It’s been 25 years since Jill Sigman '89 *96 *98 received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton, with a dissertation entitled “Bodies, Souls and Ordinary People: Three Essays on Art and Interpretation.” That same year, Sigman began making art full time and founded the jill sigman/think dance  company to “think about philosophical questions and social issues through the body.” jill sigman/thinkdance is now celebrating its milestone 25th anniversary with the world premiere of Re-Seeding (Encounter #3: The Commons).

Sigman, who recently returned to Princeton to share her unusual career path with graduate students at the department’s annual Princeton & Beyond graduate dinner, also received her BA in philosophy from Princeton in 1989 and a Certificate in Theatre and Dance in 1996. She describes herself as an interdisciplinary artist and agent of change who choreographs with bodies and materials. Her work has reached thousands of people in 13 countries.
  
Sigman says she has always felt that she continues to do philosophy – just in more tactile and embodied ways.  “My current artistic career is a complete product of my philosophical background. I would not make the work I make, nor have the choreographic profile I have, without that path that I embarked on as a curious freshman. In fact, I would not be the person I am today.”