Stefanie Batten Bland
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
“Stefanie Batten Bland doesn’t simply choreograph bodies; she orchestrates environments.”
Jerome Robbins awardee Stefanie Batten Bland is an interdisciplinary artist situated at the intersection of dance, theatre, film, and installation. Accessible yet socially conscious, her site-specific work focuses on the interrogation of contemporary and historical culture while embracing the space and community within.
The child of a jazz composer (Ed Bland) and a prolific author (Mary Batten), Stefanie Batten Bland is a native (and current) New Yorker who was born and raised in SoHo before moving with her family to Los Angeles when she was nine years old. With artistic parents who were careful not to push her too hard in any one direction, Stefanie would eventually cultivate a love for dance as a teenager after joining a local studio and taking classes. Today, she is a 2022 commissioned artist with Duke Performances in partnership with The Yard and Baryshnikov Arts Center, a 2021 Lincoln Center RESTART artist, a 2021 Toulmin Creator Fellow for the Center for Ballet Arts at NYU, and a choreographer for American Ballet Theatre’s inaugural Women’s Movement Initiative.
Company SBB: A Place of Sun
An excerpt from Company SBB’s A Place Of Sun, a performance piece inspired by the BP oil spill of 2010 that examines our power of adaptation.
In 2008, Stefanie founded Company SBB while living in France and serving as the head choreographer of the Paris Opera Comique under the direction of Jérôme Savary. She has described the company’s purpose as one that seeks to investigate the human condition and relationships within our natural world. Company SBB’s pieces intend to offer a passionate response to world issues with an optimistic belief in community, all while emanating profound humanity, generosity, and keen observations of human nature.
Following her return to New York in 2011, Stefanie was invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join the esteemed residency program at Baryshnikov Arts Center, where she continues to present her work. Company SBB’s 2021 dance film, Kolonial, was produced by Baryshnikov Arts Center and received three Bessie Awards nominations, including outstanding production, visual design, and costumes. Stefanie has created over a dozen dance cinema films screened at several notable international festivals worldwide, including South Africa, Buenos Aires, Greece, and Germany.
Renowned for her innovative and distinctive visual and movement aesthetic, Stefanie has served as movement director for European Union at the United Nations and Eve’s Song at the Public Theater, which was named in Forbes’ 2018 Best of Theatre. She is currently the casting and movement director for Emursive Productions and a consultant in performance and identity for Sleep No More.
From the Harlem Stage Archives: Patient(ce)—a Physical Requiem by Company SBB
Patient(ce)—a Physical Requiem is a captivating dance performance by Company SBB with music by Greg Tate and Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber. This 2015 piece was accompanied by a beautiful set design that magically transformed the Harlem Stage Gatehouse.
Stefanie’s choreographing work for fashion and lifestyle partners includes Louis Vuitton, VanCleef & Arpels, Hermés, Guerlain, SYTYCD-Poland, and the French Presidential Gala of Cannes in 2012. Her choreography is currently in active repertory at American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey II, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Transitions Dance Company in Greenwich, UK, and Frontier Danceland in Singapore.
As a performer, Stefanie has danced for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Sean Curran Company, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Angelin Preljocaj and Julie Taymor, Compagnie Georges Momboye, Compagnie Linga, Pal Frenak, Pina Bausch Tanz Theater Wuppertal, and Punch Drunk.
Stefanie received her MFA in interdisciplinary arts from Goddard College and is an Assistant Professor at Montclair State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance. She currently lives in SoHo with her family. “Being able to move back into this neighborhood—which kicked (her family) out due to how it radically changed—while holding the placard of art-making is extremely significant to me,” says Stefanie.
Harlem Stage continues to host an array of diverse performances from Black Artists from all corners of the world — including right here in New York. Stay up to date on upcoming live and digital performances by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.
