Foofwa d'Imobilité

Foofwa d’Imobilité (born 24 March 1969) is a Swiss dancer and choreographer. He lives and works in Geneva, Switzerland, and Brooklyn, New York.

Foofwa d’Imobilité
Born
Frédéric Gafner

24 March 1969
Geneva, Switzerland
OccupationDancer, choreographer
Years active1987 - present

Life and career

Foofwa d’Imobilité was born Frédéric Gafner in Geneva, Switzerland. His mother was Beatriz Consuelo, a Brazilian ballerina/dance teacher, and his father was Claude Gafner, a Swiss dancer and photographer.[1][2] Gafner studied at the Ecole de Danse de Geneva and performed as a member of the Geneva Ballet Junior. From 1987-1990, he worked as a dancer and soloist with the Stuttgart Ballet. From 1991-1998, he was a dancer with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.[3]

Gafner changed his name in the mid-1990s to Foofwa d’Imobilité.[4] In 1998 he began working as a choreographer, and in 2000 founded Neopost Ahrrrt, where he serves as Artistic Director.

Honors and awards

D’Imobilité has been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards for his work. Selected examples include:

  • 2009 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award[5]
  • 2006 Swiss Prize of Dance and Choreography
  • 1999 Grantee, Fondation Leenaards, Switzerland
  • 1995 New York Dance and Performance Award for Exceptional Artistry in the work of Merce Cunningham
  • 1987 Prix Professionnel at the Prix de Lausanne, Switzerland
  • 1986 Bronze Medal, International Dance Competition, Jackson, Mississippi

Works

Selected works include:

  • 2010 Au Contraire
  • 2008 The Making of Spectacles
  • 2006 Incidences
  • 2005 Benjamin de Bouillis
  • 2003 Kilometrix.dancerun.4
  • 2003 Match.dancerun.6
  • 2001 Le Show
  • 1999 Terpsicorp
  • 1998 Iuj Godog?[3]

References
  1. Ogan, Christine L. (2001). Communication and identity in the Diaspora: Turkish migrants in Amsterdam and their use of Media.
  2. De Rycke, Lisa (2005). "Beatriz Consuelo". In Kotte, Andreas (ed.). Theaterlexikon der Schweiz (TLS) / Dictionnaire du théâtre en Suisse (DTS) / Dizionario Teatrale Svizzero (DTS) / Lexicon da teater svizzer (LTS) (in French). 1. Zurich, Switzerland: Chronos. pp. 406–407. ISBN 978-3-0340-0715-3.
  3. "Foofwa d'Imobilité". Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  4. Macaulay, Alastair (30 June 2008). "A Master of Nonchalance in Control of His Illusions". Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. http://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/grant_recipients/foofwa.html
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