Choreographer Gianna Burright to Premiere New Work at Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York 

A “self-proclaimed late bloomer,” Gianna Burright didn’t start dancing until she was in high school. She then graduated with a BFA from UCSB’s prestigious dance program, and went on to Trinity Laban Conservatory of Music and Dance in London for her MFA. In a short decade and a half, she has rocketed to the top of her field and has captured the attention of dance companies across the U.S., from Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts to Chicago’s Hubbard Street Dance, to the L.A. Dance Project and many more in between. Her works have been presented in 15 countries.  

Talent, perseverance, and a not-to-be-deterred determination led Burright in 2024 to apply for a choreography residency at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York. She was one of only 20, out of 300 applicants, selected to create a new work that summer. This summer she has been invited back for three weeks to complete the work, As If Everything Was Perfect.  It will premiere at the Jerome Robbins Theater in New York City, New York, on November 12 and 13, commissioned by the Baryshnikov Arts Center.

Baryshnikov himself said, “Gianna Burright is a serious artist with a clear artistic vision. We loved having her as a residency artist at Baryshnikov Arts, and look forward to finding ways to support her continued development in the future.”

So … who is this brilliant, creative person whose choreography for UCSB’s graduating dance majors in 2017 drew high praise, and who has been recognized by Baryshnikov himself? I interviewed her, and combed through her extensive, fascinating, scholarly website to find out.

Burright’s work explores the pains, joys, and paradoxes of the human condition. For example, All there was (2023) expresses the struggle between harmony and discord; soLow (2022) expresses waiting, dreams, and hopelessness [after COVID?]; while Beautiful, burning (2025) plays with the sensation of the weight of our bodies and the weight of the world. 

Many of Burright’s pieces explore and expose the burdens that heteronormative society places on women. To yell in quiet places (2023) explores the expectations placed on the female identity and questions the notion of the “perfect figure” that is “this unattainable woman.” Ever (2025) questions the way women are taught to view themselves through childhood tales in which women are seen as interwoven into the Earth. This chilling theme reminds me of an old story of a medieval Romanian monastery which was completed only by the sacrifice of a young, pregnant woman, the wife of the master builder.

Burright’s work-in-progress, As if everything was perfect, continues her interrogation of the expectations placed upon women. “Women’s experience is tangled between compassion and guilt,” said Burright. “We are in constant conversation with shame. How women appear in the world, if they get married or not, can make one feel guilty. As if everything was perfect explores the tension between guilt and compassion that women grow up with.”

She continued, “The work centers on three characters who oscillate between having compassion for their past, present, and future selves and extreme guilt.” According to Burright, this guilt comes from being told we are too young, too old, too much, too little, too early, too late… too something. The work also explores women’s relationship with clothing, “for we are subjected to extreme judgment of our physical appearance.” The dancers dance with large brooms and a fur coat. 

The music was composed by Shio Tepper, a multi-instrument composer and performer, originally from Santa Barbara, currently based in New York City. As Burright was choreographing, Tepper was in the studio with the dancers, developing the music as Burright was creating the choreography. 

I asked Burright who her mentors were, and from whom she takes inspiration. The first person she named was Pina Bausch, the legendary German choreographer who helped shape modern dance from the 1970s on. Bausch has also been cited by Meredith Ventura, local dance legend and director of the Selah Dance Collective (see the recent review of Disco Elysium). Burright also mentioned Peter Chu, Crystal Pite, and Alex Ketley, innovative contemporary choreographers.

So, when can we see Burright’s fascinating new work here? That is a good question. Burright spends her time in Southern California teaching contemporary dance in K-12 (at Cate and Thacher schools) and college (UCSB), but as a choreographer she is primarily commissioned by companies in other states and cities.  

For now, readers can see excerpts from Burright’s works on her website and participate in a master class and community celebration with her in her home town of Ojai.

Or go see her new work in New York this November.