“Create the world that you yourself want to be in.” – Stefanie Batten Bland | Our 7th Global Conversations episode is an insightful discussion with SBB herself, who hails from SoHo (before it was written in capital letters) and successfully worked abroad before returning to the States to much acclaim.
Jerome Robbins awardee Stefanie Batten Bland is an interdisciplinary global artist who interrogates contemporary and historical culture, which situates her work at the intersection of dance-theatre and installation. A 2019 fellow for New York University’s Center for the Ballet Arts, Stefanie was also named in 2019 a choreographer for American Ballet Theatre’s inaugural Women’s Movement Initiative (DDP’s Founder, Liza Yntema, was an initial Principal Sponsor of this movement and continues to support its development).
Stefanie created her Company SBB in Paris in 2008 and established it in New York City in 2011, when she was in residency at Baryshnikov Arts Center. She began her current residence at University Settlement in 2017.
Regularly produced by LaMama Experimental Theater, she premiered her latest work “Look Who’s Coming To Dinner” at LaMama in fall 2019 for FIAF’s Crossing the Line Festival. More recently she created a virtual global performance for EU Day and a physical performance installation related to climate change, both for the United Nations. Known for her unique visual and movement aesthetic, she served as movement director for “Eve’s Song” at the Public Theater (Forbes 2018 Best Theatre List) and also directs dance cinema films and is commissioned by global fashion and lifestyle companies including Louis Vuitton, VanCleef & Arpels and Hermes. Recent commissions include: American Center for Art & Culture France, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Ailey II, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Gina Gibney Dance, The Juilliard School, Singapore Frontier Danceland and Spoleto Festival Italy. Featured in The New York Times, Dance Europe, Brooklyn Rail, Marie Claire, TV 5 Monde and Dance Teacher Magazine among others, she will celebrate Company SBB’s 10th U.S. anniversary in the 2021-2022 season with historic and new works. She received her MFA in interdisciplinary arts from Goddard College and lives in SoHo with her family.
Learn more about Stefanie and Company SBB
Keep up with Stefanie on Twitter (@sbattenbland) & Instagram (@sbb_land).
Learn more about the American Ballet Theatre Women’s Movement (of which Liza is a proud sponsor)
