With a knack for surprise, combined with an affection for hospitality, Jennifer Sherburn, Artistic Director and Choreographer, brings the idea of ‘unequaled service’ to all of her works. The result? Experiential performances that expand notions of stage and staging, forge communities through artist and business owner collaborations, and call forth the latent, otherworldly spirit of a space.

 

The idea that individual experiences are as unique as the guest – a concept borrowed from the boutique service industry and her passion for farm-style hospitality – helped drive Jennifer’s 2016 show, “Arena,” which took place at an equestrian ranch and earned the #1 spot on the “Top 10 Arts-Related Program Activities of 2016” list in the Austin Chronicle. “A sudden marvel on the dance scene this year, whether performing, choreographing, producing, or joining forces with Natalie George Productions to create a new site-specific show each month for 11 months,” wrote the Chronicle’s Wayne Alan Brenner of Jennifer. “But Arena, Sherburn's inaugural and horsey Hill Country spectacle, remains the most monumentally impressive.”

 

In 2017, 11:11: Eleven Dances in Eleven Months by Jennifer and her co-producer, Natalie George, earned a “Sum of Moving Parts” Award from the Austin Critics Table, as well as rave press reviews. “Sherburn and George have been staging pieces in locations you might not think of as performance spaces…[they] carefully consider how the guests will move through and interact with the space in order to create a fully immersive experience,” wrote the Austin American-Statesman. “Sherburn brings a supple response to each aspect of her choreography, subtly allowing herself to be influenced and inspired by what surrounds her,” wrote TRIBEZA Magazine. “Her work leaps into a territory that makes you feel, for the length of the performance, equally unbound."

 

Throughout its run, 11:11 was supported by New Music USA, and the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division. It was also made possible by acclaimed musical collaborators and composers for each performance, including Justin Sherburn (Okkervil River, Glover Tango, Troublepuppet Theater Company) William West (BMW, Starz Network, Discovery, MTV), Catherine Davis (Zykos, Illusory Impressions Project), Laura Scarborough (Suzanna Choffel, Kat Edmonson, Bob Schneider’s Moonlight Orchestra, Quixotic, Golden Dawn Arkestra) and Juliana Sheffield (Cirque du Soleil, Tricky), John Gable (Knifight).

 

Jennifer graduated from The University of Hawaii, Manoa with a BFA in Dance Theatre, and received part of her education at London Contemporary Dance School and Austin Community College. In 2007, she relocated from Hawaii to NYC to work with Troika Ranch Dance Theater as assistant to the artistic directors. She has continued to work with Troika Ranch over the years, including their most recent work in development, Swarm. Additionally, she has served as Artist-in-Residence for Tongue and Groove Theatre, and Rehearsal Assistant, Stage Manager and Teaching Artist for Forklift Danceworks. As a director’s and choreographer’s assistant, she has also worked with renowned companies 3 Legged Dog, Roland Gebhardt Design, and Jennifer Wright-Cooke.

 

As a dancer, Jennifer has performed in several works around the country and abroad. These include works from Richard Alston, Alvin Nikolais, Johannes Weiland, Pavel Zustiak and Blue Lapis Light. As a choreographer, she has premiered work at The Place in London, 10 Days on the Island Festival in Tasmania, Australia, and at Marks Garage in Honolulu. In 2008, she received a B. Iden Payne award for “Best Choreography” in Austin, TX for The Red Balloon. Jennifer is a native Texan and continues to embrace community with each of her works, opening doors wide for artistic collaborations and creating provocative, fearless live performances that deeply consider the space in which they are held.