Robert Cohan has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, in recognition of his contribution to contemporary dance over seven decades
Cohan’s impact on the development of dance in the UK is considered second to none. Having been co-director of the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York, he was invited to become the first Artistic Director of the Contemporary Dance Trust in London in 1967. He was a founder of The Place, London Contemporary Dance School and London Contemporary Dance Theatre, became for millions the face of contemporary dance on TV through the 1970s and the 1980s, and has had a freelance career as a choreographer for Scottish Ballet and other companies since 1989. Cohan’s most recent work, Communion for Yorke Dance Project, was performed at the Royal Opera House in May 2019.
“I am delighted to receive such a tremendous honour, not only for myself but also for dance, the art form to which I have devoted the greater part of my life and which I love so much,” said Cohan. “I am both happy and lucky to find that even at my age I can still be in the studio and create. Being involved with dance has always been and still is an extraordinary way to live my life.”
Dancers perform Robert Cohan's Forest
Teaching internationally, Cohan has a particular association with Middlesex which goes back more than 20 years. He has worked closely with Professor Chris Bannerman and Associate Professor Anne Donnelly, documenting his approach to dance teaching with the ResCen research centre, given lectures and master classes to final year students and assisted students in mounting performances of several of his classic dances, in the UK and China.
In 2014 he was appointed a Visiting Professor and in 2016, co-directed the first Cohan Collective at Middlesex, as a summer course giving emerging choreographers, composers, musicians and dancers the opportunity to collaborate and experiment.
MDX Dance alumna and Lecturer in Dance Technique Sarah Sulemanji said: “Robert Cohan has had a profound impact on my growth as a dancer. Studying his work under Anne Donnelly sparked a new kind of understanding into the potential of my moving body. Watching and listening to Cohan direct dancers in the studio is a continuous inspiration: his wealth of knowledge and ability to communicate across generations of dancers is unparalleled and I feel privileged to continue learning and developing my practice in this context.’’
MDX Visiting Professor awarded a knighthood
Cohan’s impact on the development of dance in the UK is considered second to none. Having been co-director of the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York, he was invited to become the first Artistic Director of the Contemporary Dance Trust in London in 1967. He was a founder of The Place, London Contemporary Dance School and London Contemporary Dance Theatre, became for millions the face of contemporary dance on TV through the 1970s and the 1980s, and has had a freelance career as a choreographer for Scottish Ballet and other companies since 1989. Cohan’s most recent work, Communion for Yorke Dance Project, was performed at the Royal Opera House in May 2019.
“I am delighted to receive such a tremendous honour, not only for myself but also for dance, the art form to which I have devoted the greater part of my life and which I love so much,” said Cohan. “I am both happy and lucky to find that even at my age I can still be in the studio and create. Being involved with dance has always been and still is an extraordinary way to live my life.”
Dancers perform Robert Cohan's ForestTeaching internationally, Cohan has a particular association with Middlesex which goes back more than 20 years. He has worked closely with Professor Chris Bannerman and Associate Professor Anne Donnelly, documenting his approach to dance teaching with the ResCen research centre, given lectures and master classes to final year students and assisted students in mounting performances of several of his classic dances, in the UK and China.
In 2014 he was appointed a Visiting Professor and in 2016, co-directed the first Cohan Collective at Middlesex, as a summer course giving emerging choreographers, composers, musicians and dancers the opportunity to collaborate and experiment.
MDX Dance alumna and Lecturer in Dance Technique Sarah Sulemanji said: “Robert Cohan has had a profound impact on my growth as a dancer. Studying his work under Anne Donnelly sparked a new kind of understanding into the potential of my moving body. Watching and listening to Cohan direct dancers in the studio is a continuous inspiration: his wealth of knowledge and ability to communicate across generations of dancers is unparalleled and I feel privileged to continue learning and developing my practice in this context.’’