معرفی
Wendy Woodson serves as the Roger C. Holden Professor of Theater and Dance at Amherst College and the Five College Dance Department, where she has taught since 1987. Founder and Artistic Director of Present Co. Inc., she has created over 100 interdisciplinary performance works presented globally at venues including the Kennedy Center, Jacob's Pillow, and LaMaMa theaters in NYC and Melbourne.
Her research centers on interdisciplinary performance, exploring tensions between individual voices through mediation, reconciliation, and translation across media. She emphasizes kinesthetic empathy and collaborative improvisation, developing frameworks where movement, text, and video interact to examine belonging and identity. Her artistic practice consistently investigates how individuals navigate relationships within specific cultural and physical contexts.
Analysis of her 15 most recent works reveals an evolution from stage-based choreography toward video installations addressing displacement (NELA, DORA) and environmental change (Shore), while maintaining core interests in multilingual expression and psychological archetypes. Her pieces frequently engage refugee narratives, memory reconstruction, and cross-cultural dialogue.
- Prestigious Recognition: Fulbright Senior Scholar (2006-07), multiple international film festival Grand Prizes
- Major Residencies: Rockefeller Bellagio Center, Bogliasco Foundation, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
- Foundation Support: National Endowment for the Arts (6 fellowships), Massachusetts Cultural Council (12 awards)
Woodson has mentored through guest artist residencies at 15+ institutions worldwide while developing innovative curricula like The Art of Noticing seminar. Her Present Company Inc. has sustained 40+ years of collaborative production with over 50 associate artists across dance, theater, and visual media, creating experimental works that challenge conventional performance boundaries through interdisciplinary integration.
