Stephen has amassed a broad portfolio of artistic projects—including commissioned dances, interdisciplinary projects, improvisational scores, and more. The following project descriptions represent his larger volumes of work. A more comprehensive list of projects can be found in his CV and on the Reject Dance Theatre and NilsSpring Dance Project websites.
The Terminal Project
The Terminal Project is a suite of related dance works conceived by Stephen Ursprung in collaboration with Crystal Nilsson. It began in its first iteration as Stephen’s MFA thesis project at Smith College and has since evolved into a large-scale study of human behavior in transient spaces. The work represents Stephen’s perspective on life and therefore is constantly evolving as he matures and expands his world view.
Terminal 24 premiered in 2012. Terminal 24 explored the intersections of contemporary dance and vernacular and commercial hip hop dance forms. By identifying similarities across genres within dance history as well as the dancers’ experiences and interests, the dance strives to find meaning and understanding in how dance can comment on the human condition. Research for this work also included an analysis of Marc Augé’s research on non-places, explored through this work in the form of globally familiar airports. This piece represents an embodiment of social movement, technique, and cultural intention.
Following Terminal 24, Stephen and Crystal Nilsson began expanding the duet section into its own piece, simply titled Terminal. Terminal explores the metaphors of a flight as a depiction of the arc of an interpersonal relationship. This iteration of the work has toured extensively and has most recently been performed by Stephen and Larissa D. Ursprung, Stephen’s sister-in-law and frequent collaborator.
Most recently, Stephen staged Terminal 35 at Dean College in 2022. This iteration of the work reflects how he has matured since Terminal 24. The naming convention reflects the age at which the piece was staged—Terminal 35 reflects Stephen’s world view at 35 years old.
Technical Specifics: The Terminal Project has been staged and presented in casts ranging from 2 to 7 dancers. Each dancer uses a chair in the work and the piece can be presented with or without projection. Length: 10-15 minutes depending on staging. Music: Recorded
Past Performances:
DEAN COLLEGE Franklin, MA 2022
CHIMERA AT THE PHANTOM THEATRE Warren, VT 2022
BALLIAMO DANCE COLLECTIVE AT WATERFIRE ARTS CENTER Providence, RI 2020
NEW YORK STATE SUMMER SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS Saratoga Springs, NY 2019
BOSTON TOURING GROUP AT CHISENHALE DANCE SPACE London, UK 2016
THE DANCE COMPLEX Cambridge, MA 2016
BANCROFT SCHOOL Worcester, MA 2016
BROWN UNIVERSITY Providence, RI 2014
MOVEMENT RESEARCH Brooklyn, NY 2012
SMITH COLLEGE Northampton, MA 2012
The Terminal Project was made possible through the generous funding and support of the Gretchen Moran Fellowship for Graduate Research at Smith College, the department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies at Brown University, The Boston Touring Group, and Movement Research in New York, NY.
Territory Suites
The Territory Suites (2014)
The Territory Suites marked Reject Dance Theatre’s first collaborative evening-length work—created by artistic directors Rebecca Hite, Stephanie Simpson, and Stephen Ursprung. The piece explores “territory” from the perspectives of three unique choreographic voices and lenses: Human Relationships, where we explore territory as it relates to the human body and psyche—What happens when our intellectual and psychological space is infiltrated by an intruder? How does our sense of self change and how can the control of “territory” be regained; Gender Identity, where gender performance and sexual politics are questioned—How do we navigate the world around us through politicizing our bodies? How do we negotiate the people around us both physically and sexually; and Animal Interactions, where we study animal movement and its translation onto the human body—Animals identify their territory through means of intimidation, body language, and physical confrontation. Though the tone of the piece is at times heavy, there are moments of humor integrated throughout such as an absurd physicalization of a sloth or the spoken word/text representing the stream of consciousness during a duet. The juxtaposition of emotional intensity and comedic lightness reflect the complexity of the human experience.
Technical Specifics The piece consists of 9 dancers and can be presented in many formats. It has been performed as a site-adaptive work, as an evening-length work in 5 sections, and as three separate pieces representing the three individual choreographers. There are no props or sets required. Length: Approx 50 minutes Music: Recorded
Past Performances
DEAN COLLEGE Franklin, MA 2022
BROWN UNIVERSITY Providence, RI 2018
BAK MIDDLES SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS West Palm Beach, FL 2016
DANCE COMPLEX Cambridge, MA 2015
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY Framingham, MA 2015
RIVERDALE COUNTRY SCHOOL Bronx, NY 2015
TAKING ROOT|GREEN SPACE Queens, NY 2015
MASSACHUSETTS DANCE FESTIVAL Holyoke, MA 2015
DANCING IN THE STREETS|SOMERVILLE ARTS COUNCIL Somerville, MA 2015
TRISKELION ARTS Brooklyn, NY 2015
The Space[s] We Hold
The Space[s] We Hold is a new work in progress. The first draft of this work consists of three vignettes exploring related themes from multiple choreographic perspectives. Originally conceived by Stephanie Simpson and Stephen Ursprung from Reject Dance Theatre and Amy Foley and Larissa D. Ursprung from Augmentation Movement Project, the work was workshopped as part of a creative residency at Waitsfield, VT’s recently restored historic Stowell Farm Barn.
2022 Performance at The Phantom Theatre in Waitsfield, VT:
2023 Showing at the Stowell Farm Barn
The Space[s] We Hold is in development. Stay tuned for future iterations of the work!