For 25 years, Lucy Bowen McCauley was the Artistic Director, choreographer, and creative energy behind Bowen McCauley Dance Company (BMDC). Since founding the company in 1996, she created over 100 works ranging from lyrical ballets to highly physical contemporary pieces set to rock music. Her choreography offers an unconventional array of genres and blends balletic lines, quirky gestures, and modern dance’s earthiness. Her work explores the interplay between music, dance, and drama. Washingtonian Magazine named her among those “who have helped transform Washington into one of the nation’s liveliest centers in performing arts.” Lucy retired the company in 2021 with a final performance at The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater.

A dancer since childhood, Lucy’s early training at the Jordan School of Music & Dance in Indianapolis, and the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Traverse City, Michigan, provided her with a profound appreciation for both music and musicians that is so striking in her work. At age 18, she accepted a scholarship to the Joffrey School in New York City where she performed with the Joffrey Concert Group.

She also danced with the Maryland Ballet, the Virginia State Ballet, DC Contemporary Dance Theatre and Daniel West Dancers, and was a founding member of Eric Hampton Dance. She pioneered a unique stretch technique 30 years ago, Bowen McCauley Stretch, which has been featured in USA Today, Dance Teacher, and The Washington Post. Lucy currently serves on the industry’s trade association, Dance/USA – National Leadership Council for Dance. Past board service includes the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Arlington Economic Development Commission.

Throughout her career, Lucy has received numerous awards and recognition for her excellence in dance. Most recently, she has been honored with the Woman of Vision Award from the Commission on the Status of Women, the prestigious Pola Nirenska Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance and the Lifetime Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance Education. Lucy has received the Alumni Path of Inspiration Award from the Interlochen Center for the Arts and the STAR Award for Artistic Excellence from the Arlington Commission for the Arts. She is a recipient of the Elizabeth Campbell Award for the Advancement of the Arts in Arlington from the American Association of University Women and the James B. Hunter III Arlington Community Hero Award, which recognizes people who make an ongoing difference in the Arlington community.

Lucy is an active member of Dance/USA and just recently appointed the Inaugural Chair of the National Leadership Council for Dance. Past Board service includes the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and Arlington Economic Dev. Commission.

BMDC offered free classes for people with Parkinson’s Disease in multiple locations since 2009 and was the only Dance for PD licensed affiliate in the DC metro area. Lucy has also been teaching her unique and kinesthetic stretch technique for over 30 years to athletes and non-athletes alike. Bowen McCauley Stretch incorporates a series of continuous and static movement along with deep breathing to reduce stress, increase mobility and offer over all improved well being.

Lucy currently offers popular weekly Dance for PD classes at The Kennedy Center, Maryland Youth Ballet, Center for Ballet Arts (in partnership with Inova Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center) and George Mason University.