Dance Theatre Consort

A Duet/Pick-up company

Debora Broderius and Tim Martin knew each other from ballet classes in the Boston area, but had never worked together until they were cast as partners in a Ballet Theatre of Boston production by choreographer Tony Williams in 1986.

Debora later became principal dancer at Ballet New England and suggested Tim audition for the company. He was accepted and thus began their decades-long partnership, performing both ballet and contemporary works they created for themselves under the guise of their duet company—Dance Theatre Consort, founded in 1988—which later swelled to a pick-up company as the duo expanded their operations.

With Debora's strong background in ballet, and Tim's origins in modern and improvisation, the two created a repertory of hybrid works, integrating a variety of styles.

In 1989, such a work earned them the Boston Artists Foundation Choreography Fellowship and the pair was subsequently invited to perform at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

A short time later Tim moved to New York City where the company repertory was presented at such diverse showcases as:

• The Fiorello Festival by New Choreographers on Point
  
  
• Sundays at Three by the 92nd Street Y
  
  
• Ballet Builders at the Clark Studio Theater at Lincoln Center
  
  

In addition to concert work, they also performed a number of educational lecture-demonstrations at:

• Byram Hills High School, Byram Hills, New York
  
  
• The Ethel Walker School, Simsbury, Connecticut (multiple return engagements)
  
  
• Tabor Academy, Marion, Massachusetts (multiple return engagements)
  
  

In 1991, Mr. Martin and Ms. Broderius were commissioned to create a new work, Cybertech, on Wes Chapman’s American Ballet. Wes, a principal at American Ballet Theatre, assembled his troupe of soloists from ABT and chose Cybertech to be the closing work on the program.

Internationally, they toured to:

• Greece: Third International Festival of Contemporary Dance, on the island of Crete, performing and teaching workshops
  
  
• France: American Choreographers Showcase, Paris
  
  
• Italy: Maggio Danza, Florence: Received commission to set a new work on the company, then under the directorship of Karole Armitage. The ballet, QXK, premiered in March, 1998
  
  

Working in New York led to being bitten by the Argentine Tango bug, and the two began to focus their training in that direction. This led to performances at studios and festivals in Connecticut.

© 2023 Debora Broderius  •  All Rights Reserved.