Rebecca Patek is an award-winning choreographer and performance maker whose work synthesizes dance, theater, and comedy to construct provocative works of institutional critique and social commentary. Known for a “subversive” and “exquisitely timed” performance style, Patek utilizes satire, caricature, and physical vulnerability to challenge cultural clichés and engage with complex themes of power and representation- ranging from the pretensions of the art world to deep familial histories.
Her work has been commissioned and presented by institutions including MoMA PS1, The Kitchen, The Museum of Arts and Design, The Chocolate Factory Theater, Abrons Art Center, Triple Canopy, and Prelude Festival. Patek was selected as a Great New York Artist (2015) and has been supported by fellowships and residencies, including the Center for Performance Research (2024 Artist-in-Residence), Movement Research (2011–2013), New York Live Arts (Fresh Tracks), and the Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX). She has also been a Queer Arts Mentorship Fellow and a participant in The Kitchen’s Dance and Process program.
In 2014, Patek was awarded the Prix Jardin d’Europe Fan Award at ImPulsTanz in Vienna for her work ineter(a)nal F/ear. Her choreography has earned consecutive distinctions as TimeOut New York’s “Best Dance” (2013 and 2014) for her productions Ineter(a)nal F/ear and Real Eyes.She has contributed video and written work to online and print journals: Bomb Magazine, Animal New York, The Performance Club, and Movement Research Journal.As a performer, she has collaborated with artists such as Ryan McNamara, David Gordon, and Les Gens D’Uterpan among others. Her work is further informed by her studies with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen in Body-Mind Centering and her professional background as a movement therapist.

Artist Statement

I am interested in reclaiming elements of performance that are considered wrong, awkward, uncomfortable, overlooked and that are frequently dismissed. Using satire I incorporate the marginalized facets of performance, making them the central focus of the work. The un-choreographed events in the performance environment: inter-relational dynamics both onstage and between performer and audience, power dynamics, emotional subtext, things that are felt but not publicly acknowledged. I am interested in discomfort and embarrassment of the performer. Situations onstage which create an emotional conflict that is funny and absurd, but also frightening or disturbing.