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ALICE (in wonderland) ®
FEBRUARY 24 MARCH 4, 2018 Martina Chavez | Photo by Christopher Peddecord
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AT TH E P E R FO R M A N C E A CIT Y PL AYBILL AND PERFORMING ARTS MAGA ZINE
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CONTENTS
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FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR KEVIN IRVING
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ALICE (IN WONDERLAND)
11 MEET THE DANCERS BRINGING WONDERLAND TO LIFE 32 ARTSLANDIA ARTS
CALENDAR
34 FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE 36 A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF ASTORIA
Context of the world of the play and snapshot introductions to some of its key players.
42 WISDOM GUIDES IN TIMES OF CHANGE
Wisdom of the Elders Inc. educates the present about the Native American past.
50 WHO IS
MICHAEL GREER?
34 JA NUA RY | FEB RUA RY 2018
Get to know the new Executive Director for Oregon Ballet Theatre.
A RT S L A N D I A .COM
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2018
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DESIGN//BUILD BUILDREMODELING REMODELING DESIGN HOME IMPROVEMENT HOME IMPROVEMENT SOLAR ENERGY CUSTOM HOMES
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Photo by Michael Slobodian
LETTER FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Oregon Ballet Theatre would like to express our most sincere thanks to our most generous sponsors.
Welcome to the OBT (and indeed West Coast) premiere of the spectacular & giddy ALICE (in wonderland) by Septime Webre! The wonder of this production, and the joy for OBT in sharing it with you, lies in the central concept of delightfully evoking, even indulging in, the power of imagination. This was of course the great achievement of Lewis Carroll in the first place, but how fantastically brought to visual and musical life by Mr. Webre and composer Matthew Pierce, through the medium of classical ballet. ALICE (in wonderland) is a celebration of the wonder and weirdness of a child’s imagination, and it also reminds us how important imagination is for all of us, at any age. The sheer scale of this production is a testament to the depth of our commitment to all of you, our audience – the ALICE score is played live by the OBT orchestra at every performance, there are 54 roles danced by the children of the Oregon Ballet Theatre School, a technical ground crew that keeps scenery and characters flying through the air, and what I think you will agree are some terrific performances by the extraordinary dancers of OBT. All of these elements are proof of OBT’s growing strength. And we couldn’t be happier that you’ve come to share this delightful experience with us. A huge thank you to our lead sponsors Sue Horn-Caskey, Rick Caskey, and Schnitzer/ CARE, and indeed to everyone who has made this exciting premiere possible. Along with our thanks, we offer a hope that this wild ride through the eyes of a child’s imagination might spur us on to notice the wonder all around, every day in our community. Enjoy!
THANK YOU!
PRESENTING SPONSORS SUE HORN-CASKEY & RICK CASKEY
SEASON SPONSORS
The Regional Arts & Culture Council, including support from the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and the Arts Education & Access Fund
Work for Art, including contributions from more than 75 companies and 2,000 employees
Oregon Ballet Theatre receives support from the Oregon Arts Commission, a state agency funded by the State of Oregon and the National Endowment for the Arts.
OBT is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust.
KEVIN IRVING
Artistic Director | Oregon Ballet Theatre
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TODAY’S PROGRAM
CHOREOGRAPHY: SEPTIME WEBRE
COMPOSER: MATTHEW PIERCE
COSTUME DESIGN: LIZ VANDAL
SCENIC DESIGN: JAMES KRONZER
LIGHTING DESIGN: CLIFTON TAYLOR
PUPPETRY DESIGN: ERIC J. VAN WYK
STAGERS: JARED NELSON, CECE FARHA & MORGANN ROSE
FLYING DIRECTOR: DYLAN TRUJILLO
REHEARSAL ASSISTANTS: LISA KIPP & JEFFREY STANTON
WORLD PREMIERE: April 11, 2012; The Washington Ballet; John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Eisenhower Theater; Washington, D.C. OBT PREMIERE: February 24, 2018; Keller Auditorium; Portland, Oregon Flying by Foy Sets and costumes courtesy of The Washington Ballet
SYNOPSIS ACT I PROLOGUE Alice daydreams as her family swirls around her chaotically. She is mesmerized by the mysterious and quirky Lewis Carroll, a family friend, who takes Alice on a boat ride and picnic in the country. DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE During their picnic, Lewis Carroll begins telling Alice an astounding story of a little girl’s adventures in a wonderland. As Alice drifts to sleep a White Rabbit hops by. The nervous Rabbit checks his pocket watch because he’s late. He quickly leaps into a rabbit hole; Alice follows. She falls for what seems like miles. Alice lands with a thud in a hallway filled with closed doors. She drinks a potion and grows quite tall; she fans herself and shrinks quite small. Through a keyhole, the tiny Alice catches her first glimpse of the evil Queen of Hearts. When Alice eats a bit of cake and returns to normal size she can no longer fit through the tiny door that leads to the wondrous world. POOL OF TEARS AND THE CAUCUS RACE Frightened and confused, Alice cries a pool of tears. The Dormouse swims by and befriends Alice. Then a Dodo Bird, an Eaglet, and a flock of Flamingos plop into the pool. The Dodo Bird decides the best way to get everyone dry is to dance a Caucus Race. PIG AND PEPPER Alice comes upon a Fish footman who is delivering an invitation to the Queen of Hearts’ croquet game to the Frog footman who works for the Duchess. Inside the Duchess’ cottage bedlam reigns. The Duchess is agitated because the Cook has put too much pepper into the soup. THE CHESHIRE CAT/ADVICE FROM A CATERPILLAR/ THE MAD HATTER’S TEA PARTY While walking along, Alice comes upon a Cheshire Cat, who appears and disappears on a whim. Later, when Alice looks up to the sky she
finds he has become the moon. She then meets a peculiar Caterpillar who smokes a hookah pipe before metamorphosing into a butterfly before her eyes. Next, Alice stumbles into a puzzling tea party with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormouse.
ACT II QUEEN’S GARDEN PARTY AND CROQUET GAME Card gardeners have accidentally planted white roses in the Queen’s garden. The Queen of Hearts only wishes to grow red roses. Fearing her wrath, they paint the roses red. The Queen’s court spills by and Alice sees her friend the White Rabbit and the Queen’s Joker. Alice is invited by the Queen to play a very different game of croquet using Flamingo mallets and Hedgehogs as croquet balls. Blaming the Hedgehogs for losing the match, the Queen proclaims, “off with their heads.” Alice saves the Hedgehogs and the angry Queen chases her into the forest. TWEEDLE DUM AND TWEEDLE DEE AND THE JABBERWOCK In the forest Alice happens upon a Rocking-Horse-Fly, a Bread-andButterfly and beautiful Snap-Dragon-Flies. Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee playfully argue as they pass by. Alice reflects on her amazing journey with the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit and the Tweedle Twins. The languid group is suddenly threatened by the ultimate danger: the Queen’s Jabberwock. To protect her new friends, Alice slays the beast. THE TRIAL AND HOME AGAIN Back at the Queen’s palace, Alice is arrested and put on trial for her crime. Utter confusion breaks out in the court while the Queen shouts, “off with her head.” Alice realized the silliness of the Queen and her court and they fall like a house of cards. She awakens from her dream and finds herself at home.
FINIS ALICE (IN WONDERL AND) • OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE
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The Swigert Warren Foundation and ESCO Foundation present
MAN / WOMAN
APRIL 12-21, 2018 | NEWMARK THEATRE
AN INCREDIBLE COLLECTION OF MODERN AND CLASSICAL DANCE The Dying Swan
OBT Premiere Michel Fokine / Camille Saint-Saëns
New Work
World Premiere Darrell Grand Moultrie / TBD
Left Unsaid
Nicolo Fonte / Johann Sebastian Bach
TICKETS START AT $29
OBT.ORG/MANWOMAN
Emily Parker and Avery Reiners | Photos by Christopher Peddecord
PRODUCTION SPONSORED BY:
Henry Lea Hillman, Jr. Foundation
Wendy Warren & Thomas Brown
17/18 SEASON SUPPORTED BY:
Drifted in a Deeper Land First major revival in 19 years James Canfield / Ray Lynch
Falling Angels
OBT Premiere Jiří Kylián / Steve Reich
Xuan Cheng | Photo by Yi Yin
CLOSER MAY 24 – JUNE 3, 2018
BODYVOX DANCE CENTER TICKETS $55
A rare opportunity to experience the power and artistry of your favorite OBT dancers up close. Featuring original music by Grammy Award Winner André Allen Anjos.
Peter Franc New Work
Makino Hayashi New Work
Katherine Monogue New Work
Helen Simoneau Departures
ANNUAL SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
Photo by Yi Yin
APRIL 21 – 22, 2018 | NEWMARK THEATRE
TICKETS START AT $32 | OBT.ORG
ALICE (IN WONDERL AND) • OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE
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FEATURE
MEET THE DANCERS BRINGING WONDERLAND TO LIFE BY GAVIN LARSEN
OBT’s audiences are used to being wowed by the company’s dynamo technical feats. But some-times, the dancers get a chance to show off their acting chops as well. Septime Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland) is packed full of meaty roles – for dancers of every rank – that demand a lot on both fronts, pushing the dancers with high-octane bravura steps most often seen only in the spot-light – performed as an animal, object, or larger-than-life personality. Here, three up-and-coming dancers on what it’s like to dance in Wonderland. OBT dancer Kelsie Nobriga in rehearsals for ALICE (in wonderland). Photo by Yi Yin.
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OBT dancers Avery Reiners and Xuan Cheng in rehearsals for ALICE (in wonderland). Photo by Yi Yin.
KELSIE NOBRIGA: EAGLET
AVERY REINERS: DODO BIRD AND JOKER
Although she’s no stranger to being in the spotlight (she ruled the Land of the Sweets as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker), corps member Kelsie Nobriga still feels the pressure of stepping into a featured role. Dancing the Eaglet in ALICE (in wonderland) isn’t her first time as a bird (she’s got swan credentials already), but she says this role’s different: “There are definitely some birdlike movements, like snapping my hand like a beak, or using my head to ‘peck’ at Alice. But on top of that, there are really tricky lifts in the pas de deux with the Dodo Bird, and the style is more contemporary than I’m used to.” Kelsie loves partnering though, so mastering the unfamiliar positions and timing is a fun challenge. “It’s intimidating because I need a lot of coaching on how to approach the lifts and what to do with my body in the air,” she says. “But it’s so neat when you finally start to get the hang of it, when you realize you can actually do what seemed impossible at first!” Like all the roles in ALICE, the technical steps, while spectacular and difficult, need to express what the character is saying – without words. “I’m working on how to be playful and birdlike in different ways,” Kelsie explains. “There’s pressure to be in a solo, but that just makes me do better. It doesn’t overwhelm me, it drives me to do my best. I even think I do better in high-pressure situations!”
Avery Reiners never read Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland as a child, but now, in his roles as Dodo Bird and Joker, he’s having quite an adventure – and diving deep into new technical and artistic lands. “Part of the challenge of ALICE is just stepping up and not questioning yourself or your ability,” he says. “My pas de deux with the Eaglet has a lot of really hard lifts, and the Dodo as well as the Joker have steps – turns in second, tours en l’air – that use skills I haven’t tapped into in a while.” As he works on nailing the technique, Avery’s thinking about how to portray his characters. The Dodo Bird and Joker are strikingly unique roles, and during each performance Avery will be switching from one to the other with only moments to adjust his mindset. But that’s part of the fun. “The Joker is interesting because he has different personalities when he interacts with the Queen and Alice. Dancing-wise, both my parts have similar steps – the audience will definitely see a lot of turns! – but obviously I have to perform them differently because one’s a bird and the other’s evil,” Avery explains. His favorite thing about ALICE? “Just going through Wonderland, seeing all the wacky, interesting characters, and seeing the whole company really bonding as we get into our roles. The level of work everyone is putting into this is great. We’re really coming together around it.”
OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE • ALICE (IN WONDERL AND)
FEATURE
OBT dancer Jessica Lind in rehearsals for ALICE (in wonderland). Photo by Yi Yin.
It is an honor to support Oregon Ballet Theatre’s
Alice
(in Wonderland) Thank you Kevin Irving for helping take Oregon Ballet Theatre to exciting new levels!
Bravo!
JESSICA LIND: ROSE, EAGLET, ALICE As a young child, Jessica Lind watched Disney’s movie version of Alice in Wonderland and felt drawn to the heroine. “I identified with Alice not only because she was a young blonde girl just like me, but I connected with her curiosity about everything. I also remember thinking the Cheshire Cat and the Caterpillar were pretty creepy!” she recalls. Today, Jessica’s getting a chance even her younger self’s Alice-like imagination probably couldn’t concoct: transforming herself into some of those magical characters as she dances through Wonderland herself. From the very beginning of the rehearsal process, Jessica went deep into her characterizations as a Rose, the Eaglet, and, the ultimate thrill, as Alice herself. “It is really fun to focus on the story through adult eyes now, and see how I can portray a young and curious girl with a huge imagination,” she says. Switching between her three roles from one hour to the next during a single rehearsal day isn’t easy, either: “I’m learning to really just take one rehearsal at a time and not think about anything but the role I’m working on at that moment,” she says. That’s a great tactic, since flipping from portraying a flower to a bird to a person – and then back again – sounds like a feat only possible in Wonderland. Challenges? “In the Trial Scene, we Roses are ‘taking notes’ with a feather pen and pad of paper and have a very intricate pattern of steps we have to repeat. It’s not physically challenging, but keeping an even rhythm and pattern when a million other things are going on IS!” Her insider tip for audiences? “In act 2, the Jacks ‘paint the Roses red.’ I won’t say how it happens, but it’s pretty cool! (Hint: watch our headpieces!).”
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ALICE (IN WONDERL AND) • OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE
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ALICE (IN WONDERLAND) CREATIVE TEAM SEPTIME WEBRE CHOREOGRAPHER
Septime Webre is an internationally recognized ballet director, choreographer, educator, and advocate. This season he joins Hong Kong Ballet as its artistic director after 17 years as artistic director of The Washington Ballet in Washington D.C. from 1999-2016. Previously, he served as artistic director of the American Repertory Ballet, based in Princeton, New Jersey from 1993-1999. In addition, Webre serves as the artistic director of Halcyon, a Washington D.C.-based foundation, launching an annual international Festival for Creativity in Washington D.C. in June 2018. During Webre’s tenure at The Washington Ballet, the institution’s budget grew by 500% and it enjoyed unprecedented advances in the scope and quality of its work on stage, in the size and reach of its professional school, and in the development of several far-reaching community engagement programs, which he founded. Webre launched an array of artistic initiatives including The American Experience, which developed great works of literature into full-length ballets, including The Great Gatsby and Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises among others. As a choreographer, Webre’s works appear in the repertoires of ballet companies throughout North America, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Colorado Ballet, Ballet West, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Austin, Ballet Memphis, Milwaukee Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, and many others, and he has worked frequently in theatre as well as opera. As a dancer, Webre was featured in solo and principal roles from the classical repertoire as well as in contemporary works by choreographers such as Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, and Merce Cunningham. He has served on the juries of a number of international ballet competitions, including those in Varna, Bulgaria, Istanbul, Cape Town, New York, Seoul, and elsewhere. He has served on the board of Dance/USA and his work has received numerous honors, grants, and awards. He holds a degree in History/Pre-Law from the University of Texas at Austin, and is the seventh son in a large, boisterous Cuban-American family.
MATTHEW PIERCE COMPOSER
Matthew Pierce is celebrated for his new, classical scores commissioned by major American ballet companies. He has written ballet scores for Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Ballet Met, Cincinnati Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Ballet Hawaii, Post:Ballet, Ballet Coeur d’Alene, Colorado Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, New York City Ballet, Houston Ballet, Ballet Austin, and
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San Francisco Ballet. Night, a full orchestra score set to a Chagall-inspired dreamscape ballet has been seen at the Opera Garnier in Paris, Covent Garden in London, and City Center in New York. Sarah L. Kaufman of The Washington Post called his 2012 score for The Washington Ballet’s ALICE (in wonderland), “The cherry on top: Pierce’s visionary result, a shimmering landscape that weaves together bits of our own world — Asian, Middle Eastern, pop riffs, jazz — with a contemporary edge and a spirit of discovery. And, yes, wonder.”
JAMES KRONZER SCENIC DESIGNER
James Kronzer originated the scenic design for Alice (in wonderland) for The Washington Ballet where he also designed Cinderella. His work has been seen on Broadway with Glory Days and Off-Broadway with Opus and Under the Bridge. He has done extensive theater work regionally in the U.S. and internationally with a current tour of Burn the Floor being seen in Australia, Japan, and China. Recent regional work includes Diner (adaptation-Signature Theater) Denver Center: Sweeney Todd, Lord of the Flies; Cincinnati Playhouse: Peter and the Starcatcher. For TV: Over 125 Comedy Specials for Netflix, Epix, Showtime, and Comedy Central: Jim Gaffigan, Louis Anderson, Margaret Cho, Dennis Miller, Marc Maron, Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy among others. He has also designed shows for Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line. Awards: 8 Helen Hayes Awards (Washington DC): 2 Barrymore Awards (Philadelpia). www.JamesKronzer.com
CLIFTON TAYLOR LIGHTING DESIGNER
Clifton Taylor has created designs for Broadway as well as opera, theatre, and dance companies around the world. In the U.S., his designs for dance have been commissioned for the repertories of the American Ballet Theatre, the San Francisco, Boston, Cincinnati, Houston, Austin, and Washington Ballets among many others. Outside the U.S., he has designed new works for companies in Canada, Brazil, Chile, Japan, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, the UK, Italy, France, and Russia. In addition, he is the resident designer for Karole Armitage Gone! Dance Company and Philadanco and is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and professional conferences on the subjects of light and color. For more information, please visit http://www.designcurve.com.
OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE • ALICE (IN WONDERL AND)
LIZ VANDAL
COSTUME DESIGNER “Architect of the body in extreme movement,” her costumes reach the ultimate goal: “equilibrium between esthetics and tech-
nique,” as beautiful as it is functional. Liz Vandal started her career as a fashion designer. Self-taught, she entered the universe of clothing 25 years ago. After dazzling beginnings, she offered her originality to the rigorous domains of dance, circus, cinema, and special projects. She joined forces with Yveline Bonjean and Réal Houle, building together a company of excellence. Great partnerships links Vandal with numerous choreographers and dance companies around the world : Édouard Lock, Compagnie Marie Chouinard, Margie Gillis, José Navas, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, The National Ballet of Canada, The Washington Ballet, National Theatre Mannheim, Stuttgart Ballet (Germany), l’Opéra de Paris, Göteborg Theater (Sweden). Vandal explores all domains, for showbiz, creating costumes for Backstreet Boys’ Black & Blue Tour to films for Lathe of Heaven directed by Philip Haas and Quebec’s director Manon Briand’s La Turbulence des Fluides. Specialists in “extreme movements costumes,” Vandal pursues her quest in the circus world, she designs flamboyant insect costumes for OVO, the 25th Cirque du Soleil show, Cirkopolis, a Cirque Éloize creation, and the opening duo for Les 7 Doigts de La Main’s new creation Tryptique. Collaborating with multi-national IGT (International Gaming Technology) in Las Vegas in 2013, Vandal realized Avatar costumes approved by producer Jon Landau and 20th Century Fox. As a design, innovation, production, and team synergy consultant, Vandal offers her services to sportswear multinational Oxylane, owner of Decathlon’s stores to develop avant-garde products. As the company’s expansion resumes, an incomparable opportunity lead Vandal’s creativity to Azerbaijan for the first European games in June 2015 to design 3000 costumes for the closing ceremony. Vandal’s creativity has no boundaries!
ERIC J. VAN WYK PUPPETRY DESIGN
Eric J. Van Wyk received his M.F.A. in Scenic Design from the University of MarylandCollege Park and his B.A. in Fine Arts from Dordt College. Puppetry designs for The Washington Ballet include Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises, Sleepy Hollow, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with Imagination Stage. Regional puppetry design include King Arthur’s Camelot and Cinderella at Cincinnati Ballet; The Last Firefly, The Biggest Little House in the Forest and Alice in Wonderland for Children’s Theatre Company. Recently his theatre company, WonderStruck Theatre Co. created Mop Dog and is the recipient of two Jim Henson Grants. His design of The BFG with Imagination Stage received a Helen Hayes Award. Van Wyk thanks his family for inspiration and enjoying objects in motion.
ARTISTIC STAFF KEVIN IRVING
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Kevin Irving began dancing with jazz classes in his hometown dance school (Long Island, New York), and later joined the school and training ensemble of Alvin Ailey. From 1982 to 1985, he danced with The Elisa Monte Dance Company of New York, but, at 24, he took a sharp turn toward classical dance and joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, in Montréal. Promoted first to soloist and then to principal dancer, Irving became a well-known figure wherever LGBC performed. In 1993, Irving joined Twyla Tharp Dance for a project that included performances at L’Opera de Paris and the PBS television film of In the Upper Room. From 1994 to 2002, Irving was ballet master and associate director with Nacho Duato’s Compañía Nacional de Danza in Madrid, Spain. From 2002 to 2007, he was artistic director of The Göteborg Ballet in Sweden. The company, under Irving’s tenure as director, was named the most important dance company in Sweden in Ballet International’s critics’ poll. From 2007 to 2013, he was a frequent guest ballet master with The
Royal Danish Ballet and has been a guest teacher with numerous other companies and schools. He has staged ballets by Nacho Duato and Nicolo Fonte on companies such as The Royal Ballet Covent Garden, Nederlands Dans Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and The Australian Ballet, among many others. Irving was also associate director at dance company Morphoses (2011–2012), coordinating special initiatives aimed at defining the company’s unique brand and profile in the dance world. In 2010, Irving founded I-DANCE (Inspiring Dance: American Nation Choreographic Exchange), a non-profit organization that has sent teachers and choreographers to dance communities in Central and South America. He was named Artistic Director of Oregon Ballet Theatre in July 2013.
ducted symphonic, pops, and youth concerts with the symphonies of Oregon, Syracuse, and Charlotte, among others. He is Artistic Director and conductor of the Young Artists Debut! concerto concert. He was a 2003 Grammy Award nominee for “Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra” for his performance of Tomáš Svoboda’s Concerto for Marimba with the Oregon Symphony. His compositions and arrangements written for the ballet stage include: Christopher Stowell’s Adin, Carmen, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Ekho; Houston Ballet’s 2002 production of Peter Pan; and OBT’s 1993 version of The Nutcracker. DePonte holds a master’s degree and performer’s certificate from the Eastman School of Music and a degree in education from the State University of New York.
Photo by Michael Slobodian
Photo by Lloyd Lemmermann
NIEL DEPONTE
LISA KIPP
MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR Niel DePonte has been the Music Director for OBT and its predecessor, Pacific Ballet Theatre, since 1985. He has guest conducted for Boston Ballet, the Ballet of the Mussorgsky (Maly) Theatre in Russia, and at the Nureyev Ballet Festival. He has also con-
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MICHAEL GREER Michael Greer comes to Oregon Ballet Theatre bringing leadership experience from both the for-profit and non-profit worlds. Most recently having led a non-profit arts organization through a successful transition, and having previously led China side operations, projects, and sales teams for several multinational companies, Greer is excited to now be a part of Oregon Ballet Theatre. A native of Missouri, Greer spent the early part of his life as a dancer at some of the world’s most prestigious dance institutions including Interlochen Arts Academy, School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, and The Royal Ballet School. Upon completing his training, he continued on to dance professionally with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah under the direction of Mr. Jonas Kage. After retiring from performing, Greer went on to complete a degree in economics with a focus in industrial organization as an Arturo Schomburg Scholar at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Greer also received an offer to continue his economics studies at Stanford University on a merit scholarship. He declined that opportunity in order to gain experience in international business as a Gilman Scholar (U.S. State Department). Greer went on to work with companies in both India and China over a nine-year span, managing teams and operations at several multinational corporations. As a Mandarin speaker, Greer enjoyed a fulfilling life in China with his wife and two children. In 2015, Greer returned to the U.S. and to the dance world to take over the position of executive director at Portland Ballet in Portland, Maine. Combining his considerable business experience with his passion for the arts, Greer worked to increase earned and contributed revenue resulting in a major turnaround for the organization. Greer and his family are excited to be part of the Portland, Oregon community. He looks forward to bringing his experiences to Oregon Ballet Theatre and working with Kevin Irving and the exceptionally talented team already in place.
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR Lisa Kipp began studying ballet in Olympia, Washington and finished her training at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She danced with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pacific Ballet Theatre, Ballet Oregon, Ballet of Los Angeles, Ballet Chicago, and James Sewell Dance, and also performed in the touring company of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. Kipp danced principal roles in George Balanchine’s Rubies, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Square Dance, Concerto Barocco, and Apollo, and appeared as the Cowgirl in Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo. Prior to joining OBT in 2004, she was the ballet department head for the school of Spectrum Dance Theater in Seattle, as well as the company’s rehearsal director. Kipp has been the ballet master for OBT for 10 years, and the company’s rehearsal director for 4 years. As a ballet master she has assisted James Kudelka, Lar Lubovitch, Lola de Ávila, Nicolo Fonte, Francia Russell, Bart Cook, Christine Redpath, Christopher Stowell, Yuri Possokhov, and Helgi Tomasson. She has staged George Balanchine’s Rubies, Square Dance, and Who Cares? for OBT and is responsible for the corps de ballet in OBT’s classical repertoire. Photo by Tatiana Wills
JEFFREY STANTON BALLET MASTER
Jeffrey Stanton trained at San Francisco Ballet School and the School of American Ballet. In addition to classical ballet, he also studied ballroom, jazz, and tap dancing. He joined San Francisco Ballet in 1989 and left to join Pacific Northwest Ballet in 1994. He was promoted to soloist in 1995, made a principal in 1996, and retired from PNB in 2011. He originated leading roles in Susan Stroman’s TAKE FIVE…More or Less; Stephen Baynes’ El Tango; Donald Byrd’s Seven Dead-
ALICE (IN WONDERL AND) • OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE
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ARTISTIC STAFF (CONT.) ly Sins; Val Caniparoli’s The Bridge; Nicolo Fonte’s Almost Tango and Within Without; Kevin O’Day’s Aract and [soundaroun(d)ance]; Kent Stowell’s Carmen, Palacios Dances, and Silver Lining; and Christopher Stowell’s Zaïs. Stanton has performed as a guest artist for Le Gala des Étoiles in Montréal, Prague Gala of Stars, and the TITAS Command Performance of International Ballet in Dallas, Texas. In 2000, he participated in the George Balanchine Foundation’s Interpreters Archive series, dancing excerpts from Balanchine’s Episodes, coached by Melissa Hayden.
Carmina Burana with the Portland Opera. She has also danced with skinner/kirk DANCE EMSEMBLE. She has worked as artist in residence in the Portland and Beaverton School Districts, and is currently teaching ballet at New Vision Dance Center in Hillsboro. She lives in Beaverton with her husband Cory, and has two beautiful daughters, Kathryn and Margaret. Burden is happy to be back at OBT were she has been welcomed like family. Photo by Jim Thomson
MICHAEL MAZZOLA
Photo by Tatiana Wills
RESIDENT LIGHTING DESIGNER
ELIZABETH BURDEN HEAD CHILDRENʼS COACH
Elizabeth Burden began her ballet training with Joan Shelton Mason in Washington and continued with Barbara Remington in Portland before joining Pacific Ballet Theatre in 1985. A founding member of Oregon Ballet Theatre, she danced with the company until 1996. She continued dancing and touring with BodyVox, appearing in their production of
Michael Mazzola’s critically acclaimed lighting and scenery has been seen in venues all over the U.S., Europe, and Asia, ranging from opera houses to amphitheaters to circus tents to hay barns. The three-time New York Dance and Performance Award winner has designed lighting and scenery for Oregon Ballet Theatre; Pacific Northwest Ballet; San Francisco Ballet; Whim W’Him of Seattle; Queensland Ballet; National Ballet of Finland; Stuttgart Ballet; Grand Rapids Ballet; Ballet West; Ballet
Nacional de Cuba; Ballet Hispanico; Trey McIntyre Project; The Washington Ballet; Royal Winnipeg Ballet; Houston Ballet; Rachel Tess Dance at the Wanås Foundation in Sweden; Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City, LMCC’s River to River Festival; Third Rail Repertory Theatre; Bebe Miller Company; and Liz Lerman’s Dance Exchange. For the National YoungArts Foundation Mazzola has designed scenery and lighting for their Miami Galas since 2015. For the 2015 and 2016 Presidential Scholars|YoungArts Awards he designed lighting and created media content at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Last season saw him off to Italy for a whirlwind tour with Tulsa Ballet and to Cuba for his second world premiere with Ballet Nacional de Cuba for Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. This season he heads to Winnipeg for the world premiere of a full-length ballet with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet by James Kudelka, then down south to Chicago for a new Giselle by The Joffery Ballet among many others. Mazzola has been senior scenic designer on Comedy Central Celebrity Roasts as well as the 2015 Lincoln Awards at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall for Uplight, Inc., based in New York City. Photo by Alison Roper
GUEST ARTISTS CECE FARHA
JARED NELSON
CHILDRENʼS STAGER
Cece Farha works within multiple levels of The Washington Ballet including the school and the professional company. Her original ballet, Aladdin was performed in the 2016/17 40th Anniversary Season and she is currently the children’s ballet master for The Washington Ballet’s productions including The Nutcracker, ALICE (in wonderland), Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Sleepy Hollow. A founding company member of Ballet Oklahoma, Farha trained and was on full scholarship at the San Francisco School of Ballet, under the direction of Lew Christensen. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma. She is the founder and artistic director of Range of Motion Dance Studio. She sits on the board for the Western Arkansas Ballet and RACE dance companies and is commissioned by dance companies and theatres across the nation. She has created and produced 20 original children’s ballets such as Aladdin. Her professional theatre choreography includes productions of Annie Get Your Gun, Peter Pan, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Goodbye Girl, The Pajama Game, A Little Night Music, Godspell, Carousel, and Oklahoma!
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STAGER
Jared Nelson is the associate artistic director of California Ballet in San Diego. Nelson was trained in many forms of dance and began dancing professionally at the age of 14 with the Sacramento Music Circus. He became an apprentice with the Sacramento Ballet that same year and soon became a principal dancer with more than a dozen original works choreographed on him by director Ron Cunningham. Nelson went on to dance for Boston Ballet and The Washington Ballet at the Kennedy Center in starring roles for two decades. Nelson danced works by Nacho Duato, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Choo San Goh, Ji í Kylián, and Antony Tudor. He also had many original works created for him by Septime Webre including The Great Gatsby, ALICE (in wonderland), Peter Pan, Cinderella, and Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises. Nelson has choreographed on ballet companies and theatre groups across the country.
OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE • ALICE (IN WONDERL AND)
MORGANN ROSE STAGER
Morgann Rose, of Lake Forest, California, joined Halcyon Arts Lab in 2017 after 16 years with The Washington Ballet. She began her training with Rebecca Wright, Tania Lichine and David Allen. Rose graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts high school program before joining her first ballet company Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech in New York City. In addition to dancing with The Washington Ballet, she has been a guest artist with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Ballet Hawaii, CityDance Ensemble, ARKA Ballet, Terra Firma Dance, and Chamber Dance Project. Some of her principal roles with TWB include Myrta in Giselle, Queen of Hearts in ALICE (in wonderland), Effie in La Sylphide, Carmen in Septime Webre’s Carmen, Sanguinic and Choleric in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments. She has danced lead roles with such choreographers as Trey McIntyre, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Nacho Duato, Christopher Wheeldon, Christopher Bruce, Edwaard Liang, Hans van Manen, and Ji í Kylián. Rose has been staging Mr. Weber’s ballets since 2003. These include Septime Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland), Sleepy Hollow, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, The Great Gatsby, and Peter Pan.
CHILDREN’S CAST & ORCHESTRA CHILDRENʼS CAST ACT I DOORS
Alexos Carabas Cody Folz Finnegan Grab Søren Gillette Luke Hanifan Troy Hartwig Dylan Haviv Sebastian Lyneham Samuel Loving Finn Mayer Xavier O’Donnell Sam Pettinger Henry Roth Torsten Thompson
KEYS
Sarah Harmon Ruby Mae Lefebvre Elliana Kluherz
BABY FLAMINGOS Lila Beard Clara Brown Soleil Callahan Marlee Cook Elizabeth Denny
Genevieve DiPiero Zooey Ford-Burris Layla Foster Alani LoBravo Clara Metzler Ellie Nine Kiera Oliver
PIGLETS
Maia Gronner Violet Kozak Lucy Krug Anna Loving Kaitlyn O’Neill Coco Pike Malvina Summers Lily Walsh Lucy Walkush Poppy Yue
DAISIES
Madoka Blandy Mika Blandy Olivia Bradlee Blakely Bresee Ayse Conger Josephine Courtney Amanda Gross Ayokemi Olajuyin Anika Sanders
Anjali Weerasinghe Violet Williams
Evelyn Chan Clare Crawley JayQueen Gutierrez Audrey Johnston Scarlett Metzler Kylin Nine Maya Otsuka Vivian Proctor Charlotte Rees Asyah Richter Addie Rodriguez Annika Sheridan Linnea Smith Gracelyn Webert Lilliana Wilson Meilan Xu
ACT II JUNIOR CARDS
Natalie Becker Isabel Borossay * Aisha Callahan Emily Cole * Rhoen Flanagan Sarah Harmon Elliana Kluherz Ruby Mae Lefebvre Neah Lim Yukino Logan * Maggie Maierle Vera-An Nguyen*
HEDGEHOGS
Allison Burnett Esther Harrison Beatrice McGill Charlotte Pener Audrey Perkins Alexandra Thompson
JR. MALE CARD
Alexos Carabas * Finnian Carmeci Luke Hanifan * Dylan Haviv * Twylo Landey Henry Roth *
VIOLIN I
VIOLIN II
Janet Dubay, Principal Janet George, Assistant Principal Heather Mastel-Lipson Camilla Scott Linda Vasey Jamie Chimchirian Irene Gadeholt Lily Burton
Claire Anderson Audrey Chan
VIOLA
Angelika Furtwangler, Principal Daphne Gooch, Assistant Principal Brenda Liu Kim Burton Adam Hoornstra Shauna Keyes
CELLO
Hamilton Cheifetz, Principal
Katherine Schultz, Assistant Principal Corey Averill Jae Choi Heather Blackburn Justin Kagan
BASS
David Parmeter, Principal Dave Anderson, Assistant Principal Milo Fultz Michelle Lindberg
FLUTE
Georgeanne Ries, Principal Sarah Tiedemann
OBOE
Kelly Gronli, Principal Alan Juza
CLARINET
Louis DeMartino, Principal* Melanie Yamada
BASSOON
Evan Kuhlmann, Principal* Elizabeth Paterson
Coreyonté Caudle^ Collin Trummel^ Cole McMason^
^denotes additional
Oregon Ballet Theatre School performers
*denotes understudy
TRUMPET/CORNET
Charley Butler, Principal* Robert Rutherford
TROMBONE
Lars Campbell, Principal* Graham Middleton Dave Bryan
TUBA
crystal lilies beautiful distinctive flowers
Daryl Johnson, Principal*
PERCUSSION
Gordon Rencher, Principal Brian Gardiner
TIMPANI
Jeff Peyton, Principal
HARP
Jennifer Craig, Principal*
ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER
Janet George
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MUSIC LIBRARIANS
Kirsten Norvell Rachel Rencher Eva Richey
503.221.7701
FRENCH HORN
Steve Hayworth, Principal Jen Harrison Mike Hettwer Leander Star
Alessandro Angelini Ophelia Bryan Erika Crawford Anabelle Gunderson Kangmi Kim Emily McGeehan Zuzu Metzler Cierra Munro Arturo Pérez del Campo Zoie Saludares Rachel Stonedahl Sarah Wilkerson Jacob Williams
SANDWICH CARDS
ORCHESTRA Nelly Kovalev, Concertmaster Hae-Jin Kim, Assistant Concertmaster Andrea Oh Della Davies Robin Baldino Jenny Estrin Elizabeth Peyton Emily Sokoloff Sarah Roth Eva Richey
OBT2
*denotes acting title Italics denotes substitute
www.crystallilies.com
ALICE (IN WONDERL AND) • OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE
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COMPANY PRINCIPAL DANCERS Xuan Cheng Sponsored by Melissa & Gary Hanifan 2. Peter Franc Sponsored by Elizabeth & Thomas Gewecke 3. Chauncey Parsons Sponsored by The Balletomanes 4. Brian Simcoe Sponsored by Artslandia & The Brian Simcoe Fan Club 5. Jacqueline Straughan
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SOLOLIST Eva Burton Sponsored by Kathleen & Benoit de Montlebert 7. Ansa Capizzi 8. Martina Chavez Sponsored by The Crumpacker Family 9. Michael Linsmeier
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10. Thomas Baker
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APPRENTICES
16. Katherine Monogue
Sponsored by Jack Blumberg
11. Keenan English 12. Adam Hartley
Sponsored by Sharon & Adam Mirarchi 13. Makino Hayashi Sponsored by Karen & Mike Weddle 14. Christopher Kaiser Sponsored by Bill Dickey 15. Jessica Lind Sponsored by Jessica’s List
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17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.
Kate Kerns
All photos by Yi Yin unless otherwise noted
Sponsored by Alan Garcia & Lyn Reynolds Garcia Kelsie Nobriga Kimberly Nobriga Sponsored by Charles W. Webb, DO Emily Parker Sponsored by Dean Richardson Colby Parsons Sponsored by Luwayne Sammons & Family Avery Reiners Sponsored by Charlie Jones & Marc Weaver Paige Wilkey Sponsored by Paulo
23. Hannah Davis 24. 25. 26. 27.
Sponsored by Marilyn L. Rudin, MD & Richard S. Testut, Jr. Abigail Diedrich Sponsored by Paulo Alexa Domenden Sponsored by Nancy Locke & Don Harris Theodore Watler Sponsored by Sandy & Stephen Holmes Andrew Wingert Sponsored by Dan & Don
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COMPANY PRINCIPAL DANCERS
XUAN CHENG
Xuan Cheng was born in Chenzhou, Hunan Province of China. She started dance lessons at the age of 5 and at 10 joined the School of Guangzhou Ballet. After graduation she joined Guangzhou Ballet as a company member under famous Chinese prima ballerina Dan Dan Zhang, and quickly became a principal dancer, performing major roles in their repertoire. In 2004, she won the Silver medal in the third Shanghai International Ballet Competition. In 2005, she was a finalist in the 8th New York International Ballet Competition. Then in 2006, she was the recipient of the Gold medal at the National Tao Li Bei Dance Competition in China. In 2006, she was invited by acclaimed Canadian choreographer Édouard Lock to join his Montreal based company La La La Human Steps. She was in the original cast of Amjad in 2007. While with the company, she performed in over 20 countries throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. She danced in famous theaters around the world, including Sadler’s Wells in London, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, deSingel in Antwerp, the Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, the Festival ImPulsTanz in Vienna, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, the Festival Montréal en Lumière, the LG Arts Center in Seoul and the Saitama Theater in Japan. In 2009, she was a guest performer with the international ballet Gala IX in Dortmund, Germany. She then joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. While there she danced Juliet in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Romeo and Juliet, Princess Lena in Christian Spuck’s Leonce and Lena and the Sugar Plum Fairy in Fernand Nault’s The Nutcracker, and other leading roles in works by many world class choreographers, including Ohad Naharin, Ji í Kylián, Mats Ek , Mauro Bigonzetti, and Christian Spuck. She joined Oregon Ballet Theatre as a principal dancer in 2011. Her major principal roles include: Giselle in Lola de Ávila’s Giselle, Odile /Odette in Christopher Stowell’s Swan Lake, Odile/Odette in Kevin Irving’s Swan Lake, Cinderella in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, Juliet in James Canfield’s Romeo and Juliet, Titania in Christopher Stowell’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Teresina in August Bournonville’s Napoli Act III, the Sugar Plum Fairy in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, as well as roles in William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated and in contemporary works by Nacho Duato. She has also originated roles in new works by acclaimed choreographers, including: Nicolo Fonte, Helen Pickett, James Kudelka, and Trey McIntyre.
PETER FRANC
Peter Franc received his early ballet training with Atlanta’s Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, the Louisville Ballet School, and graduated from the Houston Ballet Academy. He then joined Houston Ballet, rising to the rank of demi-soloist. Notable performances include works by Jerome
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Robbins, George Balanchine, Jirˇí Kylián, Hans Van Manen, and Stanton Welch. He continued dancing three seasons with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, featuring in a variety of contemporary work by choreographers Jorma Elo, Nicolo Fonte, Cayetano Soto and Alejandro Cerrudo. He joined OBT as a soloist in 2015 and was promoted to principal in 2016.
CHAUNCEY PARSONS
Born in Santa Barbara, California, Chauncey Parsons began dancing at age 12, at the Santa Barbara Ballet Center, under Michelle Pearson and Denise Rinaldi. At 15, he was accepted into the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C. where he trained for three years under Vladimir Djouloukhadze. After graduating, he performed for State Street Ballet under Rodney Gustafson for two years. In 2002, he joined Colorado Ballet as a soloist under Martin Fredmann, and in 2004 was promoted to the rank of principal dancer. In 2008, he joined OBT as a soloist under Christopher Stowell, and was promoted to principal in 2009. Over the course of his career he has danced a wide variety of roles, including Basil in Don Quixote, Count Albrecht in Giselle, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. Further, he has danced leading roles in Balanchine’s Rubies, Emeralds, Tarantella, The Nutcracker, and Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Michael Pink’s Dracula and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, Nicolo Fonte’s Bolero and Never Stop Falling (in Love), Paul Taylor’s Company B, and others.
BRIAN SIMCOE
Brian Simcoe was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He received his training from the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and Long Beach Ballet Arts Center. He joined OBT as an apprentice in 2004, was promoted to soloist in 2011, and promoted to principal in 2013. At OBT, he has appeared in Christopher Stowell’s Swan Lake, Nicolo Fonte’s Petrouchka, James Canfield’s Romeo and Juliet, and Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun.
JACQUELINE STRAUGHAN
Jacqueline Straughan is a native of Carson City, Nevada. She studied at the National Ballet School in Toronto, Canada where she was also the recipient of the Peter Dwyer Scholarship and Christopher Ondaatje Award. She began her professional career in 2000 with the National Ballet of Canada under the directorship of James Kudelka. While with the company she performed his works and other seminal ballets by Ashton, Cranko, MacMillan and Tetley. From 2006-2017 she performed with Ballet West, rising through the ranks to first soloist. Her notable principal roles in Dove’s Red Angels, Fonte’s Presto, Kylián’s Forgotten Land and Overgrown Path, Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Balanchine’s Rubies and the title role of Giselle earned her critical acclaim. She was also a cast member of the docu-drama series Breaking Pointe seasons I & II based on Ballet West. Straughan joined OBT as a principal in 2016. Highlights of her first principal season
OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE • ALICE (IN WONDERL AND)
include the world premiere of Fonte’s Giants Before Us, Duato’s El Naranjo and the dual role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. SOLOISTS
EVA BURTON
Eva Burton was born in Los Angeles, California. She received her training in Los Angeles from Patrick Frantz and at San Francisco Ballet School before joining OBT for the 2009/10 season. She has been featured in works by George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Nicolo Fonte, and Ben Stevenson. In the 2014/15 season she debuted as the Sugarplum Fairy in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, as Cinderella in Ben Stevenson’s production, and in Nicolo Fonte’s Presto. In 2016 she danced in William Forsythe’s In the Middle Somewhat Elevated and the “Waltz Girl” in George Balanchine’s Serenade. She was promoted to soloist in 2016.
ANSA CAPIZZI
Ansa Capizzi is from Nagoya, Japan where she began studying dance at the age of 5. She later trained with Chika Goto Step Works Ballet and City Ballet School in San Francisco. She joined OBT as an apprentice in 2003 and was promoted to soloist in 2007. Some of her favorite roles with OBT include: William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, George Balanchine’s Tarantella, James Canfield’s Romeo and Juliet, and Nacho Duato’s Por Vos Muero.
MARTINA CHAVEZ
Born in San Antonio, Texas, Martina Chavez began her training at age 9 under the direction of Buddy and Susan Trevino then continued her education at Maryland Youth Ballet. She joined OBT in 2006 as an apprentice, was promoted into the company in 2007, and to soloist in 2014. Her favorite roles have been in works created by George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, and Nicolo Fonte.
MICHAEL LINSMEIER
Michael grew up on a family dairy farm near Manitowoc, Wisconsin where he began training at the Jean Wolfmeyer School of Dance. During high school he attended the Virginia School of the Arts. He spent seven years dancing with the Milwaukee Ballet before joining OBT in 2011. Since joining, Michael has enjoyed dancing roles created by Nicolo Fonte, William Forsythe, Helen Pickett, Nacho Duato, George Balanchine, James Canfield, Ben Stevenson, and James Kudelka to name a few. COMPANY ARTISTS
THOMAS BAKER
Thomas began his dance training at 15 years old in St. George, Utah under Bené Arnold. He then attended San Francisco Ballet School on full scholarship before joining OBT as an apprentice in 2010. Thomas has performed featured roles in works by Balanchine, Duato, Fonte, Pickett, Canfield, Bournonville, Forsythe, and others with OBT. Thomas has also danced professionally with Ballet San Jose, Barak Ballet, and the National Choreographers Initiative.
COMPANY KEENAN ENGLISH
Keenan English trained with the Baltimore County Youth Ballet and then the Baltimore School for the Arts before joining the trainee program at Boston Ballet School on the Pao Scholarship, where he performed with Boston Ballet. In 2012, he attended the summer course at The School of American Ballet, and later enrolled as a full time student on the Carolyn WrightLewis Scholarship. While at SAB he performed in Balanchine’s Serenade, Coppélia, and Western Symphony, which was a Live at Lincoln Center PBS Broadcast. He joined the company at Dance Theatre of Harlem for the 2014/15 season, before joining Cincinnati Ballet for the 2015/16 season. He joined OBT as an apprentice in 2016 and was promoted to company artist in 2017.
ADAM HARTLEY
Adam Hartley is from Orange, California and began dancing at age 5. He joined OBT as an apprentice in 2009 and was promoted to company artist in 2011. Some of his favorite ballets to dance at OBT were William Forsythe’s The Second Detail, Nacho Duato’s Por Vos Muero, and Nicolo Fonte’s Bolero.
MAKINO HAYASHI
Makino Hayashi was born in Kumamoto, Japan. She started ballet at The Kumamoto Ballet School when she was 9 years old. She joined Colorado Ballet in 2002 as an apprentice, was promoted to corps de ballet in 2004, and joined OBT in 2010. Her favorite roles at OBT are Rassemblement, Jardí Tancat by Nacho Duato, The Lost Dance by Matjash Mrozewski, Nurse in Romeo and Juliet by James Canfield, and Beautiful Decay by Nicolo Fonte. She has been featured in the role of Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated and The Second Detail by William Forsythe, Instinctual Confidence by Darrell Grand Moultrie, Napoli by August Bournonville, and Terra and Petal by Helen Pickett.
CHRISTOPHER KAISER
A native to Los Angeles, Christopher began training at Los Angeles High School for the Arts. During his summers, he trained at The Joffrey Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet. From there, he was accepted to The Juilliard School in New York where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, where he had the privilege to dance in the International Festival in Edinburgh. He danced with Alberta Ballet for three seasons before joining OBT. This is his second season with OBT. Some of his favorite performances include Nacho Duato’s Gnawa, William Forsythe’s Herman Shmerman, and Ji í Kylián’s Forgotten Land.
JESSICA LIND
Born and raised in San Jose, California, Jessica Lind began her ballet training at the age of 4 at Dance Theatre International. She trained for a year with San Francisco Ballet School before joining the professional division at OBT and then became an apprentice two years later. She was promoted to company artist in 2016. Some of her favorite works she has performed with OBT
include George Balanchine’s Serenade, William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Nacho Duato’s Jardí Tancat, and the first act pas de trois from Swan Lake.
KATHERINE MONOGUE
Katherine Monogue was born in Tacoma, Washington. She trained at the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, D.C. under Key Juan Han. She joined OBT as a Professional Division student in 2012, was promoted to apprentice in 2013, and joined the company as a company artist in 2014. She has performed numerous roles, including Peasblossom in Christopher Stowell’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Helen Pickett’s Petal, and Nacho Duato’s Rassemblement.
KELSIE NOBRIGA
Kelsie Nobriga is from Orange County, California and began dancing at the age of 5. She was a professional division student with Pacific Northwest Ballet in 2010, performing in Kent Stowell’s Nutcracker, among other ballets with the company. In 2011, she joined OBT as an apprentice, and returned as a company artist in 2014. Previously, she danced with Colorado Ballet for one season. Highlights for her with OBT are dancing the role of the Sugarplum Fairy in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, performing William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, and Nacho Duato’s Jardí Tancat.
KIMBERLY NOBRIGA
Kimberly Nobriga grew up in Orange County, California. In 2010 she joined the Pacific Northwest Ballet School to train and perform in their Professional Division before coming to OBT as an apprentice in 2013. Kimberly joined the company in 2015, and her favorite moments on stage include performing as the Dark Angel in George Balanchine’s Serenade, and dancing in William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated and Nacho Duato’s Jardí Tancat.
EMILY PARKER
Emily Parker was born in Boston, Massachusetts where she began dancing at age 4. After graduating from Indiana University, she joined OBT as an apprentice in 2014 and was promoted to company artist in 2016. Her favorite performances thus far with OBT include Nicolo Fonte’s Beautiful Decay, William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, and Nacho Duato’s Jardí Tancat.
COLBY PARSONS
A native of Santa Barbara, California, Colby Parsons began dancing at the age of 13, studying ballet with Denise Rinaldi at the Santa Barbara Ballet Center. He continued his training on full scholarship at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre in New York City. He danced with American Ballet Theatre II for three seasons, followed by dancing soloist and principal roles for Alberta Ballet in Calgary for another three seasons. For the 2014/15, season he joined OBT under Kevin Irving. For OBT he has danced the Lover in James Kudelka’s Sub Rosa, a lead in Bournonville’s Napoli, the Prince in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella,
a lead couple in Nicolo Fonte’s Presto, the Berceuse pas de deux in Nicolo Fonte’s Never Stop Falling (in Love), and the Cavalier in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, among other roles. Colby is also a principal dancer with American Contemporary Ballet in Los Angeles during the summer seasons. He has performed as a guest artist in Japan, Costa Rica, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Canada as well as in several states in the U.S.
AVERY REINERS
Avery Reiners is from New Jersey. He started dance at The School of American Ballet and received further training at San Francisco Ballet School and Boston Ballet School before joining OBT as a company artist in 2013. Some of his favorite roles with OBT include: Matjash Mrozewski’s The Lost Dance, Gennaro in Bournonville’s Napoli, and Nicolo Fonte’s Presto.
PAIGE WILKEY
Paige Wilkey was born in Los Angeles, California where she began dancing at age 3. She moved to Boston at the age of 16 to train in the pre-professional program at Boston Ballet School. She joined OBT as a professional division student in 2013, was promoted to apprentice in 2014, and joined the company as a company artist in 2016. Her favorite roles with OBT thus far are Coffee in The Nutcracker, The Yellow Girl in Crayola, and the pas de deux from Nacho Duato’s Gnawa. APPRENTICES
HANNAH DAVIS
Hannah Davis was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where she began dancing at age 3. She continued her classical and contemporary studies at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts under Ethan Steifel, Brenda Daniels, and Susan Jaffe. Hannah joined OBT’s second company in 2015 where she enjoyed performing Teresina in August Bournonville’s Napoli and Swanilda in OBT’s Annual School Performance of Coppélia. She was promoted to apprentice in 2016.
ABIGAIL DIEDRICH
Abigail Diedrich is from Pasadena, Maryland. She began dancing at the age of 8 under the direction of Dianna Cuatto at The Ballet Theatre of Maryland before continuing her training with Norma Pera at Baltimore School for the Arts from 2011-2013. In 2013, she joined the professional division at Pacific Northwest Ballet where she remained for two years before moving to Portland to dance with Oregon Ballet Theatre’s second company. She was promoted to apprentice in 2016 and has enjoyed performing both in the second company’s outreach programs as well as company productions.
ALEXA DOMENDEN
Born in Seattle, Washington, Alexa Domenden received her training with Pacific Northwest Ballet School starting off in their DanceChance program in 2004. In 2013, she danced under the direction of Kevin Kaiser and Louise Nadeau
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COMPANY (CONT.) at Evergreen City Ballet. She joined OBT as a member of their second company in 2015 and was promoted to apprentice in 2017. Being in OBT2 she has had the opportunity to perform in works including George Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht Ballet, excerpts from Nicolo Fonte’s Beasts, the trio from Nacho Duato’s Na Floresta, and Prayer in SOBT’s Annual School Performance of Coppélia.
Stories Start Here STORE > 1112 NW 19th Ave. | 503-241-1112 • RENTAL > 1801 NW Northrup St. | 503-517-3637 PHOTO LAB > 1815 NW Northrup St. | 503-517-3639 • WEB > www.prophotosupply.com
ANDREW WINGERT
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Andrew Wingert joined OBT in 2016 as an apprentice after spending a year as a freelance dancer, where he appeared in the corps de ballet with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet and as a guest artist with the Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Chicago and several other regional companies and schools. He has enjoyed performing in a variety of featured principal roles including: George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Divertimento No. 15, and Septime Webre’s Juanita y Alicia. Some of his other favorite performances include Septime Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland), and Michael Pink’s Giselle. Andrew is thrilled for his second season with OBT.
THEODORE WATLER
Born in Long Beach, California, Theodore Watler received his training at the Long Beach Ballet Academy. For three years, he attended the summer course at San Francisco Ballet School on scholarship. Theodore graduated from the University of Chicago with degrees in art history and law, letters, and society. He joined OBT as an apprentice in 2017. GUEST DANCERS
SETH PARKER
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OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE • ALICE (IN WONDERL AND)
Seth Parker, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, began his ballet training with The School of Cleveland Ballet at the age of 7 and then with Cleveland School of Dance until 2003. From there, Parker joined the Ohio Ballet for two years and went on to become a corps member and soloist with Ballet San Jose under the Artistic Directorship of Dennis Nahat. Some of Parker’s favorite featured roles and repertoire includes, The Devil and Roasted Swan in Dennis Nahat’s Carmina Burana, Prince Alexis in Nahat’s The Nutcracker, Her Lover in Antony Tudor’s Lilac Garden, Roland Petit’s Carmen, Twyla Tharp’s 9 Sinatra Songs, and Jerome Robbin’s Interplay.
THEODORE SKYE STOUBER
Skye is pleased to return to the stage after a five-year hiatus. A native of Portland he began training at The Portland Ballet, before moving on to train at the schools of Houston Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. He has performed principal roles in the works of George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, and Stanton Welch, and most recently performed his first contemporary work with skinner/kirk Dance Ensemble.
Chauncey Parsons | Photo by James McGrew
FULL 2018/2019 SEASON ANNOUNCED MARCH 8 OBT.ORG
FALL 2018
NAPOLI The Portland Premiere of August Bournonville’s famed full-length ballet
ALICE (IN WONDERL AND) • OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE
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OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE • ALICE (IN WONDERL AND)
COMPANY ROSTER | OBT
OBT STAFF ARTISTIC
Kevin Irving, Artistic Director Lisa Kipp, Rehearsal Director Jeffrey Stanton, Ballet Master Nicolo Fonte, Resident Choreographer Elizabeth Burden, Children’s Coach Niel DePonte, Music Director & Conductor Tracey Sartorio, Executive Assistant to the Artistic Director & Artistic Coordinator Irina Golberg, Principal Accompanist
PRODUCTION
Bill Anderson, Director of Production Shannon Goffe, Production Administrator Victoria A. Epstein, Stage Manager Ian Rutledge, Assistant Stage Manager & Sound Coordinator Michael Mazzola, Resident Lighting Designer Ian Anderson-Priddy, Production Electrician & A/V Coordinator Tim Boot, Sound Designer Matt Wilcox, Sound Engineer Eileen Ehlert, Costume Shop Supervisor Morgan Reaves, Stitcher Sara Beukers, Hair & Makeup Designer Avery Bloch, Kerris Cockrell, Jeff Dines, Brian Keith, Peter Sherman, Lance Woolen, Production Support Staff Janet George, Orchestra Personnel Manager Kirsten Norvell, Head Music Librarian Rachel Rencher, Assistant Music Librarian Eva Richey, Assistant Music Librarian
ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Neville Wellman, Director of Finance & Operations Donna Jackson-Siekmann, Accounting Manager Linda Brown, Business Office Coordinator
DEVELOPMENT
Alison Roper, Major Gifts Officer Justin N. Smith, Donor Relations & Events Manager Keely McIntyre, Grants Manager Emily Tucker, Development Associate
MARKETING
Jim Thomson, Senior Graphic Designer Chloe Hellberg, Audience Services Manager Kate Kerns, Marketing Associate Mariah DeLude, Patron Services Lead Kanda Mbenza-Ngoma, Customer Service Representative Ben Neal, Customer Service Representative
OREGON BALLET THEATRE SCHOOL
West Portland Physical Therapy Clinic Sharon Mirarchi, Committee Chair & OBT Board of Trustees Peter Northrup, Northrup Corporation President
Artistic Director
PRINCIPAL DANCERS
Xuan Cheng, Peter Franc, Chauncey Parsons, Brian Simcoe, Jacqueline Straughan
SOLOISTS
Eva Burton, Ansa Capizzi, Martina Chavez, Michael Linsmeier
Lisa Sundstrom, OBT2 Program Director OBT2 is underwritten by the M.J. Charitable Trust and John Van Buren James Holstad, School Administrator Colleen Hanlon, West Linn Studio Manager & Children’s Coordinator Natasha Bar, Peter Franc, Elise Legere, Valerie Limbrunner-Bartlett, Rachel Närhi, Chauncey Parsons, Jessica Post, Olivia Pyne, Alison Roper, Kembe Staley, Katarina Svetlova, Robyn Ulibarri, School Faculty Irina Golberg, Garnet Hayes, Karen Lam, Ayako Matsuo, Ray McKean, Alec Pemberton, Katie Pyne, Tiffany Sanford, Jordan Strang, Western-Li Summerton, Accompanists
COMPANY ARTISTS
EDUCATION OUTREACH
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Kasandra Gruener, Director of Education Outreach Sarah Brown, Administrative Assistant Linda Besant, Archivist/Historian Sarah Brown, Brook Manning, Robyn Ulibarri, Allison Wales, Teaching Artists Amy Stahl, Volunteer
SPECIAL THANKS Ballet Austin, Chris Balo, Cincinnati Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Victoria Frank, Alan Garcia, IATSE Local #28, Jennifer Hammontree, Kansas City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Portland’5 Center for the Arts, Portland Opera, Karen Storms, The Washington Ballet
DANCER WELLNESS COMMITTEE Martina Chavez, OBT Soloist Michael Greer, OBT Executive Director Katherine B. McCoy, PT, MTC,
KEVIN IRVING
Alex Occhipinti, Northrup Corporation
Assistant Vice President
Neville Wellman, OBT Director of Finance
& Operations
Amy Werner, PT, DPT, West Portland
Physical Therapy Clinic
Katharine Zeller, MD, Legacy Health
Thomas Baker, Keenan English, Adam Hartley, Makino Hildestad, Christopher Kaiser, Jessica Lind, Katherine Monogue, Kelsie Nobriga, Kimberly Nobriga, Emily Parker, Colby Parsons, Avery Reiners, Paige Wilkey
APPRENTICES
Hannah Davis, Abigail Diedrich, Alexa Domenden, Theodore Watler, Andrew Wingert
GUEST DANCERS
Seth Parker, Theodore Skye Stouber
Nancy Locke, Board Chair Cate Millar, Vice Chair Jimmy Crumpacker, Secretary Ken Ivey, Treasurer Ken Carraro Rita Duyn Peter Franc, ex officio William Gaar Alan Garcia Michael Greer, ex officio Gary Hanifan Brianne Hyder Kevin Irving, ex officio Cary Jackson Julia Winkler Jacobson Charles L. Jones Allison Lane Lyneham Kristin Malone Keith Martin Christina McNown Nancy J. Miller Sharon Mirarchi Angela Saunders Polin Reegan Rae Dean M. Richardson Tina Skouras Ashley Trimble Betsy Warren Matt Watson Mike Weddle
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INDIVIDUAL DONORS Oregon Ballet Theatre would like to express its sincere gratitude to those listed below for gifts received through January 15, 2018. Donations received after this period will appear in the next playbill in April.
TOUR DE FORCE ($25,000 & UP)
Jack Blumberg, In Memory of Thomas P. Anderson Howard Hedinger Henry & Amber Hillman Sue Horn-Caskey & Rick Caskey Cary Jackson Nancy Locke & Don Harris Jean Pierce Arlene Schnitzer Jordan Schnitzer Bob Sweeney & Cate Millar and Stephen Sweeney John Van Buren Nani Warren David E. Wedge Trust Barbara Yeager
DIRECTORʼS CIRCLE
($10,000–$24,999)
Linda & Scott Andrews Walter Bowen Barbara & Bob Brady Jimmy Crumpacker Kathleen & Benoit de Montlebert Bill Dickey, In Honor of David E. Wagner Cooper Dubois Rita Duyn Karen & Bill Early Ken & Ann Edwards Alan Garcia & Lyn Reynolds Garcia Thomas & Elizabeth Gewecke Melissa & Gary Hanifan Jeanette Heinz Gregory K. & Mary Chomenko Hinckley Sydney Holland Charles L. Jones John & Linda Lenyo
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Ken & Joyce Lewis Devin & Natalia Megy Brad & Nancy Miller Sharon & Adam Mirarchi Paul O’Brien Loren Parks Marilyn L. Rudin, MD & Richard S. Testut, Jr. Elizabeth B. Warren Wendy Warren & Thomas Brown Mike & Karen Weddle
ÉTOILE POINTE SOCIETY ($5,000–$9,999)
Anonymous Anonymous, In Honor of Cate Millar Robert Aughenbaugh Dan Bergsvik & Don Hastler Linda Besant & Martha Goetsch Anne & James Crumpacker Jasmin & Matt Felton Fromm Family Charitable Fund William Gilliland Jamey Hampton & Ashley Roland Linda Rae Hickey Sandra & Stephen Holmes Brianne & Zachary Hyder Kevin Irving & Nicolo Fonte Judy C. Kelley Diane Knudsen Elise Legere & James Mitchell Dr. Dolores Leon & Dr. Fernando Leon Denise & James Parker Dean M. Richardson Luwayne Sammons Prashanth Vallabhanath & Evelyn Curioso Charles W. Webb, DO Dr. Kathy Zeller & Dr. David Hill
VIRTUOSO POINTE SOCIETY
($2,500–$4,999)
Anonymous The Ajitahrdaya Gift Fund Brent Barton & Liz Fuller Adriane & Sam Blackman
Richard Louis Brown & Thomas Mark Sandra & Charles Carmeci Ken Carraro Guillermina & Arthur Chavez Debi Coleman Gail Hayes Davis & Michael Davis Justin & Marisol Delaney Chuck & Barbara Edgerton Emily & Evan Ellis Gary & Yvonne Foster Nancy Frisch William E. Gaar & Lauren E. Barnes Richard & Juliana Gellman Marilyn & Hans Grunbaum Andrew & Ilene Harris Ronna & Eric Hoffman Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Bernice & Ken Ivey Julia Winkler Jacobson & Jonas Jacobson Carol Schnitzer Lewis Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Kathleen Lewis Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Allison Lane Lyneham Jerome Magill Keith Martin Christina & Cade McNown Laura S. Meier Ellen & Carl Nielsen John & Ginger Niemeyer Steven P. & Eileen O’Neill Odum Jane S. Partridge Melanie & Darren Pennington, In Honor of Lainie Pennington Lisa Pfost Allan & Marney Pike Family Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation Allison & Steven Pike Mary Rose & Maxwell Whipps Leslie Ann Sammons-Roth Jone Sampson & Sam Weirich Caleb Schlesinger
OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE • ALICE (IN WONDERL AND)
Hazel & Barry Schlesinger Daniel & Dawn Simcoe Tina Skouras Barb & Steve Spence Joan W. Sterrett Carol Streeter & Harold Goldstein David & Eileen Threefoot Peter & Ann van Bever Toby & Linda Warson Matt Weaver Ben & Alli Wood Charlene Zidell
PRINCIPAL DANCERʼS CIRCLE
($1,000–$2,499)
Susan T. Armentrout Patti & Lloyd Babler Natasha Bar Barbara & Sidney Bass The Brousson Family Nancy & Andy Bryant Alex Carlson Jeff Chase & Patti Warner Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Diane Collier The James & Nancy Dalton Charitable Fund Robert & Patricia Dant Cameron & Dick Davis William Dolan & Suzanne Bromschwig Larry & Deborah Friedman Ted & Cynthia Gaty Leonard & Yvonne Gionet Alix & Tom Goodman Rob Goodman Lora & Keith Gordon Jonathan Griffith & Mariia Pechenova Frank Groff Jesse & Leah Gronner Valarie Grudier & Richard Langdon Tom & Sandy Hageman Daniel Harmon & Jennifer Rabiah Beth Harper Betsy Henning Kiki Hillman Maryanne & David Holman John & Tanya Hug Michael Hummel & Mamie Diaz Hummel
Erika Ingbretson & Babak Mohammadi Steve Karakashian Kathleen & A.J. Kazimi Deneen & Raymond King Derek & Lydia Lipman Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation Bill & Kate Lockwood Nobuko & Bryce Logan Vida & Jonathan Lohnes Whitney & Jonathan Malkiel M. and L. Marks Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Jani McCormick Marilyn J. McIver Laurie & Gilbert Meigs Kirsten & Richard Meneghello Ken & Hana Moyle Margaret & Gordon Noel Jay & McKay Nutt Kelly & David Park Yale S. Popowich, MD Reegan & David Rae William & Nancy Rosenfeld Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Lori & Mike Russell Virginia Sewell Megan & Tom Shipley Jinny Shipman & Richard Kaiser Carol & Tom Shults Kembe Staley & Jim Hinkley Steinfeld Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation John Thoren Koji & Hisami Toguchi Misty & Derek Tompoles Evans Van Buren & Marsha Warner K. Vorderstrasse Pat & Macy Wall Matt Watson & Jessica Harkin Patrick Weishampel Robyn Williams & Roger Scarbrough Jay Wilt Manami Yamaguchi & Jason Moore Zela & Elsa
INDIVIDUAL DONORS SOLOIST DANCERʼS CIRCLE ($500–$999)
Anonymous Charles G. Barany Tom Bard Debora & Craig Beard Melanie Bjorge W. “Buzz” Braley, Jr. Charles Brasher & Betty Lavis Kay Bristow Phil & Glynis Chek Miguel Cobian Paris Coté Sue Darrow Leigh & Leslie Dolin Josh Duncan Anton, Raylene, and Taylor Eilers Conrad Eustis & Roberta Kanter Mary & John Evans Charles & Zoe Foster Genevieve & Bryce Foster Alexandra & Zan Galton James R. Golden Karen & Jim Halliday Sheila Hamilton & Colin MacLean Thomas & Verna Hendrickson Karen Henell & Gregg McCarty Ken Hick & Cheri Cooley-Hick Jan Jacobsen & Paul Hart Pamela K. Johnston Alan T. & Sharon Y. Jones Becky & Jarrett Jones Marcia Kahn Mary Klein & Francis T. Schneider Gary S. Leavitt Joan Levers & David Manhart Gerri & Yorick Lutes Marisa Mack John F. Mathews Nicole & Brad Miller Angela & Rob Moneyhan Dan & Jackie Moore Doug & Malinda Moore Carol N. Morgan Martha Moyer Alex Nicoloff & Lesley Otto Katharine Noll & Frank Bryan Karla Nutt Heidi & Randy O’Connor Susan Olson & Bill Nelson Milo & Beverly Ormseth Suzann & Dennis Ott Melissa & Steven Peterman Angela Saunders Polin Alison Roper
Miriam & Charles Rosenthal Jean & Stephen Roth, In Memory of Paul Frisch Davia & Ted Rubenstein Miriam Ruth Lynette Sahnow Daniel & Kathleen Saucy John & June Schumann Diana Scoggins Drs. Justin N. Smith & Christine Liu Rosemary Southwood Sue Stegmiller Dr. & Mrs. Carl E. Trinca Peter Vennewitz Aimee Virnig Kjerstin & Mike Wallen Naomi & Hans Wandel Richard Wasserman & Ann Coskey-Wasserman Weiss Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Vinh Wong Eumi & Keith Wymbs Cynthia A. Yee John & Nancy Zernel
COMPANY ARTIST DANCERʼS CIRCLE ($250–$499)
Anonymous Abigail Alford Molly Anderson Gregory & Elizabeth Arntson Bryan Averill Susan Bailey & Mike Warwick Pat Behm & Gary Jacobsen Giovanni & Annie Bencomo Beth Blenz-Clucas & Richard Clucas Craig & Rachelle Boretz John Bosshardt & Diana Petty Matthew Boyes & Frederic Koeleman Ryan Bradshaw Irene & Patrick Burk Connie Butler Stephanie Butts Irene Cancilla, In Honor of Sunny Guilliand Drs. Timothy & Theresa Chen Margery Cohn Kent Copeland Sandra & Douglas Cress Terri Cross Sarie Crothers Susan Cyganiak, In Honor of Selena Steinmetz Eloise Damrosch & Gary Hartnett Arthur & Winnifred Danner
Kearny & Diane Davis, In Honor of Hannah Davis John & Rocio Deatherage Jody DeChaine Lonnie Dicus & Therese McCarthy-Dicus Abigail Diedrich Family Ed & Marilyn Epstein Jennifer Fast Philip Fidler & Jane Cummins Tim Finch & Nariyo Kono Rebecca Fleischman Doreen Flores Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Franc Jane Freres Jennifer Froistad Andrew Fromm Kristy & Donald Giles Sarah & Raul Gomez-Rojas Melissa & Robert Good Helen A. Goodwin Barbara & Marvin Gordon-Lickey Quinton Hallett & Dennis Gould Gail & Irv Handelman Jay Harter & Ken Salaman Antoinette Hatfield Celeste Henninger-Lindaman Makino Hayashi & Chauncey Parsons Jonika Horton Pam & Bob Howard Celas & Margaret Hug Kathryn Hummel David C. Jensen Jonathan & Suzanne Jensen Brian C. Johnson Kathy Jorda Ernest & Susanne Kanning Allan Karsk Kristan Knapp & Janna Auslam Nancy & Steve Kraushaar Mrs. Joseph A. Labadie Barbara Lamack & James Kalvelage Mary N. Laughlin Stanley & Joyce Loeb Martha J. Logan Anne Lynch & James Anderson Jackie MacGregor Linda J. Magness Linda L. Mann Bel-Ami & Mark Margoles Earlean Marsh Pamela Matheson Mason C. Mazzola Lori McAdoo Carolyn McMurchie
Susan Sammons Meyer & Dennis Meyer Monica & Dale Monroe Cynthia Capps Morgan Robert & Dona Morris Rob Nelson Rose Neyman Harriet Norman & Jack Hollis Peter & Cassie Northrup Sean O’Neill & Elizabeth Le Rev. Dr. Rodney & Sandi Page Jack & Chris Pendleton Carol Peterkort & Richard Gibson Dennis Petrequin Staci Pfau Ryan & Sarah Pitman Jodee & Jerry Pittman Judith E. Posey & Edward J. Doyle, MD Suzanne Rague Bruce Ramseyer Carol & Walter Ratzlaf Carolyn & Hank Robb George & Mildred Robles Cathy Rote Claire H. Russell Sam Sadler Michael S. Parker Sagun & Dennis J. Sagun Parker Tad Savinar, In Honor of Cate Millar Eric Schindler & Jenna FallonSchindler Laurel & Philip Schmidt Ron Seymour & Mary Austin-Seymour Jeremy Shibley & Romalia Stickney-Shibley Tony Singmeuangthong Gary & Lydia Slangan John D. & Pamela Smith Sara & Jeremy Solly Lisa Sorenson Albert & Victoria Starr Ms. Jennifer D. Strelkauskas Graham & Kristi Taylor Michael Thomas George & Nancy Thorn Judith & Gordon Umaki Drs. R. Bastian & Barbara Wagner Bruce Weber Shawn & Dave West Ann C. Whitehouse Chris & Maria Wilkey Laurie Williams Jenny & Christina Wilson Bruce & Susan Winthrop Keith Wood
Linda M. Wood Jack Wussow & Kyle Adams Tamara & Chris Yunker Frances Zhao-Perez & Tavis Perez Kurt R. & Heather Zimmer Ernest ZumBrunnen & Grace Hawes
APPRENTICE DANCERʼS CIRCLE ($100–$249)
Anonymous Kathleen Allee Kathy & Guy Allee Grace & Paul Andrews Amanda Aponte Frances Araujo Gabriella Armstrong Sandra Armstrong David Arrow Armain & Michelle Austin Gennaro & Marilyn Manser Avolio Diane Babcock John Bagg Laura Barber Thomas A. & Mary Bartlett Kathleen Bayer Nancy Beck, In Memory of Judy Parsons Nola & Paul Becket Esther Marie Beebe Dr. Diana Bell Family of Annastasia Beller Alan & Sherry Bennett Barry & Jacqueline Bennett Paul & Pat Benninghoff Hisiya Beppu & Matthew LaRocco Patsy C. Berner Phil & Naomi Beymer Dan & Michelle Blessinger Lorraine & Greg Borossay Richard Botney Candace Bouchard & Adam Lounsbury Kelsey Boyd Joyce Brehm Mr. & Mrs. Bresee Sue Brigman Karin P. Brocksbank Dr. & Mrs. Gerald J. Broock, MD Holly Brooks Laura Buckingham Tom Burkleaux Stephanie & Scott Byrd Maurine & Paul Canarsky Susan Carey Katelyn Carmack Jean Cauthorn
ALICE (IN WONDERL AND) • OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE
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INDIVIDUAL DONORS (CONT.) CCD/ECB Friends of Doug Parsons, In Memory of Judy Parsons Bob Chamness Sandy Chamness Drs. James Chan & Jennifer Edman Mr. & Mrs. Chappell Aria & Cody Clements Ilaine Cohen Jessica Columbo & Baker Paulshoc Deniz & Austin Conger, In Honor of Ayse & Ayla Conger Harriet Cormack Nathan Corser & Kristen Minor Lisa Marie Coughran Lin Crimshaw Judy Dauble Wendy & Howard David Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Davids Brian & Nancy Davies Krystyna & William Davis Patti & Paul Demeter Chuck & Patt DeRousie Adam & Emily Dew Jerry Dickason Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Dickerson Mrs. Jing DiPiero Lora Dow Paul & Laura Dubose Susan & George Durrie Kristin DuVal Ruth Edsall Cydney Edwards Doris Ennis Annette Erickson Douglas Ertner Lester & Audre Estrin Abraham & Pamela Farkas, In Memory of Mary Lou Cook Rochelle Farkas Marjorie Ferry Melissa & Eric Fischer Dr. Harvey Fishman & Keiko Amakawa Tonya Flaming Brian & Katie Flanagan George Fleerlage Cindy Fletcher Kelly Freuler Theresa Fritchle Peggy Garcia Ray & Joyce Gee JulieAnna Giannini Phil & Carole Gilbertson Arthur & Judith Ginsburg Rebecca Granquist Jenifer Gray-O’Connor Brenda Grootendorst Joachim & Liz Grube Penny Guest
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Anna & Jeff Haagenson Candace Haines Deanna Haley Barbara Halle Tanya Hanson Gary & Lynne Hartshorn Marilyn Heiling Lisa, Jon & Amalia Held Gina Henderson Rebecca Hicks & Greg Kuelgen Christian Hill & Laura Korman Laurel Anne Hill, In Honor of the Dancing Doctors Beverly Hoeffer Kenneth L. Holford James Holstad Robin Hopmeier Howard Family Veronica Newton Hudson Carol & Tom Hull Rebecca Hundley Alexandra Huth Angela & Shane Jackson Jackson-Retondo Family Elizabeth A. Javens David & Margaret Jeans Lenka Jelinek & Geoff Peters Linda & Richard Jenkins Jack B. & Kathy A. Jensen Dennis C. Johnson Jan Johnson & Susan Olsen Shirley K. Johnson Caryn Jones & Jason Lander Olivia Jones Tony Jones Kristin Jordan Marla Kazell Arthur & Kristine Keil Doris & Eric Kimmel Meagen Kincaid Mary King Ronnie Kon Rebecca Koteen Sophia Kremidas Mariah Krevanko Vic & Tammie Krisciunas David & Mary Krug Sean & Naoko Krug Leonard Kuhl Carol La Brie Susan & Jeff Lain Mana & Isis Lamonte Diane & Greg Landers Nancy Lapaglia & Stephen Slusarski Lori Lawrence Abigail & Don Lawton James Lee & Rachel Drushella Krystal Lee Isidore & Kathleen Lefebvre Judy Lefebvre Jude Lieberman
Nolan Lienhart Xinyuan Lin & Wei Lin & Wenzhu Jiang Greg & Kim Lind Carole Lindell-Ross Mr. Ziqiang Liu Alice Lloyd Greg Lockwood Henry Louderbough Marcy Lowy Elisabeth & Peter Lyon, In Memory of Paul Frisch Judy Lyons Diane & Tom Macdonald Kate Machell Christine L. Mackert, MD Joanne & Boyd MacNaughton Phillip Margolin Eileen Markson Demaris & Antonio Martinez Shaune & Steve Mattsson Justin Maupin Oscar & Mary Mayer Margaret McConnell & Robert Griner Jeanann McCoy Dr. Louis & Judy McCraw Kathy McGrew Candace & John McMunn Susie & Michael McShane Josie Mendoza & Hugh Mackworth Chena Mesling & Jonathan Rhodes Elise Meyers Margie Miller Una Miniter & Omar Nazir Laura Mitchell Tony Mix Barbara Modey Mark Moffett Sean & Corinne Monogue Larry & Taryn Markee Moore Gian & MaryKay Morelli Jeffrey Morgan Deven Morganstern Martin Muller Richard & Sarah Munro, In Honor of Nancy Locke Todd & Crystal Neal J.J. & Sarah Needham Karen & Bob Nelles Keith & Cindi Nobriga Cristin O’Brien Robert Olds Kris Oliveira Barry Olson & Barbara Telfold Madeline Olson Emily Omura Lisa O’Rourke Nancel Otsuka Joan Paglin
OREGON BALLE T THE ATRE • ALICE (IN WONDERL AND)
Lyn Pangares Veronica Paracchini Lanetta Paul Gesina & Matt Pedersen Amy Pellegrin Thomas & Jane Pence Anne Frances Penfound Karen Perzanowski Marilyn & Gaynor Petrequin Laury Phelps Carla & Jack Pickett Sara Pickett Charles & Ruth Poindexter Heidi Pozzo J. Scott Pritchard Karen Prohaska Brian & Carver Pugh, In Memory of Judy Parsons William Ramirez & Roberta Staff Jennifer Randolph Dick & Mary Raub, In Honor of Marianne Raub Denise & Andy Reed Betty & Jacob Reiss Hannah Reynders, In Honor of Nancy, Jim & Lauren Lindsay Reynolds Anne Rice Martha & David Richards Edward & Katherine Richman Nancy Richmond & Bill Hughes David Ritchie & LaJean Humphries Lynn Roberge Caitlin Roberts Dr. & Mrs. Hector M. Rodriguez Brian Rogers & Cassandra Scholte Rosemarie F. Rosenfeld Malini Rossington Susan & John Rowan Jennifer Rupert Katharine Sammons, In Honor of Luwayne Sammons David & Julie Sauer Rick & Sharon Schaefer Anne Schagen Daniel Schmidt Robert E. Schneider, PhD Aaron Scott Bill Scott & Kate Thompson Cynthia Shafer Patricia Sheldon Victoria & Colin Shepard Carol Sherbenou Donna & Sascha Siekmann Heather Simmonds Bridget & Jeff Sippel Gerald Skeels & Susan Albracht
Kiviera Skiles-Petitjean & Arnaud Petitjean Margaret Smith David, Emily and Jonah Sokoloff Marcus & April Song Patricia A. Southard Dean Speer & Francis Timlin Bob Speltz & Dwight Adkins Donald C. Springer, In Honor of Jean King Randy Squires Annette Steiner Ginger & Phil Stevens Joan Stevens-Schwenger Corinne & Lindsay Stewart Julie Stickney Leslie & Elizabeth Stoessl Jacqueline Straughan Julie Sullivan Gary Taliaferro Susan & Bahram Tavakolian Sabrina Teays Jan Elizabeth Thorpe Cynthia Tomlinson Ashley & Dwayne Trimble Lyle M. Tucker Linda Twichell John & Cindy Ulrich Kysa & Kevin Vassily Jon Vorderstrasse Sherrie & Larry Wade Patricia & James Walker Christine Warden William Warren Douglas Watson Tracy Watson & Jonas Hjertberg Maureen & Frederick G. Wearn Duane & Cynthia Weaver The Webert Family Ruth Welch Judith Werner Diane Wernli Erleen Whitney Anthony & Marianne Wilcox Holly & Kenneth Williams Jennifer Willis Julie Wilson Mary-Ann & Jim Wilson Mary Ann Wish Constance Wood Chalayane Woodke Linda Gail Woolf Fran & Mike Woolsey Laura Wozniak & Stuart Oken Gary P. Yencich Haijing Yu Janet & Alan Zell Irene Zenev Jean Zondervan & Terrence Proctor
COMMUNITY CORPS DE BALLET Recognizing gifts received through January 15, 2018.
GIFTS OF $100,000 & UP
The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust The Regional Arts & Culture Council, including support from the City of Portland, Multnomah County and the Arts Education and Access Fund
GIFTS OF $50,000–$99,999
The Collins Foundation The Hearst Foundations Meyer Memorial Trust The Shubert Foundation West Portland Physical Therapy Clinic*
GIFTS OF $25,000–$49,999
Cascadia Foundation Clark Foundation Coit Family Foundation ESCO Foundation Hedinger Family Foundation Henry Lea Hillman, Jr. Foundation Oregon Arts Commission, this activity is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust Russell Development /200 Market Street* Scan Design Foundation by Inger & Jens Bruun The Swigert Warren Foundation
GIFTS OF $10,000–$24,999
Artslandia* The Boeing Company Dorothea M. Lensch Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation
Fred W. Fields Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Jackson Foundation Jerome Robbins Foundation Mentor Graphics Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Northwest Natural Gas Oregon Cultural Trust PGE Foundation Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt* The Standard Starseed Foundation U.S. Bank Foundation Wells Fargo Work for Art, including contributions from more than 75 companies and 2,000 employees
GIFTS OF $5,000–$9,999
Accenture American Medical Concept AT&T Auditorium Garage* The Autzen Foundation Mona Cordell, Artist* Crystal Lilies* First Republic Bank Freed of London Hampton Family Foundation of The Oregon Community Foundation Juan Young Trust Jonathan Lohnes, LMT* Morel Ink PosterGarden* Solena Cellars* Wells Fargo Foundation
GIFTS OF $2,000–$4,999
Agger Chiropractic & Nutrition Clinic* Alaska Airlines* The Benson Hotel* Bridgetown Chiropractic & Wellness Portland Clinic* Buckley Law P.C. Abby Drinkard, LAc* Elemental Technologies* Elephants Delicatessen* English Physical Therapy* Nicolo Fonte, Choreographer*
GamePlan Gentle Care Chiropractic* Goldman Sachs & Co. Grand Avenue Floral* Hotel Modera* Ivey Jacobson & Co. LLC* Leupold & Stevens Foundation Mark Spencer Hotel* Nel Centro* New Heights Physical Therapy Plus* Oregon Chorale* Pabst Brewing Company Peddecord Photo* Portland Art Museum* Portland’5 Centers for the Arts Pro Photo Supply* Robert F. Ratzow, DC* Residence Inn Portland Downtown/Riverplace* Solaris Bodyworks, Inc.* ThomCorp Town Car* Twelve Wine* Yvonne Vleer, Kinesiologist, LMT* Western Partitions Wintz Family Foundation
GIFTS OF $1,000–$1,999
Dr. Seth Alley* Arnerich Massena Cushman & Wakefield Dossier Explore Washington Park* Garden Vineyards* Longbottom Coffee & Tea* Maitri Therapeutic Massage* New Deal Distillery* NW Wine Company* Rolf PDX* Veuve Clicquot* Vista Capital Partners
GIFTS UNDER $1,000
Ashland Springs Hotel* Emily Bartha, LAc* Nadia Chopra, Physical Therapist* Clipper Magazine* Elmer’s Restaurants Exploratorium* First Congregational United Church of Christ* GRP Engineering, Inc. The Holzman Foundation Inland Electric, Inc. Intel Charitable Match Trust King Charitable Foundation
ALLEGRO SOCIETY Larson Oregon LLC Monique’s Boutique Montavilla Brew Works* Gretchen Rose Newmark, MA, RD* The Nielson Group, LLC OHSU March Wellness & Fitness Center* OnPoint Community Credit Union Opsis Architecture LLP The Oregon Historical Society* Oregon Shakespeare Festival* Oregon Symphony* Portland Center Stage* Portland Opera* Slope & Stone Engineering Smith Teamaker* Studio Blue* Tavern on Kruse* Volunteers of America Oregon Watson Creative
MATCHING GIFT CORPORATIONS
AmazonSmile Foundation The Boeing Company Cambia Health Foundation Chevron Matching Employee Funds Fuerst Group, Inc. Give With Liberty Google, Inc. Intel Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors Kroger Rewards Mentor Graphics Foundation NIKE, Inc. Northwest Natural Gas Pacific Power Foundation PGE Company The Standard TE Connectivity Employee Charitable Match Program UBS Community Affairs & Corporate Responsibility Umpqua Bank U.S. Bank Foundation Verizon Employee Engagement *Donation in-kind
Robert Aughenbaugh Brent Barton & Liz Fuller Pamela Jane Benso Pat Berg Dan Bergsvik & Don Hastler Linda Besant & Martha Goetsch Holly Brooks
David & Elaine Brown Debi Coleman Nathan Conn William Dolan & Suzanne Bromschwig Karen & Bill Early Peter W. Edgerton Marilyn & Hans Grunbaum Charles L. Jones Belinda & Frederick Kinyon Diane Knudsen
WEST PORTLAND PHYSICAL THERAPY Katherine B. McCoy, PT, MTC Amy Werner, PT, DPT Christine Krueger, PT Patti Koehler, PT, WCS Kelsie Ganshert-McCaffrey, PT, DPT Eryn Kirschbaum, PT, DPT, PRPC Amanda Land, PT, DPT, PRPC Laura Luitje, PT, DPT, LMT Anne Patron, PT, DPT, MEd Sarah Terpin, PT, DPT Lorelei Martin, PTA Eva Park, PTA Shalynn Robinette, PTA, CES
AGGER CHIROPRACTIC & NUTRITION CLINIC Simon J. Agger, DC
EMILY BOTTJEN, PTA BRIDGETOWN CHIROPRACTIC & WELLNESS Jacob May, DC Melody Johnson, LMT
NADIA CHOPRA, PT, DPT, OCS, COMT MEREDITH ENGLISH, MS PT GENTLE CARE CHIROPRACTIC Amanda Tipton, DC
LEGACY HEALTH Katharine Zeller, MD
JONATHAN LOHNES, LMT NEW HEIGHTS PHYSICAL THERAPY PLUS Liz Ruegg, PT, DPT
GRETCHEN ROSE NEWMARK, MA, RDN OHSU MARCH WELLNESS & FITNESS CENTER PACIFIC NORTHWEST ACUPUNCTURE & HERBAL CLINIC Abby Drinkard, MAcOM, LAc
POHALA CLINIC
Julie E. Foster, FNP
PURSUIT SPORTS MEDICINE Paul W. Johnson, DO
ROBERT F. RATZOW, DC SOLARIS BODYWORKS, INC. Neissan Saber, LMT
STUDIO BLUE PILATES
Dan Walton, Owner, Senior Pilates Instructor
SYLVAN CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC & WELLNESS CENTER
RÉVÉRENCE CIRCLE In recognition of those who have included OBT in their estate plan.
Clinics & healthcare professionals who preserve the health & well-being of Oregon Ballet Theatre’s dancers.
Seth Alley, DC, CCSP, CKTP
Perry Lee Dr. Dolores Leon & Dr. Fernando Leon Derek & Lydia Lipman Martha J. Logan Marna McComb Kirsten & Richard Meneghello Brad & Nancy Miller Sharon & Adam Mirarchi Carol N. Morgan Virginia Nelson Suzann & Dennis Ott
Rev. Dr. Rodney & Sandi Page Jane S. Partridge Marilyn L. Rudin, MD & Richard S. Testut, Jr. Anne Stevenson Carol Streeter & Harold Goldstein David Wardell, In Memoriam David Wedge, In Memoriam
THERAPEUTIC ASSOCIATES NORTH PORTLAND PHYSICAL THERAPY (PACE) Kurt Marion, LMT David McHenry, PT, DPT, COMT Matthew Walsh, Bsc, PT Ian Wilkinson, Lac
TURNING POINTE ACUPUNCTURE Emily Bartha, LAc
YVONNE VLEER, KINESIOLOGIST, LMT
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LOWER SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE FRIDAY, JANUARY 19 9:00 am
MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10 6:30 pm
Unlock the World! Research shows that bilingualism equals academic success, and the earlier, the better. Apply today to Preschool, Prekindergarten, and Kindergarten, ages 21/2-5, to enroll your child in the longestestablished and best-known language immersion school in Portland. At FAIS, we foster multi-language Artslandia: Half (7.0625 x 4.75) ability, develop global citizens, and shape active learners through the IB framework of academic excellence. Runs: March–April Artist: Joshua Bell
8500 NW Johnson St., Portland, OR 97229 • admissions@faispdx.org • 503.292.7776 • www.faispdx.org Artslandia mag half page December 2017-January.indd 1
12/1/2017 2:31:50 PM
Unlock the World! Research shows that bilingualism equals academic success, and the earlier, the better. Apply today to Preschool, Prekindergarten, and Kindergarten, ages 21/2-5, to enroll your child in the longestestablished and best-known language immersion school in Portland. At FAIS, we foster multi-language ability, develop global citizens, and shape active learners through the IB framework of academic excellence.
JOSHUA BELL MAY 12, 13 & 14, 2018
Carlos Kalmar, conductor • Joshua Bell, violin * Measha Brueggergosman, soprano Hindemith: News of the Day Overture • Bernstein: Serenade * Gabriel Kahane: Commission (World premiere)
The world’s most famous violinist returns to the Oregon Symphony to perform Bernstein’s Serenade, often described as a “love piece” by the composer. Brooklynite singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane (son of classical pianist Jeffrey Kahane) makes his Oregon Symphony debut with the world premiere of his composition.
Tickets start at $24
orsymphony.org | 503-228-1353 arlene schnitzer concert hall
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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE
Here’s to a
Bright & Shiny New Year....
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WHAT TO SEE IN ARTSLANDIA ARTS CALENDAR
BRAHMS V. RADIOHEAD
OREGON SYMPHONY Radiohead’s landmark OK Computer goes even deeper when eight tracks—including Paranoid Android, Karma Police, No Surprises, and Let Down—are seamlessly interwoven with Brahms’ lush Symphony No. 1. Vocalists and arranger/ conductor Steve Hackman join the Oregon Symphony in this not-to-be-missed exploration of what happens when two masterpieces from two different centuries are fused. Note that Radiohead does not perform. JANUARY 4; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
DINOSAURS!
OREGON SYMPHONY Does anything stir the imaginations of young minds like dinosaurs? Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus, and plenty of other “sauruses” join the Velociraptor when the music from Jurassic Park perches the audience on the edge of their seats. This Kids Series Concert features the Pacific Youth Choir and Dance West. Conducted by Norman Huynh. JANUARY 7; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
ASTORIA: PART ONE
PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY Adapted by Chris Coleman from the bestselling book by Peter Stark, this harrowing dual journey—one over land, one by sea—will be told with an exceptional cast of 16 actors. At a time when the edge of American settlement barely reached beyond the Appalachian Mountains, two visionaries—President Thomas Jefferson and millionaire John Jacob Astor—foresaw that one day the Pacific would dominate world trade as much as the Atlantic did in their day. Just two years after the Lewis and Clark Expedition concluded in 1806, Jefferson and Astor turned their sights westward once again. Thus began one of history’s dramatic but largely forgotten turning points in the conquest of the North American continent. These reprise performances of Astoria: Part One will be offered as a special engagement in January, and each of the February performances of Part One will be paired with a performance of Astoria: Part Two, providing the opportunity to experience the entire adventure in one day. Recommended for ages 14 and up. JANUARY 13–FEBRUARY 17; PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY, U.S. BANK MAIN STAGE
MUSIC
ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE
THEATER
STRAVINSKY’S RITE OF SPRING
OREGON SYMPHONY Stravinsky’s 1913 ballet score, still as fresh, wild, and primal today as it was 100 years ago when it caused a riot at its Paris premiere, is now considered one of the most influential works of the last century, performed with a spectacular video presentation. Conducted by Carlos Kalmar. JANUARY 13–15; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
ASTORIA: PART TWO
PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY A world premiere! Continuing the ambitious adventure of Part One, which told the stories of the Astor expeditions by land and sea to establish trade routes to the Pacific Northwest, Part Two is about the extraordinary endeavors that lead to the establishment of Astoria, the first permanent United States settlement on the West Coast. Each of the February performances of Part One will be paired with a performance of Astoria: Part Two, providing the opportunity to experience the entire adventure in one day. Recommended for ages 14 and up. JANUARY 20–FEBRUARY 18; PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY, U.S. BANK MAIN STAGE
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL IN CONCERT
OREGON SYMPHONY Come along for a swashbuckling adventure with Captain Jack Sparrow, his motley crew, and the entire Oregon Symphony orchestra! Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley, the action-packed Curse of the Black Pearl sets mystery, intrigue, swords, and treasure to a live performance of Klaus Badelt’s thrilling musical score based on themes of Hans Zimmer. Conducted by Norman Huynh. JANUARY 20 & 21; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
VSO CHAMBER CONCERT SERIES: BACK TO THE MOVIES!
VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The VSO Goes Back To The Movies! with live musical accompaniment. Now in its seventh season, the series was co-created by Dr. Michael C. Liu, the VSO pianist and board member, and Dr. Igor Shakhman, VSO Executive Director and Principal Clarinet, to present great musicians playing in a very intimate setting. The content of each concert is unique, and most of the participating musicians are members of The Vancouver Symphony. JANUARY 21; KIGGINS THEATRE, 1011 MAIN ST., VANCOUVER
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DANCE
CULTURE
ONE NIGHT ONLY
FAMILY SHOW
BRAHMS’ FIRST SYMPHONY
OREGON SYMPHONY “The piece that took on history and won,” according to The Guardian, Brahms’ first symphony took almost 20 years to write. Well worth the wait, it brilliantly demonstrates Brahms’ amazing melodic and orchestral prowess. Conducted by David Danzmayr. JANUARY 27–29; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
JOURNEYS
VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Maestro Salvador Brotons returns to the Skyview stage to lead The VSO in a concert featuring two beloved symphonies, each representing a “spiritual and emotional” journey for the composer. The concert begins with Joseph Haydn’s famous Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor, commonly known as his “Farewell” symphony. Following the intermission, the journey continues to America at the turn of the 20th century, with Antonín Dvo ák’s iconic Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”). JANUARY 27–28; SKYVIEW CONCERT HALL, 1300 NW 139TH ST., VANCOUVER
KODACHROME
PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY A world premiere from the 2015 JAW Festival! Welcome to Colchester, a small town where everybody knows each other and the pace of life allows the pursuit of love to take up as much space as it needs. Your tour guide is Suzanne, the town photographer, who lets us peek into her neighbors’ lives to catch glimpses of romance in all its stages of development. A play about love, nostalgia, the seasons, and how we learn to say goodbye. FEBRUARY 3–MARCH 18; PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE AMORY, ELLYN BYE STUDIO
TCHAIKOVSKY’S PATHETIQUE
OREGON SYMPHONY “The best thing I ever composed or shall compose,” declared Tchaikovsky of his final symphony. Its nickname translates most accurately as “passionate,” and passion is what you’ll feel throughout this gorgeously melodic, emotional piece. Conducted by Carlos Kalmar. FEBRUARY 10–12; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
HEDDA
JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2018 THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS
NW DANCE PROJECT Sarah Slipper’s distinctly dark, theatrical, and vivid choreography takes on Henrik Ibsen’s incomparable 19th century play, Hedda Gabler, a classic of realism and world drama, with an original score by Owen Belton and a striking set by Luis Crespo. For the first time since his U.S. choreographic debut with NW Dance Project in 2007, world-renowned choreographer Cayetano Soto, Ballet BC Resident Choreographer, makes his way back to unveil a gripping new dance work. MARCH 15–17; NEWMARK THEATRE
OREGON SYMPHONY Just two weeks before the 2018 Oscars, celebrate the movie composer with the greatest number of statues to his name and some of the greatest music of our time. Hear favorites like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Schindler’s List, and many more in this full-scale symphonic tribute. Note that John Williams does not perform. Conducted by Jeff Tyzik. FEBRUARY 17 & 18; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
THE THREE B’S: BRAHMS, BROTONS & BEETHOVEN
VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The VSO brings their own version of the Three Bs of classical music—traditionally Brahms, Bach, and Beethoven—with Salvador Brotons stepping in for Bach. Brahms was the great master of symphonic and sonata styles in the the Romantic period. Beethoven was a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras. Brotons, now in his 27th season as Music Director and Conductor of The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, is a prolific and award-winning composer in his own right, perfectly poised to bring two of the genre’s masters to life. FEBRUARY 24 & 25; SKYVIEW CONCERT HALL, 1300 NW 139TH ST., VANCOUVER
SIBELIUS’ FIFTH SYMPHONY
OREGON SYMPHONY Widely considered Sibelius’ finest symphony, this stunning music showcases the composer’s affinity for nature, particularly the famous horn theme inspired by a flock of flying swans. Conducted by Norman Huynh. FEBRUARY 24–26; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
ALICE (IN WONDERLAND)
Photo by Michael Slobodian.
OREGON BALLET THEATRE Follow an exuberant young girl as she plunges down a rabbit hole into an extraordinary, imaginative world. OBT is thrilled to bring you the West Coast premiere of a new full-length ballet suitable for families: Alice (in wonderland). Created in 2012 by Septime Webre with an original score by American composer and violinist Mathew Pierce, the mad adventure is filled to the brim with the delightful characters found in Lewis Carol’s classics Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, uniquely brought to life with surreal sets, zany costumes, puppetry, and powerfully expressive dance. Don’t be late! FEBRUARY 24–MARCH 4; KELLER AUDITORIUM
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2018
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®
AT TH E P E R FO R M A N C E
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2018
FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE
PUBLISHER + FOUNDER Misty Tompoles EDITOR-AT-LARGE Barry Johnson COPY EDITOR Kristen Seidman DESIGNERS Lisa Johnston-Smith Dan Le Jackie Tran MEDIA DIRECTOR Chris Porras SALES DIRECTOR Lindsey Ferguson PUBLISHING COORDINATOR Bella Showerman CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Benjamin Fainstein Hannah Krafcik PHOTOGRAPHER Christine Dong PODCAST HOST Susannah Mars
Artslandia at the Performance is published by Rampant Creative, Inc. ©2018 Rampant Creative, Inc. All rights reserved. This magazine or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher. Rampant Creative, Inc. /Artslandia Magazine 6637 SE Milwaukie Ave. #207 | Portland, OR 97202
ARTSLANDIA.COM 34
I
n Peter Paul Rubens’ lively painting of the myth of Apollo and Daphne, Apollo has nearly caught the mythically beautiful daughter of the river god. Both arms stretch for Daphne’s fleeing figure, and his right hand must already sense the aura of the flesh it is about to touch. She bends back to see how close he is, and we glimpse her left profile. All of the energy of the painting is in that central, close encounter of desire, Apollo’s desire, and Daphne’s desperate flight. Then the viewer’s eye travels to the upper right corner of the painting. The fingers of Daphne’s hands have begun to turn into laurel branches.
After Daphne calls out to the river god for help, Ovid continues the story in his Metamorphoses: ...vix prece finita torpor gravis occupat artus, mollia cinguntur tenui praecordia libro, in frondem crines, in ramos bracchia crescunt, pes modo tam velox pigris radicibus haeret, ora cacumen habet: remanet nitor unus in illa. To paraphrase: Daphne’s limbs become numb and turn to branches; her hair begins to leaf; bark replaces her skin; those flying feet become roots. But somehow, her presence still shines through. Apollo is thwarted but at a desperate cost. Daphne, who has pledged to live a chaste life like the goddess Diana, keeps her promise. But she can’t run the fields and bathe in the rivers of her father. The myth of Daphne and Apollo has been on my mind lately. It’s far from the only example of the Olympian gods’ assault on women, by force or trickery. But somehow, as the stories about sexual harassment and assault against women by modern day/ would-be Apollos spread to the arts, I’ve focused on it more.
“Understand that fairness is not a consideration when casting ballets,” she writes. “Careers are made according to the immediate desires of the Ballet Master or choreographer.” And yes, the stories are spreading. As I type this, Peter Martins, the longtime Artistic Director of the New York City Ballet, is in the spotlight. (So is the Metropolitan Opera’s James Levine, who is accused of sexual abuse by four men.) According to a New York Times report, the company received an anonymous letter accusing Martins of unspecified instances of sexual harassment—both at the company and the company’s school, which Martins runs. The Times did a little sleuthing of its own and found a source who said that Martins had admitted to having romantic relationships with dancers in the company, though that has been against company policy only since 2010. A key paragraph from the Times story: “In recent interviews, two former City Ballet dancers and three former students at the school described a culture in which Mr. Martins was known for sleeping with dancers, some of whom received better roles because of their personal relationships with him.” And the Times found a story that former NYCB dancer Wilhelmina Frankfurt had written for Psychology Tomorrow, which claimed that Martins was a Casanova like Balanchine had been, but “a basher,” not a charmer. In the same story, she describes
being groped by Balanchine as he lay in a hospital bed. He would die the next spring. That account is hard to read. Balanchine has bottles of liquor in the cabinet next to his hospital bed (smuggled in by model Christie Brinkley, no less). He and Frankfurt start drinking, and he starts fiddling with her blouse. He’s also given her the small role she’s asked for, and he was dying. “‘Just let me investigate,’ he says, starting to unbutton it. I’m half disgusted, half admiring his tenacity. Here he is at the end, still compelled to trace the gentle curves he has devoted his life to glorifying.” I imagine Frankfurt’s skin turning to bark beneath his fingers, just like Daphne’s as Apollo paws at her, and even as Daphne becomes a tree, he feels for her beating heart beneath the bark, at least in Ovid’s telling of the story. Why does Frankfurt allow it to go on—and how does it end? “There is nothing to be gained,” Frankfurt writes, “No lead role to win. No insider’s circle to reign pre-eminent in for a minute. Give in. Like I had to my mother’s boyfriend when I was 13. His hands are there…but fathers don’t do this. And because I love this father so much and because I hate him for not loving me enough to not do this, I push him away and step off the bed.”
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It’s harrowing...even though Frankfurt had some control in the situation. The price is the metamorphosis from a free, independent human being into a laurel tree, if just for a moment. The desperate flight. The internal debate and then explanation and then recrimination. Meanwhile, Apollo runs free, even if, as in Balanchine’s case, that charming canter soon ends in death. One last thing from Frankfurt’s account: She explains the power that artistic directors, movie directors, bosses of all types have over the women who find themselves in their employ. “Understand that fairness is not a consideration when casting ballets,” she writes. “Careers are made according to the immediate desires of the Ballet Master or choreographer.” In other words, there are many women who can do the same job and few jobs to be had. And so many of those jobs are controlled by men. Until that starts to change—and it must—Rubens’ depiction of Apollo and Daphne will continue to be today’s news. .
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JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2018
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A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF ASTORIA
By Benjamin Fainstein Production Dramaturg
Left to Right: Ben Rosenblatt, Leif Norby, Ben Newman, and F. Tyler Burnet. Photo by Kate Szrom.
I
n Astoria, the real people of many nationalities who populated North America in the early 1800s become characters. So does the landscape itself, pitting both geographical and geological obstacles against John Jacob Astor’s drive to usurp control of the lucrative fur trade. Astoria is an overflowing treasure chest of history; this article offers a peek into the context of the world of the play and snapshot introductions to some of its fascinating inhabitants.
COLONIAL CARTOGRAPHY
In 1762, France had ceded the massive Louisiana Territory to Spain; in 1800, Napoleon had strong-armed the Spanish into relinquishing control of the land back to France. In 1803, Jefferson was able to leverage Napoleon’s need to fund his military ventures against his inability to govern the Louisiana Territory from afar. Jefferson’s executive decision to purchase Louisiana for $15,000,000 planted the seed for U.S. expansion and economic ascendancy. Lewis and Clark immediately set out on their trek to the Pacific, and their journey confirmed for Jefferson and Astor that a transcontinental trade route across the wild Oregon Country, to which multiple nations laid loose claims, would play a crucial role in advancing the United States as a competitive world power.
Oregon didn’t look like Oregon in 1810. The territorial borders of North America changed hands throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, as the Spanish, British, and French empires fought for dominance and staked claims despite the established presence of Indigenous
Throughout the 19th century, the homelands and territories of many Native American nations and tribal communities were increasingly encroached upon. Between 1776 and 1887, 1.5 billion acres were seized from the continent’s Indigenous peoples. Natives
BEAVERS & THE FUR TRADE The global fur trade dates back to the ancient world. Evidence of wool felting can be found in Homer’s Iliad, and felted beaver appears in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Beaver hats were so highly sought after that, by the year 1600, the European beaver verged on extinction due to aggressive hunting. Traders and trappers from France and England set their eyes on the North American species of beaver, which lived in abundance throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond. By the time Astor launched his venture in 1810, the market for beaver-derived goods promised enormous profit margins.
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societies. The region was even home to a small but well-heeled Russian contingent, made up of wealthy nobles and their bands of fur trappers. By 1800, the young United States was geographically caught in the tumultuous crossfire of the major European powers. After the U.S. began receiving threats and economic sanctions from abroad, President Thomas Jefferson looked for ways to protect American citizens while developing the size and strength of the nation.
ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE
and colonists had formed a network of delicate relationships during the two centuries before the Astorian expedition. Some had been mutually beneficial alliances; others had ended in distrust and catastrophic violence. Euro-Americans, among them Astor’s Overland Party, trekked through the domains of many of these communities on their way, including those of the Arapaho, Arikara, Bannock, Blackfeet, Cayuse, Crow, Dakota Sioux, Hidatsa, Iowa, Lakota, Mandan, Nez Perce, Otoe, Shoshone, Umatilla, and Ute nations. As American citizens moved west in increasing numbers, the diverse Native populations, already decimated by foreign disease, were pushed into smaller and smaller corners of the continent. TREACHEROUS WATERS To replenish its regiments, the British Navy was granted the power to “impress” men into service. When applied to British citizens, impressment was essentially a mandatory military draft. But the English also pressed foreigners at sea, an act of political piracy that resulted in the kidnapping of thousands of men who were forced to fight on behalf of their captors. In 1807, British impressment of American citizens near Chesapeake Bay was escalating tensions to war, so President Jefferson signed the Embargo Act to prohibit American
Continued on page 39
KEY DATES
RELATED TO THE ASTOR EXPEDITION Compiled by Benjamin Fainstein, Production Dramaturg
1784
John Jacob Astor immigrates to New York from Germany.
1792
American Captain Robert Gray’s merchant ship, the Columbia Rediviva, successfully lands near modern-day Astoria, Oregon.
1803
The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France.
1809–1810
After receiving Jefferson’s blessing, Astor founds the Pacific Fur Company and launches expeditions by land and sea to establish a trade emporium at the mouth of the Columbia River.
1812
The United States enters war with Great Britain; members of the Overland Party reach Fort Astoria.
1815
1804–1806
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, at President Thomas Jefferson’s behest, lead the Corps of Discovery to the Pacific Ocean.
1811
Astor’s ship, the Tonquin, navigates the Columbia River Bar; Fort Astoria is erected.
1812–1813
In an attempt to return east, Astorian fur trader Robert Stuart’s party finds a “shortcut” through the Rocky Mountains that would later become a crucial stretch of the Oregon Trail.
The Treaty of Ghent officially ends the War of 1812; during this “Era of Good Feelings,” the British and Americans agree to share claim to the Oregon Country.
1836
1843
The Oregon Trail offers Americans the promise of a fresh start, upward socioeconomic mobility, and plenty of land and personal liberties. By the 1860s, well over half a million people had made the crossing from the Midwest and eastern United States. Their sheer numbers overshadow British presence in the region and effectively negate the Crown’s claim to the Oregon Country.
John Jacob Astor commissions the publication of Washington Irving’s Astoria. The book—an account of the venture cobbled together from reports provided by the expedition’s journalists and surviving members, with more than a little creative license—becomes a best-selling seminal text exalting the spirit of American expansion westward.
1848
John Jacob Astor dies; the Oregon Territory is officially claimed by the United States; the first treaties are established with the Indigenous peoples of Western Oregon.
1859
Oregon becomes the 33rd state admitted to the Union. 37
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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE
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Continued from page 36 trade with other nations in the hope of gaining respect by cutting off foreign access to American resources. Jefferson’s policy had the opposite effect, however: The United States’ economy tanked as England and France took their business elsewhere. The Embargo Act, which did little to mitigate British impressment, so weakened the American market that it was repealed in 1809, leaving Astor with a perfect opportunity to launch his expedition while the country clamored for new avenues to prosperity. Beyond the threat of piracy, the crew aboard Astor’s Tonquin faced a harsh life at sea, including diminishing food and water supplies, monstrous storms, cabin fever, and the mounting conflicts of leadership that dogged the party all the way to the Oregon coast. THE VIBRANT VOYAGEUR The Quebécois voyageurs who populate Astoria were masterful paddlers of swift birch canoes. The voyageurs spread from Montréal to Minnesota, and they worked tirelessly to shuttle goods from Europe to the North American hinterland and retrieve furs to send back across the Atlantic. They were stocky, jovial fellows, who sang in polyphonic harmony throughout their 12- to 18-hour workday spent paddling the river at a rate of a stroke per second. At night, they smoked pipes, drank, danced, told bawdy jokes, and argued over who had acquired the most fashionable feathers to adorn his cap. With between eight and 14 men in canoes that varied from 20 to 40 feet in length, the voyageurs
Astoria: Part One, 2017: The Overland Party (Left to Right: Ben Newman, Leif Norby, Gavin Hoffman, Shawn Fagan, and Jeremy Aggers). Photo by Jennie Baker.
saw themselves as bands of brothers, robust in spirit, and their lifestyle was devoted to the fraternity they relied upon to survive. TRAPPERS & MOUNTAIN MEN The original “mountain men” of American lore date back to the years surrounding the Louisiana Purchase. The Overland Astorians encountered John Colter and Edward Robinson on their journey; these men had carved out a death-defying existence trapping fur in the Rockies, surviving in isolation with frequent assistance from Native communities like the Arikara and Shoshone. Colter was the first known white man to stumble across what is now Yellowstone National Park. The Kentuckian trapper Robinson, with his partners John Hoback and Jacob Reznor, had amassed a
knowledge of the Bighorn Mountains that significantly aided the next generation of explorers. The mountain man’s diet consisted almost entirely of meat, mostly bison, of which he would consume around 10 pounds per day without salt or seasoning. His daily life lacked any semblance of modern comfort: He was exposed to the elements, vigilant against possible threats at every turn, and found himself in extreme isolation more frequently than not. But the mountain men chose this life. They knew there were fortunes to be made from beaver fur, and they embraced the allure of surviving by their wits amid the majestic scenery of North America. Continued on page 41
Left: An illustration of the trading post in Astoria as it was in 1813. Top Right: Voyageurs. Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1989-401-1. Bottom Right: The Tonquin on the Columbia River, 1811. JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2018
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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE
Continued from page 39 MARIE DORION & SARAH ASTOR Social structures in 1810 restricted women’s rights and regulated their behaviors based on gendered norms of propriety. As a working class, biracial woman, Marie Dorion was held at arm’s length by multiple communities. She lived far from her childhood home and was bound to travel wherever her violent but devoted first husband, the translator Pierre Dorion, could find work. After his death, she used her wilderness expertise to survive until she was finally able to carve out a more prosperous life for herself.
OREGON DIDN’T LOOK LIKE OREGON IN 1810. THE TERRITORIAL BORDERS OF NORTH AMERICA CHANGED HANDS THROUGHOUT THE 18 TH AND 19 TH CENTURIES, AS THE SPANISH, BRITISH, AND FRENCH EMPIRES FOUGHT FOR DOMINANCE AND STAKED CLAIMS DESPITE THE ESTABLISHED PRESENCE OF INDIGENOUS SOCIETIES.
Sarah Astor, by contrast, forged business partnerships with her husband at every turn. It was her dowry that allowed the young, poor John Jacob to get his instrument business off the ground, and it was due to Sarah’s foresight that the couple purchased huge plots of Manhattan real estate. She even negotiated a separate consultant salary for herself once her husband became dependent on her business acumen. Sarah Astor and Marie Dorion, whose backgrounds and circumstances could scarcely differ more, stand as examples of women who, out of necessity or through personal ingenuity, challenged restrictive social structures to gain agency and some control over their circumstances. CHINOOK COUNTRY Soon after crossing the Columbia Bar, Astor’s crew encountered Native American inhabitants, many of whom were eager to establish civil relations and trading partnerships. Contact between the Indigenous population in the region and Euro-American explorers had been established decades earlier. Captain Robert Gray’s successful docking at the river’s mouth in 1792—the docking which led him to name the river after his ship, the Columbia Rediviva—occurred close to a village called “Chinoak.” Gray, like Lewis and Clark and other white adventurers before them, mistakenly applied the name Chinook to all of the Native peoples living in the surrounding area. However, as the early 20th century Chinook leader Emma Luscier noted: “‘Chinook’ used to be just one place.” The region was home to dozens of autonomous yet interconnected societies, including those of the Chehalis, Chinook, Clackamas, Clatsop, Coos, Cowlitz, Kalapuya, Kathlamet, Klamath, Molalla, Multnomah, Shahala, Skilloot, Quinault, Tillamook, Walla Walla, and Wasco. A pidgin version of the Chinook villagers’ language came to be known as Chinuk Wawa and allowed for intertribal communications. The language was particularly important
Astoria: Part One, 2017: The Sea Party (Left to Right: Chris Murray, Gavin Hoffman, Christopher Salazar, Ben Rosenblatt, Nick Ferrucci, and Christopher Hirsh). Photo by Jennie Baker.
for maintaining the flourishing system of trade into which Astor’s party stumbled and subsequently relied upon to survive. The people nearest to the eventual location of Fort Astoria, who became the Astorians’ primary contacts, were the residents of Chinoak. Contrary to the Euro-American assumption that every tribe featured a “chief,” Chinook social structure did not necessarily dictate a sole leader; the community was grouped into a series of houses, each of which had a male head. Within each house, which ranged in length from 25 to 360 feet, at least two to five multigenerational families dwelled together, along with any slaves the families owned. Each house established its own internal hierarchy and distribution of labor, and the leaders of the most prosperous houses shared authority over the community. It is largely due to the guidance of Concomly, one of the leading Chinook headsmen in 1810, that the Astorian venture successfully navigated its early days amid mixed reception from local Native communities.
Following the War of 1812, leaders like Concomly and Coboway, of the Clatsop people, were excised from the trading deals white men were making with each other in the region. A few decades after the founding of Fort Astoria, they had lost control of their territory and economy. While the Chinookan peoples continued to live in pockets of their ancestral lands during American expansion, their populations dwindled throughout the 19th century. Today, many groups from the region belong to confederated tribal organizations and have been individually recognized by the U.S. government. However, the Chinook Nation, specifically, has yet to receive federal recognition. .
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2018
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Wisdom of the Elders co-founder, Rose High Bear, poses on the porch of her Salem home.
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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE
Wisdom Guides in Times of Change By Hannah Krafcik. Photos by Christine Dong.
Wisdom of the Elders educates the present about the Native American past.
“
We remember. We listen. We learn—from those who have walked before us, from those who can teach us now.” —Arlie Neskahi, Diné Nation
A
rlie Neskahi’s voice is carried with clarity across space and time in a digital recording, an archive of Wisdom of the Elders Radio: Series One. Listening to his message reminds us that remembering is the opposite of amnesia. It is an action, happening even at the deepest levels of human consciousness and across the natural world. Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. (Wisdom) is a Portland-based nonprofit with a mission to record, preserve, and share Native American oral history, cultural arts, language concepts, and ecological knowledge of indigenous elders, storytellers, and tribal leaders. The goal is to restore a traditional intergenerational model of oral learning that Native people have relied on for thousands of years. In this work, to remember is paramount.
Rose High Bear, co-founder of Wisdom, is eager to share. High Bear is Deg Hit’an Diné from Alaska. “The Deg Hit’an Diné people are one of 12 bands of Athabascan up in Alaska,” she explained, “Our language is still spoken to this day but by a declining number of elders.”
It is a time of significant transition, both in the history of the organization and in High Bear’s life. After 24 years as Executive Director, including 16 of which that she also served as Executive Producer—High Bear will be shifting into a newly configured role within the organization. “In my native language, there’s no word for retirement. Therefore, I plan never to retire,” High Bear said resolutely of her transition. “I think it sounds kind of boring, myself.”
the elders back in his reservation—Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in La Plant, South Dakota...were going home to the spirit world and taking their wisdom and knowledge with them,” said High Bear. Knowing that younger generations were without this guidance, “He felt it would be important to record as many elders as possible and just save their messages.” Nearly 25 years later, Wisdom has recorded about 450 elders, creating both audio and video content and broadcasting it through such programs as Wisdom of the Elders Radio and the Native Wisdom Documentary Film Series. Much of Wisdom’s recordings are still available on the organization’s website where they continue to have a broad reach. High Bear shared that approximately 2000 online visitors per month watch or listen to Wisdom’s programs, including students from Portland State University, Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, and the University of Washington. At the time of our interview, Wisdom was also ramping up for a round of Native Wisdom Documentary Film screenings and Community Consultations in Portland, Salem, and at sites near the tribes of Oregon that collaborated on the documentaries.
High Bear’s future includes work as a senior consultant and furthering one of Wisdom’s initiatives in her current home county of Marion. But for the time being, she’ll stay on as Executive Producer, guiding film and radio production. “We live in a world where there’s an enormous amount of need for us to do our part to help...and so, I’m just changing it up just a little,” she said.
“We don’t like to play a film, and then everybody goes ‘That was great, thank you.’ We want the public to ask questions about the issues we raise,” said High Bear. “We want them to ask questions about our cultural arts. We want them to express that they were not aware of the greatness of our cultural heritage because a lot of people have a narrow conception of Native Americans. And we are very colorful, dynamic, and highly intelligent people,” she continued, noting the diversity of the Native population in Oregon alone.
While High Bear has been at the helm of Wisdom for the majority of its existence (since its incorporation in 1993), her late husband Martin High Bear, Lakota medicine man, conceived of the organization and founded it with her help. “Martin had noticed that
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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE
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In addition to this ongoing work to record and preserve Native voices and knowledge, Wisdom has expanded its programming. “Perhaps, even more importantly, we have started developing a curriculum that’s tailored culturally to Native people.” These efforts, ongoing since 2005, are vital because, according to High Bear, “The learning style of Native people is much different from the rest of the world. Traditionally, we always learned at the feet of our grandparents and out in the world of nature. And to learn in a school, in a classroom, and out of books was not the traditional way.”
Rose High Bear holds sweetgrass, which is used in prayer, smudging, or purifying ceremonies and considered a sacred plant.
A mini mask made by well-known Pacific Northwest Native American artist Lillian Pitt.
High Bear emphasized that Native children were historically “fluent speakers of their languages, which were rich in history, science, and culture. This fluency gave them a strong foundation to grow.” However, she continued, “With the advent of boarding schools, our children were removed from their homes and villages and lost that precious connection to their families and elders. They were punished severely in boarding school if they spoke their language, which is why so many of our languages are endangered and in the process of being restored while fluent speakers are still with us.” These memories are active, transcending the archives of history. This dark legacy of Native education continues. Native American children and young adults are not set up for success in today’s public school settings. High Bear’s insight into the educational barriers for Native Americans is detailed in the 2011 report: The Native American Community in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile. According to the information collected via collaboration among the Native American community (which includes Wisdom), the Coalition for Communities of Color, and Portland State University, 53.4 percent of Native American students in Multnomah County did not graduate from high school. In the wake of this discovery, Wisdom has taken steps to present educational programs that support knowledge sharing across generations, collaborating with tribes, arts and cultural organizations, and educational institutions. Additionally, long-overdue changes are now afoot in the public education system. Oregon Senate Bill 13, which passed in 2017, directs the state’s Department of Education to develop curriculum relating to the Native American experience in Oregon and professional development
relating to this curriculum for teachers and administrators. Wisdom anticipates that this will pave the way for the curriculum to appear in classrooms statewide. Gerry RainingBird of the Nehiyaw Tribe (Cree), the organization’s incoming Executive Director, shared his vision for the organization’s future. “I just hope that I can come close to what Rose has meant to this organization, and I am hoping to do my best
to continue the good work,” he said. RainingBird also expressed excitement about the organization’s nuanced approach to intergenerational knowledge sharing, which he described as “delicately balanced between what is seen and unseen, and what has been learned academically and what has been learned traditionally.” For RainingBird, who
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When we’re talking about the prophecy, the fact that the world is turning to Native Americans in the future to learn how to take care of the earth,” said High Bear, “we need to let the world know that there’s a lot for them to learn about us, and we do want to share.
Continued from page 45 is also a powwow dancer, it’s vital to encourage Native youth to “speak up, stand up, and share with the world the importance of being Native.” One such initiative, designed to build cultural identity and resilience, is “Discovering Yidong Xinag (The Old Wisdom).” This program brings young people out into natural areas to learn about restoring threatened and endangered species, conservation efforts, traditional first foods, and more. The hope is that this work encourages young people to stay in school and envision career paths that honor their elder’s harmony with and protection of the natural world. Also, Wisdom makes a point to integrate cultural arts into their educational programs, using an approach called STEAM—science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. “We include traditional stories and music in the classroom and during out-of-school activities in local natural areas and public events,” shared High Bear. “It’s more engaging to Native people with arts included.” 46
ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE
“A COMPANY OF SLICK, SKILLED DANCERS” – THE NEW YORKER
For Wisdom, aspirations toward race reconciliation connect to a broad and longstanding vision for the health of the earth and humankind. “Our elders and our ancestors have a prophecy that stated that the day would come that the world will turn to Native Americans for their wisdom and knowledge on how to take care of the earth and also one another—and (how to) to relate with one another...To me, that’s something that we try to fulfill at Wisdom of the Elders.”
For a quarter of a century, Wisdom has responded to the severe systemic erasure, oppression, and mainstream cultural amnesia around Native experience by tirelessly amplifying the resilience of Native American peoples—and the keys to survival they may provide. The message is clear: Human survival is dependent on the health of the environment, and humanity’s fate is tied to the memory it maintains. “When we’re talking about the prophecy, the fact that the world is turning to Native Americans in the future to learn how to take care of the earth,” said High Bear, “we need to let the world know that there’s a lot for them to learn about us, and we do want to share.” .
Wisdom’s Native American-produced TV series, Discovering Our Story, airs live at 1 p.m. the first Sunday of every month on Comcast Channel 11 in Portland. It is rebroadcast on the Tuesday following the live studio broadcast, at 10 p.m. on Comcast Channel 22, and again on the Friday following the live studio broadcast, at 9 a.m. on Comcast Channel 23. The episode is then available on Wisdom’s website: wisdomoftheelders.org/dostv/.
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Wisdom’s collaboration with an array of partners on various programs is an integral expression of cultural values. “Our ancestors always emphasize respect and honor,” shared High Bear, gesturing to Wisdom’s desire for race reconciliation—part of the organizational vision. “We put a lot of emphasis on positive collaborative relationships with all of these partners. One thing about Wisdom and the vision of race reconciliation is that we try to never have a negative perspective. We try to never have a negative attitude toward our partners because we’re very grateful for them,” she said, noting the interchange of these partnerships.
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WHO IS MICHAEL GREER? Photos by Christine Dong.
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Artslandia recently caught up with MICHAEL GREER, the new Executive Director for Oregon Ballet Theatre, to discuss his fascinating path from ballet dancer to Mandarinspeaking international businessman, to his most recent stint as Executive Director for the Portland Ballet in Portland, Maine, where he led a major turnaround for the company.
What led you to become a dancer? What did you love about it? I was born slightly pigeon-toed, and the doctor recommended to my parents that I do ballet in order to help with turnout. After a period of not dancing and doing other sports, a young woman that I was fond of convinced me to try again. I believe it was that year that I also got to spend my summer in NYC at the Joff rey Ballet school. Being a young man, on my own in NYC for eight weeks was enough to seal the deal for me. Looking back, and in all seriousness, I think it was the combination of discipline and expression that I enjoyed. That, combined with the opportunity to travel and meet new people, was a lot of what made dance so appealing to me. You were the first Black dancer for Ballet West. What was that like for you? What are your thoughts on diversity in ballet today? That’s funny because I don’t think I realized that until after several years with the company. I joined Ballet West in my teens, and the simple thrill of working as a professional was pretty much all I had time to think about. Looking back, I see that there may have been some significance to being the fi rst, but I was fortunate to grow up watching and idolizing several dancers of color that I didn’t think too much of it. Not just in ballet, but the entire world is more diverse than ever before, and I think that is a good thing. What prompted you to retire from performing and transition to the study of economics? I remember seeing the difficulty that some—not all, but some—dancers had transitioning after a successful career. Ballet gives individuals an incredibly strong set of tools. Discipline, commitment, problem-solving; these are all areas that a dancer excels in just by working every day. But I remember doing a rough calculation of where I would be in life if I retired at a given age, and it just made sense to retire younger. I had a really great career for me. I was never a soloist or principal in rank, but I got to dance a lot of really great work with some wonderful people. Economics seemed like it offered a broad set of new skills that I could take into the business world. It is, essentially, the study of choices, and that has always appealed to me.
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Continued from page 51 What led you to pass on an opportunity to continue your study of economics at Stanford in favor of experience in international business? I think, deep down, I wanted an adventure. Either path would have been an adventure, but I am quite pleased with the one I chose.
Mar tina Chavez | Photo by Christopher Peddecord
When and how did you learn to speak Mandarin? I remember my fi rst or second night on my own in China and being very hungry. I wandered into a place looking for food that turned out to be a foot massage parlor. In my embarrassment, I decided it was probably time for me to get serious. I had several courses and tutors over the years, but I mostly learned on my own and by practicing on the street. It is a difficult language, but being immersed and forced to use it daily goes a long way.
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During the time you were away from the ballet world, was dance at all a part of your life? Not really. I remember taking an elective in ballet at university, but that was about it. I spent the majority of my time away from the ballet world overseas in Asia. There were not as many opportunities for me to be a part of that world. I enjoy the idea that a large group of people I have met, gotten to know, and have significant relationships with, have no concept of me as a dancer. The ballet world can be allconsuming, and it is nice for me to have an identity outside of that. What was the impetus for leaving China and returning to the U.S. and the dance world? My children. My wife and I felt that we should choose a single country to raise our children. After some debate and a few trips, we settled on the U.S. As for returning to the dance world, that was actually recommended to me by a very dear old friend that has been in the industry for decades. The more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me. I also feel that it is a gift to be able to grow up in a theater environment. If I can be giving that gift to my children the same way it was given to me, that’s a reason in and of itself. Did you plan your career path from dance to business to the business of dance? Or did you just follow opportunities as they arose? I think calling my career path a “plan” of any sort is generous. I always knew I wanted to be a dancer. That was quite intentional. A lot of what followed stemmed from
BALLET REACHES PEOPLE ON MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS. Trying to understand why everyone I interact with
t s s t ar T icket 14 t$ a t ju s
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cares about the art is a key an Executive Director.
MAR 31–MAY 13 WINNINGSTAD THEATRE wanting to grow my skill set and following opportunities that would let that happen. Returning to the business of dance was also quite intentional. So I guess that says something for my love of the art.
Recommended for all ages
What has it been like for you to be involved in ballet as a dancer and then an Executive Director? I remember thinking one day, earlier on in my career as an Executive Director, that I needed to call my past ED from my dancing days and tell him how much I appreciate what he did. This is a multifaceted role with a high degree of complexity. I don’t think I knew enough about the role when I was a dancer. I also really enjoy interacting with all the dancers. I admire their commitment from a place of experience. I know how hard it is to do what they do every day. I also respect how hard it is to provide all the other key functions of a professional ballet company and school. Having seen this world from both sides, I can really appreciate everyone’s dedication and passion for what we produce.
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What does an Executive Director do for a ballet company? An Executive Director works hand-inhand with the Artistic Director in order to provide leadership, guidance, and vision. I also feel that a Director or leader’s primary responsibility in any industry is to ensure that everyone around them has the tools they need to be successful.
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DANCE IS TOUGH. But the rewards are like few others.
What did you learn as a dancer that helps you in your role as an ED? What lessons from international business translate to your role as ED? I think that dancing provides young people with a tangible example of the rewards of discipline. Dance is tough. But the rewards are like few others. When you realize that hard work really does translate to success, it makes the thought of achieving any goal much more attainable. Working abroad in the for-profit sector taught me a good deal of empathy. Working closely with cultures and languages very foreign to me, it forced me to think often about the lenses through which we see each other and how to “put yourself in someone else’s shoes.” What advice would you give to a young dancer as they embark on their stage career? What advice would you give to a dancer facing retirement? The paths are so individual that advice is hard, but overall I’d say to both dancers, appreciate what you have right now because it is something very special that you will never have again. And don’t worry if
When you realize that hard work really does translate to success, it makes the thought of achieving any goal much more attainable.
your path is not 100 percent clear because, it may come as a surprise, but the best days of your life are probably yet to come. What were the keys to your success in leading the turnaround at the Portland Ballet (in Maine)? Without a doubt, it was my team. From my board to my AD, staff, dancers, parents, volunteers, etc., I was surrounded by talent and passion. I don’t think that anyone in my position would have accomplished anything without those people. What do you hope to accomplish as the ED at OBT? What will it take for you to consider your fi rst year a success? My first task as an incoming Executive Director is to listen and learn from the entire community. I had a great mentor
that often told us, “If you shut up, people will tell you exactly what you need to hear.” My first year will be a success if I begin to understand what it is that the community wants out of this organization. OBT has been around since 1989, and there are a lot of great minds that I want to hear from. In your opinion, what do the two Portlands (Maine and Oregon) have in common? What’s different? Ha. Both have a strong arts environment that punches well above its weight, great people, and an amazing craft brewery scene. There are also a lot of similarities in the natural beauty of the cities and states. I am glad that Portland won the coin toss. As for what is different? Snow. Lots and lots of snow. .
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