John Jasperse

Who is John Jasperse?

John R. Jasperse is an American choreographer and dancer. Since 1990 he has been artistic director and choreographer of the New York City-based John Jasperse Company.

Joyce Morgenroth describes his work as "wry" and "often spoken of in oppositional pairs" of which the most central is "…the interplay between his tightly conceived structures and his elusive movement style." His dancers are involved in an "interactive choreographic process" and "[s]ets are designed to be integral to the dance," with dancers often moving or otherwise interacting with sets and props.

Originally from Rockville, Maryland, Jasperse graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1985; since then he has been based in New York City. He worked 1987–1993 with Jennifer Monson; in 1988 and 1989 he performed with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker's company Rosas in Belgium.

Jasperse's work has been performed in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Japan, and throughout Europe, including such venues as the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival, the Venice Biennale, the Walker Art Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and Tanz im August in Berlin.