Brendan Duggan

Brendan Duggan creates original performance works that blend dance, theater, and interactive experience.  

Brendan has performed with Gallim Dance, Loni Landon, Danielle Russo, Third Rail Projects’ The Grand Paradise and Sweet & Lucky: ECHO, Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More, Chorus Productions’ Eschaton, and Emursive’s Life & Trust.

His work has been presented throughout the United States, including commissions from Western Michigan University, SALT Contemporary Dance, Whim W’Him Dance, Treefort Music Festival, Oquirrh West Project, and the RiNo Arts District.

In 2020, Brendan co-founded OddKnock Productions in Denver CO, an immersive performance company that strives to pair high quality artistic productions with sustainable business models.  Through OddKnock, Brendan conceptualized and produced Test Kitchen, a series of rolling immersive residencies and performances that generated five original full-length productions over the course of four months. In the summer of 2022, he was the writer, director, and choreographer of From on High, an evening-length immersive production staged in an eccentric 80s office environment. From on High ran for 7 weeks and was celebrated by local and national press.

In addition, Brendan served as the Rehearsal Director for Casa Bonita under the direction of Trey Parker. His work has earned accolades from Springboard Danse Montreal’s Emerging Choreographers Platform, Western Michigan University’s International Choreographic Competition, and the InShadow Festival in Lisbon. As an educator, Brendan has served as a faculty member at Peridance Capezio Center, Gibney Dance, and has taught master classes at Western Michigan University, Brigham Young University, Skidmore College, Marymount Manhattan College, and Muhlenberg College, among others.

The Work

Brendan’s work seeks to engage with audiences in the simple, yet beautiful act of storytelling.  Drawing inspiration from contemporary movement, theatrical instincts, and the nuanced backgrounds of the collaborating performers, each production develops its own aesthetic vocabulary.  This vocabulary collides with the visceral effect of live audiences, building performance worlds designed to be shaped by the fresh eyes of viewers.  In some cases, these worlds invite audiences to engage directly with the narrative and participate in the playfulness of storytelling.

By listening deeply to the relationship between performer and viewer, every production takes on a unique and responsive artistic identity that transcends the vision of one director or one vision.  For this reason, Brendan prefers to consider his role in the artistic process as that of “mediator”, holding healthy space for artistic innovation and refinement.  

SNAPSHOTS OF OTHER WORK

EDUCATION

A healthy dance education is an essential component to developing and empowering the next generation of movers and movement creators.  Serving as a foil to traditional technique, this class reminds students to reconnect to their joy of movement and use that playfulness to facilitate a rigorous working habit that can be applied in professional settings.  

To accomplish this, students are often encouraged to undo their sense of “cool” or “impressive” movement: two descriptions that come from an outside eye.  Instead, each class celebrates the “weird” in each dancer and creates an environment that echoes the supportive mantra, “yes and”. This approach empowers artists to trust in their investigative skills and to listen closely to those around them as sources of inspiration instead of competition.

A return to the simplicity of dance as an expressive medium builds stronger communities, and equip performers with healthy and sustainable practices for their entire careers.

CONNECT

Connection. Collaboration. Commission.

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