Lucy Bowen McCauley is the artistic director, choreographer, and creative energy behind Bowen McCauley Dance (BMD). Since founding BMD in 1996, she has created over 80 works ranging from lyrical ballets to highly physical contemporary pieces set to rock music. Her repertoire offers an unconventional array of genres; her choreography demonstrates a fluent outpouring of dance blending balletic lines, quirky gestures, and modern dance’s earthiness that uniquely explores the interplay between music, dance, and drama. Washingtonian Magazine named her among those “who have helped transform Washington into one of the nation’s liveliest centers in performing arts.”
A dancer since childhood, Bowen McCauley’s early training at the Jordan School of Music & Dance in Indianapolis, IN and the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Traverse City, MI, provided her with a profound appreciation for both music and musicians that is so striking in her work. At age 18, she was offered a scholarship to the Joffrey School in New York City where she performed with the Joffrey Concert Group. She also danced with the Maryland Ballet, the Virginia State Ballet, DC Contemporary Dance Theatre, and Daniel West Dancers. She was a founding member of Eric Hampton Dance.
Throughout her career, Bowen McCauley has received numerous awards and recognition for her excellence in dance. In 2012 she was honored with the Pola Nirenska Award for her many contributions to the field of dance. In October 2010 Bowen McCauley received the prestigious lifetime award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance Education at the 10th Annual Metro DC Dance Awards. Other awards include the Alumni Path of Inspiration Award from the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the STAR Award for Artistic Excellence from the Arlington Commission for the Arts, and the Elizabeth Campbell Award for the Advancement of the Arts in Arlington from the American Association of University Women. She is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Arlington. In 2009 Bowen McCauley received the James B. Hunter III Arlington Community Hero Award, which recognizes people who make an ongoing difference in the Arlington community.
Over the years Bowen McCauley has taught and choreographed at numerous institutions including: The George Washington, Georgetown, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Salisbury, and Shenandoah Universities; The Washington Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Orlando Ballet, The Kennedy Center, Georgetown University and the Escuela Superior de Música y Danza in Monterrey, Mexico. For over 20 years she has been on faculty at the Maryland Youth Ballet. She has pioneered a unique stretch technique, Bowen McCauley Stretch, which has been featured in USA Today, Dance Teacher, and The Washington Post. Bowen McCauley also serves as a national leader in the Dance/USA mentorship program and serves on the Arlington Economic Commission and Arlington Chamber of Commerce Board.
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