Dancer Eran Bugge '05 to Receive 2012 Hartt Alumni Award

Eran Bugge photo by Bill Wadman.

Eran Bugge '05 of the internationally renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company will be the recipient of the 2012 Hartt Alumni Award. Bugge, the first Hartt Alumni Award recipient from the Dance Division, will be presented with the award during Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 20.

Originally from Oviedo, Fla., Bugge began her dance training at the Orlando Ballet School. She went on to study at The Hartt School under the direction of Peggy Lyman-Hayes, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ballet pedagogy in 2005. She attended The Taylor School and the 2004 and 2005 Taylor Summer Intensives. Bugge has performed in works by Amy Marshall, Katie Stevinson-Nollet, and Jean Grand-Maître. She also was a member of Full Force Dance Theatre and the Adam Miller Dance Project. In the fall of 2005 Bugge was selected by Paul Taylor to join his 16-member dance company.

Since joining the company, Bugge has had the experience of creating 12 new dances with Taylor, and has performed in more than 45 of his works.  She has danced feature roles in many of his masterpieces, including Piazzolla Caldera, Company B, the White Duet from Roses, and one of the lead roles in Sunset.  She has toured the world with the company, performing in locations such as China, Italy, Turkey, Norway, and Israel, as well as for the Queen of Thailand in Bangkok, and in the Odeon of Herodes Atticus at the Acropolis in Athens.

Bugge loves to share Taylor's style through teaching and has taught workshops and master classes all over the world.

"I am so honored to be chosen as the recipient of the 2012 Hartt Alumni Award.  I am humbled to be recognized not only for my own career, but as the first recipient from the Dance Division, and I feel I share the honor with them," Bugge said.  "I have always felt that one of the best choices I ever made was to attend The Hartt School Dance Division.  Without the rigorous training, academic knowledge about my art form, and the support from the faculty I received, I don't believe I would be where I am today.  I was so lucky to be exposed to excellence in all art forms while at Hartt and I carry those experiences and connections with me still today.  I am looking forward to interacting with the students this spring and giving back by sharing my experiences with them."

Dance Division Director Stephen Pier said, "Eran had an especially strong presence as a student at The Hartt School and has been able to translate her education into a career with one of our country's most celebrated artists, Paul Taylor.  To be a dancer in this world-renowned company, working in close collaboration with the master "Dancemaker" himself, is to have reached the pinnacle of the art form as a performer.  Eran's dedication to her art and the integrity with which she communicates her passion for dance are tremendous examples of what The Hartt School envisions for all of its students and alumni.  We are honored to add her name to the list of extraordinary alumni of our school."

The world-renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company sets the global standard for contemporary dance excellence. Since the company's founding in 1954, Taylor has choreographed 136 dances, many of which have attained iconic status and have been celebrated throughout the world.  The company has performed in more than 524 cities and 64 countries. Taylor continues to create at least two new works a year for his 16-member dance company.  The company was the subject of the documentary film Dancemaker, nominated for an Academy Award in 1999.  Paul Taylor is the last living member of the pantheon that created America's indigenous art of modern dance.  At an age when most artists' best work is behind them, Taylor continues to win acclaim for the vibrancy, relevance, and power of his recent dances as well as his classics.