Morgan Thorson is a dance-maker based in Minneapolis. She creates original dance works that combine movement, light, sound, and objects while taking into consideration the site of the work, representation of the body, and history of the field. Her work has been described as “an explosive physicality tempered by sinuous lines and subtle drama” (Minneapolis Star Tribune). Thorson is the recipient of the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award (2016), a United States Artist (2012), Guggenheim (2010) and McKnight (2009, 2002) Fellow, and has received two Sage Awards for Outstanding Performance (2008, 2007). Her work has received support from The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography Residency and Fellowship Program (2015, 2011 and 2009) and she was the resident artist at the Centre Choreographique National De Franche-Comte in Belfort, France, as well as a MacDowell Artist Colony Fellow in 2012. Thorson’s work has toured to theaters and festivals worldwide, and has been commissioned and and presented by Walker Art Center, On The Boards in Seattle, Red Cat in Los Angeles, PS122 in New York City and Alverno Presents in Milwaukee, among others. She has created works for Zenon Dance Company, James Sewell Ballet, Barnard College and several national universities.
A certified Skinner Releasing Technique instructor, Thorson is a Creative Campus Fellow at Wesleyan University, where she engages students and professors in interdisciplinary practices and develops pedagogy in Dance, Drawing, Archaeology, and Religious Studies. She is a member of the Minneapolis Tuning Club and the founder of ORG, Ongoing Research Group.