Claire Cunningham

Biography

Claire Cunningham is a performer and creator of multidisciplinary performances whose work often centers on the study and use/misuse of her crutches and the exploration of the potential of her own specific physicality, consciously rejecting traditional dance techniques developed for non-disabled bodies. This approach is deeply connected to an interest in the lived experience of disability and its implications not only as a choreographer but also in relation to societal ideas of knowledge, value, connection, and interdependence.
Identifying as a disabled artist, Cunningham was honored in 2021 with the German Dance Award for Outstanding Artistic Development in Dance.

Cunningham’s work spans multiple art forms, ranging from the intimate solo performance “ME (Mobile/Evolution)” (2009) to the large-scale ensemble piece “12” for Candoco Dance Company. In 2014, she created “Give Me a Reason to Live“, inspired by the work of medieval Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch and the representation of homeless people/crips in his paintings. With this work, she appeared for the first time at HAU Hebbel am Ufer in 2016 as part of the Festival Tanz im August. 2016 she also created the duet “The Way You Look (at me) Tonight” with choreographer Jess Curtis. The production was selected for Tanzplattform 2018 at PACT Zollverein in Essen, Germany and was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award.

In 2019, Claire premiered her ensemble piece “Thank You Very Much” at the Manchester International Festival, which received the CATS Award for Best Ensemble, Best Sound, and Best Music. In November 2024, her most recent solo work “Songs of the Wayfarer” premiered at HAU Hebbel am Ufer as part of the NO LIMITS Festival. Claire Cunningham has been Einstein Professor of Choreography, Dance, and Disability Arts at HZT Berlin since the 2023/24 winter semester.