The Company

and Collaborators

SYREN Modern Dance is a women-founded and directed
non-profit organization based in New York City.
The artists of SYREN have been named
Cultural Ambassadors by the
United States Department of State.

For 23 years, SYREN has invited participants into
the process of making and experiencing modern dance.
In the U.S.A., SYREN has shared dance in 16 states
and across the ocean in
France, The United Arab Emirates, and Germany.

SYREN was founded in 2003 by
Kate Sutter and Lynn Peterson, upon graduating
from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase,
where they nurtured a deep passion for
American Modern Dance, a drive to create,
and a mission to share dance broadly and inclusively.

Artistic Directors Kate Sutter (L) and Lynn Peterson (R)

In addition to hundreds of individuals,
SYREN has received support from the
following institutions:
The O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation,
The CT Office of the Arts which receives funding
from the National Endowment for the Arts,
Community Foundation of Greater New Haven,
Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtists International,
a program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts,
the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,
and the Trust of Mutual Understanding,
Aleph Fund, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs,
Dance/NYC, Jewish Community Fund,
Queens Council on the Arts, Particle Fever,
Harkness Space Grants (92nd Street Y),
The Chelsea Art Museum,
and by residencies at NXTHVN,
STEAM Factory at OSU,
DanceNOW/NYC's Silo and DTW's Outer/Space.

Throughout 2003-2011, SYREN produced performances in NYC at New York City Center Studios, Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, University Settlement, John Jay Theater, and St. Francis Xavier.
From 2008–2014, SYREN developed its “Dance on Canvas” partnership with The Art Students League of New York which included an exhibition at The Office of the Manhattan Borough President. During this time SYREN was featured in festivals presented by Riverside Theatre, Symphony Space, 92ND Street Y, Dance Theater Workshop, Dixon Place, Queens Theatre in the Park,
d.u.m.b.o. Arts Under the Bridge Festival, and St. Mark’s Church.

SYREN has enjoyed collaborating with a wide range of
musicians, composers, conductors, and visual artists
including Ann Masina, Philip Miller, Rick Erickson, Lauren Cregor, Yonah Zur, Matthew Oberstein, Ben Kerswell, Artemis Chamber Ensemble, Purchase Chamber Orchestra, Damon Ferrante, Xena Lee, and Eric March.
SYREN’s commissioned work by
anthropologist/vocalist/composer Galeet Dardashti
was presented by JCC of Manhattan, 92Y Tribeca, and Le Poisson Rouge.

SYREN’s “The Art of Fugue” is a site specific dance
created specifically to be adapted for
performance in spaces with organs.
The dance explores definitions of beauty while searching
for its existence in a world filled with
detachment, immediacy, and exploitation.

"The Art of Fugue" has been presented by
Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity (NYC),
Bach Society of Houston (TX),
St. Marienkirche (Berlin, Germany),
Sacred Music at the Red Door (CT),
Providence United Methodist (NC),
and The Church of St. Luke in the Fields (NYC).

SYREN began exploring the intersection of science and dance in 2015. SYREN first created "Red and Blue, Bitter and Sweet" an exploration of quantum mechanic theories including entanglement, wave/particle duality, uncertainty principle and superposition, and it has been presented at Museum of Science-Boston, Gibney Dance-NYC, and Brown University. Next SYREN created "Ticktock" which is performed in collaboration with Astrophysicist Paul Sutter, and is an exploration of time using dance and narrative sequences. "Ticktock" has been presented at Expo 2020 Dubai, Bryant Park,
Museum of Science-Boston, Houston Museum of Natural Science,
Stony Brook University, and New England Biolabs.

In an effort to share the process of intersecting science and dance, SYREN created "Science in Motion", and has since shared this programming with The American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington D.C., Society of Physics Students at NYU, Women in Physics at Yale, Principia College, Children's Museum of Manhattan, American Physical Society's New England Conference, IONA College, The Chapin School, St. Paul's School for Girls, Cambridge Science Festival, High Tech High School, OSU Dance Department, The Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria, and Girl's Inc. of NY. 

Additional performance highlights include SYREN performances
at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival,
Cité Universitaire in Paris, Green Space, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase College, Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival, White Plains Performing Arts Center, Educational Center for the Arts, New Haven Ballet, and Grounds for Sculpture. 

Sharing dance through teaching has been a constant part of SYREN’s work throughout its 23 years. SYREN’s Directors believe the power of dance is that it can be harnessed and offered to any body in any space. This has led to opportunities for Lynn and Kate to bring dance to people across a broad range of ages and abilities. For a comprehensive outline of all the institutions SYREN has visited in this capacity, feel free to reach out to the company!