Phoebe Neville

Phoebe Neville’s love of dance grew out of an initial appreciation for music. She played the cello until the summer she attended music camp. It was at this camp that she was introduced to the art of dance. This discovery led to three weeks spent at Jacob’s Pillow, the internationally renowned dance school in the Massachusetts Berkshires, where she watched the modern dancer Daniel Nagrin perform. Neville explains, “What I wanted to do, without knowing it, was revealed to be possible.” Even though she was also troubled by a subluxing patella and had her first knee operation before attending Wilson, Neville was determined to keep dancing. Becoming a member of Wilson’s Class of 1963, she enrolled as a fine arts major. Her main passion, however, was Orchesis. Little did Neville know, her participation in Orchesis would set her on a course that would make her dreams of a dance career come true. Renowned dancer Daniel Nagrin came to Wilson in 1960. He was invited by Fran Bowden, the Orchesis Instructor, to teach a master class and give a performance. Nagrin took notice of Neville’s skill, and this led to an apprenticeship with the new dance company he started with his wife in a Maine summer workshop. This opportunity led to longer employment with the Tamiris-Nagrin Company in New York City, and Nevill decided to leave Wilson by the summer of 1961.

Neville’s life in New York City blossomed as she continued to work in the dance industry. She found a passion for choreography, taught at various schools and colleges, and eventually, by 1975, she owned her own dance company, which performed for almost two decades. Later in life, Neville became a certified practitioner and teacher of body-mind centering and a registered somatic movement therapist. She now lives in Reggio Emilia, Italy, with her husband, musician, and composer Philip Corner.