Jacqulyn Buglisi has made an indelible impact on the field of contemporary dance.  Renowned for highly visual, imagistic work that uses literature, history, and heroic archetypes as a primary source, Buglisi’s ballets are sweeping, passionate and always rooted in a strong physical technique.  In 1994, she formed her company Buglisi Dance Theatre, which has toured around the world.  A prolific choreographer, she has created more than 60 ballets, commissioned and restaged worldwide with her company Buglisi Dance Theatre, including Ninfee for the Richmond Ballet; her full-length The Four Elements for the Flamenco Festival presented in Madrid, Sadler’s Wells, London and New York’s City Center; Ananda Shankar Performing Arts Company, India; the Shanghai Song and Dance Ensemble, China; the Martha Graham Dance Company, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Joyce Trisler Danscompany [of which she is also a charter member], the Teatro Danza Contemporanea di Roma which she co-founded in 1969, American Repertory Ballet, Alvin Ailey II, the Juilliard Dance Ensemble, and Ice Theatre of New York.  Her “bewilderingly beautiful” ballet Threshold had its Italian premiere in Milan with Carla Fracci's Italian Ballet Company at the Teatro Nuovo and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Opera House.  Buglisi, with Foreman, premiered their full-length ballet Runes of the Heart at Lincoln Center in 1994, followed by invitations to The Kennedy Center, The Joyce Theater (where her company presents its annual NYC seasons), and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.  In 2001, she created Requiem to the soaring music of Gabriel Fauré, a transcending experience and amplification of the human spirit.  Anna Kisselgoff raves in The New York Times of the ballet’s “powerful images, stunning...extravagant and beautiful.”   Breaking new ground, Ms. Buglisi collaborated with Venezuela’s leading environmental artist Jacobo Borges to create her trilogy Blue Cathedral, Rain, and Sand.  She has collaborated with composers Tan Dun, Glen Velez, Jennifer Higdon, Daniel Brewbaker, Reza Vali, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) and Libby Larsen; cellist, Maya Beiser; and Flamenco Guitarist, Gerardo Nunez.  

Invited to perform with the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1977, Ms. Buglisi danced as principal artist for 12 years, performing the classic roles including those created for her by Miss Graham.  She danced in honor of Miss Graham on the nationally televised CBS Presentation of The Kennedy Center Honors and the PBS film An Evening of Dance and Conversation with Martha Graham.  Coached by Jane Sherman, she performed Ruth St. Denis’ solos internationally including Lyon Biennale de la Danse and on film in Trailblazers of American Modern Dance.

A master teacher, Ms. Buglisi is chair of the Modern Department at The Alvin Ailey School, has served on the faculties of The Martha Graham School, The Juilliard School, the Boston Conservatory of Music, the famed Performing Arts High School (alumna), and the Centro Studi Coreografici Teatro Carcano (Milan). In 1970, she founded the first school of contemporary dance for children in Spoleto, Italy.  Her repertoire is sought after by dance conservatories, colleges, and universities; recent commissions include the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance; California State University/Long Beach; George Mason University; and University of Richmond.  

Buglisi is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the American Dance Guild Award for Artistic Excellence, Fiorello LaGuardia Award for Excellence in the field of Dance, the Harkness Foundation for Dance, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, O’Donnell Green Music & Dance Foundation, and Altria’s Women Choreographer Initiative Award.

She is honored to begin service to the dance community as Dance/USA’s council chair of Artistic Directors and ex-officio Board of Trustees member.

back to Board of Trustees