Dagmar Spain (choreographer, dancer, actor), born in the Czech Republic, received her early dance training in Frankfurt, Germany (BFA in dance). She was a gymnast at first throughout most of her childhood and started to always “design” her floor work with self-chosen music. After many years, she realized that her dance teacher then Ms. Moritz at about age ten was planting the seed of her joy in improvisation, which led eventually to her discovery of choreography.
In Germany she has professionally worked for several dance companies including the Bremer Tanztheater where she started to work very intensely with actors. Many of her teachers and choreographers that she was exposed to have worked with German choreographer Pina Bausch or were part of the experimental approach at the Tanzfabrik in Berlin. In this rich cultural environment her roots are deeply steeped in the German Tanztheater and expressionism. Her experiences also include mime-theater and acting in the theater company the Traumtaenzer. Her first choreography Klang der Erde (sound of the earth) was produced in the theater in Bremen. It is a duet with improvisational voice, and to this day many of her works are in collaboration with singers.
She came to New York to expand her horizon beyond “German” dance and found the freedom to weave different styles and influences into her work and graduated with an MFA from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. In New York she has performed with many companies, including Chen and Dancers, Risa Jaroslow, Anahi Galante, Elaine Shipman, Maxine Steinman, Daniela Hoff, Mary Seidman, Edith Stephen, Joan Miller Dance Players, among many others. She has studied choreography intensely with Bessie Schoenberg, Phyllis Lamhut and Doris Rudko, to whom she always feels grateful for their insight and their courage. And she discovered a new love, Tango. Tango has given her greater sensitivity to her deep interest in duet work.
In 2000 she founded her dance company Dance Imprints. The repertory includes four evening length dance theater works and several multi media productions with slide projection and video. She has collaborated and worked with music by a diverse group of contemporary composers, including David Broome, John Leaman, Jim Papoulis, Fernando Otero, Adrienne Ramm, among others. She also collaborated with filmmaker Alexis Gibson in her work Melting, as well as with Shan Wu in About my Love. Dance Imprints has been presented and produced with different productions at Joyce SoHo, Danspace Project/ St. Mark’s Church, The Kraine Theater, Arts at University Settlement, 92nd St. Y Harkness Dance Center, Grace Church van Horst in Jersey City, Manhattan School of Music, the Christ Chapel at Riverside Church, NY and at the Fringe Festivals in Toronto and New York. The company has conducted workshops at the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University and was invited to participate in Lexington in the Lex-Dance: Under the Radar artist in residency program which was founded by Curt Dempster as well as in the Silo artist’s residency program in Pennsylvania. The company has presented commissioned work at Brown University, the Kyurian Theater in Tokyo which was developed with fellow choreographer Armando Duarte, and at the Taipei Theater in New York.
Her work is deeply inspired by theater, music and film. Throughout these past years she is expanding herself as an actor, writer and filmmaker and continues to be inspired by the fusion of film and live performance. Since moving to Prague more permanently in 2009 she is creating again a stronger base in Europe, as well as continuing to work with fellow actors and dancers in New York.
