B.S., University of Minnesota

Jerry Pearson began his dancing career in Saint Paul, Minnesota. After completing a degree in Dance at the University of Minnesota, he moved to New York City where he performed with the Nikolais Dance Theatre, the Murray Louis Dance Company and Rudolf Nureyev and Friends across North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe. In 1979 he created the Pearson Dance Company and toured throughout the United States, Britain, Scandinavia, Europe, Africa and India. Highlights include performances at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, the American Dance Festival, the Walker Arts Center, The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, United States Information Agency tours, and New York Seasons produced by Dance Theatre Workshop, the Riverside Dance Festival, and the Joyce Theatre. Mr. Pearson has created over twenty commissioned works for Dance companies in the United States and Europe. He has received fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for theArts, NewYork State Council for the Arts, Pennsylvania Arts Council, and was awarded first prize at the International Choreographic Competition in Nyons, Switzerland.