Dance performance

Bowen McCauley performed as a professional ballet dancer with the Joffrey Concert Group, the Maryland Ballet, and the Virginia State Ballet. Her career in classical ballet ended in 1984 after a car incident injured her foot, preventing her from dancing en pointe. She subsequently transitioned to modern and contemporary dance and relocated to the Washington, D.C., area in 1987.

In Washington, she performed with DC Contemporary Dance Theatre, ^[3] Daniel West Dancers, and Eric Hampton Dance, as well as with the Bowen McCauley Dance Company. The Washington Post identified her as a leading female dancer in the Washington, D.C., area. ^[4]

As artistic director of BMDC, she choreographed works, trained dancers, and performed. Her career as a professional dancer continued into the 2010s ^[5] before she ended her performing career to focus on choreographing, directing, and teaching.

Choreography

While working as an instructor at The Washington Ballet school, founder Mary Day recognised Bowen McCauley's choreographic works and encouraged her to continue developing original pieces. This encouragement contributed to the founding of BMDC in 1996, for which she created more than 100 choreographic works. She has frequently collaborated with live musicians as part of her choreographic practice. Composers with whom she has developed works include Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers, Wolfgang Seierl, ^[6] Andrew Earle Simpson, ^[7] and Larry Alan Smith.

In addition to individual composers, Bowen McCauley has collaborated with a range of musical ensembles and performers, including the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, ^[8] the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, ^{[9] [10]} TONE, the National Chamber Ensemble, Gisele and Fabio Witkowski, ^[11] the Cantate Chamber Singers, ^[12] Gaetano de Bacco, ^[13] and Nikola Paskalov. ^[14]

Beyond her work for BMDC, she has created choreography for and in collaboration with other organizations, including Dance Kaleidoscope in Indianapolis; the Hartt School at the University of Hartford (commission); Maryland Youth Ballet; Moveius Contemporary Ballet; Nashville Ballet; ^[15] Sarasota Contemporary Dance (commission); ^{[16] [17]} the Washington Ballet Studio Company (commission); and the Wintergreen Music Festival (commission). ^{[18] [19]} As of 2025, Bowen McCauley continues to choreograph occasionally for special projects.

Artistic director

Bowen McCauley founded BMDC in 1996 and served as its artistic director until the company's final performance at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in September 2021. ^[20] BMDC was described by The Washington Post as one of the leading dance companies in the Washington DC area. ^[21] As Artistic Director of BMDC, she appeared briefly in the documentary Call Me Dancer, facilitating a performance opportunity for dancer Manish Chauhan, who performed a solo at the Kennedy Center in the films' final scene.

Teacher

Bowen McCauley has taught at a range of institutions, including Finis Jhung Dance Studio in New York City, The Exercise Exchange in New York City, the Washington Ballet School, Maryland Youth Ballet, and the Kennedy Center. She has also taught master classes in the United States, Europe, Mexico and China. Dancers who studied with her include Elisa Clark, Daniel Cooke, Mark Giragosian, Ilana Goldman, and Alvin Tovstogray.

Bowen McCauley developed a stretch technique known as Bowen McCauley Stretch, based on methods learned from Jean-Paul Mustone. She has been featured in publications including Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Dance Teacher, and The Washington Post, and has worked with elite-level athletes, including Olympic gymnasts Dominique Dawes and Elise Ray, as well as students in her dance classes. She continues to teach this stretch technique in the Washington, D.C., area. ^[22]

She is a trained and certified instructor of Dance for Parkinson's Disease (Dance for PD) ^[23] and has taught classes for people living with Parkinson's disease since 2007. In addition to teaching classes in the Washington, D.C., area, she has trained other instructors and taught master classes in several U.S. states. In partnership with Dance for PD, she established the Bowen Award for Inclusive Choreography, ^[24] which provides financial support to choreographers creating works for dancers living with Parkinson's disease. She also co-founded the Lucy Bowen Fund, which provides financial assistance to Dance for PD instructors seeking to establish or expand local programs.

Bowen McCauley has served in various roles within the Washington, D.C., arts community, including on the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the Arlington Arts Commission, the Arlington Economic Development Commission, and the board of the National Chamber Ensemble. At the national level, she served as chair of the National Leadership Council for Dance under the auspices of Dance USA.