Danny Buraczeski is a Professor of Dance at Southern Methodist University, teaching classic jazz dance technique, composition and choreography. A classic jazz stylist for over three decades, his work has traced a clear and deep investigation of jazz, its sources and its ongoing evolution. After a career on Broadway appearing in such musicals as MAME with Angela Lansbury and THE ACT with Liza Minnelli, he founded the original New York City based JAZZDANCE in 1979. Based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul from from 1992-2005, the company performed at leading concert halls and festivals in more than 35 states, in Europe, Russia and the Caribbean.
Buraczeski’s choreography has been commissioned by the Walker Art Center, the Joyce Theater, the Library of Congress, the American Dance Festival, the Bates Dance Festival and the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. He was a recipient of a 2003 McKnight Fellowship in Choreography and was a 2004 Bush Foundation Fellow. Buraczeski was named Artist of the Year in 2000 by the Minneapolis StarTribune. He has received multiple fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, for whom he is now a regular panelist/consultant.
I believe I made my greatest contribution to the field with my choreography for JAZZDANCE. Beginning with a passionate belief that one could present jazz dancing on the concert stage, I attempted to explore the depth, complexity, expressivity and vibrancy of jazz music, honoring those whose musical gifts had and continue to have a lasting impact around the world. That work began and continues to be a physical response to music – a search to build an authentic and contemporary jazz dance vocabulary based on vernacular forms.
There are twelve pages on the website so far:
History – the history of my concert jazz dance company
Pre-History – my personal history in dance before the dance company
Performance History – a chronological list of performance dates and places
Dancers – a list of all the dancers who have performed in the company with at least two photos
THE FACTS – the dances and the music – a list of all the dances I have created from 1979 – 2015 and the music that inspired those dances. There are also uploaded video samples of what I consider Signature Works
Graphic Design – posters and flyers over the years
Choreographic Excerpts – uploaded sections of dances I like
People/Personal Stories – a page that honors people on my choreographic journey who have helped me, inspired me and challenged me
TEACHING – a page about the methodology I have developed teaching Classic Jazz Dance
Food and Dancing – cooking and dancing with recipes that have some history.
Contact Me – send me an E-mail
