Margo Sappington

{{short description|American choreographer and dancer (born 1947)}}

Margo Sappington (born July 30, 1947, in Baytown, Texas) is an American choreographer and dancer.

{{cite web|url=http://www.bigscreenentertainmentgroup.com/Projects/Projects_Completed/%22William_Shatners_Gonzo_Ballet%22/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309202238/http://www.bigscreenentertainmentgroup.com/Projects/Projects_Completed/%22William_Shatners_Gonzo_Ballet%22/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-03-09 |title=Margo Sappington - timeline of events and productions |work=biography |publisher=Big Screen Entertainment Group |accessdate=2009-02-21 }}

{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1083/is_n12_v69/ai_17770782|title=Dancing at their own risk - Margo Sappington and ballerina from New York City Ballet establish own dance company|last=Ostlere|first=Hilary |date=December 1995|publisher=Dance Magazine|accessdate=2009-02-21}} She was nominated in 1975 for both a Tony Award as Best Choreographer and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography for her work on the play Where's Charley?. In 1988, her ballet Virgin Forest was the subject of an award-winning documentary by PBS. In 2005 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award for choreography from the Joffrey Ballet.

Career

Sappington joined the Joffrey Ballet in 1965 at the personal invitation of founder Robert Joffrey.

In 1969, she co-wrote, choreographed, and performed in the original off-Broadway revue Oh! Calcutta!

,{{cite web|url=http://broadwayworld.com/people/Margo_Sappington/|title=Margo Sappington performances and productions|publisher=Broadway World|accessdate=2009-02-21}} and, in 1971, she choreographed Weewis, her first ballet.

{{cite web|url=http://www.vkdcny.com/page.php?id=14 |title=Margo Stappington biography |publisher=Dance Conservatory of New York |accessdate=2009-02-21 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528091217/http://www.vkdcny.com/page.php?id=14 |archivedate=May 28, 2008 }}

In 1975, in recognition of her work in the Broadway revival of Where's Charley?, she received nominations for both a Tony Award for Best Choreographer

{{cite news|url=http://broadwayworld.com/tonyawardsyear.cfm?year=1975|title=1975 Tony Award Winners: Choreographer nominations|publisher=Broadway World|accessdate=2009-02-21}}

and a Drama Desk Award

{{cite web|url=http://www.dramadesk.com/1974_1975dd.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080704130506/http://www.dramadesk.com/1974_1975dd.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-07-04 |title=1974-1975 21st Drama Desk Awards: Nominations for outstanding choreography |publisher=Drama Desk |accessdate=2009-02-21 }} for Outstanding Choreography.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=1427|title=Margo Sappington awards and nominations|publisher=Internet Broadway Database|accessdate=2009-02-21}}

In 1983, as the first American choreographer working with Beijing's Central Ballet of China, Sappington created their ballet Heliotrope.

In 1988, her ballet Virgin Forest, inspired by Henri Rousseau's jungle paintings, was created for the Milwaukee Ballet{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17878915.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023071622/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17878915.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 23, 2012|title=Milwaukee Ballet.(Milwaukee, Wisconsin) |last=Berdes|first=Beth|date=February 1, 1996|publisher=Dance Magazine|accessdate=2009-02-21}} and was the subject of an award-winning documentary by PBS.

In 1993, as a section of the Joffrey's evening-length performance Billboards, she created and danced in Slide, as scored by musician Prince.

{{cite web|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/1156786/Margo-Sappington/filmography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020132750/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/1156786/Margo-Sappington/filmography|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-10-20|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2012|title=Margo Sappington filmography|accessdate=2009-02-21}}

In 2001, with the participation of the group The Indigo Girls, Sappington created a piece called The Indigo Girls Project for the Atlanta Ballet.

{{cite web|url=http://www.gpb.org/stateofthearts/term/atlanta-ballet|title=Atlanta Ballet|date=September 2004|publisher=Georgia Public Broadcasting|accessdate=2009-02-21}}

In 2005, for Charles Strouse's Real Men at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, she created and danced a role in the premiere.

Also in 2005, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her by the Joffrey Ballet in recognition of her service to the arts.

{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1083/is_5_79/ai_n13668023|title=The Joffrey School|last=Perron|first=Wendy|date=May 2005|publisher=Dance Magazine|accessdate=2009-02-21}}

In 2007, Sappington created a ballet called Common People, set to William Shatner's album, Has Been, which was performed by the Milwaukee Ballet.

{{cite web|url=http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=65996|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104013232/http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=65996|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 4, 2013|title=Shatner beaming down to Nashville Film Festival|last=Wynn|first=Ron|date=February 11, 2009|publisher=The City Paper|accessdate=2009-02-21}}

{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0473655.htm|title=Big Screen Entertainment Group and William Shatner to Walk the Red Carpet at Nashville International Film Festival|date=February 12, 2009|publisher=CNN Money|accessdate=2009-02-21}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090211/ENTERTAINMENT04/902110408/1005/ENTERTAINMENT|title=William Shatner will bring documentary to Nashville film fest: Star's movie tracks creation of a ballet|last=Paulson|first=Dave|date=February 11, 2009|publisher=The Tennessean|accessdate=2009-02-21}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5798541.html|title=Dance camp; Ballet set to Shatner's CD |last=Strini|first=Tom|date=February 11, 2007|publisher=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|accessdate=2009-02-21}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-158681897.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023071653/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-158681897.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 23, 2012|title=Margo in Milwaukee|date=February 1, 2007|publisher=Dance Magazine|accessdate=2009-02-21}}

Shatner attended the premiere and filmed the event, footage of which became Gonzo Ballet, a feature film to be released in 2009.

{{cite web|url=http://www.nashvillescene.com/2009-02-12/film/peter-fonda-william-shatner-ballet-among-2009-nashville-film-festival-lineup/|title=Peter Fonda, William Shatner ballet (!) among 2009 Nashville Film Festival lineup|last=Ridley|first=Jim|date=February 11, 2009|publisher=Nashville Scene|accessdate=2009-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220120623/http://www.nashvillescene.com/2009-02-12/film/peter-fonda-william-shatner-ballet-among-2009-nashville-film-festival-lineup/|archive-date=February 20, 2009|url-status=dead}}

In the United States, her choreography has been used by companies such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Carolina Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the Houston Ballet, the Harkness Ballet, the Milwaukee Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the Pennsylvania Ballet, and internationally by companies including Aterballetto and Nederlands Dans Theater. She has also choreographed for many opera productions, including Aida, Samson and Delilah, and La Gioconda for the San Francisco Opera.

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=Choreography=

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Awards and nominations

References

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