Autumn Ward
| Contact: Autumn@AutumnWard.com • 917-686-1622 |
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I am a New York City-based performing artist specializing in “belly” dance. I create, teach, and perform traditional dances from the Middle East as well as innovative artistic work. Having trained early in ballet and gymnastics, I am known for graceful carriage, fluid precision, musicality, and unusual flexibility. I began my dance career in Washington, DC, and relocated to New York City in 2002.
A lifelong dancer, I began to study ethnic dance in the ‘90s. My formal training includes numerous Arabic, Turkish, and Iranian classical, social, and folk styles; Uzbek and other Central Asian dance; Georgian, Armenian, and other Caucasus-region dance; flamenco; kathak and other Indian dance; and intensive study in Middle Eastern dance and dance education with Michelle Forner from 1997-1999.
I was a principal dancer of Washington, DC's Silk Road Dance Company (directed by Laurel Gray) from 2000-2002, and danced with Mosaic Dance Theater (a New York City company featuring the choreography of Samara) from 2004-2006.
Arabized for Middle Eastern audiences, my name, Autumn Leah Ward, becomes “Alea
Al Warda.” Alea, pronounced Ah-LEE-ah, is a feminized version
of the common male name Ali; Warda is a girl’s name, and also means flower
or rose. In some corners of Brooklyn I am occasionally called “Fatima”
(“F-Autumn-A”) or “Harifa” or “Sonbahar”
(tongue-in-cheek Arabic and Turkish transliterations of the season of “Autumn”).
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My Repertoire
For stage or other formal settings, I choreograph and perform:
- Lyrical, theatrical dance not rooted in ethnic tradition, including Circus-style acrobatic belly dance using elements of rhythmic and artistic gymnastics.
- Egyptian belly dance (“raqs sharqi”), a classy, elegant, sophisticated style; and folkloric Egyptian dances including: Raqs Shamadan, a candelabrum-balancing dance for the traditional Egyptian wedding procession (zeffa); and Raqs Assaya, a playful Saidi-style cane dance.
- Other dances from the Middle East, including: Persian dance (different and distinct from belly dance, characterized by light foot work and intricate movements of the arms and hands); Debke (Levantine line dance); and Khaleegi women's dance (hair tossing dance of Saudi Arabia).
As an entertainer for parties, restaurants, and nightclubs, I work for a wide variety of audiences, adapting my show to reflect different ethnic and cultural tastes. I vary my music, costuming, props, and dance moves to create a variety of Specialty Belly Dance styles, including: American, Egyptian, Lebanese, Turkish, Greek, Indian, Israeli, Armenian, Persian, Latin, Moroccan, and others.
Booking
Hire me for:
- Theatrical performance
- Avant-garde variety entertainment
- Dance classes, workshops, and private lessons
- Choreography commissions
- Weddings, family parties, and other private celebrations
- Bridal showers and other women's parties
- "Princess Jasmine" parties and other fairytale themed celebrations for girls
- Cultural events and fairs
- Upscale nightclubs and restaurants
To discuss your event, please contact me directly at (917) 686-1622. My fees are consistent with the rates of other top New York City dancers: in Midtown Manhattan, Lower Manhattan, or North Brooklyn, for a typical show at a private event (a 20-minute performance with audience participation to follow, if appropriate) I charge $200; higher rates for shows that require additional travel in or beyond the metro area.
I prefer to dance to live music, and can coordinate musicians to accompany me, or I can dance to a CD. I work with several ensembles, and can arrange choreographed floorshows featuring multiple male and female dancers. I frequently travel, and am available to work throughout the US and internationally.
Dance Instruction
I am a top instructor with thousands of hours of classroom teaching experience. My classes are known for clear movement breakdowns and an emphasis on alignment, precision, and injury prevention. I offer serious students the opportunity to build a solid technical foundation and sophisticated movement vocabulary.I was a faculty member at Washington DC’s Joy of Motion Dance Center from 1999-2002, and have been teaching independently in New York City since then. In addition to my ongoing classes, I travel to teach workshops, coach individuals and troupes, and teach private lessons. I produce an annual recital showcasing my students in solo and group numbers, and have seen many students go on to become professional dancers.
I accept choreography commissions, and have created a large body of solo, duet, and ensemble dances.
Personal
My academic background is in environmental science and Russian literature.
I attended Eugene Lang College in New York City and graduated from George Washington
University in Washington, DC, with bachelor’s degree in geography. After
college, I worked for many years with geospatial data as a cartographer and satellite imagery analyst.
Although I no longer work in this field, I have a continuing interest in ecology
and natural history, particularly quaternary geomorphology, marine and arctic animals and environments, and all animals that are soft and fluffy! While my career path may seem divergent, I feel like I have always relied on common skills in all my work: just as a cartographer must understand and interpret the earth to represent it in a map, a dancer must understand and interpret music, representing it in movement.