Born in Tehran, Iran, George Staib is of Armenian descent and has been living in the United States since the age of ten. He began his dance training at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Though his BA is in political science, he actively studied dance, music, and theater throughout his undergraduate years. He then went on to earn an MFA in dance and choreography from Temple University where he served on the faculty upon graduation. Notable teachers include Ann Vachon, Marcia Dale Weary, and Betty Jones; company credits include Ann Vachon/Dance Conduit, Coriolis Dance Company, Gathering Wild Dance Company, and Paula Kellinger and Dancers. In addition, the fall of 2006 provided Staib the opportunity to perform with the José Limón Dance Company as a guest artist in their re-creation of Missa Brevis, and has performed his critically-acclaimed solo, NarcissEros, extensively at venues across the United States and Europe.
In 2001 he joined the dance faculty at Emory University where he teaches contemporary and ballet techniques, choreography, and Contemplate, Create, Debate, a freshman seminar he created to introduce students to the practice of seeing and making art. He is also a regular advisor to honor’s candidates in the Dance, Theater and Music Departments at Emory. He also serves as an adjudicator for the American College Dance Association, has been commissioned to create and set works across the United States and has been recognized by Dance Teacher Magazine as one of the top five dance educators in the country. Staib is also a contributing writer and critic for ArtsATL, Atlanta’s only source for arts news, information, and critical evaluation.
In 2011, Staib received Emory’s prestigious Winship Award for senior lecturers. He traveled to Tel Aviv, Israel to spend five weeks studying Gaga technique with members of the Batsheva Dance Company, release technique with Iris Enez, and conducted choreographic workshops. In 2016, Staib was invited to Stockholm to teach at two of Sweden’s top performing arts colleges, Södra Latins and BalletAkadamien and created work on Saraceno Dance, a Swedish contemporary company.
The beginning of 2018 brought staibdance’s winter workshop to new formatting through a course of study called “Root Theory” a movement symposium designed for artists at any stage of development to experiment and engage with new systems of movement discovery and deeper levels of activation.
In 2019, Staib was promoted to the rank of Professor of Practice and awarded a second Winship Prize for Lecturers at Emory University. This current period of exploration is devoted to touring his latest work, “fence” as well as studying the intersection of theater, audience immersion and raw physicality. In 2020, Staib was selected one of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Arts Leaders of Metro Atlanta.
In the coming months, staibdance will be touring “fence,” participating in a tour prep residency, interacting with South Arts and their “Momentum Program” as well as begin work on a new piece, set to premiere in 2021.
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