Ruben Graciani

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Teacher Bio

Rubén Graciani is a high school graduate of North Carolina School of the Arts. He went on to study on scholarship at The Julliard School and several major New York dance companies, including the Martha Graham Dance Company and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

Rubén graduated from the State University of New York, Purchase College, receiving a B.F.A. in Dance. After graduation, he joined the Mark Morris Dance Group as a contract performer. Additionally, he has perfo...read more

Rubén Graciani is a high school graduate of North Carolina School of the Arts. He went on to study on scholarship at The Julliard School and several major New York dance companies, including the Martha Graham Dance Company and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

Rubén graduated from the State University of New York, Purchase College, receiving a B.F.A. in Dance. After graduation, he joined the Mark Morris Dance Group as a contract performer. Additionally, he has performed as a guest artist with the CityDance Ensemble and Brian Brooks Moving Company, and has been a company member of the Kevin Wynn Collection, the Joe Goode Performance Group and Company Stefanie Batten Bland. He is an M.F.A. graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park.

In September 2005, Graciani joined the faculty at Ohio University. While there, he received two Arts for Ohio Choreographic Grants which resulted in the collaboration, Oyster, with composer John Orfe and the Grammy Award-winning new music ensemble, Alarm Will Sound.

Rubén joined the faculty of Skidmore College in September 2008. While at Skidmore, he has collaborated with renowned composer Richard Danielpour, premiered site-specific work at the Tang Museum, worked in collaboration with the Academy ACJW for a performance of L'Histoire du Soldat, and premiered three works for Saratoga ArtsFest. His work on dance films with his Skidmore students was profiled in the November 2012 edition of Dance Magazine.

His company, RG Dance Projects, has performed to acclaim in New York, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Shanghai, among others. He won the Audience Favorite Award at the Joe’s Pub DanceNow Festival in 2012. He is currently on the nominating committee for the National Dance Museum – Dance Hall of Fame.

Rubén joined Point Park University in July of 2014 as Chair of Dance and Associate Artistic Director of the Conservatory of Performing Arts. He recently premiered an evening-length work, FIVE, in collaboration with Point Park faculty member Kiesha Lalama and the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh.

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Class Descriptions

Contemporary

This class uses contemporary barre work, expanded movement vocabulary in centre, longer combinations in adagio and allegro work, and will focus on rhythmic and musical accuracy. Dancers will work on dynamics and physical intent in movement to support performance skills, including issues of off-centeredness, rhythmic variation and changes in tempo. Physical intensity, a sense of abandon, and risk taking are all explored in the class.