Peter Sparling

Peter Sparling is Thurnau Professor of Dance at University of Michigan, A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and The Juilliard School, Sparling was a member of the José Limón Dance Company and principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company. He has performed and staged Graham’s works all over the world and has appeared on PBS Dance in America. He has had extensive experience as artistic director, (Peter Sparling Dance Company), choreographer, performer, teacher (U-M Distinguished Faculty Award and 1998 Governor’s Michigan Artist Award), lecturer, video artist, writer (Ballet Review), collaborator, administrator (former chair, U-M Dance Department) and dance/arts consultant. His dances for video have been selected for numerous international dance on camera festivals, including the 2007 New York Dance on Camera Festival, the 2008 American Dance Festival Dance Film & Video Festival and DANCE:FILMS Glasgow. His made-for-TV work, Climbing Sainte-Victoire, was broadcast on Michigan Television in 2009, and he collaborated with Ernestine Ruben, photographer, to produce video murals for Photoformance at UM Museum of Art in 2011. He has presented at Society of Dance History Scholars and recently co-chaired the groundbreaking conference, Meanings and Makings of Queer Dance, at U-M. His video montage, Beautiful Captives: Martha Graham and the Cinematic Id, will open each performance of the Martha Graham Dance Company for its New York season in March, 2012. He lives in Ann Arbor with his partner, John Gutoskey, a visual artist.