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A native of New Jersey, DEBORAH FRIEDES trained intensively at the American Repertory Ballet’s Princeton Ballet School and performed with the pre-professional company Princeton Ballet II. She converted to modern dance while an undergraduate at Brown University, where she created her own major in dance history. Deborah received her MFA in Directing from Labanotation Score from The Ohio State University and is certified by the Dance Notation Bureau to teach Labanotation. Passionate about dance scholarship and outreach, she is a researcher and writer for the American Dance Legacy Institute and a performer and teaching artist with Dancing Legacy.

Rehearsal for Kathy Hassinger’s “Bach and the Dance” Photo © Rich Hassinger

Deborah’s research interests and artistic pursuits are closely intertwined, and her understanding of dance history has been immeasurably enriched by her performances and stagings of twentieth century masterworks. She has danced in repertory by Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Merce Cunningham, Donald McKayle, Anna Sokolow, David Parsons, and Carolyn Dorfman. and she has directed works by Doris Humphrey, Helen Tamiris, and Hanya Holm from Labanotation score. More recently, Deborah has turned to site-specific dance, videodance, and improvisation in projects with Michael Estanich, Erin Tisdale, and Oren Or-shay.

Rehearsal for Michael Estanich’s “The Birdwomen of the Lonely Fjord” Photo © LaTriece Branson

Deborah is currently researching contemporary dance in Israel thanks to a Fulbright student grant, funded by the US-Israel Educational Foundation and hosted by the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She is podcasting interviews with Israeli choreographers on http://israelseen.com.

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Evan said,

March 25, 2008 @ 3:44 pm

Hi Deborah! I just noticed your profile pic on the side. It’s great to see that you’re now a winger contributor. Welcome!

Cheers,
Evan

Deborah said,

March 26, 2008 @ 10:03 pm

Thanks Evan! I’m excited to be here and am really looking forward to posting about my experience in Israel - the scene here is *amazing*!

Erin said,

March 27, 2008 @ 4:34 pm

Hi Deb!
I’m so excited you’re going to be contributing to the winger! Your blog posts always draw me in by your attention to detail and drive to research dance.
Looking forward to hearing more soon!