Peter McCoy

A native New Yorker, Peter McCoy received his training at the renowned Alvin Ailey School, the Martha Graham School and the North Carolina School of the Arts in the USA. Peter McCoy has lived primarily in Munich since 2003 and works throughout Europe. Since then he has realized numerous choreographic works with the Peter McCoy Dance Company, which - depending on the project - is composed of different artists. These include full-length, self-produced pieces as well as commissioned choreographies for films, commercials and live performances.

Until 1990, he danced and choreographed in the U.S. for Leja Dance Theater, Judith Jamison (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), Philadanco Dance Company (Philadelphia), Jubilation! Dance Company (New York) and the Penn Dancers (Pennsylvania). Since 1991 he has worked in Europe for companies such as Les Nomades (Vevey), the Béjart Ballet (Lausanne), Patrick Dupond (Paris Opera), Richard Wherlock (Basel), the Stadttheater Bern (1999-2001), the Stadttheaters Koblenz and Ingolstadt, the Theater am Gärtnerplatz (Munich) and many others.

Since 1985 he has been teaching Contemporary Modern Dance, according to his self-developed method, in the USA, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, France and Germany. He has given numerous workshops at Tamute Dance Theater (Zurich), the Philippe Saire Company (Lausanne) and at various city and state theaters such as Bern, Kassel and Nuremberg.

His method - evolving symbio-dynamic method:

Peter McCoy works with artists from a wide variety of backgrounds and initially accompanies his students in their search for their individual, authentic quality of movement. His goal is to deepen the awareness for the own body and to train the understanding for natural movement processes and the resulting movement energy. This subsequently provides his students with an optimal foundation for the various technical requirements and enables them to expand their dance skills as well as an efficient and authentic implementation in choreographies. He encourages personal responsibility while giving his students the tools they need to progress creatively. Peter's 30 years of experience as a teacher, dancer and choreographer, as well as his extraordinary perception of individual and group energies, also help him to react spontaneously to existing dynamics and to direct them skillfully. His intuitive approach in his work makes up the special quality of his teaching.