Renowned Choreographer Appointed Artistic Director at Steffi Nossen Dance
By Jon Craig – Choreographer Peter Pucci of Mount Kisco has been appointed artistic director of the Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation based in White Plains.
Pucci is an artist in residence at Manhattanville College in Purchase, and a guest artist at the Juilliard School of Drama.
The appointment was announced by Executive Director Kaylen Ratto Giannini.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation, I’m thrilled that the illustrious Peter Pucci has joined the Steffi family to bring an exemplary artistic direction to our students and community,’’ Giannini said.
“With Peter at the helm, we expect our students to gain remarkable exposure to the contemporary dance world and to grow exponentially as artists,’’ she said. “In addition to our stellar faculty, Steffi dancers continue to have the most qualified and passionate instructors in all of Westchester County.”
Pucci, a 20-year resident of Mount Kisco, brings four decades of award-winning international experience as a dancer, choreographer and teacher to his new role. He will begin his tenure as producer of the foundation’s annual Community and Benefit Concerts March 27-29 at the SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center. Pucci currently is setting a new work on the Steffi Nossen Dance Company to be premiered on the program.
“For me it’s an opportunity to work with a lot of wonderful teachers,” Pucci said in a recent interview. He said he’s participated in many Steffi Nossen workshops.
Steffi Nossen School of Dance’s core curriculum focuses on traditional techniques, taught there for more than 75 years, an attribute that makes it one of the finest modern dance schools in the nation, according to Pucci.
Pucci received a BFA in modern dance from the North Carolina School of the Arts. He was a principal dancer, choreographer and rehearsal director with Pilobolus Dance Theatre for nine years, touring internationally, before forming his own company, Peter Pucci Plus Dancers (PP+). PP+ has performed extensively, including six seasons at New York’s Joyce Theater. Pucci has created ballets for many of the top ballet companies including the Joffrey Ballet and the Dance Theater of Harlem. He works as a Movement Director for theater productions regionally and in NYC including recent productions at New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company, Washington, D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre Company, and the Big Apple Circus.
Most recently, Pucci was commissioned to create the choreography for “Dream On By” with music by Paul Simon for the State Street Ballet in California. Among his many choreography awards are a Special Drama Desk Award for work in Horton Foote’s “Orphan’s Home Cycle,” Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreographer for “Queens Boulevard (the musical)“ and ArtsWestchester Artist of the Year.
Pucci will oversee the artistic vision of the Foundation, Choreography Showcase, Benefit and Community Concerts, Guest Artist Series and Master Class programs.
“It is with great pleasure that I accept the position,’’ Pucci said. “I look forward to sharing all the experience and knowledge that I’ve gained through my work with professional dance and theater companies and to join my experience with that of the (foundation’s) visionary history and incredible faculty, staff, students and community.”
Pucci said he’s had the good fortune of working with Steffi Nossen dancers in the past as a choreographer, saying he’d “always admired the level of commitment, integrity and tradition that the school embodies.”
“My goal is to increase our level of excellence, to implement professional protocols, to broaden our student base, to add appropriate repertory and to support in every way what I feel is one of the very best dance schools in the country.”
The Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation, formerly the Dance in Education Fund, is a 77-year-old not-for-profit dance advocacy and community outreach organization, which seeks to foster the arts in Westchester County. The Foundation supports and promotes arts, allowing for dance education and performances to be available to broad and diverse populations. Through significant artist support, outreach classes and free performances, the Foundation introduces dance to traditionally underserved children and adults.
Through the support of the Foundation, the Steffi Nossen School of Dance enables all students, including those with special needs, the opportunity to participate in their extensive programs and classes in a supportive, non-competitive environment. A generous financial aid and scholarship program supports those with significant economic challenges. With a sterling reputation in the industry, Steffi Nossen is a leader among dance schools, focusing on the growth of students’ mind, body, spirit and character. For more details, go to www.pucciplus.com and www.steffinossen.org or call 914-328-1900.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.