About the Author

Stephen J. Petronio was born in Newark, New Jersey, and received a bachelor's degree from Hampshire College, where he began his training in improvisation and dance technique.

Petronio was the first male dancer in the Trisha Brown Company and formed his own company in 1984. Since then, he has earned numerous awards throughout his thirty-year career, including a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship, a "Bessie" (New York Dance and Performance Award), an American Choreographer's Award, and accolades from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts.

Petronio has created more than thirty-five works for his company and has also been commissioned by some of the world's most prestigious dance companies. These include William Forsythe's Ballet Frankfurt, Lyon Opera Ballet, the Washington Ballet, the Scottish Ballet, and National Dance Company Wales. His dances, such as "MiddleSexGorge," "Underland," "Strange Attractors," Tragic/Love," "Ride the Beast," and "By Singing Light," have been seen around the world.

Petronio currently serves as the first-ever artist in residence at the Joyce Theater.