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May 2010
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Summer Series Showcases Exclusive Choreography
Barton and Cerrudo Premieres Join Shimazaki Revival |
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 You won’t see these dances anywhere else: HSDC’s Summer Series June 3–6 at the Harris Theater in Chicago’s Millennium Park features three works created exclusively for the company.
The program includes a World Premiere by Aszure Barton, returning to the company after having created I for Hubbard Street 2 as a 2003 National Choreographic Competition winner.
“I am absolutely stoked to return to Chicago and to collaborate with Hubbard Street on a new creation,” said Barton. “I am interested in getting to know all of the dancers in the company. The work will stew from our initial meeting. I want to tap into the strength and power that lives within each performer and build a work that is alive and full-bodied—like a sizzling Amarone perhaps!”
A native of Edmonton, Alberta, where she was recently proclaimed the official Ambassador of Contemporary Choreography, Barton has choreographed for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Fang-Yi Sheu, The National Ballet of Canada, American Ballet Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, The Juilliard School, ABT II and The Martha Graham Dance Company, among others. She choreographed the The Threepenny Opera for Broadway, and she has performed with The National Ballet of Canada, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, Wendy Osserman Dance Company, Hell's Kitchen Dance, Ruth Davidson Hahn & Company and her own Aszure Barton & Artists. She is currently an artist in residence at The Banff Centre in Canada and The Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City.
“New work is essential to the future of contemporary dance—it defines the art form and strengthens Hubbard Street’s position as a leader in the evolution of contemporary dance,” said Stephen Cerrone, executive vice president, human resources, of Sara Lee Corporation. “The Sara Lee Foundation is thrilled to once again partner with Hubbard Street, helping expand its repertoire by sponsoring this significant new work by Barton, a prominent female choreographer. Sara Lee celebrates its partnership with Hubbard Street, which is clearly defined by the focused support of a diverse and inclusive group of leading choreographers.”
Also on the program is Deep Down Dos, the newest creation by Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo, set to the electro-acoustic “Music from Underground Spaces” by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Mead Composer in Residence Mason Bates.
“My choreography for this piece is primarily based on the dancers’ feeling the progression, changes and intricacies of the music,” wrote Cerrudo in HSDC’s dancer blog. “I think that the dancers’ ability to use their bodies to represent the sentiment of the music will certainly help dance audiences to develop a greater connection to this music.” For more from Cerrudo about the creative process, click here.
Chicago audiences had the opportunity to preview the work performed live with the CSO in April; the Summer Series represents the work’s official premiere. Click here to view a video of Cerrudo and Bates discussing the choreographic process.
Lead individual sponsors of Deep Down Dos are Meg and Tim Callahan with additional support from Dirk Denison and Jane and Michael Strauss. The project is funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Ford Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation. The development of the Deep Down Dos was supported in part by the Choreographic Fellowship, made possible by a gift from the Davee Foundation.
Rounding out the program is the return of Bardo (2006) choreographed by Toru Shimazaki for HSDC. Set to international rhythms by Dead Can Dance, Bardo is a mystical and mysterious journey between life and the afterworld. Passionate, fiery and fiercely athletic, Bardo requires the dancers to weave their way through daring partnerships and striking visual images. Click here to watch a video excerpt.
Following its premiere, Sid Smith, writing for the Chicago Tribune, described Bardo as “a pounding, intense ensemble work full of tortuous partnerships and unrelenting passion. Shimazaki's movement is beautiful, haunting, seductively lovely even when breathlessly fast, and he weaves a spell of mystery, power and hints of terror.”
In the Chicago Sun-Times, Hedy Weiss wrote, “In Japanese, ‘bardo’ describes the uneasy, suspended state of body and mind in the weeks immediately after death. Shimazaki’s piece begins as a great swirl of figures huddle and spin apart in a kind of strange, panicked relay. A riveting duet was among the many highlights in a work that needs multiple viewings to appreciate fully…a sense of feverish passion and romantic desire at work.”
For tickets to this not-to-be-missed Summer Series, click here.
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“New and Exciting Territories” on the Horizon:
HSDC Announces 2010–11 Season |
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 Announcing HSDC’s 2010–11 season, Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton said, “It is my desire that all roads of the highest artistic quality cross Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. I feel that we are moving Hubbard Street into new and exciting territories this season.”
Chicago fans have much to anticipate next season, including a four-part series of performances featuring seven premieres at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park. Among the highlights are a World Premiere by RUBBERBANDance Group founder Victor Quijada and the Chicago Premiere of Nacho Duato’s Arcangelo in the fall; HSDC Resident Choreographer and dancer Alejandro Cerrudo’s sixth World Premiere for the company in the winter; a complete program of World Premieres by Ohad Naharin—his first for HSDC—and Sharon Eyal, both of Batsheva Dance Company, in the spring; and the Chicago Premiere of Alonzo King’s Following the Subtle Current Upstream in the summer.
Subscriptions start at $75—less than $20 per performance—and offer an enticing array of benefits, including 25% savings as well as 15% off any additional single tickets; priority seating and same seats for every performance; and, new this season, a 15% discount to Harris Theater Presents, Chicago Opera Theater and Music of the Baroque performances. For a complete season repertoire lineup and schedule, click here.
Also on the company’s schedule in its home city are several unique collaborations with other leading Chicago cultural institutions. For the eighth season, HSDC will join the world-class Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a series of performances in April-May 2011, including a Kraft Family Matinee by Hubbard Street 2. The company will continue its residency at the Art Institute of Chicago, making several appearances throughout the season. HSDC’s family workshop series will expand in its third year to encompass six workshops with cultural partners in the city and 12 more with partner schools.
As one of Chicago’s most important cultural ambassadors, HSDC will tour to some of the most prestigious venues in the U.S., including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Mass.; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC; and performance spaces in Ohio, Florida, California and Illinois. International destinations will be announced later this year. Hubbard Street 2 also has an extensive touring roster, including a new dance production of the children’s literary classic Harold and the Purple Crayon at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; venues in Indiana and California; and international tours in Germany and Switzerland. Click here for complete details on the main company’s tour plans and here for those of HS2, which we will continue to update as we confirm additional performances.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago extends special thanks to its 2010–11 Sponsors: American Airlines, Official Airline; AthletiCo, Official Provider of Dancer Health & Wellness Services; Chicago Athletic Clubs, Official Health Club; Sara Lee Foundation, Lead Choreography Sponsor; and Target, Lead Community Partner. Hubbard Street is also grateful for support from a City Arts Program 4 Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; the National Endowment for the Arts; and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
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Summer Intensive in the City:
HSDC Offers Training Opportunity in Chicago and LA |
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 Aspiring dancers know that it takes more than a few dance classes to achieve the caliber of a Hubbard Street dancer, and a select group will have the opportunity to learn firsthand this summer as participants in HSDC’s Summer Intensive programs in Chicago and Los Angeles.
“We have seen an explosion of excitement for the Summer Intensives, which inspire talented young dancers and give them insight into the profession as a career,” described HSDC Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton. Together with other members of the artistic staff, Edgerton saw more than 500 hopefuls at auditions in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Winston-Salem and Chicago this winter. Of those auditioning, 34 advanced 14–17-year-olds will participate in a three-week program in June and July at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, and 93 advanced and professional 18–24-year-olds will devote themselves to a four-week program in July and August at the Hubbard Street Dance Center in Chicago.
Said Edgerton, “These hand-picked dancers will be coached by the company’s artistic staff, as well as a few HSDC dancers to add yet another element of inspiration, demonstrating firsthand the physicality and level it takes to be in a company such as Hubbard Street.”
Participants in both programs will take daily ballet and modern classes and learn HSDC repertoire, culminating in an in-studio showing on the final day of each program. Classes in Pilates and yoga are also available, as well as discussions about careers, health and wellness and more.
Among those who participated in the 2009 Summer Intensive were current Hubbard Street 2 dancers Alice Klock, Yarinet Restrepo and David Schultz.
“I have been to many summer programs throughout my training, and what makes the Hubbard Street intensive stand out is not only the quality of instruction and the opportunity to explore the wondrous world of HSDC repertoire, but the uniquely inspiring atmosphere that is Hubbard,” said Klock. “The wealth of knowledge that the instructors possess is equally matched by the enthusiasm and enjoyment with which they approach their art. The result is a program infused with excitement, positivity and the inspiration to take dancing to a whole new level.”
“The Summer Intensive was truly an experience unlike any other,” commented Restrepo. “There is a sense of professionalism that inspires a young dancer to want to continually grow as an artist and a dancer and take things to another level beyond structure and technique. The program truly nurtures that potential within each dancer who seeks that journey of continuous artist growth.”
“After coming through the Summer Intensive, these dancers are better prepared for a future in professional dance and are enriched by the experience—as are those of us on staff,” remarked Edgerton.
In its leadership role in the world of contemporary dance, HSDC takes seriously its responsibility to train the next generation of professional dancers. Accordingly, the company also offers a Summer Teen Intensive at the Hubbard Street Dance Center June 21–July 9 for one, two or three weeks, open to intermediate and advanced dancers ages 14 to 18. Classes include ballet, jazz, modern, Pilates, yoga, composition and HSDC repertory. Faculty consists of HSDC artistic staff and LCDS staff. Registration is ongoing until June 1; to download a registration form, click here.
Click here to view photos from the 2009 Chicago Summer Intensive.
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| Bold Women Support a Bold Woman |
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More than 200 bold women gathered on Thursday, March 18 at HSDC’s annual Bold Moves for Bold Women event, a pre-performance networking reception to open the 2010 Spring Series. Guests enjoyed specialty Effen martinis, Hortinos margaritas, wine and hors d’oeuvres at the Fairmont Chicago while making new connections, getting reacquainted with old friends and being pampered by the Fairmont’s mySpa.
HSDC sends special thanks to Honorary Co-Chairs Pamela Cullerton and Nesita Kwan, NBC5; Event Co-Chairs and HSDC board members Karen Lennon and Betsy Stelle Morgan, Baker & McKenzie; and the remarkable Host Committee.
The event raised nearly $50,000, which will help fund the creation of choreographer Aszure Barton’s work receiving its World Premiere during HSDC’s June 3–6 Summer Series at the Harris Theater.
Bold Moves for Bold Women Sponsors
Click here to view more pictures from the event.
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