Abigail Yager

A member of the UNCSA faculty since 2012, Professor Abigail Yager teaches her students to practice with a beginner’s mind, insatiable curiosity and playful drive; move with silken fluidity and meticulous specificity; activate the space with a grounded and resonant presence; know and believe in themselves and trust in the power of simplicity.

Informed by the choreographic work of Trisha Brown and drawing on various practices including the Alexander Technique, Yoga, Qi Gong and Klein Technique, Yager's classes integrate somatic modalities as essential building blocks of contemporary dance technique with emphasis placed on the study of weight and gravity; the balance between freedom and form, and the cultivation of fluid, precise dancing.

My class is a place for discovery. It challenges students to explore from the inside out and to imagine movement as waves that travel through and beyond us into space.

Yager has taught at universities, festivals and studios worldwide, including the Kyoto International Dance Festival, Independent Dance at Siobhan Davies Studios, Le Centre Choréographique National de Rennes et de Bretagne and the Irish World Academy of Music.

Performance & Direction

• Trisha Brown Dance Company
  • Dancer (1995–2002)
  • Musical Assistant to Ms. Brown (1996-2002)
  • Stager of reconstructions and director of recreations of Trisha Brown's choreography (2002-current). Affiliations include:
    • Candoco Dance Company, United Kingdom
    • Ballet de Lorraine, France
    • Royal Ballet of Flanders, The Netherlands
    • Lyon Opera Ballet, France
    • La Monnaie/De Munt, Belgium
    • Festival International d'Art Lyrique, France
    • Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan
    • The Theatre Academy Helsinki, Finland
    • The Five College Dance Department, United States
    • The Ohio State University, United States
    • American Dance Festival, United States
    • P.A.R.T.S., Belgium
    • UNCSA, United States

Academic & Teaching Appointments

• UNCSA, Professor (2013-current)
• UNCSA, Assistant Dean of Contemporary Dance (2016–19)
• The Ohio State University, Visiting Associate Professor (2006–10)
• Taipei National University of the Arts, Adjunct Professor (2003–05, 2010–12)
• National Taiwan University of the Arts, Adjunct Professor (2011)
• Korea National University of Arts, Adjunct Professor (2005–06)
• American Dance Festival, Faculty (2003–13)
• Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, External Examiner, M.A. Contemporary Dance Performance (2009–13)
• Fulbright National Selection Committee, Member (2016, 2019, 2020)
• Additional workshops and lectures: UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Finland, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

Awards, Recognitions and Honors

• Bessie Award for Outstanding Revival (2022), for direction of Set and Reset/Reset for Candoco
• U.S. Presidential Scholars Distinguished Teacher (2018)
• UNCSA Excellence in Teaching Award (2019)
• UNCSA Mental Health Hero Nominee, 2014 and 2015