Biography
. . . as a gay citizen of color who grew up at the apex of the civil rights movement, above all else my work hopes to create an empathetic conversation that transcends the boundaries of difference to communicate on the level of the heart.
Born: circa 1959
A magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University and a Guggenheim Fellow, David Roussève’s dance/theater company REALITY, founded in 1988, has performed throughout the UK, Europe, South America, and the U.S., including four commissions for the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival. Among others his commissions include Houston Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Cleo Parker Robinson, Dancing Wheels, Atlanta Ballet, and Ilkhom Theater Co. of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. David has created three short films, the most recent screening at festivals at fifty-six festivals in eleven countries and receiving 1tenawards including four for “Best Film.” Other awards include a “Bessie,” Creative Capital Fellowship, three Horton Awards, CalArts/Alpert Award in Dance, and seven consecutive NEA fellowships. David has been published in collections by Bantam Press and Rutledge Press, was twice a Fellow in the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriter Lab. At UCLA Roussève is Distinguished Professor of Choreography in the department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance. For the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, he has served as Associate Dean (2014–15), Acting Dean (2015), and Interim Dean (2015–17).
Choreographed and written by Roussève, Stardust explores the evolving nature of intimacy in our technology-driven, furiously paced world. Redefining the coming-of-age story for the electronic age, this work follows an African American gay urban teenager who––never seen onstage––is present only by the emotion laden tweets and text messages he sends.
David Roussève's Works
Stardust
Premiere Date: 2014