Freelance choreographer Adam Hougland has become known for his highly kinetic, physically daring, musically driven dances.
Adam grew up in Dallas, Texas and studied visual arts and acting from an early age. At 14 he began dancing at the Dallas Conservatory of Ballet and the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
In 1995 Adam moved to New York City to attend the Juilliard School. While at Juilliard, he performed the works of Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovitch, Jose Limón and Jiri Kylian. In his last year, he was awarded the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Outstanding Choreography for his ballet Beyond.
In 1999 he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Juilliard and joined the Toronto Dance Theater under the direction of Christopher House.
In 2000 he joined the Limón Dance Company under the direction of Carla Maxwell. Still finding time to choreograph he gave Beyond its official world premier at Juilliard. He also collaborated with composer Justine Fang Chen to create Stand 9 which was featured in the Emerging Masters of American Choreography series at Juilliard.
In 2001 he re-staged Beyond for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and continued to perform with the Limón Dance Company.
In 2002 he left Limón as a dancer, but stayed to choreograph Phantasy Quintet, which received the Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography and a New York State Council for the Arts Commissioning Grant. He created Between Ashes and Angels for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Living Proof for Introdans in The Netherlands, and re-staged Beyond for Cincinnati Ballet, and Stand 9 for Chamber Dance Project.
In 2003 he premiered Intarsia at Juilliard, All You Have for Chamber Dance Project, Bitter Suite for Introdans, and Cold Virtues for Louisville Ballet. He also participated in Ballet Pacifica’s Pacific Choreographic Workshop and re-staged Beyond for Louisville Ballet.
In 2004 he premiered Fledgelings for Cedar Lake Ensemble, and participated in the New York Choreographic Institute workshop at New York City Ballet. He also returned to performing and danced in Lar Lubovich's Pentimento and Men's Stories. He re-staged Beyond for Introdans and began work on Devolve for Louisville Ballet.
In 2005 Adam was named Principle Choreographer for the Louisville Ballet for which he premiered Devolve in March and Made to be Broken in October. He was guest choreographer for the Patricia Nanon residency at The Yard.
In 2006 Adam premiered Watershed as part of Juilliard's Centennial Celebration set to a newly commissioned score by Christopher Rouse. Watershed toured with Juilliard to Chicago and Los Angeles and was broadcast on the PBS 'Live from Lincoln Center' series. Adam also choreographed Tempting Fate for Sofiane Sylve (New York City Ballet) and Marcelo Gomes (American Ballet Theater) performed at the Youth America Grand Prix 2006 Gala. Adam returned to The Yard to create Metamorphosis Two and made Vanish for The American Ballet Theatre Studio Company.
Adam is the 2006 recipient of the Princess Grace Award for Choreography, and is one of Pointe Magazines' 10 VIP's of 2006.
In 2007 Adam premiered Fragile Stasis for Louisville Ballet, Road Movies for Ballet Memphis, Vanish for The American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, K 281 for Cincinnati Ballet, Risk of Flight for Ballet X and Prelude to a Drama for The Juilliard Dance Ensemble.
Adam has taught at the ABT Collegit Summer Intensive, the Bahia Blanca Conservatory of Dance in Argentina, The New York State Summer School for the Arts, Interlochen Arts Academy, and is a guest faculty at the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
He lives in New York City.
Contact Adam: adam@adamhougland.com
updated: January 2, 2008