Armando Duarte, a native Brazilian, holds a BS degree in Physical Education from University of São Paulo and an MFA degree in Choreography and Performance from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. Mr. Duarte is a founding member of the internationally known Cisne Negro (Black Swan) Dance Company from São Paulo, Brazil, where he worked for 14 years. He has received a Best New Choreographer armando_duarte.shtmlaward from the São Paulo Association of Arts Reviewers, and in 1989, he was one of the international guest choreographers at the American Dance Festival. Since coming to the UI in 1993, he has choreographed 45 original dance pieces and has restaged several works from his own repertory in which he continues to perform. At The University of Iowa, he is a two-time winner of the Iowa Old Gold Summer Fellowship; and has received several grants from the Support Program for Arts and Humanities and the Arts and Humanities Initiative Program at the university. Mr. Duarte is one of the National Adjudicators for Regional Dance America. His choreography has been commissioned by several repertory and regional dance companies throughout the world. His international guest appearances included visits to Milan, Geneva, Lausanne, Udine, Paris, São Paulo and Natal. Most recently he has commissioned works for the Brigham Young University in Utah, the Victoria Ballet in Texas, the Georgia Youth Ballet in Atlanta, Georgia, the Sandra Organ Dance Company and the internationally known Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico. In Brazil he continues to be very active in the Dance field. He has recently choreographed works for the Bale da Cidade de Natal; the UAI Q Dança Company in Uberlândia e taught several Workshops at the Studio 3 with the Sociedade Masculina da Dança in São Paulo. As part of his creative research and educational mission, Mr. Duarte has been conducting extensive research about Brazilian culture. The material collected is being used as resources for his choreographic works as well as lectures and workshops about Brazil. Mr. Duarte intends to continue teaching and choreographing for universities, dance schools and regional dance companies throughout the United States. With his artistry and cultural background, he hopes to contribute to the education of dance students of all ages. Mr. Duarte is also the artistic director of the Duarte Dance Works (DDW), a contemporary dance company based in Iowa City.