Grant Recipients Viola Farber Award Dance 2025

Jennifer Lafferty

Jennifer Lafferty is centered, smiling directly at the camera. She stands straight against a light, neutral wall, wearing an embroidered navy cardigan, hoop earrings, and jeans.
Photo by Pacey Barron.
  • 2025 Viola Farber Award
  • Dance
  • Dancer
  • Born 1977, Bellflower, CA
  • Lives in Brooklyn, NY
  • She/Her

Artist Statement

I love dance. It's sometimes as simple as that. I love working with choreographers and other artists. Day after day we try and figure out what exactly we are doing and day after day we try to make it better; to make ourselves better. It doesn't get old.

- December 2024

Biography

Jennifer Lafferty began dancing as a child in southern California. After moving to New York in 1999, she began working with choreographers and dancers in the city’s downtown dance community. Lafferty is a captivating performer known for her steadfast commitment to detail, rigor, and authenticity. She is motivated by a pursuit of the unknown, and is drawn to experimental work that pushes her dancing beyond what is familiar or expected. 

Her collaboration with choreographer Beth Gill has spanned more than a decade, with Lafferty appearing in Nail Biter, NYU Skirball Center, New York, NY (2024); Pitkin Grove, The Joyce Theater, New York, NY (2018); Catacomb, The Chocolate Factory Theater, Long Island City, NY (2016); New Work for the Desert, New York Live Arts, New York, NY (2014); and Electric Midwife, The Chocolate Factory Theater, Long Island City, NY (2011). For her performance in Catacomb, Lafferty was nominated for a 2016 New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award for Outstanding Performer. The piece was a departure from their prior work together, requiring Lafferty to explore a more interior and vulnerable side of Gill’s choreography relative to the technical exactitude and controlled vocabulary of New Work for the Desert and Electric Midwife. 

Lafferty has also performed in work by Sarah Michelson, Vicky Shick, Neil Greenberg, Rebecca Lazier, Yasuko Yokoshi, Netta Yerushalmy, Anna Sperber, Christopher Williams, Michou Szabo, Nina Winthrop, Ze'eva Cohen, Renée Archibald, and Eliza Miller. 

She holds a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles and has curated dance for the [DANCEROULETTE] New Movement Series at Roulette, Brooklyn, NY (2014-2017).

Jennifer Lafferty performs in a dimly lit space wearing an all-white outfit, she is standing and bending her knees slightly, with her hands on her head while turning to the side. A bright strip of light cuts diagonally across the floor, contrasting with the blue lighting that fills the room. A figure is visible in the background, partially obscured by an open doorway.

Performance still from Catacomb at The Chocolate Factory, New York, 2016. Choreographed by Beth Gill. Photo by Brian Rogers.

Jennifer Lafferty, wearing a red shirt and light grey pants, performs at the center of a group of four performers in colorful attire. They are standing and positioned in a staggered formation against a white brick wall, each with their arms raised or bent in different angles. The lighting in the space is warm and casts a soft glow on their faces.

Performance still from Electric Midwife at The Chocolate Factory, New York, 2011. Choreographed by Beth Gill. Photo by Steven Schreiber.

Jennifer Lafferty is shown in red lighting, lying on the floor with her head raised and her hands resting on the ground. She wears a trench coat, and her gaze is tilted to the side. Other performers in sequined outfits are partially visible in the background.

Performance still from Nail Biter at the Fisher Center at Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, NY, 2023. Choreographed by Beth Gill. Photo by Maria Baranova.

Jennifer Lafferty performs in the center of a wooden floored room, appearing with two other dancers all facing away from the camera in various positions. They all wear sheer white tops and shorts, with their arms extended outward and slightly curved. The image is backlit by large windows, casting the performers in silhouette against the bright natural light streaming in.

Performance still from Coming Together / Attica at The Invisible Dog, New York, 2013. Choreographed by Rebecca Lazier. Photo by Julie Lemberger.

A black and white image of Jennifer Lafferty spinning mid-motion on a stage with a dark, reflective floor. She wears a white top and shorts, with her arms slightly raised and her legs extended. The background features dark, textured stone walls.

Performance still from Coming Together / Attica at the Patras International Festival, Patras, Greece, 2014. Choreographed by Rebecca Lazier. Photo by Katerina Koutsi Marouda.

Jennifer Lafferty leans against a white brick wall, wearing beige shorts and a sleeveless top with gold embellishments. Her gaze is directed to the side, and a group of seated people are visible in the background. The lighting in the space is warm and natural.

Performance still from Oh, Dear Natasha at The Chocolate Factory, New York, 2007. Choreographed by Renée Archibald. Photographed by Alex Escalante.