artistic director

Ellen Cornfield

Ellen Cornfield has been active in the dance field for over 50 years as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. As a member of the Merce Cunningham company from 1974-1982, she earned a reputation as one of the foremost Cunningham dancers of her generation. Her passion and interest in movement has its roots in her very physical childhood spent playing and singing in the expansive outdoor space of the Virginia countryside.

She began modern dance training in 1968 at the University of California at Berkeley, where she performed in the University Company and began teaching Graham technique. After a summer workshop with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Ellen was inspired to move to New York to study and perform with Merce. As a member of his company from 1974 - 1982, she originated roles in Merce’s stage and video works and toured the world, earning a reputation as one of the foremost Cunningham dancers of her generation. She was on the teaching roster at his studio from 1972 - 2003. 

The formation of her company Cornfield Dance in 1989 allowed Ellen to bring her elegant, robust, and at times quirky choreography to new audiences. Ellen has taught and performed with her company in theaters, universities, and public spaces around the world. Her commitment to performance in non-traditional venues stems from her desire to bring the freedom and exhilaration of movement she experienced growing up outdoors to her dancers and audiences alike.

Her company’s most recent work includes performances at University Settlement (2023), a ten-day New England tour (2022), NYC’s Open Culture Performances (2021), the Harkness Dance Festival (2019), and a residency at Baryshnikov Arts Center (2019), where the company completed a video work of a new dance, “Portal”. The company has been presented in the U.S. by 92NY, Danspace Project, the Harkness Dance Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Bryant Park, and the Yale Center for British Art, among others; and internationally by the International Dance Festival in Bytom, Poland, the C. Munch Theatre in Paris, The Place Theatre in London, the OPEN LOOK Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, and three venues in Japan over a two-week tour in Tokyo and Okayama.

In 2008 Ellen created two workshop pieces on the Jose Limón Dance Company over a two-week residency at the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University. She has set works on dancers at Dartmouth Dance Company, Reflex Dance Company in Holland, Scranton Civic Ballet, and students at Ohio University, Ohio State University, CalArts, and Rutgers University. Ellen has received funding from sources including American Music Center, Sidney Stern Memorial Trust, American Express, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Asian Cultural Council, Meet the Composer and New England Foundation for the Arts. 

As a master teacher, Ellen has taught at many of the world’s major dance institutions, including North Carolina School of the Arts, Harvard Summer Dance Center, SUNY Purchase, The Ohio State University, Hofstra University, the University of California at Berkeley, The Laban Centre and The Place in London, and the Rotterdamse Dansacademie in Holland, and for dance companies including Ballet Rambert in London, Companie Emile Dubois in Grenoble, France, and Charleroi Danses in Charleroi, Belgium.