Director: Ann Ludwig
The New York Times writes:
"Ludwig's pieces careen through a wide assortment of female responses in theatre-dance that has all the ragged, irrational reasonableness of life lived slightly below the polite formalities."
An astute observer of human behavior Ludwig's works surround us with the issues of homeless, domestic violence, Alzheimer's disease, and relationships while at other times, the sheer joy of dancing with flavors from swing, country, tango and waltz.
Ann Ludwig has set work on virtually all ages, from young dancers to octogenarians; for example, a work done in Florida found dancers from the Douglas Anderson School for the Arts, fourth grade through high school, examining the media relative to tobacco use and translated this into dance and a public performance. Another work centered on multi-generational issues ranging from twenty somethings to Alzheimer's disease. Titled 'Til Death Do Us Part, the work included a community adult tap group in one of the vignettes. Ludwig's Queen's Project gathered together the "Grande Dames" of Arizona dance as they relived the essence of the six wives of Henry VIII.
Professor Emerita in the Department of Dance, Arizona State University, she served as the Director of Graduate Studies and taught, graduate and undergraduate choreography, graduate pedagogy, and philosophy and criticism of dance. Before coming to Arizona in 1979, she was on the faculty at the University of Kansas, San Diego State University, and the University of Iowa where she chaired the Dance Program. She was the recipient of the (Arizona) Governor's Award for Women Who Create and was named to the Tempe list of All-American Women. Ludwig was recently awarded an Honorary Dance Award from Arizona Dance Arts Alliance and given a Distinguished Alumni Award from North Dakota State University.