MOSES PENDLETON has been one of America’s most innovative and widely performed choreographers and directors for almost 50 years. A co-founder of the ground-breaking Pilobolus Dance Theater in 1971, he formed his own company, MOMIX, with Alison Chase in 1980 which rapidly established an international reputation for inventive and often illusionistic choreography. The troupe has been creating new work under his direction and touring worldwide for four decades.
Mr. Pendleton has also worked extensively in film, TV, and opera and as a choreographer for ballet companies and special events including the Closing Ceremony of the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid in 1980 and The Doves of Peace, featuring Diana Vishneva and 50 Russian ballerinas, for the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi. He has also made music videos with Prince, Julian Lennon, and Cathy Dennis, among others.
Mr. Pendleton was born and raised on a dairy farm in Northern Vermont. He received his BA in English Literature from Dartmouth College in 1971. He is an avid photographer whose work has been presented in Rome, Milan, Florence, and Aspen.
Mr. Pendleton was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1977, a recipient of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Governor’s Award in 1998, received the Positano Choreographic Award in 1999, and the 2002 American Choreography Award for his contributions to choreography for film and television. In 2010, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts (HDFA) from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he delivered the commencement address. In 2021, Mr. Pendleton received the degree of Doctor of Arts, honoris causa, from Dartmouth College, for his lifetime contributions to the arts. Most recently (June 2024), he was the recipient of the prestigious Taobuk Award — a recognition given annually to intellectuals and artists who have left a remarkable cultural message on a global scene. In 2025, Pendleton was honored with the Richard Brettell Award in the Arts by the University of Texas at Dallas.
