Bernd, John, 1953-1988

John Jeffery Bernd, born May 8, 1953 in Lincoln, Nebraska, was an American choreographer and dancer. Bernd graduated from Antioch College with a bachelor's degree in dance and performance studies. Among his teachers were Twyla Tharp, Sara Rudner, Merce Cunningham, John Cage and Jasper Johns. He also spent 12 years as a professional swimmer.

Early in his dance career, Bernd performed in the works of Meredith Monk, Jane Comfort, Jeff Weiss and Melissa Fenley. He choreographed and performed works during 1978-1988 in venues around the United States and abroad. Bernd's work incorporated autobiographical themes, most prominently homosexuality and his struggle with AIDS, with which he was first diagnosed in1981. Bernd's Surviving love and death chronicles his personal struggle with the disease and the community-wide effect of AIDS. Most of his works were performed as solos, but he collaborated extensively with Tim Miller, Anne Bogart and Ishmael Houston-Jones.

Bernd was an active member of New York's dance and performance community. Closely involved with Performance Space 122, he later became the associate director. In 1986 he received a Bessie award for his piece, Lost and found (scenes from a life). He continued working until his death in 1988. Bernd died of AIDS at New York University Medical Center on August 28, 1988.

From the guide to the John Bernd papers, 1972-1988., (Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)