Moses Pendleton Receives Honorary Doctor of Arts from Dartmouth

• 2021-05-10

Congratulations to Moses Pendleton on receiving an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from his Alma Mater, Dartmouth College!

Moses Pendleton is co-founder of two of the most innovative and popular American dance companies of the past 50 years: Pilobolus and MOMIX, the latter of which he is the artistic director. Raised on a dairy farm in northern Vermont, he went to Dartmouth in 1967 to study under the ski coach Al Merrill. His Olympic ambitions were shattered, literally, when a classmate's kick broke one of Pendleton's legs during a soccer game.

Although Pendleton was an English major, he took a dance class as part of ongoing rehabilitation. That class, with Alison Chase (and 20 other men), led to a career as a dancer and choreographer. Pendleton formed Pilobolus with three fellow students in 1971. Their inventive, sculptural, and sometimes humorous style of dance led to popular and critical success and an acclaimed Broadway run.

In 1980, Pendleton branched off on his own with the creation of MOMIX, for which he has created and directed 8 original full length shows over the past 41 years. The company has built a worldwide following. Pendleton has also worked as a choreographer for opera, film, video, and corporate events. While he never skied in the Olympics, he was a choreographer for the Closing Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid in 1980, and the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Link to full list of Dartmouth 2021 Honorary Doctorate Recipients

“I’d love to be able to see into Pendleton’s dreams just one night, but dreams alone don’t make theater like this.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer