Derry Swan, a 1988 graduate of Strath Haven High School, started dancing at three years old with Swarthmore Ballet teacher Lori Ardis. She didn’t like it, quit, and at five years old she came back. From then on, she loved dance, which later became the focus of her everyday life and career.
According to her profile, Swan danced for Merce Cunningham, the famous American modern dance choreographer, from 1996-2004. She has also worked with Ashley Chen, Marjorie Folkman, Sally Hess, Kraig Patterson, Neta Pulvermacher, Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Magnetic Laboratorium, Kimberly Bartosik, and Christopher Williams.
Swan recalls traveling all over the world with Merce Cunningham, including the Paris Opera, Finici in Venice, and the Lincoln Center. Swan liked working for Cunninghman, who passed away in 2009, because of the incredible but rewarding movements he required.
“I felt like it engaged my whole being. It was not just a physical practice. It was mental, call it spiritual, and intellectual. I felt like my body and my brain were all engaged and present in most moments when I worked for him,” Swan said.
In high school, Swan ran track her junior year and participated in three high school musicals: “Brigadoon,” “Guys and Dolls,” and “Grease.” Her counselor, Linda Donnelly, directed Swan to Barnard College, an all-women’s school in Manhattan.
“Being at Barnard in New York City, we had a lot of opportunities to study dance and learn from choreographers and teachers who were professional dancers in the city. That’s how I got my start at dancing,” Swan said.
According to Lori Ardis, a ballet teacher and Swan’s former instructor, Swan is joyful and serene at the same time while performing. Ardis notes that she can also balance forever in the most extraordinary poses.
“Derry is one of the few dancers that I’ve taught that doesn’t need to warm up at all to be limber. Dancing seems to come so naturally to her, and yet she puts so much energy into it anyway,” Ardis said.
Ardis describes Swan as someone who speaks and writes poetically and who is intrinsically artistic in every way she can think of.
“She came to see one of our performances. And she started out, ‘my heart is singing the wonderful ballet’ and it was like a poet was talking,” Ardis said.
Ardis noted that Merce Cunningham loved Swan’s dancing. He wrote a book that had his drawings in it and there are more pictures of Swan than any other dancers in his company.
“She can float in the air and almost has wings, has beautiful feet, and is a very nice person. I have never known her to be unkind to anyone,” Ardis said.
