The Company

and Collaborators

 

SYREN Modern Dance is a New York City-based
modern dance company whose artists have been named
United States Cultural Ambassadors by the Department of State.

Now celebrating its 22nd year of sharing dance,
SYREN exists to embrace dance as a conduit of connection, communication, curiosity, and collaboration.

 
Kate Sutter and Lynn Peterson, Artistic Directors of SYREN stand back to back, looking to the camera, smiling
 

Artistic Directors Kate Sutter (L) and Lynn Peterson (R)

SYREN shares dance where people and students gather
in classrooms, theaters, churches, temples, dance studios, over Zoom, in the grass, in art galleries, libraries, and museums in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, Washington D.C., Texas, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Vermont, Paris, and Dubai.

In addition to hundreds of individuals, SYREN has received support from the following foundations and programs:
Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtists International, a program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Trust of Mutual Understanding, Aleph Fund, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Dance/NYC, Jewish Community Fund, Queens Council on the Arts, Particle Fever, Harkness Space Grants (92nd Street Y), The Chelsea Art Museum, and by residencies at DanceNOW/NYC's Silo and DTW's Outer/Space.

Throughout 2003-2011, SYREN produced performances in NYC at New York City Center Studios, Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, University Settlement, John Jay Theater, and St. Francis Xavier. From 2008–2014, SYREN developed its “Dance on Canvas” partnership with The Art Students League of New York which included an exhibition at The Office of the Manhattan Borough President. During this time SYREN was featured in festivals presented by Riverside Theatre, Symphony Space, 92ND Street Y, Dance Theater Workshop, Dixon Place, Queens Theatre in the Park,
d.u.m.b.o. Arts Under the Bridge Festival, and St. Mark’s Church.

SYREN has enjoyed collaborating with a wide range of musicians, composers, conductors, and visual artists including Ann Masina, Philip Miller, Rick Erickson, Lauren Cregor, Yonah Zur, Matthew Oberstein, Artemis Chamber Ensemble, Purchase Chamber Orchestra, Damon Ferrante, Xena Lee, and Eric March. SYREN’s commissioned work by anthropologist/vocalist/composer Galeet Dardashti was presented by JCC of Manhattan, 92Y Tribeca, and Le Poisson Rouge.

SYREN’s “The Art of Fugue” is a site specific dance created specifically to be adapted for performance in spaces with organs (as well as harpsichord). The dance explores definitions of beauty while searching for its existence in a world filled with detachment, immediacy, and exploitation."The Art of Fugue" has been presented by Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity (NYC), Bach Society of Houston (TX), Sacred Music at the Red Door (CT), Providence United Methodist (NC), and The Church of St. Luke in the Fields (NYC).

 
 

SYREN began exploring the intersection of science and dance in 2015. SYREN first created "Red and Blue, Bitter and Sweet" an exploration of quantum mechanic theories including entanglement, wave/particle duality, uncertainty principle and superposition, and it has been presented at Museum of Science-Boston, Gibney Dance-NYC, and Brown University. Next SYREN created "Ticktock" which is performed in collaboration with Astrophysicist Paul Sutter, and is an exploration of time using dance and narrative sequences. "Ticktock" has been presented at Expo 2020 Dubai, Bryant Park,
Museum of Science-Boston, Houston Museum of Natural Science,
Stony Brook University, and New England Biolabs.

In an effort to share the process of intersecting science and dance, SYREN created "Science in Motion", and has since shared this programming with The American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington D.C., Society of Physics Students at NYU, Women in Physics at Yale, Principia College, Children's Museum of Manhattan, American Physical Society's New England Conference, IONA College, The Chapin School, St. Paul's School for Girls, Cambridge Science Festival, High Tech High School, OSU Dance Department, The Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria, and Girl's Inc. of NY. 

Additional performance highlights include SYREN performances
at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival,
Cité Universitaire in Paris, Green Space, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase College, Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival, White Plains Performing Arts Center, Educational Center for the Arts, New Haven Ballet, and Grounds for Sculpture. 

Sharing dance through teaching has been a constant part of SYREN’s work throughout its 20 years. SYREN’s Directors believe the power of dance is that it can be harnessed and offered to any body in any space. This has led to opportunities for Lynn and Kate to bring dance to people across a broad range of ages and abilities. For a comprehensive outline of all the institutions SYREN has visited in this capacity, feel free to reach out to the company!