David Tatu
Mr. David J Tatu
Production Manager/ Resident Lighting Designer
Part-time Instructor
B.F.A. in Technical Direction, UNCSA
David J Tatu is the Production Manager and Resident Lighting Designer for the Department
of Dance and teaches a course in Dance Production each semester.
After graduating from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a B.F.A.
in Technical Direction, David spent a large part of his early career on the road with
both Dance and Theater companies. He was the Master Carpenter for North Carolina Shakespeare
Festival and spent over thirty weeks a year traveling with North Carolina Dance Theater
for three seasons. With Ballet Metropolitan, he toured the Midwest, The Rocky Mountain
States, and as far north as Thunder Bay, Ontario. He has also toured Internationally
from South Korea to London, England.
He was the Director of Production and Lighting Director for Atlanta Ballet for over
15 years. A few of his original lighting design credits include: Alice in Wonderland, Carmina Burana, Divertimento #15, Il Distratto, Intermezzo, Pastoral
Dances, Rite of Spring, Troy Game, Coppelia, Prisma, La Bayadere Act II, Cinderella,
Con Amore, Allegro Brilliante, Madame Butterfly, Nutcracker and most he created the lighting for John McFall’s final work with Atlanta Ballet:
Sleeping Beauty. He has also designed for Ohio Ballet, Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet, Nevada Opera,
Gwinnett Ballet, and Robert LaFosse’s Dancers from New York. He was the Resident Lighting
Designer for Dance Canvas and designs for other local dance companies. Recently he
designed the lighting for Paper Doll Militia's touring full length aerial production
Warped. His designs have been recreated for Houston and Boston Ballet and at smaller, regional
companies.
As the Production Stage Manager and assistant lighting designer with Ohio Ballet,
he worked closely with Tony Award winning lighting designer, Thomas R. Skelton. During
that time, he recreated Skelton’s work for two seasons at the Joyce and designed the
lighting for Ohio Ballet’s In Full Swing, A Person, and The Exiles.
At KSU, David has created the lighting for a score of works. Some of his favorites:
Rebuild, Alice, Winergy, Touchdown, Con Moto-Mosso, Derivative, Hyperkinetic and Table
Manners 10.5. He has lit the Company at various festivals such as American Collage Dance Festival
at the Kennedy Center and has Production Managed Department of Dance events around
Atlanta.
David has worked as a Facilities Manager, most recently for Atlanta Ballet, and a
Project Manager and consultant for multiple construction projects and renovations
of arts facilities. He is an LEED Accredited Professional, has project managed a LEED
Gold certified renovation, worked on the KSU Department of Dance’s Phase Two expansion
and the Phase Three expansion plans for the dance studios located in Chastain Pointe
along with working on the renovations to the Dance Theater on the Marietta Campus.
While at Kennesaw State University, David has joined the Crisis Coordinator program
and achieved both Coined and Pinned status for his training and work in emergency
preparedness. He is one of KSU’s first cadres of certified CERT (Community Emergency
Response Team) instructors and is also a member of the Fulton County CERT program.
