Stephen Petronio

Who is Stephen Petronio?

Stephen Petronio is an American choreographer, dancer, and the artistic director of New York City-based Stephen Petronio Company.

Stephen Petronio was born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 20, 1956. He grew up in Nutley, New Jersey and received a B.A. degree from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he began dancing in 1974. Prior to pursuing a career in dance, Petronio studied pre-medicine before being inspired by the dancing of Rudolf Nureyev and Steve Paxton, with whom he studied contact improvisation. Petronio became the first male dancer of the Trisha Brown Company, and founded Stephen Petronio Company in 1984. He has gone on to build a unique and powerful language of movement in a career that spans over 25 years. Stephen Petronio Company has toured extensively across the United States and to 26 other countries throughout the world, with over 35 New York City engagements including 15 seasons at The Joyce Theater.