Mission Statement
Stephen Welsh’s threefold mission includes choreography, dance education and special outreach. As the founding director of SWERVE, Mr. Welsh is committed to presenting quality dance performances for a broad cross section of society. For decades he has developed a crowd pleasing style that is “rife with changes in momentum and movement.” (Philadelphia City Paper) Realizing that style alone is not enough, Stephen choreographs works that are visually stunning, kinetically thrilling and intellectually stimulating. His mission is to create choreography that is both formal in terms of design, flow and musicality and dramatic in terms of exploring all aspects of the human condition. Some recent themes for his “delightfully inventive work” (Philadelphia Inquirer) include: battlefield deceptions, self censorship, surviving an onslaught, plastic surgery junkies and gender role reversals “including a funny segment in which two men participate in a Lamaze class.” (Philadelphia City Paper).
Mr. Welsh remains committed to the expressive power of pure dance, but he feels compelled to expand the boundaries of modern dance through interdisciplinary explorations. Most recently he collaborated with: acclaimed painter Paul Gorka, sound installationist/composer John Glaubitz, two octogenarian actors from Swarthmore Community Theater and a vertical set designing team from Sapsis Rigging Inc. to enhance his WWII inspired Phantom Troops.
When he is not rehearsing dances for the main stage, Mr. Welsh teaches all levels of modern technique, improvisation and physical theater where discipline and creativity coexist. His dynamic workshops and residencies demonstrate his commitment to education through dance. From his first encounter with modern dance to the present, he has sought to give back to the art form that has given him so much. Mr. Welsh’s goal is not only to help train aspiring dancers but to also inspire disadvantaged youth who may not normally have the chance to see and participate in live shows. His altruistic dance outreach programs have enriched the lives of countless children.
Biographies
Stephen Welsh received his MFA in Dance from Temple University in 1987 and immediately moved to New York City. For the next eight years, he toured nationally and internationally with Anna Sokolow’s Players’ Project, Rondo American Dance Theater and Straight Jacket, which he co-directed. On tour, he performed in the works of distinguished choreographers: Doug Varone, Moses Pendleton, Murray Louis, Jane Comfort and Jose Limon. He was fortunate to perform at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Central Park’s Summerstage, The Kitchen and the Yard, to name a few. Since moving back to Philadelphia, he has danced with Jeanne Ruddy Dance, Dance Fusion, Trapezius/Aerial Dance and continues to perform extensively with his own pick-up troupe, SWERVE. His choreography has received a Rockerfeller Foundation Grant, a PCA Grant, a Five-County Cultural Arts Grant, two PIAIS Grants and a Pew Foundation- funded audience development project shared with David Morgan.
Mr. Welsh teaches his own athletically fluid style of modern dance technique, repertory, composition, improvisation and physical theater at Swarthmore College, Eastern University, The Community College of Philadelphia and Montgomery County Community College while frequently guest teaching at Drexel University, Bryn Mawr College and The University of Pennsylvania. As a longtime practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga, he teaches multi-level classes (age pre- teens to seniors) at the Agnes Irwin School and The Community College of Philadelphia. His choreography has been presented at Princeton University, The University of the Arts, Drexel University, Bryn Mawr College, Swarthmore College, Eastern University, West Chester University, University of Pennsylvania, Stockton College and it is regularly featured in the professional and pre-professional repertory of Dance Fusion and Fusion 2.
In New York City as well as Philadelphia, he has inspired countless special needs children (ADHD, Asbergers Syndrome, Autism, Crack Babies, Homeless and Orphaned) by spreading the therapeutic value of dance. His crowning achievement in this field was a collaborative exchange between pre-professional teen dancers and teens with Cerebral Palsy. Funded by a Five- County Cultural Arts Grant, these youngsters, half of whom were wheelchair bound, performed the multi-media “Desert Bloom: An Offering of Hope” to standing ovations at the Painted Bride Art Center in 2002.
An advocate for empowerment through the arts, he currently sits on the board of the non-profit Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective. In addition to co-producing two critically acclaimed Philly Fringe Festival shows (2007 and 2008) for the collective, he is also chief writer and market researcher for their special outreach programs. These dance-based workshops are designed to help instill discipline, self-confidence, teamwork and an appreciation for the creative process amongst children who have been hard-hit by economic or natural disasters. Whether offering 3 weeklong dance camps to young “Katrina” survivors in New Orleans or presenting Hip Hop-infused lecture demonstrations to high schoolers at risk of dropping out (Gateway to College Program at CCP), Stephen recognizes the need for such artistic enrichment in our society at large.