Valda Setterfield
Encyclopedia
Valda Setterfield is a dancer and actress noted for his work as a soloist with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company
and her performances with and in the work of her husband, postmodern
choreographer and director David Gordon. She has been described as Gordon's "muse
". Their son, playwright and actor Ain Gordon
, has worked with Setterfield on a number of projects.
and performed in pantomimes with Ballet Rambert
. In 1958 she came to the United States, following her good friend David Vaughan and joined the company of James Waring
, from 1958–1962, and then that of Merce Cunningham
(1964–1974).
Setterfield appeared with the improvisational dance company The Grand Union
and in the works of Katherine Litz, Yvonne Rainer
, Robert Wilson
, Richard Foreman
and JoAnne Akalaitis
. She performed with David Gordon at The Living Theater
and Judson Dance Theater
. She is also a founding member of Pick Up Performance Co(s)
. In 1984 she received a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie). She was featured artist in WNET/PBS Dance in America’s Beyond The Mainstream and in 1987 costarred with Mikhail Baryshnikov
in Gordon’s Made in USA (WNET/PBS Great Performances.). In 1988 she returned to Rambert as guest artist in Gordon’s Mates.
She played Marcel Duchamp in the Bessie
- and Obie Award
-winning The Mysteries & What’s So Funny? (1990) and toured Europe and Japan with the White Oak Dance Project
in 1992. She has acted in the work of her son, playwright Ain Gordon
, at Soho Rep, and Dance Theater Workshop
and played herself in his Art, Life & Show Biz at PS 122
and elsewhere. She has appeared in films by Yvonne Rainer, Brian de Palma
and performed the choreography of Graciela Daniele
in Woody Allen
's Mighty Aphrodite
and Everyone Says I Love You
.
In 2003, she danced at the 25th anniversary celebration of British Dance Umbrella
, and in 2004/5 she performed in Dancing Henry Five at the Pantages Theater in Minneapolis, Danspace
in New York City, the ODC Theatre in San Francisco, and other venues. She played The Old Woman in Eugene Ionesco
's The Chairs at London’s Barbican Theater
, On the Boards
(Seattle), and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
's Next Wave Festival. In 2006 she received a second Bessie for outstanding achievement. She has also played the role of Bertolt Brecht
in Gordon’s Uncivil Wars: moving w/Brecht & Eisler.
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
and her performances with and in the work of her husband, postmodern
Postmodern dance
Postmodern dance is a 20th century concert dance form. A reaction to the compositional and presentation constraints of modern dance, postmodern dance hailed the use of everyday movement as valid performance art and advocated novel methods of dance composition....
choreographer and director David Gordon. She has been described as Gordon's "muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
". Their son, playwright and actor Ain Gordon
Ain Gordon
-Life:He began writing and directing for the stage in 1985. He emerged on to the downtown dance/performance scene with four consecutive seasons at Dance Theater Workshop plus performances at Movement Research, The Poetry Project, and Performance Space 122...
, has worked with Setterfield on a number of projects.
Life and career
In England, Setterfield trained in balletBallet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
and performed in pantomimes with Ballet Rambert
Rambert Dance Company
Rambert Dance Company, is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it would exert a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingdom, and today, as a contemporary dance company, it continues to be one of the...
. In 1958 she came to the United States, following her good friend David Vaughan and joined the company of James Waring
James Waring
James Waring was a dancer, choreographer, costume designer and theatrical director based in New York City in the 1940s through the 1970s. He was a prolific choreographer as well as a dedicated teacher who selflessly helped his students and proteges to advance their careers, while maintaining a...
, from 1958–1962, and then that of Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
(1964–1974).
Setterfield appeared with the improvisational dance company The Grand Union
Grand Union (dance group)
The Grand Union was an improvisational dance group based in New York City from 1970 to 1976. It grew out of Yvonne Rainer's piece Continuous Project - Altered Daily. Rainer's sole authority as choreographer began to slip in early 1970 when the dancers, at her invitation, began to bring in their...
and in the works of Katherine Litz, Yvonne Rainer
Yvonne Rainer
Yvonne Rainer is an American dancer, choreographer and filmmaker, whose work in these disciplines is frequently challenging and experimental. Her work is classified as minimalist art.- Early life :...
, Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson (director)
Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'". Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he has also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video...
, Richard Foreman
Richard Foreman
Richard Foreman is an American playwright and avant-garde theater pioneer. He is the founder of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater.-Life :...
and JoAnne Akalaitis
JoAnne Akalaitis
JoAnne Akalaitis is an American theatre director and a writer and the winner of five Obie Awards for direction and founder of the critically acclaimed Mabou Mines in New York, from which she resigned after twenty years in June 1990.Akalaitis was pre-med and studied philosophy in college...
. She performed with David Gordon at The Living Theater
The Living Theatre
The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group still existing in the U.S...
and Judson Dance Theater
Judson Dance Theater
Judson Dance Theater was an informal group of dancers who performed at the Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village, Manhattan New York City between 1962 and 1964. It grew out of a dance composition class taught by Robert Dunn, a musician who had studied with John Cage...
. She is also a founding member of Pick Up Performance Co(s)
Pick Up Performance Company
The Pick Up Performance Company is a not-for-profit theatrical producing organization founded in 1971 and incorporated in 1978. Its mission is to support the artistic work of choreographer-director-writer David Gordon and playwright Ain Gordon...
. In 1984 she received a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie). She was featured artist in WNET/PBS Dance in America’s Beyond The Mainstream and in 1987 costarred with Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
in Gordon’s Made in USA (WNET/PBS Great Performances.). In 1988 she returned to Rambert as guest artist in Gordon’s Mates.
She played Marcel Duchamp in the Bessie
Bessie Awards
The New York Dance and Performance Awards, informally known as the Bessie Awards in honor of Bessie Schonberg, are awarded annually for innovative achievement in dance and related performances, particularly so-called "downtown" performances...
- and Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
-winning The Mysteries & What’s So Funny? (1990) and toured Europe and Japan with the White Oak Dance Project
White Oak Dance Project
The White Oak Dance Project was a dance company founded in 1990 by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Mark Morris to be the touring arm of the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation....
in 1992. She has acted in the work of her son, playwright Ain Gordon
Ain Gordon
-Life:He began writing and directing for the stage in 1985. He emerged on to the downtown dance/performance scene with four consecutive seasons at Dance Theater Workshop plus performances at Movement Research, The Poetry Project, and Performance Space 122...
, at Soho Rep, and Dance Theater Workshop
Dance Theater Workshop
Dance Theater Workshop, colloquially known as DTW, is a New York City performance space and service organization for dance companies. Located as 219 West 19th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, DTW was founded in 1965 by Jeff Duncan, Art Bauman and...
and played herself in his Art, Life & Show Biz at PS 122
Performance Space 122
Performance Space 122, generally known as P.S. 122, is a not-for-profit arts organization and one of the longest standing venues dedicated to contemporary performance art in New York City. Founded in 1979 in the abandoned Public School 122 building at 150 First Avenue at East 9th Street in the East...
and elsewhere. She has appeared in films by Yvonne Rainer, Brian de Palma
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
and performed the choreography of Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.-Biography:Born at Buenos Aires, Daniele began her dance training at the age of seven at Teatro Colón, Argentina's equivalent of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre...
in Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's Mighty Aphrodite
Mighty Aphrodite
Mighty Aphrodite is a 1995 romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. The screenplay was inspired by the mythological tale of Pygmalion....
and Everyone Says I Love You
Everyone Says I Love You
Everyone Says I Love You is a 1996 American musical film that was written and directed by Woody Allen. The film features many stars, including Julia Roberts, Alan Alda, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Gaby Hoffmann, Tim Roth, Goldie Hawn, and Natalie Portman.Set in New York, Venice, and Paris, the...
.
In 2003, she danced at the 25th anniversary celebration of British Dance Umbrella
Dance Umbrella
Dance Umbrella is an annual festival of new or contemporary dance held in London each October. Founded in 1978 as a showcase for emerging choreographers, Dance Umbrella now ranks highly among Europe's leading international dance festivals...
, and in 2004/5 she performed in Dancing Henry Five at the Pantages Theater in Minneapolis, Danspace
Danspace Project
Danspace Project was founded in 1974 to provide a performance venue for contemporary dance. Its performances are held in St. Mark's Church in the East Village area of the Manhattan borough of New York City.-History and mission:...
in New York City, the ODC Theatre in San Francisco, and other venues. She played The Old Woman in Eugene Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
's The Chairs at London’s Barbican Theater
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
, On the Boards
On the Boards
On the Boards is a non-profit contemporary performing arts organization in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1978. Originally located at Washington Hall in the Central District, the organization moved in 1998 to their current location in Lower Queen Anne...
(Seattle), and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
's Next Wave Festival. In 2006 she received a second Bessie for outstanding achievement. She has also played the role of Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
in Gordon’s Uncivil Wars: moving w/Brecht & Eisler.