BUY TICKETS Laura Peterson   A dance with rigorous geometry and intense physicality, Wooden explored endurance and the decay of structure. The dancers twist through endless configurations without repetition until both the set and their performance are changed and broken. Gaps are left, creating new imprints in the space and the audience's memory. Inspired by natural architecture, Wooden is created and performed by Laura Peterson Choreography with a live installed set of sculpted and tangled trees and metal.    Wooden is made possible by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council`s Swing Space Program. Space  at 14 Wall Street is donated by Capstone Equities. Presented on a shared bill with The Venus Riff lpchoreography.com

Modern dance is modern art.
As I am often inspired by visual arts I create set design that is integral to the concept of each piece. When developing the movement vocabulary for a new piece, I narrow the parameters of movement and create extremely specific phrases from which dances are built.

For me, form is always the primary focus, and meanings emerge during the dance. I place a high value on attention to detail and spatial patterns. I share the Minimalist interest in removing the artist's hand from the work. This translates to a matter-of-fact performance, which removes indulgence. I am always drawn to patterns, forms, geometry and constantly translating these to movement vocabulary and composition.

Dance is a visual art form. It is seen. It is designed and although it is performance it also asks the audience to look at the details and forms in space. Therefore, I look to each set design as integral to the concept. This means developing a world, which arises from a clear concept where movement, color, texture and design integrate creating a complete visual and visceral experience with each work.

Laura Peterson is a NYC-based dance artist and Artistic Director of Laura Peterson Choreography. The company has just been awarded a HERE Arts Artist-in-Residency for the creation of a new work Wooden. Her latest piece Forever. premiered in February 2009 and is her second Dixon Place Mondo Cane! Commission. In summer 2008 the company was in residence at the Queens Museum where Forever. began its development.  She was awarded a 2007-08 Artist-In-Residency for the creation and performance of Electrolux at Dance New Amsterdam (NYC) and in 2007 received her first Mondo Cane! Commission. Her dances have been presented throughout NYC at venues including Dance Theater Workshop, PS 122, Danspace Project, Joe's Pub, Joyce SoHo, et AL. Laura's choreography has been produced internationally in Argentina, Germany, and throughout the US. Her work has been performed at Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Philadelphia's NEW Festival and The Goose Route Dance Festival. Laura has been commissioned by Pennsylvania Ballet, Hartford Ballet, and DROP Dance in Boise, Idaho. Her work has been supported by the Bossak/Heilbron Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, a PA Arts Council Choreography Fellowship and most recently a Brooklyn Arts Council DCA Re-Grant. She is a member of the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG).
 
Laura's performance credits include Julie Taymor's latest film, Across The Universe, choreographed by Daniel Ezralow, from Sony Pictures. She has performed the work of Mark Morris at Radio City Music Hall, as well as dancing with Poppo & the GoGo Boys, Risa Jaroslow & Dancers, Paule Turner's court (Philadelphia), Group Motion Dance Co  (Philadelphia), Asimina Chremos (Chicago), and others.

She is a current faculty member at CUNY Lehman College. Laura holds an MFA in Dance from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and a BFA in Modern Dance from University of the Arts. Please visit LPchoreography.com for more information.