Brendan Drake

Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance, Theatre & Dance Program

Programs: Dance

Bio

Brendan Drake (all pronouns) is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and researcher. Their work incorporates movement, text, and sound experimentations to interrogate notions of vanity, rage, humiliation, and pleasure within gender and sexual power dynamics. Critics have described their work as “a glorious exploration of the body at its extremes” (Brooklyn Rail) and “hilarious and sobering: a way to say the unutterable” (Culturebot). Brendan was a 2017-2018 Fresh Tracks Artist at New York Live Arts and, in Fall 2025, became the inaugural recipient of the DC Dance Network Choreographers Commission. Additionally, they have been awarded grants and residencies through the Brooklyn Arts Fund, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, CUNY Dance Initiative, Brooklyn Studios for Dance, Monira Foundation, The Tank, and Chez Bushwick. Brendan's recent work has been presented in New York at Kestrels, Danspace Project, Movement Research at Judson Church, The Brick, La MaMa, PAGEANT, Joe's Pub, The Wild Project, and AUNTS, and at JrHigh (Los Angeles, CA), Fowler Museum (Los Angeles, CA), The Dance Complex (Boston, MA) and Dance Place (Washington, DC). In addition to their work on stage, Brendan choreographed the fall 2014 “Equality = Love” campaign for Adidas Originals/Pharrell Williams. They were the movement coordinator for editorial shoots with Vogue, Porter, V, and Elle Magazines (photographers: Liz Collins, Ryan McGinley, Collier Schorr). Brendan has guest-taught at UCLA, Columbia University, the University of Massachusetts, Muhlenberg College, DeSales University, Dance Place, Skewl, Gibney, and Peridance, and is currently the Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at George Washington University. As a dancer and performer, they have worked with Nattie + Hollis, Kayla Hamilton/Circle O, JChen Project, Janessa Clark, Meryl Merman, and Emily Barasch.

Selected Works

Ceremonials (2026) - Dance Place. Washington, DC
Room of Compartments (2026) - Created in collaboration with GWU/Corcoran School of Arts and Design Dance Majors. Washington, DC: https://vimeo.com/1190539503?fl=pl&fe=sh#t=3m49s
Ghost Porn (2023, 2025) - Movement Research at Judson Church. New York, NY: https://youtu.be/aN7pN6vHPmY?si=qcDfv1VQGrK2MVf5
Community Exercises for Sanctuary Spaces (2020) - The Brick Theater. Brooklyn, NY: https://vimeo.com/484655279?fl=pl&fe=sh
The Big Finish (2017) - New York Live Arts. New York, NY: https://vimeo.com/257829137?fl=pl&fe=sh#t=11m52s
Rope (2015) - HERE Arts Center. New York, NY: https://vimeo.com/142151547?fl=pl&fe=s

Professional Organizations

Dance Studies Association
Pop Culture Association

Classes Taught

Dance History, Choreography and Performance, Dance Composition, Improvisation, Advanced Modern/Post-Modern Dance Technique, Queer Aesthetics in Contemporary Performance, Trends in Performance Art

Education

BFA Dance, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
MFA Choreographic Inquiry, UCLA