, (Kevin Volans) 2009 Petal / Caged/ Garden State Dance Festival, (Brahms / Caccini) 2009 Before they Fall/ Muhlenberg College, (Todd Reynolds) 2008 Seven to One/ Garden State Dance Festival, (Michael Gordon) 2008 Panel/ Shut Up and Dance, (Jorge Cousineau) 2007 This Is It/It Is This/ Choreographers Project, (David Lang) 2007 Ex Nihilo/ Incolballet; First International Ballet Festival of Calí, Columbia South America, (Vivaldi) 2007 In the Light of Shadow/ Garden State Dance Festival, (Jeff Story) 2007 Near Miss/ Shut Up and Dance, (Steve Reich) 2006 PM/ Shut Up and Dance, (Ludwig van Beethoven) 2005 Shadowplay/ Ballet X, (Chen Yi) 2005 One Button Down/ Shut Up and Dance, (Eiichi Saito, Tetsuro Naito) 2004 Verum Gaudium, Raga, Slight Shifts/(South American Premier) Incoln Ballet, Cali, Columbia 2004 Bolmimeri/ American Harp Society, (Carlos Salzedo) 2004 Six to One, Nap Time/ Shut Up and Dance, (Björk) (Toby Twining) 2003 Verum Gaudim/ There & Back Again/ Wills Eye Hospital, (J.S. Bach), (J.S. Bach, Arvo Pärt) 2003 Raga/ Shut Up and Dance, (Shiela Chandra) 2002 Through The Wake/ Hubbard Street 2, (Richard Strauss) 2002 Speaking in Tongues/ Miami International Ballet Festival, (Shiela Chandra) 2001/2002 Mixed Company/ Relâche Ensemble, (Guy Klucevsek) [full solo evening of work] 2001/2002 Fall In/ Miami International Ballet Festival/Shut Up and Dance, (Guy Klucevsek) 2001 Paper/ Shut Up and Dance, (W. A. Mozart) 2000 Fly on the Wall/ Phrenic New Ballet, (Maurice Ravel) 2000 Waltz at 20, Installation/ Phrenic New Ballet, (Jaques Brel)(John Adams) 2000 Last Drag/ Bryn Mawr College, (Squirrel Nut Zippers) 2000 Zipper Suite/ Shut Up and Dance, (Squirrel Nut Zippers) 1999 Slight Shifts/ Pennsylvania Ballet, (Steve Reich) 1999 Aire/ Shut Up and Dance, (J.S. Bach) 1999 Graces/ Bryn Mawr College, (Michael Nyman) 1999 Cinderella/ Delaware Regional Ballet, (Sergei Prokofiev) 1998 In a State of Undress/ University of the Arts: Philadelphia Dances 1998, (J.S. Bach) 1998 Still Holding/ Shut Up and Dance, (Samuel Barber) 1997 Kodo/ Philadelphia Fringe Festival, (Ondekozo and Kodo) 1997 Feeling the Need/ Shut Up and Dance, (Adam Wernick) 1997 Water Women/ Bryn Mawr College, (Edgar Meyer and Mark O’Conner) 1996 If Only/ Carlisle Project New Impulses, (David Darling) 1996 Deliverance, Funky Town/ Shut Up and Dance, (C. Monteverdi)(The Chemical Brothers) 1996 Cracks in the Sidewalk, Interiors/ Pennsylvania Ballet, (Philip Glass) 1996 Beauty and the Beast/ Delaware Regional Ballet, (Maurice Ravel) 1995 100 Degrees in the Shade/By Leaps and Bounds PA Ballet Benefit, (Davenport/Cooley) 1994 Underneath Everything There Is…/ Philadanco (with PA Ballet) (Peter Gabriel) 1994 Duke’s Call/ School of the Pennsylvania Ballet, (Duke Ellington) 1994 5 by Franklin by 5/ Shut Up and Dance, (Aretha Franklin) 1993 In This Box/ Shut Up and Dance, (Peter Sculthorpe) 1993 Children’s Games/ The Philadelphia Orchestra, (Georges Bizet) 1992 Stravinsky Suite/ Off-Center Ballet Experimental wing of PA Ballet (Igor Stravinsky)

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