Parnassus Productions, Inc.

 

Alison M. Friedman was international director of the Beijing Modern DanceCompany from 2005 until 2008 when she was hired by Oscar-winning composer TanDun to be general manager of his company Parnassus Productions. She came to Beijingin 2002 on a Fulbright fellowship to research the development of modern dance in China.In addition to lecturing on modern dance in China and abroad, she has conductedresearch for the Royal Netherlands Embassy and the Asian Cultural Council. Her writinghas appeared in Dance Magazine (USA). She has worked as consultant for the U.S.Embassy in China, for Columbia University, and for the Alvin Ailey American DanceTheater, among other organizations. She has produced international performance festivalsin Beijing and was production coordinator for the John F. Kennedy Center 2005 Festivalof China. As a performer and director, Ms. Friedman has collaborated with arts groupsthroughout China, including the Living Dance Studio and the National Theatre Companyof China. She choreographed and directed a bilingual production of Igor Stravinsky’sL’Histoire du Soldat, which premiered in May 2005 at the China National Theatre EastPioneer Theatre. An accomplished tap dancer, she frequently teaches tap at the BeijingDance Academy and in Shanghai. Ms. Friedman graduated magna cum laude fromBrown University, where she was elected into membership in Phi Beta Kappa. Shestudied Chinese literature and literary translation. Her senior thesis Across Borders: ThePoetry of Xue Di will be published by Green Integer Press in the fall of 2008. Ms.Friedman is the 2008 Selma Jeanne Cohen Fund lecturer.