FRANCESCA HARPER | FORMER ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF MIP®
Francesca Harper is an internationally acclaimed multi-faceted artist and Bessie Award winner. After being named Presidential Scholar in the Arts and performing at the White House her senior year of high school, she joined and performed soloist roles with The Dance Theater of Harlem and later as a Principal Dancer in William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt.
In 2018 Harper was named Artistic Director for the MOVEMENT INVENTION PROJECT® MIP® and featured on the cover of Dance Teacher Magazine’s December issue for 2018. MIP® focuses on improvisation, process oriented movement and exploration.
Her Broadway credits include Fosse, The Producers, All Shook Up, The Frogs, and The Color Purple. Regional Tours include principal roles of Helene in Sweet Charity and Judith in Sophisticated Ladies. Her Off-Broadway credits include playing Sally in Anna
Deavere Smith’s House Arrest, 50 Minutes with Harriett and Phillis, an original work in collaboration with Pulitzer Prize Winning writer Margo Jefferson and DJ spooky, Amandla in The CA Lyons Projects at The Alliance Theater, and Mrs. Poindexter in Langston in Harlem. Harper was a featured performer in Robert Wilson, Bernice, and Toshi Reagon’s Opera “Zinnias,” a featured dancer and vocalist in Carrie Mae Weem’s “Grace Notes” at The Kennedy Center, as well as a vocalist in Ms. Weem’s production of “Past Tense.” Harper was a featured actor and vocalist in Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More for three years, and most recently played Billie Holiday in Jag Production’s “Lady Day at Emerson Bar and Grill.”
Harper has choreographed works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Tanz Graz, Hubbard Street II, Dallas Black Dance Theater, and her own company, The Francesca Harper Project, which was founded in 2005. Her TV appearances include Boardwalk Empire, David Letterman, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Harper also served as ballet consultant for the feature film, Black Swan, by Darren Aronofsky, and starring Natalie Portman. Harper enjoys her appointment as an adjunct professor at New York University, an Associate Professor at Barnard College, and continues the vital role of teacher and choreographer for The Ailey School, Fordham University’s BFA Program, and the Susan Batson Studio.
Harper recently served as Movement Director for Nick Cave’s “The Let Go,” an exhibit commissioned by the Park Avenue Armory. Harper was awarded a two year choreographic fellowship with Urban Bush Women, providing support toward her latest dance theater work “An Unapologetic Body,” still currently in development.
Her recent engagements include choreographing a video shoot of Wendy Whelan and Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s new collaboration via Sozo Artists, Inc., choreography and participation in a Planned Parenthood video campaign, and a collaboration with Nona Hendryx, Carrie Mae Weems, and Niegel Smith in “Refrigerated Dreams” at The Public Theater.
photo credit courtesy of NJDTE: Veranika Antanovich
In 2018 Harper was named Artistic Director for the MOVEMENT INVENTION PROJECT® MIP® and featured on the cover of Dance Teacher Magazine’s December issue for 2018. MIP® focuses on improvisation, process oriented movement and exploration.
Her Broadway credits include Fosse, The Producers, All Shook Up, The Frogs, and The Color Purple. Regional Tours include principal roles of Helene in Sweet Charity and Judith in Sophisticated Ladies. Her Off-Broadway credits include playing Sally in Anna
Deavere Smith’s House Arrest, 50 Minutes with Harriett and Phillis, an original work in collaboration with Pulitzer Prize Winning writer Margo Jefferson and DJ spooky, Amandla in The CA Lyons Projects at The Alliance Theater, and Mrs. Poindexter in Langston in Harlem. Harper was a featured performer in Robert Wilson, Bernice, and Toshi Reagon’s Opera “Zinnias,” a featured dancer and vocalist in Carrie Mae Weem’s “Grace Notes” at The Kennedy Center, as well as a vocalist in Ms. Weem’s production of “Past Tense.” Harper was a featured actor and vocalist in Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More for three years, and most recently played Billie Holiday in Jag Production’s “Lady Day at Emerson Bar and Grill.”
Harper has choreographed works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Tanz Graz, Hubbard Street II, Dallas Black Dance Theater, and her own company, The Francesca Harper Project, which was founded in 2005. Her TV appearances include Boardwalk Empire, David Letterman, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Harper also served as ballet consultant for the feature film, Black Swan, by Darren Aronofsky, and starring Natalie Portman. Harper enjoys her appointment as an adjunct professor at New York University, an Associate Professor at Barnard College, and continues the vital role of teacher and choreographer for The Ailey School, Fordham University’s BFA Program, and the Susan Batson Studio.
Harper recently served as Movement Director for Nick Cave’s “The Let Go,” an exhibit commissioned by the Park Avenue Armory. Harper was awarded a two year choreographic fellowship with Urban Bush Women, providing support toward her latest dance theater work “An Unapologetic Body,” still currently in development.
Her recent engagements include choreographing a video shoot of Wendy Whelan and Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s new collaboration via Sozo Artists, Inc., choreography and participation in a Planned Parenthood video campaign, and a collaboration with Nona Hendryx, Carrie Mae Weems, and Niegel Smith in “Refrigerated Dreams” at The Public Theater.
photo credit courtesy of NJDTE: Veranika Antanovich