Margo Sappington

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Texas-born Margo Sappington joined the Joffrey Ballet in 1965 -- at the invitation of Robert Joffrey -- where she danced an extensive repertoire of works including ballets by Gerald Arpino. Transitioning from the ballet world, she danced on Broadway in Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity, and assisted and appeared in the award-winning Broadway musical, Promises, Promises, choreographed by Michael Bennett.

In 1969 she choreographed the off-Broadway musical, Oh! Calcutta! which premiered at the Eden Theater in New York. In 1971 she choreographed her first ballet, Weewis, for the Joffrey Ballet.

In 1993 Ms. Sappington created Slide for the Joffrey Ballet, which was a section of the company's highly acclaimed evening-length work, Billboards, danced to a score by rock musician Prince.
In the United States her works have been danced by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Carolina Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the Houston Ballet, the Harkness Ballet, the Milwaukee Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the Pennsylvania Ballet. Her works have been seen internationally as danced by Aterballetto (Italy), Ballet du Capitole (France), Ballet du Nord (France), Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, Nederlands Dans Theater, and the Ballets Jazz de Montreal.

In 1988 Ms. Sappington created a new ballet, Heliotrope, for the Central Ballet of China in Beijing -- the first creation by an American choreographer for the company. Her ballet, Virgin Forest, inspired by Rousseau's jungle paintings and created for the Milwaukee Ballet, was the subject of an award-winning documentary for PBS.
Since 1986, Ms. Sappington has formed a close artistic association with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in Chicago where she has created Cobras in the Moonlight, Step Out of Love, And Now This, Forging Ground, and a pas de deux, Mirage.
In 1993 Ms. Sappington created the dance drama, Juliana, based on the short story, "La Intrusa" by Jorge Luis Borges for Rajatabla Danza (Caracas, Venezuela) and in 1994 created Counterpoint for the Bordeaux Grand Theatre set to the music of Count Basie.

In 1992, Ms. Sappington initiated her collaboration with Valentina Kozlova and from that collaboration was born "From Bolshoito Broadway" and in 1995 formed a collaboration with Ms. Kozlova becoming co-artistic director and choreographer of [[The Daring Project‘‘. For The Daring Project they have choreographed more than a dozen pieces including Don't Bring Lulu, For Ella, Magyar Dances, and One Summer Night, all choreographed to music ranging from Liszt and Brahms to songs sung by Ella Fitzgerald, and flamenco music by Paco de Lucia.
In 2001 Ms. Sappington created a new piece for the Atlanta Ballet, The Indigo Girls Project, which included the participation of the well-known singing group, The Indigo Girls. In 2002 Ms. Sappington created Zuzu Lounge for the Kansas City Ballet.

Ms. Sappington has also choreographed for opera productions including Aida, Samson and Delilah, and La Gioconda for the San Francisco Opera. In 2005 Ms. Sappington created a role in the premiere of Charles Strouse's Real Men at the Coconut Grove Playhouse.

In 2007 Sappington created a ballet called Common People, set to William Shatner's album, Has Been, and was performed by Milwaukee Ballet. Shatner attended the premiere and filmed the event. This footage became Gonzo Ballet, a feature film due out in 2008.