I met Liz though my work with the Orchestra Forum; an initiative of the A.W. Mellon Foundation designed to support orchestras engaged in the process of artistic and organizational revitalization. One of the ways the program achieves this goal is by introducing participants to creative leaders from other fields.

It was that last part that brought Liz to the program.

The Orchestra field is one steeped in tradition and history. Liz is a dancer whose company is built on questioning every "given" in the dance world.

One might expect then that Liz would come in and encourage sweeping change in the industry--but it was never like that.

Liz believes that arts organizations exist to support the art, and that art exists because it's an essential expression of what it means to be human. Therefore, organizations should be based on what's best both for the art form and the audience.

Sometimes that means big changes. Sometimes, it means small ones. Often, it means learning how to listen to each other to discover what we have now that is great and must be protected, and what we can do in different ways to better achieve our goals. It means facing fear and trusting the good will of those around you.

I learned a lot from Liz--about how change works, about the arts, and most importantly about how to keep growing as a human. I created this lens to give more people an opportunity to be exposed to this wonderful woman and her amazing work.

Thanks, Liz!

From the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange Website

Liz Lerman Dance Exchange is a professional company of dance artists that creates, performs, teaches, and engages people in making art. Since its start in 1976, and in each encounter, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange asks four questions:

Who gets to dance?

Where is the dance happening?

What is it about?

Why does it matter?

Liz Lerman Dance Exchange answers these questions with a range of interrelated activities:

• Groundbreaking new dance works performed by a cross-generational company on major stages internationally, throughout the U.S., and at home in the communities of Maryland, Washington DC, and the Mid-Atlantic region.


• Classes, workshop, and institutes for people who dance to make a living, people who dance to make a better life, and people who have never danced before



• Local and national projects that engage individuals, institutions and communities in making and performing dances.

Liz Lerman Dance Exchange pursues a broad definition of dance as a multi-disciplinary art form that encompasses movement, music, imagery, and the spoken word. Throughout its programs, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange builds an accessible body of knowledge and makes meaningful connections between people and art.

Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process is a widely-recognized method that nurtures the development of artistic works-in-progress through a four-step, facilitated dialogue between artists, peers, and audiences.

Click here to read more about Critical Response on the Dance Exchange Website

LIZ LERMAN (Founding Artistic Director) is a choreographer, performer, writer, educator, and speaker. Described by the Washington Post as "the source of an epochal revolution in the scope and purposes of dance art," her dance/theater works have been seen throughout the United States and abroad. Her aesthetic approach spans the range from abstract to personal to political, while her working process emphasizes research, translation between artistic media, and intensive collaboration with dancers and communities. She founded Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in 1976, and has cultivated the company's unique multi-generational ensemble, with dancers whose ages span five decades, into a leading force in contemporary dance. Liz has been the recipient of numerous honors, including the American Choreographer Award, the American Jewish Congress "Golda" Award, and Washingtonian magazine's 1988 Washingtonian of the Year. In 2002 her work was recognized with a MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship, and she was recently designated for the National Foundation for Jewish Culture's Achievement Award and induction into the University of Maryland's Hall of Fame. Liz's work has been commissioned by Lincoln Center, American Dance Festival, BalletMet, and the Kennedy Center, among many others. From 1994 to 1996, in collaboration with the Music Hall of Portsmouth, N.H., Liz directed The Shipyard Project, which has been widely noted as an example of the power of art to enhance such values as social capital and civic dialogue. From 1999 to 2002 she led Hallelujah, which engaged people in 15 cities throughout the United States in the creation of a series of dances "in praise of" topics vital to their communities. Her current projects include Ferocious Beauty: Genome, an investigation of the impact of genetic research in our lives, and a commission from the Harvard University School of Law for a work observing the human rights legacy of the post-WWII Nuremberg Trials. As a frequent keynote speaker and panelist, Liz addresses arts, community, and business organizations both nationally and internationally. She consults regularly with the Mellon Orchestra Forum and Synagogue 2000, and recently participated in Harvard University's Saguaro Seminar, which gathered thinkers to promote the growth of civic connectedness in the United States. She is the author of Teaching Dance to Senior Adults (1983) and the co-author of Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process (2003), and has written articles and essa

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