Bebe Miller Research Paper

Bebe Miller was born in Brooklyn, New York City, NY on September 20, 1950 (age 65). She was raised by her mother, an elementary school teacher. She was raised in a public housing project in Red Hook Neighborhood. At the age of five she started to take modern classes. At thirteen she took ballet classes at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. She later said that she “didn’t fit in” and “I was intimidated” so she quit. In 1971 she graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana with a degree in art. Four years later she graduated with a master’s degree in dance at Ohio State University after receiving a fellowship with them. Awards include Creative Artists Public Service Fellowship (1984), New York Foundation for the Arts Choreographer's Fellowship (1984+1991); National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer's Fellowship (1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988), New York Dance and Performance Award (a.k.a. “Bessie”) (1986+1987), American Choreographer Award and John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, (both 1988), Dewar's Young Artists Recognition Award (1990), Creative Capital Award in the discipline of Performing Arts (2006), named a Fellow by United States Artists (2010),and Doris Duke Artist award (2012).
Bebe miller is a modern dancer and her work focus’ on the relationship between the dancers.
Mainly the way a male and female relationship develops. Miller quoted she “want dances to work equally with one another despite gender. Stated in an article written by Joseph Carman, "When Bebe Miller launches into her solo, Rhythm Studies, she may be creating a new genre of dance: black urban flamenco. Stamping on the floor, beating on a set of drums, and then venting her anxieties through words and gestures, she reaches for a primal place that could only be accessed by a woman of vast experience"
(Carman).

Dances that Bebe Miller has choreographed and collaborations include 2012 A History, 2010 Duet with Piece of String, Hands Down My Favorite Ever, Really. Now Go. | Meghan Durham Wall and Karl Rogers, 2008 Necessary Beauty, 2005 Landing/Place, View: with an eye towards romance | Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, 2002 Aerodigm | Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, 2001 Verge, 2000 My Science | Philadanco, Philadelphia, PA, 1999 Rhythm Studies New Work | Sbrit Dance Company, Asmara, Eritrea, 1998 Going to the Wall, 1997 Field | Zenon Dance Company, Minneapolis, MN, Roses In A Righteous Garden | Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland, OR, Voyages de Plein D’Espoir | Groupe Experimental de Danse Contemporaine, Martinique, 1996 Blessed, Yard Dance, 1995 Tiny Sisters in the Enormous Land, 1994 Cantos Gordos, Heaven + Earth, Tiny Sisters, Group Work | PATH Dance Company, Johannesburg, ZA, Things I Have Not Forgotten | Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, A Certain Depth of Heart, Also Love | Oregon Ballet Theatre, 1993 Nothing Can Happen Only Once, 1992 Sister | Pennsylvania Dance Theater, State College, PA, Paisley Sky | Boston Ballet, Boston, MA, Spartan Reels | Phoenix Dance Company, Leeds, UK, 1991 The Hendrix Project, Sanctuary | Zenon Dance Company, 1990 The Hidden Boy: Incidents from a Stressed Memory, 1989 Allies, Rain | Restaged for Linda Johnson, Portland, OR; 2002, Gesel Mason, Mason/Rhymes Productions, Washington, DC, 2002; Jazzart Dance Theatre, Capetown, ZA, 1995, Butte | Creach/Koester Company, NYC, Group Work | Alvin Ailey Repertory Company, 1988 Thick Sleep, Vital Boulevard of Love | Concert Dance Company, Boston, MA, 1987 The Hell Dances: The Habit of Attraction, This Room Has No Windows and I Can’t Find You Anywhere, Simple Tales, 1986 Heart Heart, Working Order, A Haven for Restless Angels of Mercy, Walt’s | CodanceCo, NYC, 1985 Spending Time Doing Things, Gypsy Pie, No Evidence, 1984 Trapped in Queens, 1983 Gotham.

Bebe Miller doesn’t have a specific technique. She gravitates toward the short hand approach in how to improvise together and catch movements. I feel like her main styles is shifting weight. She described her dance as “a way of fashion in the body”. When I went on youtube and looked at some of her dances it looked like they were moving through space. Like a common language or common way of knowing how the body is moving. It is a lot less literal and more a matter of tapping into the dancer's imagination. Dancing out of their own vocabulary. He dance style is a span between old and new. A space between people, exploring the human condition.