MICHAEL UTHOFF
ARTISTIC & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
DANCE ST. LOUIS
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Born in Santiago, Chile, to former dancers, Ernst Uthoff and Lola Botka of the Jooss Ballet and founders of the Chilean National Ballet, Michael Uthoff started dancing after graduating from high school. He entered the School of Dance of the University of Chile and a year later arrived in New York City with a Rockefeller Foundation Scholarship to attend Julliard School of Music, The School of American Ballet and Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.
Under the watchful eyes of great masters Antony Tudor, Maggie Black, Stanley Williams, Andre Eglevsky, Ethel Winter, Mary Hinkson, Betty Jones, José Limón and others, his talents flourished rapidly. Eighteen months later, he joined the José Limón Dance Company, touring the United States. He became part of the American Dance Company, which opened the State Theatre at Lincoln Center, and was featured in works by José Limón, Donald McKayle and Anna Sokolow.
Spotted by Robert Joffrey, Uthoff was asked to join The Joffrey Ballet and in just four years rose to principal dancer, performing the leads in works by Joffrey, Kurt Jooss, Gerald Arpino, Anna Sokolow, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine, Norman Walker, Eugene Loring and many others.
Having choreographed his first ballet for The Joffrey Ballet, he joined the First Chamber Dance Company of New York under the direction of Charles Bennett as assistant director/choreographer, touring throughout the United States, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
In 1972 Uthoff accepted a teaching position at SUNY Purchase and at the same time moved to Hartford, Conn., to establish the Hartford Ballet. For 20 years he developed the Hartford Ballet into a national institution that toured extensively throughout 49 states, performing on college campuses and theatre venues. During this period Uthoff was also a guest teacher from Maine to California, Alaska to Florida and Hawaii, and a body movement lecturer at the Yale University Opera Department.
While at Hartford Ballet, Uthoff commissioned works by young and established choreographers while creating more than 100 new ballets himself. He brought masterpieces of the 20th century to the company and its audiences while conceiving new and original full-length ballets. The Hartford Ballet became a model to many companies for the regional ballet movement throughout the United States. With the assistance of Enid Lynn, the School of the Hartford Ballet and its degree program with the University of Hartford was developed, turning it into a highly sought-after learning institution. Uthoff also established successful summer programs in Sugarloaf, Maine; Jefferson, New Hampshire; and Killington, Vermont. His 20-year tenure with Hartford Ballet culminated with a government-sponsored tour of Latin America and a three-week tour of China under the auspices of United Technologies.
In 1992 Uthoff accepted the position of artistic director at Ballet Arizona. Stabilizing the company, he gave it national recognition. Not only did his programs reflect respect for classical and contemporary repertory, but the company established a look of its own through the commissioning of new works by American choreographers and the creation of original dance pieces to new compositions by Native American composers Carlos Nakai and Brent Michael Davis and Mexican artists including Eugenio Toussaint, Rafael Cauduro, Berta Hiriart, and Monica Raya. Ballet Arizona toured nationally and abroad. In the first year alone, 60,000 people saw the premiere of The Nutcracker . In 1993, Uthoff hired Kee Huan Han to develop and run the Arizona Ballet School, affiliate of Ballet Arizona, which is presently the leading dance school in the entire state of Arizona. In May 1999, Uthoff resigned his post at Ballet Arizona but remained as artistic advisor until the end of the season.
After resigning his post as director of Ballet Arizona in 1999, Uthoff was called by the government of Chile to assist them in the development and implementation of a cultural policy. A council of artists was established whose policies are currently being implemented. He advised the Shanghai Ballet and is presently acting as artistic advisor to the Dance Now Ensemble in Miami, Florida; California Ballet in San Diego, California; and serves as artistic advisor to the Dance Festival at Montecarmelo in Santiago, Chile.
Uthoff continues guest teaching and choreographing throughout the United States and abroad, including the National High School Dance Festival; Portland Opera Performing Institute, Interlochen; and New World School for the Arts in Miami, Florida. He has created Lâ Histoire du Soldat on Andanza Dance Company of Puerto Rico for the Casals Music Festival, and is currently scheduled to create new works with companies throughout the U.S. and around the world. In 2003 he developed in partnership with New World School of the Arts of Miami, Florida, the Michael Uthoff DanceTheatre , which premiered in the spring of 2003. In early 2006 he accepted the position of Artistic & Executive Director of Dance St. Louis
Ever since Uthoff choreographed his first work for The Joffrey Ballet in 1967, his ballets have been seen all over the world. They are in the repertory of The Joffrey Ballet, Hartford Ballet, Ballet Arizona, California Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Honolulu Ballet Theatre, Chilean National Ballet, Ballet SODRE of Uruguay, Ballet Nacional of Guatemala, Ballet Clasico 70 of Mexico, Cia. Nacional of Mexico, Shanghai Ballet in China, The Juilliard Dance Ensemble, the New World School of the Arts, and various colleges and universities. Uthoff has also choreographed several commercials, and has appeared on television as a dancer himself.
Uthoff's large-scale works include The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Hansel and Gretel, Alice in Wonderland, Romeo and Juliet, Awakening, and Dias de Muertos. They have brought new audiences to dance and have been praised for their originality. His collaborations with various costumers and scenic designers have received worldwide acclaim.
Uthoff has choreographed for opera companies internationally, including the Honolulu Opera Theatre, San Diego Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, New York City Opera, Arizona Opera, Connecticut Opera and the Opera Company in Caracas, Venezuela. He has also directed Gounod's Romeo and Juliet, Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, and Humperdink's Hansel and Gretel.
The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded Uthoff numerous choreographic grants. His works and cultural activities have received funding from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Arizona Arts Commission, Phoenix Arts Council, Minnesota Arts Council, Texas Arts Council, California Arts Council, Lila Wallace Readers Digest Fund, Flinn Foundation, and National Arts Stabilization Fund. Numerous corporations and private foundations have also seen fit to underwrite his programs in education and outreach. He served on the board of Dance/USA for six years and has been part of various panels at the National Endowment of the Arts.
The United States government has sponsored Uthoff's work around the world and has sent him as consultant in dance to many countries. His works have been awarded many honors. St. Joseph College in Hartford, Connecticut, bestowed on him a Laureates Degree.
Michael is married to Cynthia Uthoff and is the father to Michelle Uthoff-Campbell and the proud grandfather of Owen and Ivy Campbell. Michael and Cynthia reside in the Benton Park neighborhood of St. Louis.