"...[the works are] lightning fields for pure perception and emotional response. They are vivid, full of stuff, but endlessly open. They prove, time and again, that despite the allure of beautifully embroidered fantasies, the body itself is more than enough." - INDYWEEK
Tommy Noonan is a director, choreographer and performer currently based in Saxapahaw, NC. His work has been presented extensively throughout Germany, France, Portugal, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Spain and Mexico. He was awarded a DanceWEB scholarship to attend ImPulsTanz in 2006. In 2008 he was a finalist for the Rolex Mentor and Protogé Arts Initiative in the field of Dance; in 2009 he was a contributor to Forum PRISMA in Mexico City. Tommy has written texts for publication in Revisita Obscena (Portugal) and Freies Theater Journal (Austria) and the Performance Journal (New York City). His lecture: “Disorganized Organization”, was given in Istanbul for Team Network’s 2008 symposium on cultural management, with support from the Goethe Institute.
Tommy has collaborated as a performer together with Grayson Millwood and Gavin Webber in the creation of “Food Chain”, which premiered in Australia’s Sydney Festival in January 2011, and has appeared in the works of Graham Smith, Tom Schneider and Joachim Schlömer. His research and work in public space performance has been seen in the collaboration: “Area”, with Georg Hobmeier, as well as in his work: “Labyrinth”, which took place between Argentina, Germany and Austria. His conversations on performance and public space have appeared in the acclaimed: “Guidebook of Alternative Nows”.
He directed “The Engagement” for the Maxim Gorki Theater’s Heinrich von Kleist festival in Berlin and continues to tour his works such as “Wilderness”, “What Doesn’t Work”, and “Brother Brother”. He recently collaborated with Movoir/Stephanie Thiersch in the creation of the installation: “Memory Machine” for Tanzhaus-nrw in Düsseldorf, as well as with Dennis Deter for “Blow Boys Blow”, which premiered at Uferstudios, Berlin, Germany in February 2016. His solo: "John" premiered in October, 2016, and was featured in the 2017 Season of the American Dance Festival, and his most recent collaboration with Murielle Elizéon, “They Are All” was a commissioned by the American Dance Festival, and realized as a collaboration with professional dancers, neuroscientists and people living with Parkinson’s Disease.
Tommy regularly teaches classes and workshops both internationally as well as locally in North Carolina (the American Dance Festival Studios, Carolina Friends School, University of North Carolina graduate program in Theater Studies, Elon University). He is also co-director of Culture Mill, a non-profit organization based in Saxapahaw, NC (USA), dedicated to fostering creative community and collaboration through artist residencies, educational outreach and original artistic projects.
