Stefanie Batten Bland
When Stefanie, whom I’ve known since she was a dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, first appeared in my office in 2009 asking if I would represent her company for its New York debut at Symphony Space, I gulped hard. Very hard. The season was over Memorial Day. Could her timing to introduce a new company be any worse? It took a lot of work, but she got press and a The New York Times review with a giant gorgeous color picture whose presence (huge) on the cover of the Times’ Arts section was impossible to ignore. We were off and running. I helped get a commission from the Ailey Ensemble, and introduced her to Baryshnikov, whom after watching a small performance at a cultivation event, was instantly smitten. In the blink of an eye, he offered her a residency at BAC. “Mi casa, su casa,” he said memorably. The results of that initial encounter were two residencies and performances at BAC, new and wider audiences, performances at the Ringling Festival in Fort Myers, FL, and the imprimatur of one of the world’s greatest artists. Stefanie’s natural warmth and intelligence, radiates through her choreography, which is sought after more and more.
Country: USA
Years: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Art form: Dance
