Chair, New York University/Tisch Dance
Artistic Director, Seán Curran Company
Chair, Contemporary Track, Dance Prix de New York

Seán Curran began his dance training with traditional Irish step dancing as a young boy in Boston, Massachusetts. He went on to make his mark on the dance world as a leading dancer with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. He received a New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award for his performance in Secret Pastures.

A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Curran was an original member of the New York City cast of the Off-Broadway percussion extravaganza Stomp, performing in the show for four years. He has performed his solo evening of dances at venues throughout the United States as well as at Sweden’s Danstation Theatre and France’s EXIT Festival.

Current and recent projects for Curran include productions of Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for The Shakespeare Theater, the twentieth anniversary production of Nixon in China and Street Scene at Opera Theater of St. Louis; choreography for the New York City Opera productions of L’Etoile, Alcina, Turandot, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Capriccio, and Acis and Galetea; the Playwrights Horizons’ production of My Life with Albertine; Shakespeare in the Park’s As You Like It. He recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut choreographing Romeo and Juliette.  Curran’s work has appeared on Broadway in James Joyce’s The Dead for Playwrights Horizons and The Rivals at Lincoln Center Theater. He has created works for Trinity Irish Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre’s studio company, Denmark’s Upper Cut Company, Sweden’s Skanes Dance Theater, Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Ririe Woodbury Dance Theater, and Dance Alloy, as well as for numerous college and university dance departments.

Curran has taught extensively at the American Dance Festival, Harvard Summer Dance Center, Bates Dance Festival, and Boston’s Conservatory of Music. Irish American Magazine selected Curran as one of its “Top 100” in the year 2000. Curran was awarded Choreographer’s Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts in April 2002.

Happiest when making new work or performing, Sean Curran hopes to continue being an ambassador for the art of dance by building and educating the dance audiences of tomorrow.

Recent Works and Award Nominations include: 2012/13 Bessie Award  Choreography Nomination for “Outstanding production that stretches a culturaly specific or traditional form”; Choreographer “La Perrichole” New York City Opera spring season at City Center 5/13; Director/Choreographer “Acteon” Opera Lafayette at Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 6/13; Director/Choreographer “The Pirates of Penzance” Opera theater of St. Louis 6/13; Choreographer “Champion” (World Premiere) Opera Theater of St Louis 6/13; Choreographer “Il Tabarro” Opera theater of St Louis 7/13; Choreographer “the Kiss” Opera Theater of St Louis 7/13; Choreographer “Oscar” (World Premiere) Santa Fe Opera 8/13.

Up and coming works include: Choreographer New Work for Jose Limon Dance Company; Choreographer “The Mikado” Opera Memphis; and Choreographer “Le Coq D’Or” Opera Nye – Bergen, Norway.