Alumni Spotlight: Alison Cook Beatty

Contemporary dance alumna Alison Cook Beatty (B.F.A. '01) wins the 2015 Boston Conservatory Alumni Choreographic Commission and founds her own dance company.

Boston Conservatory alumna Alison Cook Beatty (B.F.A. '01, contemporary dance) joined current dance students to specially choreograph a piece for the Conservatory's production of WINTERWORKS in February 2015. Winner of the Boston Conservatory Alumni Choreographic Commission, Cook Beatty was excited to take the opportunity to work with her alma mater.

“I feel intuitively that I have the opportunity to offer something important to the students,” Cook Beatty said. “I hope to teach them to take that leap and fly. I hope to show them that they must persevere despite the odds. In addition to technique and artistry, I hope I can show them through dance that if there is willingness in one's heart, anything can be accomplished.”

Student Annelise Bucher (B.F.A. ’18, contemporary dance) was part of Cook Beatty’s piece.

“Alison brings such a joyous energy to rehearsal each day that we could feed off of and bring to the choreography,” Bucher said. “Working with her taught me to put all of my energy and passion into every movement and to work harder every day.”

After graduation, Cook Beatty wanted to be a part of a dance company, but after some time dancing, she realized she could also use her passion to create her own company.

“My dream was to be part of a major dance company,” Cook Beatty said. “I did that for a while, but afterward, naturally, Alison Cook Beatty Dance emerged.”

Cook Beatty is the artistic director and choreographer of Alison Cook Beatty Dance Company (formally ACB Dance Company), founded in 2012 and based in New York City. The company has performed throughout California, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. Her work has been commissioned by such companies as Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Carolina Ballet Theater, the Joffrey Ballet School NYC, Opera Dolche, NYU, and Ballet Next. Cook Beatty believes that the technique and skills she learned at the Conservatory helped her build her own successful dance company.

“From composition classes to art, dance, music history, literature, Laban, acting, and inter-departmental collaborations and projects—I bring this instruction and experience with me to the studio each day.”