New York Live Arts Welcomes Thomas Kriegsmann as New Director of Programs

New York Live Arts announced today that Thomas O. Kriegsmann-a New York City based multi-disciplinary producer with over 10 years of experience developing, producing, programming and touring interdisciplinary dance, theater, music and multi-media projects worldwide-will join Live Arts as the Chelsea-based organization's new Director of Programs, beginning November 17, 2014.

"I am pleased to welcome Tommy to our leadership trifecta at Live Arts," said Jean Davidson, Executive Director & CEO of New York Live Arts. "Tommy is a seasoned supporter of emerging and established artists working in movement-based, live performance both domestically and internationally. I am confident he will continue to program and support artists in the long tradition of Dance Theater Workshop and now New York Live Arts, and I look forward to expanding our cultural footprint under his artistic leadership as our Director of Programs."

As the Director of Programs, Kriegsmann will work in close collaboration with Bill T. Jones, Artistic Director of New York Live Arts. Overseeing a number of valuable programs introduced by Dance Theater Workshop, continuing integral signature initiatives created by Live Arts and launching innovative new programs in support of emerging and established artists and producers, Jones and Kriegsmann will work together to realize the vision of an artistically and aesthetically rigorous, socially minded arts center in the 21st century. With a deeply-rooted history and firm dedication to artists at every stage of their career, Live Arts will continue to support the creation of new work, presenting works within a range of artistic disciplines and engaging the public in energetic and radically diverse artistic dialogue.

"I'm excited about the future as we launch into this new chapter at New York Live Arts," said Jones. "Tommy brings a strong track-record of programming critically acclaimed works from a range of artistic disciplines that are both aesthetically pleasing and intellectually engaging. I look forward to taking risks, activating lively discourse surrounding the hard-hitting aesthetic and social issues of our times and continuing to present provocative art with Tommy on board."

"Joining this seminal downtown institution realizes a long-held dream for me, and I look forward to working alongside Jones and Davidson in bringing Live Arts into the future," said Kriegsmann. "Bill T., Jean and I share the vision of an organization known for its commitment to new, socially engaging, intellectually provocative artists and forms, and an unwavering commitment to evolving the artist's craft. I look forward to programming for a larger swath of audience and community within our ever-evolving arts field, and can't wait to realize Live Arts' fifth season."

Having worked with a number of movement artists including Big Dance Theater, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rennie Harris Puremovement, 600 Highwaymen, CiRCA and more, Kriegsmann brings to Live Arts a wealth of experience working with artists and a deep understanding of their needs. Through his work with a number of local performing arts institutions and most notably with ArKtype, a producing organization he established in 2006, Kriegsmann has worked with myriad artists, both inside and outside the Live Arts community. Among the artists, companies and organizations with whom Live Arts has existing relationships, Kriegsmann has worked with Annie-B Parson, Paul Lazar and Big Dance Theater (presented on Live Arts' 2013-14 Season as part of the Replay Series) and Rude Mechs (presented on Live Arts' 2012-13 Season as part of the Replay Series), and organizations including the Brooklyn Academy of Music (where the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company & SITI Company presented the New York City premiere of A Rite in 2013), The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival and the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)'s Crossing the Line Festival.

Through his work with ArKtype, Kriegsmann has presented an array of critically acclaimed works within the genres of movement-based, theater and interdisciplinary art. Most recently, ArKtype presented CiRCA's How Like an Angel, which Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times called "astounding" and "wondrous," and whose past work Claudia La Rocco has deemed "an exquisite nail-biter," where "the startling, mercurial architecture of the body (and bodies) [is] the beautifully unadorned focus." Of Employee of the Year, a theater work represented by ArKtype that was presented recently through FIAF's Crossing the Line Festival, Hilton Als said "...the show promises one thing for sure: a story filled with bodies that are inseparable from the poetry of politics" (The New Yorker). Man in a Case, ArKtype's latest collaboration with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Big Dance Theater, was touted as having "...so many elements of pure pleasure emanating from the stage that it's hard to know where to focus one's eyes or ears.They're working in remarkably fertile ground" (San Francisco Chronicle). Kriegsmann's discerning artistic and producing eye, as exemplified through these and other works, will surely contribute to an exciting, diverse and artistically rich fifth season at New York Live Arts.

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