Dance

Susannah Newman, Co-Chair of ON STAGE at Asbury, and Chair of the Dance Sub-Committee, grew up in Manhattan’s vibrant dance world, studying and being mentored by great artists such as Graham, Limon, Cunningham, Sokolow and Farber. She had her first professional engagement when she was ten and by the time she was sixteen she was getting her first taste of dance company life.

Susannah left NY to attend California’s Mills College, where she collaborated with choreographer Trisha Brown and composer Darius Milhaud. In 1964, she transferred to the renowned Ohio State University Dance Department, had the opportunity to create major works of her own; perform, terrified, in “L’Histoire du Soldat” for a front-row Igor Stravinsky; and meet her husband, choreographer/dancer, James Payton. In 1969, they were offered faculty positions in a new Dance Department at SUNY Brockport (Rochester, NY) and the opportunity to create a fully professional RESIDENT DANCE COMPANY, serving the entire SUNY system. In 1974, Susannah became a Mom and in 1980 she was awarded SUNY’s Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. With her son in tow, she began to accept short guest artist residencies throughout the United States, in Europe and South America. Her mentors choreographed wonderful solos for her to perform and her career took off again. In the 1990s, Susannah had the first 2 of 7 total hip replacements, took a sabbatical to study filmmaking, made a specialized head-camera, and spent the next decade creating DanceOnCamera Shorts for juried Film Festivals.

She retired as Professor Emeritus in 2004. Her son, Shawn, is a Manager at D.C.’s famed Old Ebbitt Grill.