Local Legend Lost

Renowned Dallas choreographer Bruce Wood dies at 53

Renowned Dallas choreographer Bruce Wood has died of heart failure at age 53.

Bruce Wood Dance Project/Facebook

Bruce Wood, founder of the Dallas-based Bruce Wood Dance Project, has died at the age of 53. Wood passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, May 28. He died of heart failure after developing complications from a bout with pneumonia.

Wood's passing comes just two weeks before the Bruce Wood Dance Project starts its fourth season with Touch at Dallas City Performance Hall. The performances, taking place on June 12 and 13, will go on as scheduled.

During his 16-year career as a choreographer, Wood created nearly 80 works for both the Bruce Wood Dance Company, which ended in 2007, and the Bruce Wood Dance Project. He had works commissioned by local institutions like Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Texas Ballet Theater, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts, and Southern Methodist University.

The Fort Worth native studied at the School of American Ballet under George Balanchine and went on to perform with New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Les Ballet Jazz des Montreal and the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company.

Another major project Wood had on his docket at the time of his death was a collaboration with Dallas Theater Center for its upcoming Colossal during the 2014-2015 season. In a statement, Kevin Moriarty, artistic director for DTC, lamented the loss of Wood:

All of us at Dallas Theater Center are heartbroken by the news of Bruce Wood’s passing. Bruce was one of North Texas’ leading creative artists. The depth of emotion he brought to his choreographic work was matched by his immense technical skill and compositional brilliance. He was a great source of inspiration for audiences and artists alike and he elevated the artistic life of our community.

DTC audiences were greatly looking forward to Bruce’s debut at Dallas Theater Center next season, when he was scheduled to choreograph Colossal. Personally, I am devastated by this loss to our community and filled with deep sorrow that I will not be able to enter into a rehearsal room with Bruce to learn from him and be inspired by his intensity, passion, artistry and vision. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bruce’s family and many friends in this time of mourning.

Wood is survived by his mother and two siblings. His family requests that anyone wishing to honor his memory donate money to the Bruce Wood Dance Project in lieu of flowers.

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Museum News

2 Dallas museums partner on landmark Roy Lichtenstein acquisition

Courtesy

Roy Lichtenstein

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) and the Nasher Sculpture Center will present works from the joint acquisition of more than 50 artworks generously gifted by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in 2024, showing prints, drawings, and sculptures by the groundbreaking American artist at the two neighboring institutions in the Dallas Arts District.

According to a release, the installations will be on view from January 31 to August 16, 2026 at the Nasher and from January 1 to July 5, 2026 at the DMA.

The joint gift made by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation to the DMA and the Nasher in Celebration of the Centennial of Roy Lichtenstein is comprised of a selection of prints, drawings, maquettes, and sculptures by Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), a leading figure in twentieth-century American art and a pioneer of the Pop Art movement.

The works were specifically selected by the curatorial staff of both institutions and relate to objects already in their respective collections including sculptures, works on paper, and maquettes, along with tools and study objects.

Organized by the Nasher Sculpture Center’s Senior Curator Dr. Catherine Craft, The Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the DMA Ade Omotosho, and The Allen and Kelli Questrom Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings at the DMA Dr. Emily Friedman, the presentation is divided according to each institution’s strengths and will be shown in combination with objects by Lichtenstein already in their respective permanent collections.

At the Nasher, works relating to three sculptures from the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection—Head with Blue Shadow, Peace through Chemistry, and Double Glass—will be accompanied by a selection from the Foundation's gift of more than two dozen drawings and maquettes associated with Lichtenstein’s Brushstroke sculptures.

At the Dallas Museum of Art, the presentation features a set of Brushstroke sculptures carved from wood alongside various prints and studies that reveal the artist’s eclectic imagery.

Events
In addition to the exhibition, the DMA and the Nasher will co-host a Study Day focused on the artist on March 28, 2026, sponsored by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. This scholarly event will bring together a variety of curators, academics, and conservators to discuss Lichtenstein’s studio practice and the fabrication and conservation of his sculptures.

Concluding the Study Day will be a public conversation held at the DMA between Nasher Director Carlos Basualdo and artist Alex Da Corte, regarding Da Corte’s work on the forthcoming Lichtenstein retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

“In bestowing this generous gift, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation established Dallas as a center for the study and display of Lichtenstein’s work,” Basualdo says in a statement. “This collaborative presentation of the gift and the corresponding programming is an important step in the direction of pursuing that goal, deepening the understanding of an artist who remains immensely influential to contemporary art and its relationship with mass media and today’s culture.”

Roy Lichtenstein is made possible by support from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District (DTPID).

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