Jonah Bokaer

Email:

Website: http://www.chezbushwick.net

Mailing Address

Phone: 9174591072

Jonah Bokaer is an award-winning media artist and choreographer. A graduate of North
Carolina School of the Arts, Bokaer was hired as a professional member of the Merce
Cunningham Dance Company (2000-2007) at the unprecedented age of 18, and remains
the youngest dancer ever hired in the 55-year history of Cunningham's dance ensemble.
Additionally, Bokaer has worked with John Jasperse (2004-2005), David Gordon (2005-
2006), Deborah Hay (2005), and has also interpreted the choreography of George
Balanchine as restaged by Melissa Hayden.
While studying Visual & Media Art at The New School University, Bokaer also began
exploring digital media to produce movement, and has developed a rare, multidisciplinary
body of work that addresses the human body in relation to contemporary
technologies. His work has been presented widely throughout venues in the United
States and abroad, including Cornell University, Dance Theatre Workshop, Danspace
Project, Dixon Place, La Mama ETC, P.S. 122, Symphony Space, The Laban Centre
(London), the ISB (Bangkok), Naxos Bobine, Studio Théâtre de Vitry, and La Générale
(Paris), Les Subsistances (Lyon), La Compagnie (Marseille), and OT301 (Amsterdam).
Bokaer has been further honored with a Human Rights Award (Public Volunteerism,
2000), a fellowship from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts (Dance & Media, 2005-
2006). He is also the inaugural recipient of the Gallery Installation Fellowship from
Dance Theater Workshop (2007), and received one of four national Dance/Access
Scholarships from Dance/USA, with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
(2007). Additionally, Bokaer was recently honored with the Special Citation at the New
York Dance & Performance/BESSIE Awards, for the arts organization Chez Bushwick.
Bokaer's writings have been published in Artwurl, The American Society for Alexander
Teachers, Critical Corresondence, DIAL Magazine, Goldrush Dance Magazine,
Movement Research Performance Journal, and NYFA Current. He currently serves on
the Board of Dance Theater Workshop, the Artists Advisory Board of Danspace Project,
and the Advisory Committee of Dance/NYC.
In March, 2006, Bokaer participated in a benchmark study in Biomechanical Motion
Analysis at Stanford University, and has been hailed as “among the most prodigious
performers in the world” by the Financial Times. His works have included a series of
influential collaborations with contemporary artists across disciplines, including:
Charles Atlas/Filmmaker: Collaborative performance for gallery (2003)
Liubo Borissov/Surveillance Designer: Installation for public space (2007)
Anne Carson/Poet: STACKS (Performance in progress 2008)
Michael Cole/Video + Motion Capture Artist: Performances for stage (2006-2008)
Collective Opera Company/Original Opera: Performance for stage (2006)
Merce Cunningham/Choreographer: Choreography, digital animation, & media (2006)
Robert Gober/Sculptor: Installation for Venice Biennale (2001), Matthew Marks (2005)
Robert Wilson/Theater Artist: FAUST (Opera in progress, Warsaw, Poland 2008)

Categories: Choreography, Dance