Deborah Jowitt

Deborah Jowitt
Born1934 (age 89–90)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Dance critic, author, choreographer
AwardsBessie (1985)
Websitedeborahjowitt.com

Deborah Jowitt (born 1934) is an American dance critic, author, and choreographer. Her career in dance began as a performer and choreographer. Jowitt has received several awards for her work, including a Bessie (New York Dance and Performance Award) for her work in dance criticism.[1]

Early life

Jowitt was born in 1934,[2] hailing from California.[3]

Career

Beginning in 1967, she wrote a weekly dance column for The Village Voice, providing frequent reviews of dance performances in New York City.[3] From some time in the 1970s until 1994, the Voice had a page and a half for dance coverage: Jowitt contributed 1600 words or a full page of this, week after week, plus occasional features. Collections of her reviews from the Voice and numerous other publications have appeared as books – Dance Beat: Selected Views and Reviews, 1967–1976[4] and The Dance in Mind: Profiles and Reviews 1976–1983.[5]

In 2007, Jowitt's column in the Village Voice was increased in length to 3/4 page, having been earlier reduced to a half-page; in 2008, her position as dance critic was converted from full-time to freelance. However, Jowitt continued to write 3/4 page reviews for the Voice until 2011.[6][7] She was a faculty member at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.[8][9]

Her biography of the dancer Martha Graham, Errand into the Maze, was published in 2024.[10][11] Jowitt took the title from Graham's 1947 ballet of the same name.

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Deborah Jowitt". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Theodores, Diana (October 15, 2013). First We Take Manhattan: Four American Women and the New York School of Dance Criticism. Taylor & Francis. p. 1. ISBN 9781134375783. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Macaulay, Alastair (March 12, 2019). "She's Been Writing About Dance for 55 Years. She's Not Done Yet". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  4. ^ Jowitt, Deborah (1977). Dance Beat: Selected Views and Reviews, 1967–1976. New York: Marcel Dekker. ISBN 9780824765064.
  5. ^ Jowitt, Deborah (1985). The Dance in Mind: Profiles and Reviews 1976–1983. Boston: David R. Godine. ISBN 9780879235345.
  6. ^ "The Village Voice Author: Deborah Jowitt". Archived from the original on November 18, 2011.
  7. ^ Macaulay, Alastair (March 12, 2019). "She's Been Writing About Dance for 55 Years. She's Not Done Yet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  8. ^ "Faculty Directory: Deborah Jowitt". Tisch. Archived from the original on January 21, 2005.
  9. ^ "Deborah Jowitt | American Academy of Arts and Sciences". www.amacad.org. July 2, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  10. ^ Jowitt, Deborah (2024). Errand into the Maze: The Life and Works of Martha Graham. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374709143.
  11. ^ Jacobs, Alexandra (January 28, 2024). "A New Martha Graham Biography Is a Study in Grace and Balance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "de la Torre Bueno Prize awards 1973-2001". Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  13. ^ McKechnie, Alex (September 10, 2012). "What Makes A Masterpiece? Renowned Dance Critic Will Discuss at Drexel". Drexel University. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "The de la Torre Bueno Prize". DanceStudiesAssociation.org. April 20, 2021. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2024.