Henning Rubsam Receives DISTINGUISHED ARTIST AWARD

After he performed with his company SENSEDANCE at the Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre at Bergen Community College in New Jersey on February 4, choreographer HENNING RÜBSAM was honored onstage with the college's DISTINGUISHED ARTIST AWARD 2009 for his "outstanding contribution of talent, artistry, dedication and service to the performing arts world." The award carries a cash prize in the amount of $2,500.00. Previous recipients include the award winning actress Olympia Dukakis and composer Philip Glass. Rübsam is the first dance artist to be so honored.

Henning Rübsam directs SENSEDANCE, a New York City-based dance company, presenting annual NYC seasons since 1992. He continues to reach out to artists of other disciplines and has an impressive roster of frequent collaborators. SENSEDANCE was founded in the hope that through the SENSES for a moment we can still all meet. He also directs and choreographs for opera and theater, including Outer Critics Circle Award winner Lanie Robertson's Off-Broadway production "Cannibal's Waltz". Rübsam's production of "Spirit of Sepharad" is presented at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. He will choreograph the new musical "HURRICANE" by composer Michael Holland and direct Edward Hudaverdi's "The 93rd day of Spring."

Rübsam was the subject of television documentaries in both the U.S. and his native Germany and DANCEVISTA produced three TV specials about him and his work. The documentary "Behind the Curtain" features him alongside NYCB and Graham principals as well as Prima Ballerina Assoluta Eva Evdokimova, for whom he created a critically acclaimed solo. He has been awarded government, foundation and corporate grants as well as the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen- und Halbach Prize, a Lincoln Center Fellowship, and the DRA Award.

He joined the faculty of his alma mater, The Juilliard School, in fall 2006 and is Resident Choreographer of the Hartford City Ballet. He is a sought-after guest choreographer for ballet and contemporary ensembles across the globe and a master teacher for dance technique and dance composition. In February 2008 he was a guest artist for Ballet Nacional del Peru and the Universidad de Lima. Henning Rübsam tours a solo program with works to live and original music and is the first dance artist to be invited to speak at the annual international GEL conference. For information please contact: sensedance@sensedance.org. www.sensedance.org