Mission Statement | Collaborators/Biographies

MISSION STATEMENT

Muse is a New York based Dance Theater Company. Said to posess "originality and a gift" by The San Diego Union Tribune, Artistic Director Christopher K. Morgan's dance theater work has been seen in the US, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Hong Kong & Ireland. Uniting beautiful, evocative movement, original music, thought provoking text and striking visual imagery supported by his own unique costume and set design, the Washington Post has called his work "hypnotizing... technically and artistically strong, simply excellent".

Incorporating writing, theater exercises, voice work, yoga as well as physically demanding dance training, the process of creating the work is in depth, fluid and ever-evolving. Looking to work with artists truly invested in the creation of meaningful work that aspires to entertain, engage and make both audience and performer question the human condition, Christopher has been cultivating strong relationships in the art community.

Working with Composer/Performer Monstah Black over the last 7 years to create original music, for the work, as well artists such as Italian Countertenor Angelo Smimmo and Visual/Technology Artist Eun Jung Gonzalez, the company is invested in collaboration. Additionally, virtuosic performers including Joan Chiang, Miguel Estefan Jr., Kyle Lang, Emma Martin, Sharon Milanese, and Alexandra Sawyier, lend their creativity to the development of the work.

Addressing issues of racial identity, gender politics, sexual orientation and social class structure, the mission of Muse is grounded in a firm belief in the power of art and its ability to incite dialogue, stir thought and create socio-political change. Where educational systems, government institutions and mass media so often fail, Art can succeed.


COLLABORATORS/BIOGRAPHIES

Christopher K. Morgan is Artistic Director of New York based Dance Theater Company Muse. His work has been said to possess "Éoriginality and a gift" by the San Diego Union Tribune and been seen in the US, Mexico, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Ireland and Hong Kong. A collaborator in DanceWide HKNY, he recently spent 4 weeks choreographing & performing in Hong Kong. ChristopherÕs commission Ties That Bind, created on the Lithuanian Dance Company AURA, was presented in the New Baltic International Festival of Dance in Vilnius, Lithuania. A respected teacher, he has taught at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, private schools and Universities throught the US, and is a regular Guest Artist at the Iwanson School in Munich, where he was commissioned in 2003 to create The Worth of a Woman (a companion piece to his solo work The Measure of a Man). These various international influences inform both his aesthetic as well as a sense of the universal becoming personal in his work. Performance highlights include: Fabulous Beast Dance Theater(UK), Ben Munisteri Dance, David Gordon Pick-Up Co, Selfish Shellfish (Munich), NY City Opera, Washington National Opera, Cortez & Co. Contemporary Ballets, Shapiro & Smith, Kevin Wynn & the Collection, The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, & Malashock Dance & Co., among others. Also working in film and television, Christopher portrays the central character in the independent short film Fallen Star, danced in the PBS Great Performances presentation of "Le Cid", starring Placido Domingo and will soon be seen dancing with Kate Winslet in John Turturro's upcoming film Romance and Cigarettes. The eclecticism of his performing background informs his own work with a rich breadth of movement vocabulary.

MonstaH Black (musical collaborator) is a self-shaped Messiah of the Funk, bringing his Virginia roots and word-ly peregrinations to bear on everything from class consciousness to gender politics. MESAMI Groove Music is MonstaH's independent production company, encompassing a recording label, fashion and choreography departments ( www.mesamigroovemusic.com). Based in Harlem since 1999, MESAMI has garnered support from Blackout Arts Collective, Topaz Arts, and Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center (THPAC), where MonstaH was commissioned to create an evening-length work entitled THIS for the Toenails of Steel choreographic festival of 2003. As a dancer MonstaH has toured internationally with Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Molissa Fenley & Maida Withers. He and Christopher have collaborated on a variety of artistic endeavors over the past six years.

Angelo Smimmo (musical collaborator), originally from Naples, currently lives in England. He began his performing career dancing at Atelier Rudra Bejart Lausanne in Switzerland, where he worked with Maurice Bejart, Carolyn Carlson and Yoshi Oida. During this time he discovered his voice, leading him to spend the next five years performing with Maestro Roberto De Simone, one of ItalyÕs most influential musicologists. Recent credits include Oberon in Lindsay Kemp's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Fabulous Beast Dance Theater's Giselle, & appearances at Teatro Piccolo Milano, Teatro Valle Roma, Teatro El Grec Barcelona, Comedie Francaise Paris, Munich Opera House, Teatro S Carlo di Napoli, SadlerÕs Wells London and is currently touring in Lindsay Kemp's Elizabeth.

Kyle Lang (performer) is a native of Bogalusa, Louisiana where he began his studies in music at an early age. He was first introduced to dance while studying music at University of Southern Mississippi, and in 2003 earned a B.F.A. in dance from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Kyle is privileged to have danced with Ben Munisteri Dance Projects, as a demi-soloist with the Metropolitan Opera, Kun Yang Lin and Dancers, and Notes in Motion. Currently also working with CorbinDances, Kyle has recently taught and set works in Ireland and California with Muse Artistic Director Christopher K. Morgan.

Emma Martin (performer) born in Ireland, Emma studied at the John Cranko Ballet academy in Stuttgart, Germany, which during her time there performed with the Stuttgart Ballet in their productions of Giselle, Scholz's Firebird and Cranko's Romeo and Juliet. Since graduating in 2000 she has performed in classical ballets such as Swan Lake, La Bayadere, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty as well as contemporary works. Some of the companies she has worked with include Trier Ballet, Ballet Ireland and Coisceim Dance Theatre, as well as choreographers Nathan Garda, Tadeusz Matacz, Renaud Doucet, Ingrid Nachstern and David Bolger.

Sharon Milanese (performer) is originally from Wyckoff, New Jersey where she began dancing at Robin Horneff's Performing Arts Center. She continued her training at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas, graduating with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance. Sharon has studied at Boston Ballet, Royal Academy of Dancing, Ballet School New York, Paul Taylor School, and ODC/San Francisco. Her professional credits include performing with Cortez and Company Contemporary/Ballet, Verb Ballets, New York Theatre Ballet, Lydia Johnson Dance Company, Take Dance Company and Corbin Dances.

Alexandra Sawyier (performer) is a Chicago native whose training highlights include a B.F.A from NYU Tisch, studies with Maria Tallchief, The San Francisco Ballet and the School of American Ballet. She is in her third season with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Alexandra has also performed in such venues as the Houston Grand Opera, Avery Fisher Hall, the McCarter Theater and the Papermill Playhouse. In addition, Alexandra tours nationally and choreographs for Billboard-charting recording artist, Jana, and has performed as a soloist for Saba Dance Theater and the Mariana Bekerman Dance Company.

Eun Jung Gonzalez (multi-media artist/performer) is a multi-faceted artist who has worked as a dancer, teacher, choreographer and multi-media artist. Originally from South Korea, she is a graduate of North Carolina School of the Arts in dance and has performed with various companies and collaborators, including Malashock Dance & Co., Sean Curran Co., Allyson Green Dance, The Limon Dance Co., Laura Peterson Choreography, Pulso Cia de Danza (Mexico), Helena Franzen (Sweden), etc.. She received her Master's Degree from New York University in Interactive Telecommunications and is pursuing synthesizing technology and performance. Her work has been presented at Dancespace Project (2001, 2002, 2003, 2006) in New York, as well as in Milwaukkee, Mexico and Korea.
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