Parsons Dance – praised around the world for its virtuosity, exceptional theatricality, athleticism, energy and accessibility – presents the twelfth annual New York City Summer Intensive Workshop for pre-professional and professional dancers from May 29-June 16, 2012. For the first time, the workshop has been extended to three weeks. David Parsons' Master Choreography Workshop will follow the Summer Intensive Workshop from June 18-22, 2012. Enrollment information for both the Summer Intensive and Master Choreography Workshops can be found at www.parsonsdance.org/summerworkshops.

The Summer Intensive Workshop includes a culminating performance, the Summer Intensive Showcase, on Friday, June 15, 2012 at 6pm. Audiences are welcome to the free performance at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, 248 W. 60th Street between Amsterdam and West End Avenues. Admission to the performance is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and reservations are required. To reserve seats, call (212) 869-9275 or email info@parsonsdance.org.

This year's Summer Intensive Workshop, held from May 29 – June 16, 2012, has been extended to three weeks and will give participants the unique opportunity to study with Artistic Director David Parsons and members of Parsons Dance in the heart of the modern dance capital, New York City. Participants take classes in modern and ballet technique, the repertory of Parsons Dance, and are offered special Professional Development seminars.

David Parsons' Master Choreography Workshop will take place from June 18 – 22, 2012. Dancers will have the opportunity to be part of the development process for David Parsons' next choreographic work. David Parsons will set new work on participants and involve them personally and directly in his creative process.

Both the Summer Intensive and the Master Choreography Workshop are presented in association with Marymount Manhattan College, the official education partner of Parsons Dance, and held at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, 248 W. 60th Street between Amsterdam and West End Avenues.

For more information about either program, call 212-869-9395 or visit www.parsonsdance.org.

ABOUT PARSONS DANCE

Parsons Dance is committed to building new audiences for contemporary dance by creating American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world. The company tours regionally, nationally and internationally. Since 1985, Parsons Dance has toured an average of 32 weeks per year, to a total more than 235 cities and 30 countries. Many others have seen Parsons Dance on PBS, Bravo, A&E Network, and the Discovery Channel. Millions watched Parsons Dance perform live in Times Square as part of the internationally broadcast, 24-hour Millennium New Year's Eve celebration. In New York City, Parsons Dance has been featured at The Joyce Theater, City Center, New Victory Theater, Central Park Summerstage, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and The World Trade Center. For more information, visit parsonsdance.org.

Parsons Dance gratefully acknowledges the following for their support: The Cowles Charitable Trust, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Friars Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, The Joyce Theater, New York State Council on the Arts, Nina W. Werblow Charitable Trust, The Shubert Foundation and Theater Development Fund. In addition, Parsons Dance is supported, in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Artistic Director DAVID PARSONS founded Parsons Dance in 1987 with lighting designer Howell Binkley. Since then, he has created more than 80 works for the company, through commissions from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, the American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, New York City Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, the Spoleto Festival, and Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, among others. His works have also been performed by BatSheva Dance Company of Israel, English National Ballet, Feld Ballets/NY, Hubbard Street Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theatre, and Paris Opera Ballet, among many others. He choreographed and directed the dance elements for Times Square 2000, the 24-hour festivities in Times Square celebrating the turn of the Millennium, viewed live on television by billions of people all over the globe.

Mr. Parsons enjoys a remarkable career as a performer, choreographer, teacher, director, and producer of dance. He has toured and taught with his company on six continents. In September 2007, he directed and choreographed Gotham Chamber Opera's production of María de Buenos Aires, which made its world premiere at a sold-out engagement at NYU's Skirball Center for the Arts in New York City. In the July 27, 2007 issue of The New York Times, Jennifer Dunning called him "one of the great movers of modern dance." In June 2007, Mr. Parsons was the first contemporary choreographer to stage work at the centuries-old Arena di Verona, where he choreographed Verdi's Aida. He received the Dance Masters of America's 2011 Annual Award and the 2000 Dance Magazine Award, as well as the 2001 American Choreography Award for his work with AEROS, a production featuring the Romanian Gymnastic Federation broadcast on the Bravo Channel. From 1978-1987, Mr. Parsons was a leading dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, where Mr. Taylor created many roles for him in works such as Arden Court, Last Look, and Roses. He has appeared as a guest artist with the Berlin Opera, MOMIX, the New York City Ballet, and the White Oak Dance Project. As a director and choreographer, he has collaborated with such artists as John Corrigliano; Earth, Wind and Fire; East Village Opera Company; Morton Gould; Donna Karan; Alex Katz; William Ivy Long; Santo Loquasto; Dave Matthews; Milton Nascimento; Robert Rauschenberg; Steely Dan; and Billy Taylor. Film: Fool's Fire, directed by Julie Taymor; American Playhouse; and Rita Blitt's documentary Caught in Paint. Television: Bravo broadcast of Aeros; PBS production of Remember Me, a world premiere production by Parsons Dance and the East Village Opera Company; Parsons Dance repertory production in Denmark; the hit Italian reality television show "Amici;" PBS production of Billy Taylor music with Parsons Dance' and RAI television dance celebration of Pisa, Italy. Commercial work: Audi, Mecedes, Chevrolet, Alfa Romeo, Lion pajamas, and Flair magazine. Fashion: Missoni, Trusardi, Ermenegildo Zegna, Roberto Cavalli.

Born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City, Mr. Parsons received an honorary Doctorate from the University of Kansas City and an honorary Doctorate from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He is a recipient of the Howard Gilman fellowship at the Jacksonville University MFA program. Mr. Parsons has cultivated an educational partnership with Marymount Manhattan College, which hosts the annual Parsons Dance Summer Intensive. Education outreach, workshops, lecture and demonstration events, and Master Class venues include Juilliard, Columbia Business School and UCLA.