Stephen Petronio / Alvin Ailey - White Bird Dance

White Bird

White Bird

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D A N C E DANCE 2017-18

2017-18

DISCOVERING A WORLD OF DANCE FOR 20 YEARS DISCOVERING A WORLD OF DANCE FOR 20 YEARS

Photo by

oto

by Sarah Sarah Silver Silver Photo

by Sarah Silver

Dancer: Linda Celeste Sims

Photo Andrew Eccles Photo byby Andrew Eccles Photo by Andrew Eccles

STEPHEN PETRONIO PETRONIO COMPANY STEPHEN COMPANY April5-7, 5-7,2018 2018 || Newmark Newmark Theatre April Theatre

ALVIN AILEY AILEY AMERICAN AMERICAN DANCE THEATER ALVIN DANCE THEATER April 24-25, 2018 | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall April 24-25, 2018 | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

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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 7

WELCOME FROM WHITE BIRD

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THANK YOU FLOCK MEMBERS

10 STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY 18 ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER 30 ARTSLANDIA

ARTS CALENDAR

34 FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE 38 CHRIS COLEMAN: EXIT TO DENVER

The Artistic Director for The Armory reflects on his tenure.

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42 VEDEM: A JEWISH RESISTANCE ‘ZINE FROM THE HOLOCAUST

The story of a teen-written magazine that united a Nazi concentration camp.

49 THE GRASS DANCE

FLOURISHES

Gerry RainingBird nurtures powwow dance tradition.

54 WHO IS SUSANNAH MARS?

42 M A RCH | A PRIL 2018

Get to know the artist.

49 A RT S L A N D I A .COM

MARCH | APRIL 2018

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PHOTO BY CHRIS ROESING

THE RETURN OF TWO OF WHITE BIRD’S MOST CHERISHED COMPANIES The month of April is focused on two companies that have been extremely important over White Bird’s 20-year history. Returning for a record 7th time, Stephen Petronio will bring his remarkable Bloodlines project, paying tribute to the artists who have influenced Stephen’s development as one of America’s seminal choreographers.

Tonight you will experience five bold works

by Yvonne Rainer, Steve Paxton and Anna Halprin, along with a major new work by Stephen Petronio, “Untitled Touch.”

On Tuesday and Wednesday, April 24 and April 25, we are proud to have the incomparable Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater back with us. Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, the Ailey Company will perform two distinct programs, featuring new work by Hope Boykin, Kyle Abraham (familiar to White Bird Uncaged audiences), and Robert himself, an outstanding choreographer in his own

right. Both programs will culminate in Alvin Ailey’s magnificent Revelations, with two different casts.

With the Ailey company returning for a fifth time, we are proud to sponsor the 18th year of White Bird’s Outreach Project with Portland Public Schools, with a curriculum focused on the legacy of Alvin Ailey, culminating in a free matinee performance for over 2700 PPS students and teachers. We wish to express great thanks to the PPS curriculum team: Arts TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) Kristen Brayson, Sonia Warfel, Renee Mitchell, Shauna Adams and Jasmine Love. This year’s Outreach Project is made possible

by PGE Foundation, with additional support from the Oregon Cultural Trust, Juan Young Trust, Enterprise Holdings Foundation, Multnomah County Cultural Coalition, and the Portland’5 Centers for the Arts.

A SPECIAL EVENT TO CELEBRATE 20 YEARS OF WHITE BIRD On Tuesday, April 24, before the opening night performance of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, please join us for a festive and fun celebration of White Bird’s 20 years, featuring great food and drink. There will be a special performance by Thomas Lauderdale, China Forbes and Australian cabaret star Meow Meow, the presentation of the White Bird Awards, and an opportunity to show your support of White Bird through a special appeal. Tickets are now available through our website www.whitebird.org.

Paul King

Walter Jaffe

White Bird is proud to belong to Dance/USA, the national service and advocacy organization for the dance field.

For more information, please visit danceusa.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

THE WHITE BIRD TEAM

Paul King, President Walter Jaffe, Secretary/Treasurer Kendall Acheson Sheryl Acheson Albert E. Chaffin, MD, FAAP Ann Edwards Ken Edwards Kim Allchurch Flick Fabian Genovesi Sandra Holmes Carol Ihlenburg Gary Nelson Minh Tran Vinh Wong

Walter Jaffe, Co-Founder, wjaffe@whitebird.org Paul King, Co-Founder, pking@whitebird.org Chelsea Bushnell, Director of Audience Services, chelsea@whitebird.org Christopher Roesing, Director of Revenue & Community Partnerships, chris@whitebird.org David Nolfi, Director of Finance, david@whitebird.org Elizabeth Whelan, Communications Manager, elizabeth@whitebird.org Jeff Forbes, Technical Director Lauren Bayard, Volunteer Poster/Flyer Coordinator Karen Stahr, Manager of Merchandise, karen@whitebird.org Liz Sandoval, Volunteer Group Sales Coordinator Natalie Anthony, Graphic Design Dave Weaver, Web Designer Office Volunteers: Connie Guist, Morgan Meister, Stephanie Sussman, Jessica Vasi

Nancy & George Thorn, Founding Board Members Emereti

WHITE BIRD

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THANK YOU FLOCK MEMBERS.

YOU MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE! ESPECIALLY IN OUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY! IF YOU ARE NOT YET CONTRIBUTING, PLEASE CONSIDER A GENEROUS GIFT TO WHITE BIRD. IF YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO HIGHER!

WHITE BIRD PLATINUM PATRONS XX In celebration of White Bird’s 20th anniversary this season, we have created a new donors circle Platinum Patrons XX (PPXX).

We extend great thanks to those who have made a generous increased donation in honor of our milestone season.

Please join PPXX. For more information on how to become a member, please contact Walter Jaffe, wjaffe@whitebird.org or Paul King, pking@whitebird.org

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Anonymous (3) Carole Alexander Tomas Ancona & Laura Tarrish Laurie Balmuth Terrence P. Bean Audry & Chris Bond Kathleen Bristow Mary Lou Cavendish & Michael Hughes Ed Clark & Janet Roberts Jack & Terri Duncan Carol & Jeana Edelman George Eighmey Kim & Gregory Flick Margaret W. Frank Kit Gillem & Deborah Horrell Christine & Robert Gilmore Valarie Grudier Ivan Gold & Grace Serbu Jamey Hampton & Ashley Roland Jan Hurst Lola Jaffe Becky Jones Norm Kalbfleisch & Neil Matteucci Clara & Martin Kubeja Gary Leavitt Barbara Lovre Gary Maffei & Marcus Lintner David Magilke & Butch Williams Erin and Christopher Manwaring Alice & Hal McCartor Sarah McNary Kathleen & James Meyer VeAnna Morgan & Pamela Town Phyllis Newmark McKay & Jay Nutt Marthel Porter Dean Richardson David Ritchie & LaJean Humphries Joanne & Steven Rizzo John & Marti Rosenthal Donna Silverberg & Charles Wiggins Jaymi & Francis Sladen Peter Vennewitz Ellen Walkley Sarah & Alan Wizemann Patricia & Jack Wong (List current as of March 20, 2018)

WHITE BIRD FLOCK

Our Flock List is current as of March 20, 2018. Contributions after this date will be reflected in the next program.

Any questions, please contact Walter Jaffe, wjaffe@whitebird.org , (503) 245-1600, Ext. 202.

Generous contributors to the White Bird /MKG New Works Fund since September 2008.

PPXX Members of the new Platinum Patrons XX Circle TITANIUM PLUME ($10,000+) Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Ken & Ann Edwards PPXX Lola Jaffe Walter Jaffe & Paul King Ronni Lacroute Hugh & Mair Lewis James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Gary Nelson & Minh Tran Gary Nelson & Minh Tran in Memory of Michael Magaurn Oregon Arts Commission Oregonian Media Group PGE Foundation Regional Arts & Culture Council Starseed Foundation Darci & Charlie Swindells Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation George & Nancy Thorn Wells Fargo Willamette Week Work for Art PLATINUM PLUME ($5000+) PPXX Anonymous Sheryl Acheson/Bonhams Joan Cirillo & Roger Cooke Columbia Bank & Columbia Trust Robert & Mercedes Eichholz Foundation Carol Ihlenburg The J and J Foundation Magaurn Video Media Neil Kelly Oregon Cultural Trust PosterGarden WESTAF TourWest GOLD PLUME ($2500+) The Autzen Foundation Albert Chaffin MD Chris Greenaway Enterprise Holdings Foundation PPXX Deborah Horrell & Kit Gillem Fund for Arts and Conservation of The Oregon Community Foundation Juan Young Trust Murray Koodish Dorothy Lemelson Trust PPXX Dave Magilke MD & Butch Williams DMD Reed College PPXX Joanne & Steven Rizzo Arlene Schnitzer Trust Susan & Jim Winkler Sarah Wizemann/ Lille Boutique

SILVER PLUME ($1000+) Anonymous PPXX Carole Alexander Association of Performing Arts Presenters PPXX Terrence Bean Jamie Beckland & Michael Pope PPXX Janet & Ed Clark Deanna Cochener Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest Carol Edelman PPXX Gregory R. & Kim A. Flick PPXX Margaret W. Frank Ann & Edward Galen Fabian Genovesi PPXX Jamey Hampton & Ashley Roland Maryanne & David Holman Sandra & Stephen Holmes Christopher Johnson & Rex Bills PPXX Jessie Jonas Norm Kalbfleisch & Neil Matteucci Gary Leavitt Ellen Lippman & Steve Rosenberg PPXX Maffei/Lintner Advised Fund of Equity Foundation PPXX Barbara Lovre Jeff & Lynn Malzahn PPXX Phyllis Newmark PPXX The Nut House Fund Ronald & Shirley Pausig Janet & Frank Phillips Robert & Jane Reed PPXX Dean Richardson PPXX Jaymi & Francis Sladen Al Solheim Linda & Jon Twichell PPXX Peter J. Vennewitz Vibrant Table Catering PPXX Ellen Walkley Vinh Wong BRONZE PLUME ($500+) PPXX Anonymous

AJ Arriola & Alice Jacobson PPXX Tom Ancona &

Laura Tarrish PPXX Chris & Audry Bond

Robert Aughenbaugh PPXX Laurie Balmuth

Liz Bothwell & Gail Webb PPXX Kathleen Bristow

Richard & Marcia Bushnell PPXX Mary Lou Cavendish &

Michael Hughes Debi Coleman Dennis Deming & Corky Cortwright PPXX Jack & Terri Duncan Friends of the Cultural Center Inc. PPXX George Eighmey Ann Emmerson Leslye Epstein & Herman Taylor

Charles & Kyle Fuchs PPXX Jamey Hampton &

Ashley Roland PPXX Jan Hurst PPXX Christine & Robert Gilmore

Ivan L. Gold & Grace Serbu

PPXX PPXX Valarie Grudier

Karen Henell PPXX Leslie S. Homer Charitable

Fund of the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington PPXX LaJean Humphries & David Ritchie Dennis Johnson & Steven Smith PPXX Becky Jones Stephen & Marge Kafoury PPXX Norm Kalbfleisch & Neil Matteucci Anna S. King PPXX Clara & Martin Kubeja Kirsten Lee Mike & Bonnie Leiser Claire Lindsay PPXX Barbara Lovre PPXX Erin & Christopher Manwaring Keith & Bradley Martin PPXX Hal & Alice McCartor PPXX Sarah McNary Richard H. Meeker & Ellen F. Rosenblum PPXX Kathleen & James Meyer Michael Curry Design PPXX VeAnna Morgan & Pamela Town Alex Nicoloff & Lesley Otto Jennifer & David Nolfi PPXX Suzanne & Mark Ostersmith Stanley & Susanne Penkin & Jean Krosner Por Que No Taqueria PPXX Marthel Porter PPXX John & Marti Rosenthal Carol Schnitzer Lewis Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation PPXX Donna Silverberg & Charles Wiggins David & Chris Sinner Aaron Tersteeg & Jessica Vasi UBS Brian & Nikki Weaver Western Partitions Sam Wheeler Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation PPXX Patricia & Jack Wong ANGEL ($250+) Anonymous Susan Agre-Kippenhan & Mike Kippenhan Sue Armitage Rebecca Boley Matthew Boyes & Frederic Koeleman Steve Buchert & Herb Trubo David Cassard

Deborah Correa & Mark Wilson Yvonne De Maat & Kenneth Murphy Elizabeth Eckstrom Meredith English Stuart Farmer Chris Gauger & Lee Leighton Bruce Guenther & Dr. Eduardo Vides, MD Hollywood Lights Inc. Ava & Charlie Hoover Illinois Tool Works Foundation Intel Corporation Judy Jacobson Tom Kane & Donna Shu Paula Kanarek & Ross Kaplan Karen Kemper Paula Levinrad Judith Bieberle Marks JS & Robin May Monique’s Boutique Martin C. Muller Ken & Colleen Murray Steven Neighorn New England Foundation for the Arts Nielson Insurance Robert Olsen Steven P. & Eileen O’Neill Odum Oregon Children’s Theatre Elizabeth B. Pearce Cheryl & Dave Pfaff Judith E. Posey & Edward J. Doyle, MD Bonnie & Pete Reagan Sarah & Nathan Roe Jone Sampson Carol Smith-Larson Leah Swetnam Jane Unger Kim Ziebell FEATHERED FRIENDS ($100+) Anonymous Steve Albert & Janie Goldenberg Markus Albert Hagen & Emily Amen Marlene Anderson Ruby Apsler Elizabeth Arch Jan & Winston Asai Bill Bard & James Donder Nila Baker Kathie Bayer Dr. Diana Bell Bernard Schmidt Productions, Inc. Toni Berres-Paul Joanna Bonime Phil Brady & Pat Evenson-Brady Martin & Diane Brandt Dennis Brown Marianne Buchwalter

Sarah Byrne Amy Campbell Claire Carder & Jim Scherzinger Don Caniparoli & Sarah Ken Carraro Suzi Carter & Michael Weaver Lisa Chickadonz Nancy Clement Pam Greenough Corrie Bradley Coffey Aaron Creurer & Fred Ross Charles Curb & Janne Stark Susan Cyganiak Susan Dale Deborah Danielson Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Davids Tomika Anne Dew Kathleen Diack Anne Driscoll Kent Duffy & Martha Murray Robin J. Dunitz Earl Dyer Anne Egan & Tim McNichol David Fanger & Martin Wechsler Edward Feuerstein Carolyn & Ruthie Ferguson Nick Fish & Patricia Schecter The Fishbein Family Barabara Fishleder & John Wolfe Jerry Fong Eileen & Arlene Fromer Jerome & Mary Fulton John Gadon Lucile Gauger Laraine Gladstone Arthur Glasfeld & Susan Mikota Benjamin Gerritz Nancy Goodwin & Albert Horn Deborah & Sid Green Connie Guist Debra Gwartney & Barry Lopez Evelyn Hamann John Hamer & Kirsten Chapman Darlene Hardie Gary & Lynne Hartshorn Terry Hasegawa Jeff Hawthorne Jennifer Heilbronner Hewlett-Packard Stephen Hillis Bill Hogsett Mark Holloway Meghan Hoopes & Nicholas Nelson Martha Ireland Rachel Jacky Bob & Jill Jaffe Michael Johnson Becky Jones & Barbara Gardner Alan T. & Sharon Y. Jones David Jensen Daphna & Iddo Kadim Mary Kane John Kellerman Kathryn King-Goldberg Peter Kost Richard & Jann Leeuwenburg Matt & Rachael Lembo Drs. Dolores & Fernando Leon Jerry & Judith Lesch John Light & Patricia Barnes-Light Andrew Lintz & Brian Stief Lydia & Derek Lipman Joyce Lozito Holly Macfee, Lookout Co. David Maier & Kaye Van Valkenburg Bel-Ami & Mark Margoles

Phillip Margolin Anna Marti Pamela Matheson Carolyn McFadden Kristen & Justin Monahan Laurence Morandi & Karen Pazucha Billie Moser Patricia Navin & Bill Poleson Rowena & Luke Norman Daniel & Kathy Norton Robert Olds Christine & Paul Omara Robert & Carolyn Palanuk Toni Parque Judith & Jerry Paul Sondra & Gordon Pearlman Lake Perriguey Peter Corvallis Productions Heriberto Petschek Scott Philips Laurie Pino Kathy & Art Placek Christina Pratt Judy Renzema Sarah & Rhys Quinn Sheila Ford Richmond Von Roberts Ruth Robinson Charles & Judith Rooks Zach Ruhl Saif Corporation Dan Saltzman Virginia Sewell Hope Shaw Roger & Janice Shea Jon & Ann Sinclair Stefanie Silverman Joyce Skokowski Alix & Mark Smith Valarie Smith Carl Snook Susan Sorensen Wendy Squires The Steinfelds Jim & Nita Stell Kathleen Stephenson-Kuhn Laura F. Stockwell Corby Stonebraker-Sole Stephanie & Stephen Sussman Gary Taliaferro Christine Tarpey & Richard Yugler Kathy Taylor Beverly Trover Lyle M. Tucker Jenny & Tony Vaught William Wells Beth & Gary Westbrook Patricia Wetzel Carolyn Wieden Christina Wiley Edyth Willard Margaret Willer in Honor of Anne Willer Robert Woods & Jeff Pittman Anthony Yeznach Gary & Kay Zimmerli FRIENDS ($50+) Anonymous Anthony Altucher & Collette Young Sona Andrews Naomi Angier Michele & Bill Bader Katherine S. Bang Susan Bard Claire Barnett Linda Barnwell Ann Bellman & Michael Woods Belinda Beresford Edward & Aimee Berg Kristi Bigio Amelia & John Bishop

John H. Bourke Warren & Donna Brown Bill Bulick & Carol McIntosh Carol Bunten & Daniel Rosenberg Cynthia Chilton & Ed Abrahamson Richard Colman Eliza Crockett Eloise Damrosch & Gary Hartnett Helen M. Daltoso & James Wilcox Brian Diehl Robert Dodson Jessica Duke & Scott Urbatsch Lucile Gauger Nona Glazer Andreanne Gingras David Goldberg Ignacio Gonzales-Reyes & Stacie Hall Todd Guenzburger & Bill Kline Connie & Greg Korn Don Hagga Constance Hammond J. Benjamin Havris-Brown Caroline Henry Maureen Herndon Joan Hoffman Brook & Ann Howard Jacqueline Hoyt Mark Huey & Wayne Wiegand Georgia Lee Hussey James Hutchinson Mary James Faith Jennings Sharon Johnson Peggy Kavka Janice Kettler Daniel Kirk & Eric Skinner Carol Kneeshaw Cheryl Kolbe The Kroger Co. Joni Kutner Fuchsia Lin Grant Lindquist Jonathan & Vida Lohnes David Lewis & Liz Sandoval Sidne Lewis Martha Logan Frances Lynch in mem. of Marion Jenks Mimi Maduro Katherine MacKenzie Sue D. McCulloch Katherine McKearnan Gary McLaughlin Michael McManus Cassandra Mercer Bonnie Merrill Max & Lori Miller Kristen Minor & David Corser Amy Monroe Sara Nosanchuk Margaret Olney & Steve Marsh Kathleen O’Reilly Vicki Perrett Pfizer Foundation David & Kay Pollack David & Nancy Pribnow Naomi Price Denise Reed Michael Reper Meredith & Bill Savery Beth & Amy Segal Bruce Simmons Amelia Simpson Robert Simpson Cassandra Scholte Penelope Schott & Eric Sweetman Suzanne Silverstein Betty Smith Judith Sobol Connie Speros-Literal Laura Stepp

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS White Bird extends great thanks to the following foundations and government agencies for their support of the 2017–18 twentieth season.

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 two thousand employees, Starseed Foundation and Multnomah County Cultural Coalition

OUR GENEROUS COMMUNITY PARTNERS artistic directors jamey hampton + ashley roland

artistic directors jamey hampton + ashley roland

OUR GENEROUS RESTAURANT PARTNERS

WHITE BIRD IS A 501(C)(3) NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO BRINGING EXCELLENCE IN DANCE TO PORTLAND, OREGON.

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APRIL 5-7

NEWMARK THEATRE

Photo by Sarah Silver

STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY

APRIL 5–7, 2018 NEWMARK THEATRE

STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER STEPHEN PETRONIO DANCERS Bria Bacon Ernesto Breton Elijah Laurant Jaqlin Medlock Tess Montoya Nicholas Sciscione Megan Wright GUEST ARTIST Joshua Tuason ASSISTANT TO THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Nicholas Sciscione

RESIDENT LIGHTING DESIGNER Ken Tabachnick

EDUCATION DIRECTORS Tess Montoya Megan Wright

LIGHTING SUPERVISOR Gillian Wolpert

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Yvan Greenberg

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER Rob Mcintyre

Stephen Petronio Company’s current season is made possible in part with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and with additional support from the The Amphion Foundation, Inc., The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Howard Gilman Foundation, James E. Robison Foundation, Joseph & Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, and The Shubert Foundation.

Bloodlines receives cornerstone support from The SHS Foundation and American Express.

SPONSORS

MEDIA SPONSOR

GARY NELSON MINH TRAN CHRIS GREENAWAY The taking of photographs, videos and the use of recording devices are strictly prohibited.

Program and casting subject to change. Latecomers will be seated only during intermissions.

Please turn off all cell phones during the performance.

STEPHEN PE TRONIO COMPANY • WHITE BIRD

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TONIGHT’S PROGRAM DIAGONAL (1963) CHOREOGRAPHY Yvonne Rainer STAGING Pat Catterson LIGHTING: Joe Doran PERFORMED BY Bria Bacon, Ernesto Breton, Elijah Laurant, Jaqlin Medlock, Tess Montoya, Megan Wright

TRIO A WITH FLAGS (1966/1970) CHOREOGRAPHY: Yvonne Rainer MUSIC “In the Midnight Hour,” The Chambers Brothers STAGING Pat Catterson LIGHTING: Joe Doran PERFORMED BY The Company

CHAIR-PILLOW (1969) CHOREOGRAPHY Yvonne Rainer MUSIC “River Deep, Mountain High,” Ike and Tina Turner STAGING Pat Catterson LIGHTING: Joe Doran PERFORMED BY The Company

PAUSE EXCERPT FROM GOLDBERG VARIATIONS (1986) CHOREOGRAPHY Steve Paxton MUSIC Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, Variations 16–24, by J.S. Bach. Performed by Glenn Gould.

Courtesy of Sony Classical, by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing LIGHTING: Ken Tabachnick PERFORMED BY Nicholas Sciscione

INTERMISSION THE COURTESAN AND THE CRONE (1999) CHOREOGRAPHY Anna Halprin MUSIC Adagio from Oboe Concerto in D Minor,

by Alessandro Marcello, courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc. LIGHTING: Joe Doran COSTUME Stephen Petronio in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia PERFORMED BY Stephen Petronio

PAUSE UNTITLED TOUCH (2017) CHOREOGRAPHY Stephen Petronio MUSIC Son Lux LIGHTING Ken Tabachnick COSTUMES H. Petal with Naomi Luppescu PERFORMED BY The Company GUEST ARTIST Joshua Tuason The creation of Untitled Touch was made possible by a commissioning grant from The O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation, and was supported by New Music USA. 12

ABOUT THE COMPANY Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, Stephen Petronio is widely regarded as one of the leading dance-makers of his generation. New music, visual art, and fashion collide in his dances, producing powerfully modern landscapes for the senses.

He has built a body of work with some of the most talented and provocative artists in the world, including composers Atticus Ross, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly, Fischerspooner, Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Son Lux, Nick Cave, James Lavelle, Michael Nyman, Sheila Chandra, Diamanda Galás, Andy Teirstein, Wire, Peter Gordon, Lenny Pickett, and David Linton; visual artists Cindy Sherman, Anish Kapoor, Janine Antoni, Teresita Fernandez, Donald Baechler, Stephen Hannock, Tal Yarden, Arnaldo Ferrara, and Justin Terzi III; fashion designers Narciso Rodriguez, John Bartlett, Jillian Lewis, Adam Kimmel, Benjamin Cho, Michael Angel, Tony Cohen, Rachel Roy, Tara Subkoff, Tanya Sarne/Ghost, Leigh Bowery, Paul Compitus, Manolo, Yonson Pak, and H. Petal; and Resident Lighting Designer Ken Tabachnick.

Founded in 1984, Stephen Petronio Company has performed in 40 countries throughout the world, including numerous New York City engagements, with 24 seasons at The Joyce Theater.

The Company has been commissioned by Dance Umbrella Festival/London, Hebbel Theater/Berlin, Scène National de Sceaux, Festival d’Automne à Paris, CNDC Angers/France, The Holland Festival, Festival Montpellier Danse, Danceworks UK Ltd, Festival de Danse–Cannes, and in the U.S. by San Francisco Performances, The Joyce Theater, UCSB Arts & Lectures, Wexner Center for the Arts, Walker Art Center, and White Bird, among others.

The 2014–15 season marked the first incarnation of Bloodlines, a project of Stephen Petronio Company to honor and embody a lineage of American postmodern dance masters. Distinguished for creating original languages that exemplify the highest level of artistic excellence displayed through extreme physical and conceptual rigor, these artists have had a profound impact on Petronio’s own artistic path. To date, the Company has restaged eight works, by Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Anna Halprin, Yvonne Rainer, and Steve Paxton, with plans to incorporate others in the coming seasons. The juxtaposition of Bloodlines repertory alongside Petronio’s works offers audiences an experiential insight into the evolution of this strand of creativity in American choreography.

In 2016, Stephen Petronio Company expanded its focus on American postmodern dance to explore the meaning of legacy and its impact on the future and sustainability of this most ephemeral art form. With an eye toward securing artists’ consistent ability to create and explore, the Petronio Residency Center (PRC) has been established to support creative research and development. The site, called Crow’s Nest, is a 175-acre property in Cairo, New York, 20 minutes from the burgeoning Catskill and Hudson, New York art scenes. Paid artist residencies begin in the summer of 2018, for Nora Chipaumire, Will Rawls, and Kathy Westwater, providing dedicated rehearsal space and resources to choreographers and their collaborators to develop new work in an environment unfettered by market constraints and away from the daily pressures of urban life.

The program will become part of a growing ecosystem in the U.S. dedicated to fostering a new model for the future of contemporary dance.

STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY | BIOGRAPHIES STEPHEN PETRONIO (Artistic Director/ Choreographer) For over 30 years, Stephen Petronio has honed a unique language of movement that speaks to the intuitive and complex possibilities of the body informed by its shifting cultural context. He has collaborated with a wide range of artists in many disciplines over his career and holds the integration of multiple forms as fundamental to his creative drive and vision. He continues to create a haven for dancers with a keen interest in the history of contemporary movement and an appetite for the unknown. Petronio was born in Newark, New Jersey, and received a B.A. from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he began his early training in improvisation and dance technique. He was greatly influenced by working with Steve Paxton and was the first male dancer of the Trisha Brown Dance Company (1979 to 1986). He has gone on to build a unique career, receiving numerous accolades, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, an American Choreographer Award, a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award, and a 2015 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award.

Petronio has created over 35 works for his company and has been commissioned by some of the world’s most prestigious modern and ballet companies, including William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt (1987), Deutsche Oper Berlin (1992), Lyon Opera Ballet (1994), Maggio Danza Florence (1996), Sydney Dance Company (2003, full evening), Norrdans (2006), the Washington Ballet (2007), The Scottish Ballet (2007), and two works for National Dance Company Wales (2010 and 2013). Over his career, Petronio has collaborated with a wide range of artists in many disciplines.

Collaborators include some of the most talented and provocative artists in the world: composers Valgeir Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly, Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed, and Laurie Anderson; visual artists Cindy Sherman, Anish Kapoor, Janine Antoni, and Teresita Fernández; fashion designers Narciso Rodriguez, John Bartlett, Benjamin Cho, and Leigh Bowery.

Petronio, whose training originated with leading figures of the Judson era, performed Man Walking Down the Side of a Build-

ing in 2010 for Trisha Brown Company at the Whitney Museum, and performed his 2012 rendition of Steve Paxton’s Intravenous Lecture (1970) in New York, Portland, and at the TEDMED-2012 conference at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, DC. Petronio received the distinction of being named the first Artist-in-Residence at The Joyce Theater from 2012 to 2014. He has been entangled with visual artist Janine Antoni in a number of discipline-blurring projects, including the video installation Honey Baby (2013), created in collaboration with composer Tom Laurie and filmmaker Kirsten Johnson, and most recently Ally, in collaboration with Anna Halprin and Adrian Heathfield, which premiered at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia in the summer of 2016. Petronio and Antoni were the 2017 McCormack Artists in Residence at Skidmore College, where they showed their series of installations, Entangle. Petronio’s memoir, Confessions of a Motion Addict, is available on Amazon.

BRIA BACON (Dancer), a New Jersey native, is a 2017 graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts –Rutgers. Pursuing multiple passions, Bacon has completed her first year of graduate school at Rutgers University towards her EdM (Masters of Dance Education). While her professional performance career is in its beginning stages, she has been able to work with Kyle Marshall Choreography, as well as Netta Yerushalmy on recent projects. All in all, she is elated by her invitation to join the Stephen Petronio Company!

ERNESTO BRETON (Dancer), a native New Yorker, began his formal training at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia HS for the Performing Arts. He studied at SUNY Purchase from 2008–09 and then transferred and graduated from The Juilliard School in May 2013, under the artistic direction of Lawrence Rhodes. He has had the opportunity to dance works by José Limón, Andrea Miller, Raewyn Hill, Eliot Feld, Pam Tanowitz, Alexander Ekman, and William Forsythe. After graduating, Breton has danced in several works and projects, as a fellowship dancer, with the Merce Cunningham Trust; and performed in the North American stage premiere of Die Materie: Matter & Spirit at the Park

Avenue Armory. He is also a performer in the off-Broadway immersive theater production Sleep No More and joined the Stephen Petronio Company in 2016.

ELIJAH LAURANT (Dancer) was born and raised in Southern California and began his training at Zeneith Performing Arts Center in Long Beach under the Director Nyiki Swain and Janette McGhee. He attended El Camino College as a Dance Major and he joined Pony Box Dance Theater as Co-Director and dancer in 2011. Elijah also danced with Diane Lauridsen in South Bay Ballet as a company member and student. He moved to New York City to further his dance career at The Ailey School on full scholarship 20142016. Elijah Laurant has worked with numerous choreographers: Kim Borogra, Funderburk Dance Artists, Matthew Rushing, Wendi Baity, Award Winning Tiffany Billings, Joshua Beamish, Christopher Rudd, Roberto Villanueva, Helena Simonaue, and Jennifer Muller/The Works, and now as one of the newest members of Stephen Petronio Company.

JAQLIN MEDLOCK (Dancer), a native of New York, received her training from Angela D’Valda Sirico, Steve Sirico, Franco DeVita, and Raymond Lukens.

Medlock graduated cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College with a BFA in Dance and Photography. She has danced for numerous companies including Steps Repertory Ensemble, Compagnie Julie Bour, NY2 Dance, and Davalois Fearon Dance. She has performed works by various artists including Nacho Duato, Angelin Preljocai, Donald Byrd, Max Stone, Tyce Diorio, and Sonya Tayeh. Performing credits include His Majesty’s Theatre, Scotland; the Ritz Carlton, Las Vegas; Oude Liberatas, South Africa; Teatro Juan Ruiz, Mexico City; Winspear Opera House, Dallas; Carnegie Hall and The Joyce Theater in NYC. Medlock has worked as an assistant to choreographers Pedro Ruiz in NYC, and Warren Adams in Leeds, England. Medlock joined Stephen Petronio Company in 2011 and was named “On The Rise” by Dance Magazine in 2012.

In addition to dancing, Medlock also models and has her own photography business specializing in movement.

STEPHEN PE TRONIO COMPANY • WHITE BIRD

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STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY | BIOGRAPHIES TESS MONTOYA (Dancer and Education Director) was raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she began her training at the National Dance Institute of New Mexico. She graduated from Point Park University with a Bachelor of Arts in dance. Since moving to New York, Montoya has performed with Megan Kendzior, Daniel Gwirtzman, and Daniel Roberts.

She has taken part in multiple workshops and performances through the Merce Cunningham Trust Fellowship Program. Tess is currently project manager and administrator with Davalois Fearon Dance. She joined Stephen Petronio Company in 2015 and is co-director of the company’s education program.

NICHOLAS SCISCIONE (Dancer and Assistant to the Artistic Director) was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

He graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Sciscione has worked with Joshua Beamish, Kyle Marshall Choreography, and 10 Hairy Legs. Sciscione joined Stephen Petronio Company in 2011 and has been the Assistant to the Artistic Director since 2016. He was a “2017 NY Bessie Award Nominated” performer.

MEGAN WRIGHT (Dancer and Education Director) was born in New York City and raised in Maine. She danced with the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company in San Francisco from 2013-2016, touring nationally and internationally. She joined Petronio in 2016 and is co-director of the company’s education program. She is a 2009 graduate of the Walnut Hill School of the Arts. Her critical writing on dance has been published and cited in a number of outlets. Her performance this season would not be possible without the patience and generosity of her boss, her fellow dancers, Susan Klein, and Rebecca Kesting at the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries.

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JOSHUA TUASON (Guest Artist) is a dance artist and teacher originally from San Francisco where he began his training at the San Francisco Ballet and later obtained a BFA from Marymount Manhattan Collage.

He was a member of the Martha Graham Ensemble and has participated in various reconstructions of Merce Cunningham’s work through the Cunningham Trust. He currently freelances and has collaborated with various artists including Mark Morris, Ian Spencer Bell, Ellen Cornfield, Wendy Osserman, Pat Catterson, Xavier Cha, Sally Silvers and Pam Tanowitz. He has worked with the Stephen Petronio Company since 2009.

PAT CATTERSON (Stager), a NYC based artist, has choreographed 110 works, receiving many accolades including a 2011 Solomon R. Guggenheim Choreography Fellowship and multiple Choreography Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the CAPS Grants and the Harkness Foundation, as well as a Fulbright Commission. A dedicated educator, she has been on the faculties at Sarah Lawrence College, UCLA, the Juilliard School, and the Merce Cunningham Studio, among many others.

She has been a guest artist all over the US and in Europe and for twenty years she taught her own tap classes in NYC. Her writing has been published in Ballet Review, JOPERD, Attitude Magazine, Dance Magazine Online, the Getty Iris, and the Dance Research Journal. She earned her BA in psychology and philosophy from Northwestern University and her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College. She recently taught a workshop seminar in the Kalamata Dance Festival in Greece around her latest work NOW., an installation/performance/ event that paired her NYC dancers with dancers in nine other countries via Skype projection. She first performed Yvonne Rainer’s work in 1969 and since 1999 has worked as her dancer and rehearsal assistant, touring nationally and internationally. A custodian of Rainer’s early works, she has staged them on many individual dancers and companies and for exhibits in London at the Raven Row Gallery, the Tate Modern and the Hayward Gallery, as well as in Brazil, Denmark, Norway, Finland, at NYC’s Museum of Modern Art, the Dia Beacon, at the Getty Museum in LA and for many student groups in the USA. She is grateful to have been a part of the Bloodlines project and to once again honor Yvonne Rainer’s legacy.

WHITE BIRD • STEPHEN PE TRONIO COMPANY

JOE DORAN (Lighting Designer) was a Broadway Assistant Lighting Designer for Prince of Broadway, Doctor Zhivago, and Magic/ Bird. He was also the Broadway National Tour (Asst. LD) for Hamilton, Anything Goes, West Side Story, Flashdance the Musical, Joseph…Dreamcoat, In the Heights.

Off Broadway, his projects include H4 and Shakespeare’s Slave. NYC Dance credits include Sean Curran Company, Armitage Gone! Dance, HT Chen and Dancers, Shen Wei Dance Arts, Gabrielle Lansner and Co., and Martha Graham Dance Company, among others. He recently designed an adaptation of The Tempest directed by and starring Olympia Dukakis. He also designed Cyclops, the Rock Opera with the NY Musical Theatre Festival. Regional Credits include: Alpine Theatre Project, Bristol Riverside Theatre, The Atlanta Ballet, Swift Creek Mill Theatre, and Virginia Repertory Theatre.

Doran is the 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2016 recipient of the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Award. He also received the 2010 US Army Recreation Program Award for Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical. Doran is a graduate of NC School of the Arts. Member of USA Local 829. joedorandesign.com

ANNA HALPRIN (Choreographer), born 1920 in Winnetka, Illinois, has been called one of the most important theatre artists of the twentieth century. She graduated with a B.A. in 1942, and a honorary PhD from the University of Wisconsin. In an attempt to move away from the constraints of modern dance and engage in more exploratory movement, Halprin founded the San Francisco Dancer’s Workshop in 1955. In 1978, she went on to found the Tamalpa Institute, an organization dedicated to movementbased expressive arts healing, alongside her daughter Daria Halprin. Throughout her expansive career Halprin has received many awards, including a lifetime achievement in choreography from the American Dance Festival, and has been named one of “America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures”

by The Dance Heritage Coalition. Halprin has also been the subject of an eponymous exhibition at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon, France in 2006, as well as the 2009 documentary, Breath Made Visible.

She has upcoming major exhibits at the Venice Bienale and Documenta in Athens and Kassel as well as in China. Halprin lives and works in Kentfield, California.

NAOMI LUPPESCU (Costume Designer), originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, moved to New York where she pursued her professional dance

STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY | BIOGRAPHIES career after receiving her B.F.A. in Dance from SUNY Purchase. She felt a great need for costumes that were better suited for the moving body and honed her craft for fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Danish Design School in Copenhagen. By working closely with choreographers, she now specializes in costumes for dance. Luppescu has designed costumes for Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Parsons Dance, Houston METdance, Richmond Ballet, Keigwin + Company, Bruce Wood Dance Project, Alvin Ailey II, LeeSaar the Company, Kate Skarpetowska, Manuel Vignoulle, Elisa Monte Dance, Loni Landon Dance Projects, Emery LeCrone, and Milka Djordjevich, among others.

SON LUX (aka Ryan Lott) (Composer) grew up studying music and earned a Bachelor of Music at Indiana University. His debut recording, At War With Walls and Mazes, earned him the title of “Best New Artist”

by NPR’s “All Songs Considered.” Following this debut, his full-length albums included 2011’s We Are Rising, featuring collaborations with chamber sextet yMusic, DM Stith, and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), 2013’s Lanterns, full of “impressive postrock concoctions” (PopMatters), and 2015’s Bones, featuring a newly-formed trio of Lott, guitarist Rafiq Bhatia, and drummer Ian Chang. In addition to his creative output as Son Lux, Lott has kept busy balancing his time between scores for films, commissions, and advertising work. In 2012, Son Lux joined forces with rapper Serengeti and indie music luminary Sufjan Stevens as Sisyphus to release the EP Beak & Claw as well as a self-titled full-length album in 2014. This adds to his already long list of high profile collaborators, with artists such as Beans (AntiPop Consortium), Richard Perry (Arcade Fire), Busdriver, Colin Stetson (Bon Iver), and Peter Silberman (The Antlers). He also contributed brass and wind arrangements to the These New Puritans’ album Hidden, NME’s 2010 Album of the Year. In addition to his work as Son Lux, Lott composes music for film, theater and dance.

Lott has worked with choreographers Travis Wall, Stephen Petronio and Gina Gibney.

Film credits include composing and arranging for five major features, most notably The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2014) and Paper Towns (2015), as well as the upcoming Mean Dreams (2017), which premiered at Cannes and the Toronto Film Festival 2016. In addition to his score for Petronio’s work Like Lazarus Did, Lott has created scores for three of Petronio’s commissioned works for other companies: Ballet de Lorraine, National Dance Company Wales, and OtherShore.

STEVE PAXTON (Choreographer), has

YVONNE RAINER (Choreographer),

researched the fiction of cultured dance and the ‘truth’ of improvisation for 55 years. He lives on a farm, and he has received grants from Change, Inc., E.A.T., the Foundation for Performance Arts, John D. Rockefeller Fund, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He has been awarded two NY Bessie Awards, and is a contributing editor to Contact Quarterly Dance Journal. He was one of the founders of the Judson Dance Theater, Grand Union, Contact Improvisation, Touchdown Dance for the visually disabled (UK), and began his career studying modern dance techniques, ballet, Aikido, Tai Chi Chuan, and Vipassana meditation. He performed with the Merce Cunningham Dance Co. from 196165. He lectures, performs, choreographs and teaches primarily in the USA and Europe.

In 2008, he published a DVD with ContreDanse in Brussels, ‘Material for the Spine’.

In 2009 he re-choreographed ‘Ave Nue’ (1985) in Amsterdam, and toured Japan, including ‘Night Stand’ with Lisa Nelson, in Tokyo. With Contredanse of Brussels, he, Florence Corin and Baptiste Andrien have developed the Phantom Exhibition, a multi-image room of meditations on Material for the Spine, featured in the Super Bodies Triennale in Hasselt, Belgium. In 2013 he was featured in Tanz I’m August, Berlin, Germany; and ‘Night Stand’ was performed in NYC at Dia:Chelsea. In 2014 his work ‘Bound’, with jurij Konjar, was presented in Ljubljiana, Venice, Munich. In June 2014, he received the Venice Biennale Leone d’Oro for life-time achievement in dance. He received another Bessie in 2016 for the same reason. ‘Quicksand’, an opera by Robert Ashley, premiered in January, 2015 at the Kitchen, NYC, and Festival D’autumne in 2016, featuring set and choreography by Paxton, found a place on the NY Times’ 2016 ‘best 10 classical music performances’ list.

one of the founders of the Judson Dance Theater (1962), made a transition to filmmaking following a fifteen-year career as a choreographer/dancer (1960–1975). After making seven experimental feature-length films—“Lives of Performers” (1972), “Privilege” (1990), and “MURDER and murder” (1996), among others—she returned to dance in 2000 via a commission from the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation (“After Many a Summer Dies the Swan”). Since then she has made six dances, including “AG Indexical, with a little help from H.M.,” “Assisted Living: Do you have any money?” and “The Concept of Dust: Continuous Project—Altered Annually.” Her dances and films have been seen throughout the U.S., including the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Kitchen, Dia Beacon; in Europe and South America at the Louvre and Montpelier, also Documenta 12, Helsinki, Italy, Dublin; London, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Museum retrospectives of her work, including drawings, photos, films, notebooks, and memorabilia, have been presented at Kunsthaus Bregenz and Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2012); the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles; Jeu de Paume, École des Beaux Artes, La Ferme du Buisson, Paris, and Raven Row, London (2014). A memoir—“Feelings Are Facts: a Life”—was published by MIT Press in 2006.

A selection of her poetry was published in 2011 by Paul Chan’s Badlands Unlimited.

Other writings have been collected in “Work: 1961–73” (1974); “The Films of Y.R.” (1989); and “A Woman Who…: Essays, Interviews, Scripts” (1999). She is a recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships, a USA Fellowship, and a MacArthur Fellowship.

H. PETAL (Costume Designer) grew up in Liverpool and was raised by his immigrant grandmother, a master patternmaker who had him creating clothes for his family by age ten. Petal briefly attended Central Saint Martins in the late 1980s before dropping out to follow his aesthetic heart to England’s underground. He has designed for a wide variety of Petronio’s choreographic adventures in the dance world since 1990, including MiddleSexGorge, Close Your Eyes and Think of England, and Bud Suite for the Stephen Petronio Company; Extravenous for Lyon Ballet; Laytext for The Deutsche Opera Berlin; Tragic/Love for Ballet de Lorraine; and most recently, By Singing Light and Water Stories for National Dance Company Wales.

KEN TABACHNICK (Resident Lighting Designer) has an extensive career in and around the arts. Some companies with whom he has collaborated include the Bolshoi and Kirov companies, Paris Opera Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, and Trisha Brown Dance Company. Tabachnick is currently the Executive Director of the Merce Cunningham Trust. Prior to that, he was Deputy Dean for Tisch Asia at NYU, Dean of the School of the Arts at Purchase College and General Manager at New York City Ballet. Ken also spent several years as Resident Lighting Designer at New York City Opera, and has worked on operas in Pittsburgh, Miami, Detroit, Orange County, and Wolf Trap.

After earning his JD from Fordham Law School, he had his own private practice in entertainment and intellectual property law.

STEPHEN PE TRONIO COMPANY • WHITE BIRD

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STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY | BIOGRAPHIES Tabachnick is a trustee of Dance/USA, the Hemsley Lighting Programs, and Stephen Petronio Company. He also consults on strategic planning for arts organizations, which he has taught, such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Film, and the Rubin Museum. He has been lighting Petronio’s work since 1985.

ROBERT MCINTYRE (Stage Manager)

GILLIAN WOLPERT (Lighting Supervisor) originally from Toronto, has toured with The Kennedy Center, The Acting Company, Sean Curran Dance Company, Joffrey Ballet, and numerous other dance and theatre projects and has served as lighting designer for New York Theatre Workshop, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Blessed Unrest, Zoetic Dance, Hartt Dances, Strike Anywhere, and many others.

In addition to her work in the performing arts, Gillian also works in architectural and exhibit lighting design including projects for Canada’s Science and Technology Museum and upcoming at The Manitoba Museum.

Her work has garnered a Guthrie award for her contributions to Canada’s Stratford Festival and a Jessie Richardson nomination for her design of The Unexpected Man in Vancouver.

HEADSHOTS BY SARAH SILVER

BOARD OF DIRECTORS, STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY Jill Brienza, Chair; Joa Baldinger, Claire Flack, Jean-Marc Flack, Alison A. Mazzola, Sarah Silver, Ken Tabachnick

SOCIALIZE WITH US ONLINE www.petron.io facebook.com/StephenPetronioCompany twitter @stephenpetronio #stephenpetroniocompany #stephenpetronio instagram @stephenpetroniocompany Stephen Petronio Company relies on the generous support of individuals and organizations to create and produce innovative new work, maintain a company of extraordinary dancers, and share Stephen Petronio’s vision with audiences around the world. If you would like to join our circle of supporters by making a contribution to SPC, please visit www.petron.io or contact us at 212.473.1660.

STEPHEN PETRONIO DANCE COMPANY, INC. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Yvan Greenberg DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR: Alessandra Larson PROJECT MANAGER: Nora Thompson DIRECTOR, PETRONIO RESIDENCY CENTER: David Szlasa PRESS REPRESENTATIVE: John Wyszniewski, Everyman Agency 2017-2018 INTERNS: Audrey Casinelli, Carissa Fodera, Kirsten Reynolds For North American booking inquiries: Cathy Pruzan, Artist Representative, cpruzan@aol.com

PHOTOS BY JULIE LEMBERGER

is a NYC based AEA stage manager. He holds a bachelor of science dual degree in business management and technical theatre from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Robert is the production stage manager with Camille A. Brown & Dancers.

Recently, he’s toured with ENGARDE Arts for Wilderness to the Kennedy Center Family Theatre. Some companies he has stage managed with include American Tap Dance Foundation, Steps Repertory Ensemble, TAKE Dance, Pocono Mountains Theatre Co. (US & Edinburgh), Gallim Dance, Encompass New Opera Theatre, Keely Garfield Dance, and Damage Dance.

He was the associate production manager of the Ted Shawn Theatre in 2014 and the Inside/Out production coordinator in 2013

at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Robert was a production intern at Jacob’s Pillow in 2012 and a lighting intern at Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2010.

Stephen Petronio Company would like to send a heartfelt thanks to Walter Jaffe and Paul King, and the entire staff and crew at White Bird. We are pleased to return for another season.

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WHITE BIRD • STEPHEN PE TRONIO COMPANY

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WHITE BIRD

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Robert Battle, Artistic Director

Masazumi Chaya, Associate Artistic Director

APRIL 24 & 25

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Michael Jackson, Jr., Photo by Andrew Eccles

APRIL 24 & 25, 2018 ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

Alvin Ailey, Founder Judith Jamison, Artistic Director Emerita

Robert Battle, Artistic Director Masazumi Chaya, Associatte Artistic Director COMPANY MEMBERS Hope Boykin

Jacquelin Harris

Danica Paulos

Jeroboam Bozeman

Collin Heyward

BelĂŠn Pereyra-Alem

Clifton Brown

Michael Jackson, Jr.

Jamar Roberts

Sean Aaron Carmon

Megan Jakel

Samuel Lee Roberts

Sarah Daley-Perdomo

Yannick Lebrun

Kanji Segawa

Ghrai DeVore

Renaldo Maurice

Glenn Allen Sims

Solomon Dumas

Ashley Mayeux

Linda Celeste Sims

Samantha Figgins

Michael Francis McBride

Constance Stamatiou

Vernard J. Gilmore

Rachael McLaren

Jermaine Terry

Jacqueline Green

Chalvar Monteiro

Fana Tesfagiorgis

Daniel Harder

Akua Noni Parker Matthew Rushing, Rehearsal Director & Guest Artist

Bennett Rink, Executive Director Major funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; American Express; Bank of America; BET Networks; Bloomberg Philanthropies; BNY Mellon; Delta Air Lines; Diageo, North America; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; FedEx; Ford Foundation; Howard Gilman Foundation; The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; The Prudential Foundation; The SHS Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; Southern Company; Target; The Wallace Foundation; and Wells Fargo.

SPONSORS

MEDIA SPONSOR

DARCI & CHARLIE SWINDELLS CAROL IHLENBURG

The taking of photographs, videos and the use of recording devices are strictly prohibited.

Program and casting subject to change. Latecomers will be seated only during intermissions.

Please turn off all cell phones during the performance.

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TONIGHT’S PROGRAM TUESDAY, APRIL 24 AT 7:30PM

STACK-UP (1982)

R-EVOLUTION, DREAM. (2016)

CHOREOGRAPHY Talley Beatty RESTAGED Masazumi Chaya MUSIC various artists COSTUMES Carol Vollet Kingston DÉCOR ADAPTED FROM “Under the Bridge” a painting by Romare Bearden LIGHTING Chenault Spence

CHOREOGRAPHY Hope Boykin MUSIC Ali Jackson NARRATION RECORDED Leslie Odom, Jr. REHEARSAL ASSISTANTS Elise Drew, Michael Jackson, Jr. COSTUME DESIGN Hope Boykin COSTUME PROJECT MANAGER Zinda Williams LIGHTING Al Crawford Phil. 4:13

Yannick Lebrun, Jamar Roberts, Constance Stamatiou, Rachael McLaren, Daniel Harder, Jacquelin Harris, Samuel Lee Roberts, Michael Francis McBride, Sean Aaron Carmon, Akua Noni Parker, Jacqueline Green, Jermaine Terry, Michael Jackson, Jr., Megan Jakel, Solomon Dumas, Sarah Daley-Perdomo, Chalvar Monteiro This new production of Stack-Up is made possible with generous support from The Honorable Amalya L. Kearse.

Chicago native Talley Beatty (1918–95) became a principal dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company at age 16. After touring with the Dunham Company for five years and appearing in Broadway shows such as Cabin in the Sky, Pins and Needles, and Blue Holiday, Mr. Beatty formed his own company and toured throughout Europe, the United States and Canada.

Dance companies around the world, including Dance Theatre of Harlem, Kohn Opera Ballet Company, Stockholm Dance Theatre and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have mounted his ballets. Mr. Beatty passed away on April 29, 1995.

“Faces” written by Philip Bailey, Lorenzo Dunn, Verdine White, and Maurice White. Use by Permission of EMI April Music Inc. All rights reserved. ASCAP (100%) Performed by Earth, Wind and Fire. “Aubrey” written by David Gates. Used with Permission of Kipahulu Music. Performed by Grover Washington, Jr. “Rockin’ It” composed by Darryll Barksdale, Morgan Robinson, Karl Bartos, Ralf Huetter, and Bobby Robinson. Published by Spirit One Music, Inc. o/b/o Quoin Music. Used by Permission of Kling Klang Musik Gmbh, and Bobby Robinson Sweet Soul Music, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2008 Positive Songs Edition (GEMA), Hanseatic Musikverlag Gmbh & Co. KG (GEMA). All rights on behalf of Positive Songs Edition and Hanseatic Musikverlag Gmbh & Co. KG, administered by WB Music Corp. (ASCAP) All rights reserved.

Performed by Fearless Four. “Get Up and Dance” written and performed by Alphonze Mouzon. Controlled by Mouzon Music Publishing.

– INTERMISSION –

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WHITE BIRD • ALVIN AILE Y A MERIC AN DANCE THE ATER

Matthew Rushing, Jeroboam Bozeman, Rachael McLaren, Renaldo Maurice, Vernard J. Gilmore, Samantha Figgins, Daniel Harder, Jacquelin Harris, Michael Francis McBride, Jamar Roberts, Sarah Daley-Perdomo, Megan Jakel, Glenn Allen Sims, Akua Noni Parker, Sean Aaron Carmon The creation of r-Evolution, Dream. was supported by commissioning funds from The Music Center.

Major support for the creation of r-Evolution, Dream. was provided by Ethel Klein & Edward Krugman.

Additional support was also provided by Natasha I. Leibel, M.D. & Harlan B. Levine, M.D., Judith McDonough Kaminski & Joseph Kaminski, Addie & Tom Jones, Elaine & Lawrence Rothenberg, The Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn & Nicolas Rohatyn New Works Endowment Fund, The Fred Eychaner New Works Endowment Fund, and The Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey – Sara and Bill Morgan New Works Endowment Fund.

Original composition by Ali Jackson. Narration by Leslie Odom Jr. Original lyrics by Hope Boykin. Excerpts from “The Negro’s Complaint” by William Cowper; “False Greatness” by Issac Watts; “Sonnet 16” by William Shakespeare; “The Best of Whatever You Are” by Douglas Malloch; “If I Can Help Somebody As I Pass Along”

by Alma Irene Bazel. By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc; “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” from LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING

by James Weldon Johnson, copyright 1935 by James Weldon Johnson; copyright renewed ©1963 by Grace Nail Johnson. Used by permission of Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. This work may not be acted in whole or in part by amateurs or professionals without formal permission and the payment of a royalty. All inquiries should be addressed to Penguin Random House LLC.

– INTERMISSION –

REVELATIONS (1960) CHOREOGRAPHY by Alvin Ailey MUSIC: Traditional DÉCOR AND COSTUMES by Ves Harper COSTUMES FOR “ROCKA MY SOUL” REDESIGNED BY Barbara Forbes LIGHTING BY Nicola Cernovitch

PILGRIM OF SORROW I Been ‘Buked ......................................... The Company Music arranged by Hall Johnson*

Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel ............ Jermaine Terry, Megan Jakel, Ashley Mayeux Music arranged by James Miller+

Fix Me, Jesus .................................. Akua Noni Parker, Glenn Allen Sims Music arranged by Hall Johnson*

TAKE ME TO THE WATER Processional/Honor, Honor ................... Kanji Segawa, Samantha Figgins, Jeroboam Bozeman, Collin Heyward Music adapted and arranged by Howrd A. Roberts

Wade in the Water ........................ Linda Celeste Sims, Vernard J. Gilmore, Jacqueline Green Music adapted and arranged by Howard A. Roberts Wade in the Water” sequence by Ella Jenkins “A Man Went Down to the River” is an original composition by Ella Jenkins

I Wanna Be Ready ........................Sean Aaron Carmon Music arranged by James Miller+

MOVE, MEMBERS, MOVE Sinner Man ..................................Jeroboam Bozeman, Chalvar Monteiro, Solomon Dumas Music adapted and arranged by Howard A. Roberts

The Day is Past and Gone ..................... The Company Music arranged by Howard A. Roberts and Brother John Sellers

You May Run On .................................... The Company Music arranged by Howard A. Roberts and Brother John Sellers

Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham................................ The Company Music adapted and arranged by Howard A. Roberts

*Used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and copyright owner. + Used by special arrangement with Galaxy Music Corporation, New York City.

ABOUT THE COMPANY Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a now-fabled performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Led by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African-American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance. The Ailey company has gone on to perform for an estimated 25 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents—and has reached millions more through television broadcasts, film screenings, and online platforms. In 2008 a U.S. Congressional resolution designated the Company as “a vital American cultural ambassador to the world” that celebrates the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage.

When Mr. Ailey began creating dances, he drew upon his “blood memories” of Texas, the blues, spirituals, and gospel as inspiration, which resulted in the creation of his most popular and critically acclaimed work, Revelations. Although he created 79 ballets over his lifetime, Mr. Ailey maintained that his company was not exclusively a repository for his own work. Today the Company continues Mr. Ailey’s mission by presenting important works of the past and commissioning new ones. In all, more than 250 works by more than 100 choreographers have been part of the Ailey company’s repertory. Before his untimely death in 1989, Mr. Ailey named Judith Jamison as his successor, and over the next 21 years she brought the Company to unprecedented success.

Ms. Jamison, in turn, personally selected Robert Battle to succeed her in 2011, and The New York Times declared he “has injected the company with new life.”

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gratefully acknowledges The Joan & Sandy Weill Global Ambassador Fund, which provides vital support for Ailey’s national and international tours.

All performances of Revelations are permanently endowed by a generous gift from Donald L. Jonas in celebration of the birthday of his wife, Barbara, and her deep commitment to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

ALVIN AILE Y A MERIC AN DANCE THE ATER • WHITE BIRD

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TONIGHT’S PROGRAM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25 AT 7:30PM

UNTITLED AMERICA (2016) CHOREOGRAPHY Kyle Abraham REHEARSAL ASSISTANTS Tamisha Guy, Connie Shiau MUSIC by Laura Mvula, Raime, Carsten Nicolai, Kris Bowers TRADITIONAL COSTUMES Karen Young LIGHTING AND SCENIC DESIGN Dan Scully SOUND DESIGN Sam Crawford INTERVIEWS PRODUCED Kevin R. Frech, Logical Chaos Ghrai DeVore, Chalvar Monteiro, Jamar Roberts, Michael Jackson, Jr., Samantha Figgins, Belén Pereyra-Alem, Constance Stamatiou, Solomon Dumas, Jermaine Terry, Rachael McLaren, Sean Aaron Carmon, Megan Jakel Leadership support for the creation of Untitled America was made possible by Denise Littlefield Sobel and Tikkun Olam Foundation, Inc. Major support for the creation of Untitled America was provided by commissioning funds from New York City Center.

Generous support was also provided by Michele & Timothy Barakett, McGue Millhiser Trust, and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Kyle Abraham (Pittsburgh, PA) is a 2016 Doris Duke recipient, 2015 City Center Choreography Fellow, and a 2013 MacArthur Fellow.

Previous honors include being named a 2012 United States Artists Ford Fellow, a Creative Capital Fellow, and receiving a 2012 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. In 2010 he received a prestigious Bessie Award for Outstanding Performance in Dance for his work in The Radio Show, and a Princess Grace Award for Choreography. The previous year he was selected as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 To Watch” for 2009. Over the past several years Mr. Abraham has created works for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Wendy Whelan’s Restless Creature, and has created multiple works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Most recently Mr. Abraham joined the illustrious faculty of UCLA’s World Arts Cultures/Dance Department. In 2011 OUT Magazine labeled Mr. Abraham as the “best and brightest creative talent to emerge in New York City in the age of Obama.”

For more information, please visit abrahaminmotion.org.

“Father, Father” Words and Music by Laura Pauline Amanda Mvula and (Steven James Brown). © Universal – Songs of Polygram International, Inc. on behalf of Universal Music Publishing LTD. (BMI) / 90% interest for the Territory. Performed

by Laura Mvula. Recording courtesy of SME UK ltd. By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing. “No More My Lawd” Collected, adapted and arragned by Alan Lomax. TRO © Copyright 1966 (Renewed) Ludlow Music, Inc., New York, NY. New York controls all publication rights for the USA and Canada. Used by Permission.

“Passed Over Trail,” and “The Last Foundry” performed by Raime. Written and produced by Joe Andrews and Tom Halstead. © 2012 Blackest Ever Black. Used by permission of Embassy Music Corporation (BMI) o/b/o Mute Song Ltd. (PRS) All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. “Xerrox Isola” Composed

by Carsten Nicolai Edition (GEMA), c/o Downtown Music Publishing LLC. Edition Raster Norton. Used with permission. Original composition by Kris Bowers.

“Show Me Love” written by Troy Miller and Laura Mvula. Published by Bucks Music Group Limited administered by Better Be Good / The Royalty Network, Inc and Universal Music Publishing Limited. Performed by Laura Mvula. Special thanks to Greenhope Services for Women, Inc. and The Fortune Society.

– INTERMISSION –

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WHITE BIRD • ALVIN AILE Y A MERIC AN DANCE THE ATER

THE GOLDEN SECTION (1983, AILEY PREMIERE 2006) CHOREOGRAPHY Twyla Tharp RESTAGED Shelley Washington MUSIC COMPOSED AND PERFORMED David Byrne COSTUME DESIGN Santo Loquasto LIGHTING DESIGN Jennifer Tipton Samantha Figgins, Hope Boykin, Belén Pereyra-Alem, Megan Jakel, Fana Tesfagiorgis, Ghrai DeVore, Solomon Dumas, Yannick Lebrun, Renaldo Maurice, Vernard J. Gilmore, Samuel Lee Roberts, Daniel Harder, Collin Heyward This new production of The Golden Section is made possible with major support from The Jaharis Family Foundation.

In 1965, Twyla Tharp formed Twyla Tharp Dance and has created over 125 works to date.

She has also choreographed for American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance, and Martha Graham Dance Company. Ms. Tharp’s Broadway credits include When We Were Very Young, The Catherine Wheel, Singin’ In The Rain, and Movin’ Out. She collaborated in film on Hair, Ragtime, Amadeus, White Nights, and I’ll Do Anything. Ms. Tharp is the author of books Push Comes To Shove and The Creative Habit: Learn It And Use It For Life.

– INTERMISSION –

ELLA (2008, AILEY PREMIERE 2016) CHOREOGRAPHY Robert Battle RESTAGED Marlena Wolfe MUSIC PERFORMED Ella Fitzgerald COSTUMES Jon Taylor LIGHTING Burke Wilmore Ghrai DeVore, Danica Paulos Jermaine Terry, Michael Jackson, Jr., Chalvar Monteiro “Airmail Special” recorded by Ella Fitzgerald.

– PAUSE – REVELATIONS (1960) CHOREOGRAPHY by Alvin Ailey MUSIC: Traditional DÉCOR AND COSTUMES by Ves Harper COSTUMES FOR “ROCKA MY SOUL” REDESIGNED BY Barbara Forbes LIGHTING BY Nicola Cernovitch

PILGRIM OF SORROW I I Been ‘Buked ....................................... The Company Music arranged by Hall Johnson*

Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel ...Michael Jackson, Jr., Hope Boykin, Samantha Figgins Music arranged by James Miller+

Fix Me, Jesus ....... Linda Celeste Sims, Clifton Brown Music arranged by Hall Johnson*

TAKE ME TO THE WATER Processional/Honor, Honor ........Renaldo Maurice, Megan Jakel, Solomon Dumas, Jermaine Terry Music adapted and arranged by Howrd A. Roberts

Wade in the Water ...................... Rachael McLaren, Glenn Allen Sims, Ashley Mayeux Music adapted and arranged by Howard A. Roberts Wade in the Water” sequence by Ella Jenkins “A Man Went Down to the River” is an original composition by Ella Jenkins

I Wanna Be Ready .................... Vernard J. Gilmore Music arranged by James Miller+

MOVE, MEMBERS, MOVE Sinner Man .................................Chalvar Monteiro, Jermaine Terry, Kanji Segawa Music adapted and arranged by Howard A. Roberts

The Day is Past and Gone ................The Company

Music arranged by Howard A. Roberts and Brother John Sellers

You May Run On ...............................The Company

Music arranged by Howard A. Roberts and Brother John Sellers

Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham ...............The Company Music adapted and arranged by Howard A. Roberts *Used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and copyright owner. + Used by special arrangement with Galaxy Music Corporation, New York City.

All performances of Revelations are permanently endowed by a generous gift from Donald L. Jonas in celebration of the birthday of his wife, Barbara, and her deep commitment to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

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ALVIN AILEY | ABOUT THE COMPANY ALVIN AILEY Founder Alvin Ailey was born on January 5, 1931, in Rogers, Texas. His experiences of life in the rural South would later inspire some of his most memorable works. He was introduced to dance in Los Angeles by performances of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, and his formal dance training began with an introduction to Lester Horton’s classes by his friend Carmen de Lavallade. Horton, the founder of one of the first racially integrated dance companies in the United States, became a mentor for Mr. Ailey as he embarked on his professional career. After Horton’s death in 1953, Mr. Ailey became director of the Lester Horton Dance Theater and began to choreograph his own works. In the 1950s and 60s Mr. Ailey performed in four Broadway shows, including House of Flowers and Jamaica.

In 1958 he founded Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to carry out his vision of a company dedicated to enriching the American modern dance heritage and preserving the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience. He established the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (now The Ailey School) in 1969 and formed the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble (now Ailey II) in 1974. Mr. Ailey was a pioneer of programs promoting arts in education, particularly those benefiting underserved communities.

Throughout his lifetime he was awarded numerous distinctions, including the Kennedy Center Honor in 1988 in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to American culture. In 2014 he posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, in recognition of his contributions and commitment to civil rights and dance in America. When Mr. Ailey died on December 1, 1989, The New York Times said of him, “you didn’t need to have known [him] personally to have been touched by his humanity, enthusiasm, and exuberance and his courageous stand for multi-racial brotherhood.”

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ROBERT BATTLE Artistic Director Robert Battle became artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in July 2011 after being personally selected by Judith Jamison, making him only the third person to head the Company since it was founded in 1958. Mr. Battle has a longstanding association with the Ailey organization.

A frequent choreographer and artist-inresidence at Ailey since 1999, he has set many of his works on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II, and at The Ailey School. The Company’s current repertory includes his ballets Ella, In/Side, Mass, No Longer Silent, and The Hunt. In addition to expanding the Ailey repertory with works by artists as diverse as Kyle Abraham, Mauro Bigonzetti, Ronald K. Brown, Rennie Harris, and Paul Taylor, Mr. Battle has also instituted the New Directions Choreography Lab to help develop the next generation of choreographers. Mr. Battle’s journey to the top of the modern dance world began in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida. He showed artistic talent early and studied dance at a high school arts magnet program before moving on to Miami’s New World School of the Arts, under the direction of Daniel Lewis and Gerri Houlihan, and finally to the dance program at The Juilliard School, under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy, where he met his mentor, Carolyn Adams. He danced with The Parsons Dance Company from 1994 to 2001, and also set his choreography on that company starting in 1998. Mr. Battle then founded his own Battleworks Dance Company, which made its debut in 2002 in Düsseldorf, Germany, as the U.S. representative to the World Dance Alliance’s Global Assembly. Battleworks subsequently per-formed extensively at venues, including The Joyce Theater, Dance Theater Workshop, American Dance Festival, and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Mr. Battle was honored as one of the “Masters of African-American Choreography” by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2005, and he received the prestigious Statue Award from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA in 2007. He has honorary doctorates from The University of the Arts and Marymount Manhattan College. Mr.

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Battle was named a 2015 visiting fellow for The Art of Change, an initiative by the Ford Foundation. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and has addressed a number of high-profile organizations, including the United Nations Leaders Programme and the UNICEF Senior Leadership Development Programme.

MASAZUMI CHAYA Associate Artistic Director Masazumi Chaya was born in Fukuoka, Japan, where he began his classical ballet training. Upon moving to New York in December 1970, he studied modern dance and performed with the Richard Englund Repertory Company. Mr. Chaya joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1972 and performed with the Company for 15 years.

In 1988 he became the Company’s rehearsal director after serving as assistant rehearsal director. A master teacher both on tour with the Company and in his native Japan, he served as choreographic assistant to Alvin Ailey and John Butler. In 1991 Mr. Chaya was named associate artistic director of the Company. He continues to provide invaluable creative assistance in all facets of its operations. Mr. Chaya has restaged numerous ballets by Alvin Ailey, including Flowers for the State Ballet of Missouri (1990) and The River for the Royal Swedish Ballet (1993), Ballet Florida (1995), National Ballet of Prague (1995), Pennsylvania Ballet (1996), and Colorado Ballet (1998). He has also restaged The Mooche, Stack-Up, Episodes, Bad Blood, Hidden Rites, and Witness for the Company. At the beginning of his tenure, Mr. Chaya restaged Ailey’s For ‘Bird’ - With Love for a Dance in America program entitled Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Steps Ahead. In 2000 he restaged Ailey’s Night Creature for the Rome Opera House and The River for La Scala Ballet. In 2002 Mr. Chaya coordinated the Company’s appearance at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, broadcast on NBC. In 2003 he restaged The River for North Carolina Dance Theatre and for Julio Bocca’s Ballet Argentina. Most recently Mr. Chaya restaged Bad Blood, Blues Suite, Love Songs, Masekela Langage, Pas de Duke, and Vespers for the Company. As a performer, Mr. Chaya appeared on Japanese television in both dramatic and musical productions. He

ALVIN AILEY | ABOUT THE COMPANY wishes to recognize the artistic contribution and spirit of his late friend and fellow artist, Michihiko Oka.

JUDITH JAMISON Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1965 and quickly became an international star. Over the next 15 years, Mr. Ailey created some of his most enduring roles for her, most notably the tour-de-force solo Cry. During the 1970s and 80s she appeared as a guest artist with ballet companies all over the world, starred in the hit Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies, and formed her own company, The Jamison Project. She returned to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1989 when Mr. Ailey asked her to succeed him as artistic director. In the 21 years that followed, she brought the Company to unprecedented heights—including two historic engagements in South Africa and a 50-city global tour to celebrate the Company’s 50th anniversary. Ms. Jamison is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them a prime time Emmy Award, an American Choreography Award, a Kennedy Center Honor, a National Medal of Arts, a Bessie Award, the Phoenix Award, and the Handel Medallion. She was also listed in “The TIME 100: The World’s Most Influential People” and honored by First Lady Michelle Obama at the first White House Dance Series event.

In 2015 she became the 50th inductee into the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Dance. In 2016 she received the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards. As a highly regarded choreographer, Ms. Jamison has created many celebrated works, including Divining (1984), Forgotten Time (1989), Hymn (1993), HERE... NOW. (commissioned for the 2002 Cultural Olympiad), Love Stories (with additional choreography

by Robert Battle and Rennie Harris, 2004), and Among Us (Private Spaces: Public Places, 2009). Ms. Jamison’s autobiography, Dancing Spirit, was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and published in 1993.

In 2004, under Ms. Jamison’s artistic directorship, her idea of a permanent home for the Ailey company was realized and named after beloved chairman emerita Joan Weill.

Ms. Jamison continues to dedicate herself

to asserting the prominence of the arts in our culture and she remains committed to promoting the significance of the Ailey legacy—using dance as a medium for honoring the past, celebrating the present, and fearlessly reaching into the future.

BENNETT RINK

Executive Director Bennett Rink became executive director of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation in 2013. Mr. Rink first joined Ailey as manager of special events in 1994, became development director in 1998, and then worked as senior director of development and external affairs from 2007 to 2012. In his tenure overseeing Ailey’s development, Mr. Rink led a $75 million capital campaign supporting Ailey’s first permanent home, The Joan Weill Center for Dance which opened in 2005, and established an endowment to support major program areas. When the Company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008, Mr. Rink supervised an 18-month celebration, including events, promotions, collaborations, and special performances, bringing public awareness of the Ailey organization to new heights. Mr. Rink also oversaw “The Next Step Campaign,” which grew the organization’s endowment to $50 million. As Executive Director, Mr. Rink launched a five-year strategic plan in 2014 to realize Robert Battle’s creative vision, expand Ailey’s educational offerings, and enhance technology to extend the reach of the organization.

Central to the plan has been the expansion of The Joan Weill Center for Dance, which attracts more than 200,000 visitors each year. In the fall of 2017, Ailey unveiled the Center’s Elaine Wynn and Family Education Wing, providing much-needed additional studios and classroom space to meet the growing demand for Ailey’s programs. The building now comprises 87,000 square feet and is the largest destination for dance in New York City. Mr. Rink also conceived The Campaign for Ailey’s Future, a $50 million initiative to support the Center’s expansion and the ongoing implementation of other long-range strategic priorities.

During Mr. Rink’s tenure, the Company deepened its presence in New York City by establishing a spring season at Lincoln Center to complement its New York City

Center winter season, while also extending its role as America’s “Cultural Ambassador to the World” with tours to Africa, Europe, and South America. In order to reach audiences beyond live performances, the Company has broadened its commitment to creating film and digital content, including its first-ever theatrical movie release as part of Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance.

Mr. Rink is a graduate of Syracuse University and holds a B.F.A. in theater.

MATTHEW RUSHING Rehearsal Director and Guest Artist Matthew Rushing was born in Los Angeles, California. He began his dance training with Kashmir Blake in Inglewood, California, and later continued his training at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. He is the recipient of a Spotlight Award and a Dance Magazine Award and was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. He was a scholarship student at The Ailey School and later became a member of Ailey II. During his career Mr. Rushing has performed as a guest artist for galas in Vail, Colorado, as well as in Austria, Canada, France, Italy, and Russia. He has performed for Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, as well as at the 2010 White House Dance Series.

During his time with the Company, he has choreographed three ballets: Acceptance In Surrender (2005), a collaboration with Hope Boykin and Abdur-Rahim Jackson; Uptown (2009), a tribute to the Harlem Renaissance; and ODETTA (2014), a celebration of “the queen of American folk music.” In 2012 he created Moan, which was set on Philadanco and premiered at The Joyce Theater. Mr. Rushing joined the Company in 1992 and became rehearsal director in June 2010.

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ALVIN AILEY | DANCERS HOPE BOYKIN (Durham, NC) is a threetime recipient of the American Dance Festival’s Young Tuition Scholarship. She attended Howard University and, while in Washington, D.C., performed with Lloyd Whitmore’s New World Dance Company.

Ms. Boykin was a student and intern at The Ailey School. She was assistant to the late Talley Beatty and an original member of Complexions. Ms. Boykin was a member of Philadanco and received a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie). She has choreographed three works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Acceptance In Surrender (2005), in collaboration with fellow Ailey company members AbdurRahim Jackson and Matthew Rushing; Go in Grace (2008, for the Company’s 50th anniversary season) with music by the award-winning singing group Sweet Honey in the Rock; and r-Evolution, Dream. (2016), inspired by the speeches and sermons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with original music

by Ali Jackson. Find Ms. Boykin on Twitter and Instagram at hbdance and Facebook at HopeBoykinDance. Ms. Boykin joined the Company in 2000.

JEROBOAM BOZEMAN (Brooklyn, NY) began his dance training under Ruth Sistaire at the Ronald Edmonds Learning Center.

He later joined Creative Outlet, and was granted full scholarships at the Joffrey Ballet School and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Mr. Bozeman is a gold-medal recipient of the NAACP ACT-SO Competition in Dance.

He performed in Elton John and Tim Rice’s Broadway musical Aida (international tour in China) and was a part of Philadanco, Donald Byrd’s Spectrum Dance Theater, and Ailey II. During the fall of 2016 Mr. Bozeman performed as a guest artist with The Royal Ballet. Mr. Bozeman recently received a bachelor’s degree in psychology concentrating in industrial organization from Argosy University. Mr. Bozeman joined the Company in 2013.

CLIFTON BROWN (Goodyear, AZ) began his dance training at Take 5 Dance Academy and continued in the first class of the Ailey/ Fordham BFA Program in Dance. Mr. Brown began his professional career when he joined the Ailey company in 1999 and served as choreographic assistant to Judith Jamison.

He has also danced with Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance and Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and was a founding member and rehearsal director for Jessica Lang Dance.

He was nominated in the U.K. for a Critics Circle National Dance Award for Best Male Dancer and received a Black Theater Arts Award as well as a New York Dance and Per-

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formance Award (“The Bessies”). As a guest artist Mr. Brown has performed with Miami City Ballet, Rome Opera Ballet, Nevada Ballet, and Parsons Dance Company. He has set the work of Alvin Ailey, Earl Mosley, and Jessica Lang on various companies around the world. Television appearances as a guest artist include So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars. He has had the privilege of performing at the White House for President Obama. Mr. Brown rejoined the company in 2017.

SEAN AARON CARMON (Beaumont, TX) attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and later graduated from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in Dance.

He has appeared on Broadway in 2010’s La Cage aux Folles and in The Phantom of the Opera. He has also appeared as a guest artist with notable companies such as the Cape Dance Company in South Africa and with Joshua Beamish/MOVEthecompany.

Mr. Carmon was a 2017 Joffrey Ballet Winning Works award recipient and was commissioned to choreograph a new ballet, Suite Hearts. He creates original works and teaches master classes at high schools, universities, and dance companies, both nationally and internationally. Mr. Carmon joined the Company in 2011.

SARAH DALEY-PERDOMO (South Elgin, IL) began her training at the Faubourg School of Ballet in Illinois under the direction of Watmora Casey and Tatyana Mazur. She is a 2009 graduate of the Ailey/ Fordham BFA Program in Dance. Mrs. Daley-Perdomo trained at institutions such as the Kirov Academy, National Ballet School of Canada, The San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and intensives at Ballet Camp Illinois and Ballet Adriatico in Italy. She is a recipient of a Youth America Grand Prix Award and an ARTS Foundation Award.

She was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2011.

GHRAI DeVORE (Washington, D.C.) began her formal dance training at the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center and was a scholarship student at The Ailey School. She has completed summer programs at the Kirov Academy, Ballet Chicago, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Ms. DeVore was a member of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater 2, Hubbard Street 2, Dance Works Chicago, and Ailey II. She has received the Danish Queen Ingrid Scholarship of Honor and the Dizzy Feet Foundation Scholarship, and she was a 2010 nominee

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for the first annual Clive Barnes Award. Ms. DeVore joined the Company in 2010.

SOLOMON DUMAS (Chicago, IL) was introduced to dance through AileyCamp.

He later began his formal training at The Chicago Academy for the Arts and the Russell Talbert Dance Studio, where he received his most influential training. Mr. Dumas studied at New World School of the Arts and was a fellowship Level 1 student at The Ailey School. He has performed with companies including Garth Fagan Dance; Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, A Dance Company; and Labyrinth Dance Theater and was a member of Ailey II. Mr. Dumas joined the Company in 2016.

SAMANTHA FIGGINS (Washington, D.C.) began dancing at Duke Ellington School of the Arts under the tutelage of Charles Auggins and Sandra FortuneGreene and attended summer intensives at Dance Theatre of Harlem under the direction of Arthur Mitchell. She continued her education at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. There she performed works

by George Balanchine, Bill T. Jones, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp. Upon graduating cum laude, Ms. Figgins became a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, performing works by Dwight Rhoden, Jae Man Joo, and Camille A. Brown. She also performed at the 2014 DanceOpen Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ms. Figgins was featured both on the cover of Dance Spirit magazine and in Pointe magazine’s “10 Careers to Watch” in 2013. She has worked with Beyoncé and can be seen in the film Enemy Within alongside Tiler Peck and Matthew Rushing. Ms. Figgins joined the Company in 2014.

VERNARD J. GILMORE (Chicago, IL) began his training at Curie Performing and Creative Arts High School in Chicago under Diane Holda. He later studied at the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater with Harriet Ross, Marquita Levy, and Emily Stein. He received first place in the all-city NAACP ACT-SO competition in 1993. He attended Barat College under scholarship and tutelage of Rory Foster and Eileen Cropley.

He then studied as a scholarship student at The Ailey School and was a member of Ailey II. In 2010 he performed as part of the White House Dance Series. Mr. Gilmore is a choreographer whose work has been a part of the Ailey Dancers Resource Fund, Fire Island Dance Festival 2008, Jazz Foundation of America Gala 2010, and he produced the Dance Of Light project in 2010 and 2015. An excerpt of Mr. Gilmore’s work La

ALVIN AILEY | DANCERS Muette was performed in December 2017 as part of the “Celebrating the Men of Ailey” program. Nimbus Dance Works will also perform a new work by Mr. Gilmore in 2018.

Mr. Gilmore is a certified Zena Rommett Floor-Barre instructor. He teaches workshops and master classes around the world.

Mr. Gilmore joined the Company in 1997.

JACQUELINE GREEN (Baltimore, MD) began her dance training at the age of 13 at the prestigious Baltimore School for the Arts. After being accepted into the Ailey/ Fordham BFA Program by Denise Jefferson, she graduated Cum Laude in 2011. During this time, she also received training at the Pennsylvania Regional Ballet, Chautauqua Institution for Dance, and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. In her career, she has performed works by a wide range of choreographers, including Wayne McGregor, Jirí Kylián, Elisa Monte, Ronald K. Brown, and Kyle Abraham. In 2016, she performed as a guest artist with the Royal Ballet. Ms. Green is the recipient of a 2014 Dance Fellowship from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and a 2015 Clive Barnes Award nominee.

She is also the recipient of the 2009 Martha Hill Fund’s Young Professional Award and the 2010 Dizzy Feet Foundation Scholarship.

She was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2011.

DANIEL HARDER (Bowie, MD) began dancing at Suitland High School’s Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Maryland. He is a graduate of the Ailey/ Fordham BFA Program in Dance where he was awarded the Jerome Robbins/Layton Foundation Scholarship and participated in the Holland Dance Festival with the School and as a member of the Francesca Harper Project. Mr. Harder has worked with and performed works by Nacho Duato, William Forsythe, Donald McKayle, Debbie Allen, and Christopher L. Huggins. After dancing in the European tour of West Side Story, Mr. Harder became a member of Ailey II. He joined the Company in 2010.

JACQUELIN HARRIS (Charlotte, NC) began her dance training at Dance Productions Studios under the direction of Lori Long. Ms. Harris received a silver ARTS award from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts and was a Presidential Scholar in the Arts semifinalist.

She has studied at Joffrey Ballet School and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. She graduated with honors from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in Dance. In 2016 Ms. Harris was named one of the “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine. Most recently she received a 2017

dance fellowship from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA. She was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2014.

Wayne McGregor’s Chroma. Mr. Lebrun was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2008.

COLLIN HEYWARD (Newport News, VA)

RENALDO MAURICE (Gary, IN) began his dance training with Tony Simpson and is a graduate of Talent Unlimited High School.

He attended the Emerson School for Visual and Performing Arts and studied with Larry Brewer and Michael Davis. Mr. Maurice was a scholarship student at The Ailey School, has trained on scholarship at Ballet Chicago and Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, and had an internship at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. In 2008 he received second place in modern dance from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and received the Dizzy Feet Foundation Scholarship in 2009. In February 2012 Mr. Maurice was honored with the key to the city of Gary, Indiana, his hometown. Find Mr. Maurice on Instagram at r_maurice25 and Facebook at maurice.gardner3. He was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2011.

began his training at The Academy of Dance and Gymnastics in Newport News under the direction of Linda Haas, and later at Denise Wall’s Dance Energy in Virginia Beach. Mr. Heyward also attended several dance intensives, including Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, and has performed works by Sidra Bell, Francisco Martinez, Elisa Monte, and Scott Rink. He has made guest appearances with Company Stefanie Batten Bland and in the revival of E. Clement Bethel’s The Legend of Sammie Swain in Nassau, Bahamas. Mr. Heyward is also a featured dancer in the Fox Searchlight film Black Nativity. He graduated with honors from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in Dance and was a member of Ailey II. Mr. Heyward joined the Company in 2014.

MICHAEL JACKSON, JR. (New Orleans, LA) began his dance training at age 14 at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., under the direction of Charles Augins. He became a member of Dance Theatre of Harlem Dancing through Barriers Ensemble in 2005. In 2006 he joined Dallas Black Dance Theatre, and in 2008 joined Philadanco, where he also worked as artistic director of D3. Mr. Jackson joined the Company in 2011 and rejoined in 2015.

MEGAN JAKEL (Waterford, MI) trained in ballet and jazz in her hometown. As a senior in high school, she spent a year dancing with the City Ballet of San Diego.

In 2005 Ms. Jakel was an apprentice and rehearsal director for the Francesca Harper Project. She graduated with honors in May 2007 from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in Dance. She was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2009.

YANNICK LEBRUN (Cayenne, French Guiana) began training in his native country at the Adaclam School under the guidance of Jeanine Verin. After graduating high school in 2004, he moved to New York City to study at The Ailey School as a scholarship student. Mr. Lebrun has performed works by choreographers Troy Powell, Debbie Allen, Scott Rink, Thaddeus Davis, Nilas Martins, Dwight Rhoden, and Francesca Harper. He was named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2011, and, in 2013, FranceAmérique magazine highlighted him as one of the 50 most talented French in the United States. In November 2016 Mr. Lebrun was a guest performer with The Royal Ballet in

ASHLEY MAYEUX (Houston, TX) began her dance training at the High School for Performing and Visual Arts and graduated cum laude with a BFA from SUNY Purchase.

Ms. Mayeux continued her studies at the Dance Theatre of Harlem and went on to perform in the tour of the Broadway musical Aida. She has been featured in publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and Pointe magazine. From 2012 to 2016 Ms. Mayeux was a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. To engage more with Ms. Mayeux, please follow her on Instagram at courtesy_ofhtwn. She joined the Company in 2016.

MICHAEL

FRANCIS

McBRIDE

(Johnson City, NY) began his training at the Danek School of Performing Arts and later trained at Amber Perkins School of the Arts in Norwich, New York. Mr. McBride attended Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts for two consecutive summers and was also assistant to Mr. Mosley when he set the piece Saddle UP! on the Company in 2007. In January 2012 Mr. McBride performed and taught as a guest artist with the JUNTOS Collective in Guatemala. Mr. McBride graduated magna cum laude from the Ailey/ Fordham BFA Program in Dance in 2010.

Follow Mr. McBride on Instagram at mickey. mc. Mr. McBride joined the Company in 2009.

RACHAEL McLAREN (Manitoba, Canada) began her dance training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and continued at the Ailey School in New York under

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ALVIN AILEY | DANCERS the direction of Denise Jefferson. She has been a guest artist with Armitage Gone!

Dance and the Francesca Harper Project.

Ms. McLaren was most recently a guest artist with Royal Ballet of London for Wayne McGregor’s 10th anniversary season in a production of Chroma. Her theater credits include Ensemble/Understudy for the role of Ali in the Toronto Production of Mamma Mia! (Royal Alexandra Theater/Mirvish Productions). Ms. McLaren was a member of Ailey II and is in her 10th season with the Company.

CHALVAR MONTEIRO (Montclair, NJ) began his formal dance training at Sharron Miller’s Academy for the Performing Arts and went on to study at The Ailey School.

He received his B.F.A. in dance from SUNY Purchase, where he performed works by Merce Cunningham, Helen Pickett, Doug Varone, Dianne McIntyre, Kevin Wynn and Paul Taylor. Since graduating Mr. Monteiro has worked with Sidra Bell Dance New York, Elisa Monte Dance, Keigwin + Company, BODYTRAFFIC, and most extensively with Abraham.In.Motion. He has assisted Kyle Abraham in setting and creating work for Barnard College, Princeton University, Emory University, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Wendy Whelan’s Restless Creature. Mr. Monteiro was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2015.

AKUA NONI PARKER (Kinston, NC) began her professional dance training at the Academy of the Dance in Wilmington, Delaware. After graduating high school she joined Dance Theatre of Harlem, where she performed principal roles in George Balanchine’s Agon, Serenade and The Four Temperaments, as well as the title role in Michael Smuin’s St. Louis Woman. Ms. Parker has also danced professionally with the Cincinnati Ballet and Ballet San Jose. She had the honor of being the first African-American ballerina to dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Ballet San Jose’s The Nutcracker.

Since joining the Ailey company in 2008, Ms. Parker has performed featured roles in Mr. Ailey’s Blues Suite, Night Creature, Masekela Langage and Cry. She has also performed featured roles in Jirí Kylián’s Petite Mort and Wayne McGregor’s Chroma and the title role in Geoffrey Holder’s Prodigal Prince. To see Ms. Parker’s outside projects and interests, you can follow her on Instagram at OnlyUpward.

DANICA PAULOS (Huntington Beach, CA) began her dance training at Orange County Dance Center in southern California and also studied in Los Angeles with Yuri 28

Grigoriev. She graduated from the Professional Performing Arts School in New York and trained at The Ailey School as a scholarship student. Ms. Paulos received a Level 1 Award as a YoungArts finalist by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. In 2015 she was featured on the cover of Dance Magazine as one of “25 to Watch.” Ms. Paulos was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2014.

BELÉN PEREYRA-ALEM (Lawrence,

Mr. Roberts performed during the award ceremony at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, worked with Corbin Dances and Keigwin + Company and was a founding member of Battleworks Dance Company. In May 2006 Mr. Roberts was named Dance Magazine’s “On the Rise” dancer. He performed several roles in Julie Taymor’s film Across the Universe and the original opera Grendel. Mr. Roberts joined the Company in 2009. Instagram @ samuellee.me.

MA) began her formal dance training at the Boston Arts Academy, where she graduated as valedictorian. She was also a member of NIA Dance Troupe, at Origination Cultural Arts Center in Boston. Upon moving to New York City, Mrs. Pereyra-Alem was closely mentored by Earl Mosley and danced with Camille A. Brown & Dancers for three years, during which time she performed at The Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and Dancers Responding to AIDS’ annual events Dance from the Heart and The Fire Island Dance Festival. Mrs. Pereyra-Alem was an apprentice for Ronald K. Brown/ Evidence, A Dance Company, and has performed with Lula Washington Dance Theater, Nathan Trice, and Roger C. Jeffrey.

She assisted Matthew Rushing with his ballet Uptown for the Ailey company in 2009. Mrs. Pereyra-Alem joined the Company in 2011.

KANJI SEGAWA (Kanagawa, Japan)

JAMAR ROBERTS (Miami, FL) gradu-

GLENN ALLEN SIMS (Long Branch,

ated from the New World School of the Arts. He trained at the Dance Empire of Miami, where he continues to teach, and as a fellowship student at The Ailey School.

Mr. Roberts was a member of Ailey II and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Dance Magazine featured Mr. Roberts as one of “25 to Watch” in 2007 and on the cover in 2013.

He performed at The White House in 2010, and as a guest star on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, and The Ellen Degeneres Show. In 2015 he made his Ailey II choreographic debut with his work Gêmeos, set to the music of Afrobeat star Fela Kuti.

His first work for the Company, Members Don’t Get Weary, premiered during the 2017 New York City Center season. Mr. Roberts won Outstanding Performer at the prestigious New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Awards and was a guest star with London’s Royal Ballet. He first joined the Company in 2002.

SAMUEL LEE ROBERTS (Quakertown, PA) began his dance training under the direction of Kathleen Johnston and attended The Juilliard School. He performed in the first international show of Radio City Christmas Spectacular in Mexico City and danced with the New York cast from 1999–2004.

WHITE BIRD • ALVIN AILE Y A MERIC AN DANCE THE ATER

began his modern dance training with his mother, Erika Akoh, and studied ballet with Kan Horiuchi and Ju Horiuchi in Tokyo, Japan. In 1997 Mr. Segawa came to the U.S. under the Japanese Government Artist Fellowship to train at The Ailey School. Mr. Segawa was a member of Ailey II from 2000–02 and Robert Battle’s Battleworks Dance Company from 2002–10. Mr. Segawa worked extensively with choreographer Mark Morris from 2004–11, repeatedly appearing in Mr. Morris’ various productions with Mark Morris Dance Group, including as a principal dancer in John Adams’ Nixon in China at The Metropolitan Opera. In addition, Mr. Segawa has assisted and worked closely with choreographer Jessica Lang since 1999. Mr. Segawa joined the Company in 2011.

NJ) began classical dance training at the Academy of Dance Arts in Tinton Falls, New Jersey and was a scholarship student to the Ailey School’s Summer Intensive. Mr. Sims attended The Juilliard School under Benjamin Harkarvy. In 2004 Mr. Sims was the youngest person to be inducted into the Long Branch High School’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. He has been featured on several network television programs, including BET Honors, Dancing with the Stars, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, LIVE! With Kelly and Michael, The Today Show and So You Think You Can Dance. Mr. Sims is a master teacher, certified Zena Rommett Floor-Barre instructor, and certified pilates mat instructor. He has performed in the White House Dance Series and for the king of Morocco. Mr. Sims was featured on the cover of and wrote a featured guest blog for Dance Magazine. He has originated featured roles by Carmen De Lavallade, Judith Jamison, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Mauro Bigonzetti, Rennie Harris and Ronald K. Brown.

Mr. Sims joined the Company in 1997.

LINDA CELESTE SIMS (Bronx, NY) began training at Ballet Hispánico School of Dance and graduated from LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts. Ms. Sims

ALVIN AILEY | DANCERS has received the 2016 Inspiracion Award from Ballet Hispanico, has won Outstanding Performance at the 2014 New York Dance and Performance Award (“The Bessies”) and most recently, she received the 2017 Dance Magazine Award. Ms. Sims has been featured on the cover of Dance Magazine and on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With The Stars, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Mo’Nique Show, Live with Kelly and Michael and The Today Show. Ms. Sims has appeared at the White House Series, Youth America Grand Prix, Vail International Dance Festival and galas in Budapest and Vienna, and originated featured roles by Judith Jamison, Donald Byrd, Alonso King, Dwight Rhoden, Ronald K. Brown, Mauro Bigonzetti, Jennifer Muller, Karole Armitage, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Rennie Harris, Christopher L. Huggins, and Azure Barton.

She teaches master classes worldwide and is a certified Zena-Rommett Floor-Barre instructor. Ms. Sims joined the Company in 1996 and is currently the assistant to the rehearsal director.

CONSTANCE STAMATIOU (Charlotte, NC) began her dance training at Pat Hall’s Dance Un-limited and North Carolina Dance Theatre. She graduated from NorthWest School of the Arts and studied at SUNY Purchase before becoming a fellowship student at The Ailey School. In 2009 Ms. Stamatiou received the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the performing and visual arts.

She performed at the White House Dance Series and has been a guest performer on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, and The Today Show. Ms. Stamatiou has also danced in the films Shake Rattle & Roll and in Dan Pritzker’s Bolden. Ms. Stamatiou was a member of Ailey ll and a guest artist for Dance Grand Moultrie and Caroline Calouche & Co. She is a certified Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis instructor and a mother of two. Follow her on Instagram at constancestamatiou. Ms. Stamatiou first joined the Company in 2007 and rejoined in 2016.

JERMAINE TERRY (Washington, D.C.) began his dance training in Kissimmee, Florida at James Dance Center. He graduated cum laude with a B.F.A. in dance performance from the University of South Florida, where he received scholarships for excellence in performance and choreography. Mr. Terry was a scholarship student at The Ailey School and a member of Ailey II, and he has performed with Buglisi Dance Theatre, Arch Dance, Dance Iquail, and Philadanco and as a guest artist on the television show So You Think You Can Dance. In

2013 he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from USF for outstanding service to the arts. He has made costumes for the Company, Ailey II, Philadanco, Jessica Lang Dance and The Black Iris Project, to name a few. His evening wear has been in Essence online as well at shot by the late Bill Cunningham for the style section of The New York Times. Please follow Mr. Terry on Instagram at Jerms83. Mr. Terry joined the Company in 2010.

ALVIN AILEY DANCE FOUNDATION Recipient of the National Medal of Arts

FANA TESFAGIORGIS (Madison, WI)

Dacquiri T’Shaun Smittick, Director of Production Isabelle Mezin, Director of Company Business Affairs Gregory Stuart, Company Manager Joseph Anthony Gaito, Technical Director Kristin Colvin Young, Production Stage Manager Al Crawford, Lighting Director Jon Taylor, Wardrobe Supervisor DJ Adderley, Master Carpenter Zane Beatty, Master Electrician Russell J. Cowans IV, Sound Engineer Chris Theodore, Property Master Selena M. Campbell, Assistant Company Manager Nicole A. Walters, Assistant Stage Manager Roya Abab, Associate Lighting Director Jesse Dunham, Wardrobe Assistant Katie Chihaby, Wardrobe Assistant Philip Lugo, Flyman Andrew Davila, Assistant Electrician Michael Windham, Production Associate Michelle Grazio, Production and Finance Associate

is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in Dance, with a minor in journalism. She began training at Ballet Madison under the direction of Charmaine Ristow and attended Interlochen Arts Academy High School. Ms. Tesfagiorgis also trained at summer and winter intensives at Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. Professionally she has danced with Ailey II, Brian Harlan Brooks’ Continuum, Alenka Cizmesja’s Art DeConstructed, Dance Iquail, Freddie Moore’s Footprints, and Samuel Pott’s Nimbus Dance Works. Ms. Tesfagiorgis has been a rehearsal assistant for Hope Boykin, Earl Mosley, Pedro Ruiz, Matthew Rushing, and Sylvia Waters. She joined the Company in 2013.

The Ailey dancers are supported, in part,

by The Judith McDonough Kaminski Dancer Endowment Fund.

All headshots by Andrew Eccles except for Mr. Ailey by Jack Mitchell.

ALVIN AILEY DANCE FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES Daria L. Wallach, Chairman Debra L. Lee, President Gina F. Adams, Stephen J. Meringoff, Arthur J. Mirante II, John H. Schaefer, Vice-Chairmen Eleanor S. Applewhaite Robert Battle Paulette Mullings Bradnock Tia Breakley-China Robyn Coles Sela Thompson Collins Laura D. Corb Paul M. Donofrio Jaishri Kapoor Anthony S. Kendall Robert Kissane Ricki Lander Michelle Y. Lee Natasha Leibel Levine, M.D.

Anthony A. Lewis Leslie L. Maheras Lucinda C. Martinez Doris Meister Stanley Plesent, Esq. Marylin L. Prince Lata N. Reddy Bennett Rink Richard Speciale Marc S. Strachan Joan H. Weill Roger C. Williams, Jr. Gillian Wynn

Bennett Rink, Executive Director Pamela Robinson, Chief Financial Officer Thomas Cott, Senior Director of Marketing and Creative Content Kimberly T. Watson, Senior Director of Development

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER Matthew Rushing, Rehearsal Director Linda Celeste Sims, Assistant to the Rehearsal Director

Donald J. Rose, M.D., Director of the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries, Hospital for Joint Disease Shaw Bronner, Director of Physical Therapy Sheyi Ojofeitimi, Sara Aingorn, Kala Flagg, Ryanne Glasper, Physical Therapists

TOURING CONTACTS North American Agent: OPUS 3 ARTISTS Tel: 212-584-7500, opus3artists.com International Agent: ASKONAS HOLT LTD. Tel: +44-20-7400-1700, askonasholt.co.uk

PRODUCTION CREDITS Lighting system provided by 4Wall Entertainment.

Touring sound system provided by Gibson Entertainment Services.

Domestic trucking services provided by Stage Call Corporation.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a proud member of Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance.

AILEY TOUR MERCHANDISE Ailey Tour Merchandise and AileyShop.com are managed by The Araca Group www.AileyShop.com Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Joan Weill Center for Dance 405 West 55th Street, NY, NY 10019-4402 Tel 212-405-9000 | AlvinAiley.org facebook.com/AlvinAileyAmericanDanceTheater Instagram: @alvinailey

Philip Laskawy, Harold Levine*, Stanley Plesent, Esq., Joan H. Weill, Chairmen Emeriti Henry McGee, President Emeritus Simin N. Allison, Anthony M. Carvette, Kathryn C. Chenault, Guido Goldman, Bruce S. Gordon, Lemar Swinney, Honorary Trustees *In Memoriam

ALVIN AILE Y A MERIC AN DANCE THE ATER • WHITE BIRD

29

WHAT TO SEE IN ARTSLANDIA ARTS CALENDAR

ALICE (IN WONDERLAND)

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. Created in 2012 by Septime Webre with an original score by American composer and violinist Matthew Pierce, the mad adventure is brought to life with surreal sets, zany costumes, puppetry, and powerfully expressive dance. Don’t be late!

FEBRUARY 24–MARCH 4; KELLER AUDITORIUM

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.

Our 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

BLIND PILOT

OREGON SYMPHONY Since forming in 2008, Blind Pilot has emerged as one of the most innovative indie bands to arrive on the national scene. Now they return to Portland, sharing the stage with their hometown orchestra to perform from their third album, And Then Like Lions, as well as old favorites. Conducted by Norman Huynh.

MARCH 1; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

THE MAGIC PLAY

PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY A theater is a realm of illusion. So is a magic show.

Playwright Andrew Hinderaker mashes these traditions together with alluring results. The Magic Play follows a young magician trying to get through a live show, just hours after his partner has left him. As the performance progresses, he confronts the fact that the spectacular tricks that impress people onstage don’t serve him as well when it comes to building truthful personal relationships. This mesmerizing new play questions the extent to which we must be honest with ourselves to be so with those we love.

MARCH 3–APRIL 1; PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY, U.S. BANK MAIN STAGE

ALONG THE OREGON TRAIL

OREGON SYMPHONY Young travelers head out on a musical journey that spirits them on an adventurous musical tour of the Wild West and the great Northwest. Conducted by Norman Huynh.

MARCH 4; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

30

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE

MUSIC

DANCE

THEATER

VERDI’S REQUIEM

OREGON SYMPHONY Verdi’s Requiem combines the dramatic thrust of opera with powerful symphonic music, vocal solos, and choruses of breathtaking emotional intensity. Conducted by Carlos Kalmar.

MARCH 10–12; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

HEDDA

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 full-company work filled with whimsy and pounds of pink.

MARCH 15–17; NEWMARK THEATRE

BRAHMS’ VIOLIN CONCERTO

OREGON SYMPHONY One of the greatest violin concertos ever written, Brahms’ work is a stunning display of the violin’s emotional and virtuosic qualities. A colleague of Brahms’ exclaimed, “It is a concerto for violin against the orchestra—and the violin wins!”

Conducted by Carlos Kalmar.

MARCH 17–19; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

A CELTIC CELEBRATION (BAGPIPES, GREEN BEER, AND CELTIC-INSPIRED MUSIC)

VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Extend your St. Patrick’s Day observance an extra day by joining The VSO for their jamboree in celebration of all things Celt. Bagpipes and green beer round out this presentation of music inspired by the Celtic speakers of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany (France), and Galicia (Spain). Distinct in rhythm and melody, the genre dates back to the 1600s and is known for both its rousing dance tunes and heartbreaking ballads.

MARCH 18; KIGGINS THEATRE, 1011 MAIN ST., VANCOUVER

JURASSIC PARK IN CONCERT

OREGON SYMPHONY One of the most exhilarating science fiction adventures ever made, Jurassic Park transports audiences to a wondrous island theme park of cloned dinosaurs. What could go wrong?

Masterfully directed by Steven Spielberg and featuring one of John Williams’ most iconic scores performed live by the Oregon Symphony, the only thing more thrilling might be Jurassic Park itself! Conducted by Norman Huynh.

MARCH 24 & 25; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

CULTURE

ONE NIGHT ONLY

FAMILY SHOW

AND SO WE WALKED

PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY A frank, funny, and sometimes misguided story of a contemporary Cherokee woman who goes on a sixweek, 900-mile journey with her father along the Trail of Tears in search of her heroic self. Through this personal odyssey, her sense of identity—both as a contemporary Cherokee and as a woman—is tested by the people and places she encounters.

MARCH 31–MAY 13; PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE AMORY, ELLYN BYE STUDIO

RAVEL’S DAPHNIS AND CHLOE

OREGON SYMPHONY Enjoy the rare opportunity to hear Ravel’s complete score for his 1912 ballet. Widely regarded as his finest orchestral music, Ravel’s self-titled “choreographic symphony” is full of passion and the gorgeous, color-saturated harmonies of French impressionism. Conducted by Carlos Kalmar.

APRIL 7–9; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

RICK SPRINGFIELD

OREGON SYMPHONY Don’t miss Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Rick Springfield—whose 17 Top 40 hits include Jessie’s Girl, Don’t Talk to Strangers, An Affair of the Heart, I’ve Done Everything for You, Love Somebody, and Human Touch—with the Oregon Symphony. Conducted by Norman Huynh.

APRIL 12; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

MAN/WOMAN

OREGON BALLET THEATRE This five-part program juxtaposes all-female and all-male ballets to explore gender stereotypes, and adds in one of Resident Choreographer Nicolo Fonte’s most successful works to bring the two sexes together. They open with one of the most iconic female roles in all of ballet, that of The Dying Swan. Created by Michel Fokine for the legendary Anna Pavlova, this masterpiece epitomizes the ethereal beauty and fragility of a romantic-era ballerina.

APRIL 12–21; NEWMARK THEATRE

VSO POPS SERIES: ADVENTURES IN FILM & FANTASY

VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The musicians of The VSO showcase their versatility with the performance of music from legendary films and symphonic video games.

Selections from Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, Magnificent Seven, Legend of Zelda, and more ensure a delightful family outing for all generations. Please visit The VSO website for additional information.

APRIL 14 & 15; SKYVIEW CONCERT HALL, 1300 NW 139TH ST., VANCOUVER

MARCH & APRIL 2018 MAJOR BARBARA

PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY When her daughters Sarah and Barbara are both engaged to be married, Lady Britomart decides to ask her estranged industrialist husband for support.

Barbara, a Major in the Salvation Army, agrees to let her father visit her mission in the East End of London. In exchange, she promises to visit his munitions factory. The clash between Barbara’s philanthropic idealism and her father’s hardheaded capitalism are at the heart of this witty and timely appraisal of capitalism, war, religion, and politics.

APRIL 14–MAY 13; PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY, U.S. BANK MAIN STAGE

ANNUAL SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

OREGON BALLET THEATRE The School of the Oregon Ballet Theatre showcases student dancers with inspiring works that demonstrate the versatility and artistry of this program.

APRIL 21 & 22; NEWMARK THEATRE

SAINT-SAËNS’ ORGAN SYMPHONY

OREGON SYMPHONY Saint-Saëns’ most popular symphony combines a full orchestra, the emotional quality of a tone poem, and the majestic sound of the organ. So powerful is the grand finale that film composers, Disney World, and pop musicians alike have adapted it. Conducted

by Sascha Goetzel.

APRIL 21–23; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

THE HOT SARDINES

OREGON SYMPHONY Called “simply phenomenal” by The Times (London), The Hot Sardines add a hip, modern twist to the sounds of New York speakeasies, Parisian cabarets, and New Orleans jazz halls, making those wonderful old sounds new again. Conducted by Jeff Tyzik.

APRIL 28 & 29; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

LOOKING AHEAD.

3RD ANNUAL EVENING OF JAZZ

VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The VSO’s Third Annual Evening of Jazz, a live benefit concert, features the extraordinary jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Ken Peplowski. From the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and the Benny Goodman Band to Dixieland and jazz, the award-winning Mr. Peplowski has played with legendary figures from Mel Torme and Peggy Lee to Madonna and Woody Allen. His life on the road has taken him from small clubs to the Hollywood Bowl, headlining in Las Vegas, the Newport Jazz Festival, pops concerts, and European festivals and clubs. On this night, he’s all yours.

APRIL 28; CLARK COLLEGE, 1933 FORT VANCOUVER WAY, VANCOUVER

JOSHUA BELL

OREGON SYMPHONY There’s not much Joshua Bell hasn’t done throughout his phenomenal career.

The Avery Fisher Prize winner and bestselling recording artist has played for First Lady Michelle Obama, commissioned and premiered new concertos, and performed the solo violin role in John Corigliano’s Oscar-winning filmscore for The Red Violin. Now Bell returns to Portland to perform Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade with the Oregon Symphony, a work that won him a Grammy nomination and a reputation as one of Bernstein’s greatest interpreters.

MAY 12–14; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL MARCH | APRIL 2018

31

®

AT TH E P E R FO R M A N C E

M ARCH | APRIL 2018

PUBLISHER + FOUNDER Misty Tompoles EDITOR-AT-LARGE Barry Johnson MEMBERSHIP MANAGER Katrina Ketchum COPY EDITOR Kristen Seidman DESIGNERS Lisa Johnston-Smith Dan Le Jackie Tran EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Blanche Minoza MEDIA DIRECTOR Chris Porras

THE AMERICANS

SALES DIRECTOR Lindsey Ferguson

Including OBT’s first ever work by Alvin Ailey

PUBLISHING COORDINATORS

June 7-15, 2019

Bella Showerman

Newmark Theatre

Janelle Bonaficio

Night Creature OBT Premiere Alvin Ailey / Duke Ellington

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Hannah Krafcik

Robust American Love

Nim Wunnan

Trey McIntyre / Fleet Foxes

New Work

PHOTOGRAPHERS

World Premiere Jamey Hampton & Ashley Roland / TBD

Christine Dong Max McDermott

OBT.ORG

PODCAST HOST

Theodore Watler & Katherine Monogue

Susannah Mars

503-222-5538

Artslandia at the Performance is published by Rampant Creative, Inc.

2018-2019 SEASON

©2018 Rampant Creative, Inc.

GEORGE BALANCHINE’S

Napoli

The Nutcracker ®

October 2018

Cinderella

December 2018

Director’s Choice April 2019

February 2019

The Americans June 2019

Kimberly Nobriga & Peter Franc | Photos by Christopher Peddecord

32

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE

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

FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE

HELLO, NEW YORK TIMES !

Who is Poppy?

“Poppy is...an Android-themed pop star.”

If The New York Times had a digital assistant, it might sound like Poppy: The content would be less important than the autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) her voice generates, that “tingling sensation on the skin that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine,” as Wikipedia defines it. And yes, the assistant’s voice would “sound feminine.” Thus, the gender-specific pronouns.

She would sound like Siri or Alexa or Cortana or the nameless Google Assistant. She would supply information that is readily available. Her voice would have the faintest of computer-generated catches and a fetching computer stiffness. And it would generate the same ASMR effect as they do.

And as Poppy does…

Poppy is not a robot, not computer-generated.

She’s a YouTube star. She’s a pop music star.

She’s an internet pop phenomena. She’s also an actress who is difficult to dislodge from her Android theme, but human nonetheless.

In her pop single, Bleach Blonde Baby, she sings, in her breathy monotone, “Being flawless every day, that’s my only skill.” Her long, straight blonde hair is immaculate; so is her make-up and the gloss on her full lips; and on her model-thin body, her expressive little-girl fashions hang as perfectly as though Poppy were a mannequin.

But Poppy is a human playing a robot.

34

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE

“Humans are merging with the technological world—not just adapting to it but taking on the aspects of the technological themselves, just as technology has produced increasingly persuasive simulacra of humans.”

That’s the point of Amanda Hess’ Critics Notebook article, The Rise of the Social Media Fembot, in The Times online on Feb. 4, 2018. Humans are merging with the technological world—not just adapting to it but taking on the aspects of the technological themselves, just as technology has produced increasingly persuasive simulacra of humans. We, tech interfaces with the human, and humans themselves imitate each other.

Pinocchio wanted to be a real boy. Poppy wants to be a puppet.

Or a human playing a puppet. Lots of people want to see her do it: According to the article, Poppy’s videos, masterminded by her creator/handler/director Titanic “Not My Real Name” Sinclair, have had 257 million views. Why? Poppy herself suggests an

“We’re just a bunch of monkeys with big brains swiping on glowing rectangles.”

answer: “Poppy’s world is a magical place... and it’s the most free part of the entire universe.” Maybe Poppy and Titanic are offering us an escape, an internet dream vacation, where nothing truly bothersome ever happens, and if it did, you just wouldn’t like it.

Titanic admits that Poppy can make even the pop-besotted uncomfortable at times.

In an interview with NPR’s Scott Simon: “I think it’s fun to be uncomfortable sometimes—being able to have that kind of Goldilocks zone where you’re not too hot, not too cold with comfort is missing a lot. I think it motivates a lot of what we make.”

The Oregon Community Foundation can help your tax-deductible gift pave the way toward a bolder, brighter outlook for Oregon’s future.

That discomfort is revelatory: Titanic and Poppy are making art, a splendid homage to Warhol that uses Japanese and Korean pop forms and attitudes, merging them with the fembots that Hess names in her article. Later on in the interview with Simon, Titanic observes, “We’re just a bunch of monkeys with big brains swiping on glowing rectangles.” Poppy is his way of showing that to us. Maybe.

But what if we really embraced it, that “magical place,” that “flawless” place, where we could go and escape the ugliness around us in “real” life, fight it with fashion and cosmetics. Hess observes that Kylie Jenner (and lots of other celebrities) uses Instagram and Snapchat constantly to update her image, push her cosmetics line, represent a specific representation of herself. And her affect is...blank. Hess quotes Chris Wallace of Interview magazine, who called Kylie (NOT Poppy) “sex-doll sanguine.” And she notes the similarity to the CGI fembots of recent science fiction films and TV series (Ex Machina, Westworld, Humans)—who only become dangerous when they develop minds of their own.

Minds of their own. >>>>

oregoncf.org

QUIETLY

by Owen McCafferty Directed by Gemma Whelan

Apr 13 – May 6, 2018 Thu – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 2pm

at New Expressive Works, 810 SE Belmont St, Portland Two middle-aged men meet in a Belfast bar where a horrific event transformed their lives over 30 years before. A powerful story of violence and forgiveness in the aftermath of The Troubles.

Contemporary Irish theatre in Portland, Oregon

corribtheatre.org

Use code “Artslandia” for $3 off

MARCH | APRIL 2018

35

Grand opera returns to Portland this spring!

Photo by Cory Weaver/Portland Opera

VERDI

May 4 – 12

Keller Auditorium DIRECTED BY

Christopher Mattaliano CONDUCTED BY

George Manahan

A Season of Legendary Tales APRIL 14

BIG NIGHT Keller Auditorium

Don’t miss it: a one night only celebration of opera’s greatest hits!

JUNE 8, 10m, 14, 16

JULY 13, 15m, 19, 21, 25, 28

JULY 27, 29m, 31 | AUG 2, 4

GOUNOD

ROSSINI

GLUCK

Keller Auditorium

Newmark Theatre

Newmark Theatre

FAUST

A haunting new vision inspired by the art of John Frame—with Angel Blue and Jonathan Boyd.

LA CENERENTOLA Rossini’s classic opera will glitter as brightly as Cinderella’s royal ball gown.

ORFEO ED EURIDICE Celebrate the transformative power of love and music in this epic myth.

Single tickets start at $35 portlandopera.org | 503.241.1802 concierge@portlandopera.org 36

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE

FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE Continued from page 35

“I think people are getting to a point where they don’t want to think, and this is easier.”

>>>> Here’s Warhol in a 1963 radio interview: Q: “Do you think pop art could survive, let’s say, without PR people?”

A: “Oh, yeah.”

Q: “You do?”

A: “Well, because I think people who come to the exhibition understand it more. They don’t have to think. And they just sort of see things, and they like them, and they understand them easier. And I think people are getting to a point where they don’t want to think, and this is easier.”

Think how much more mediated the space we share is now. Poppy offers an escape— from thinking too deeply about things, from worrying. We’re living in the dystopia. We want to escape it.

OREGON MANUFACTURERS. LOCAL BUSINESSES. YOUR NEIGHBORS. ALL GETTING MORE FROM THEIR ENERGY. Here in Oregon, thousands of businesses and individuals are saving money with help from Energy Trust of Oregon.

With cash incentives for energy improvements, we can help you get more from your energy.

Hello Google/Siri/Alexa! What is the relationship between “art” and “beauty”?

“I’m not sure. I have noticed that you’ve spent a lot of time hovering over Tolstoy’s What Is Art?, which demolishes any argument equating the two. Has that helped you get more friends or followers, clicks, likes, or shares? Are you a YouTube star yet? (I know the answer to that one!)”

Like Poppy, Lil Miquela is another YouTube sensation. Unlike Poppy, she’s computer-generated. My favorite line from her pop hit, Not Mine: “I’m just out here living my life.”

+

Are you ready to get more from your energy?

Visit www.energytrust.org or call us at 1.866.368.7878.

Serving customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista.

That’s because “here” and “living” and “my life” put me in a Goldilocks zone, not too real and not too virtual, and yet never “just right.” And that gives Poppy and me an autonomous sensory meridian response. .

MARCH | APRIL 2018

37

Chris Coleman:

EXIT to

DENVER

By Barry Johnson Photo by Christine Dong

WHEN PEOPLE LEAVE PORTLAND for jobs in another city, all good journalists understand that they have just opened a door, not just on a new future for themselves but on the past, too.

Or at least a more candid view of the past they shared with us while they were here. Nothing like putting a city and a job in the rearview mirror for loosening the tongue about the place they are leaving.

Not that anyone leaving Portland for Denver these days—as Portland Center Stage Artistic Director announced he was doing last November after 17-anda-half years here—can feel entirely unrestrained in conversation with a journalist. The more “dynamic” parts of such an interview will inevitably cross the Rockies. But still, at the very least, the leave-taking interview, the exit interview, can lead to a reflective state of mind that can be very valuable for those of us who remain.

In February, just after Coleman’s epic farewell to Oregon, Astoria: Part Two, opened, we got together on the mezzanine level of The Armory building, home to PCS to talk about anything Coleman wanted to discuss. For our purposes here, I’ve focused on the very first topic and slightly edited Coleman’s responses for length and clarity.

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WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU FACED WHEN YOU STARTED AT PORTLAND CENTER STAGE? THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU FACED IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR RUN HERE? THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOUR SUCCESSOR WILL FACE? The biggest challenge when I got here was moving the programming. I think the board was hungry for more adventure; the staff was hungry for more adventure, but nobody had checked in with the audience. And so I leaned forward at their encouragement, and I leaned too far forward, I think, initially.1 If I had to do it over again? Julie Vigeland [who was the board President of Center Stage when Coleman was hired] and I have wrestled with this over and over. If I had it to do it over again, I think I would have been a little more evolutionary than revolutionary, because I think I could have kept more people in the fold longer, and it would have made for a less difficult first couple of years. Julie feels like, you know what, we needed to say things have changed, and this is where we’re going.

It was painful emotionally. It was painful financially. And it was scary initially. So it was definitely trying to figure out, where is this community or this audience for this organization aesthetically, and how does that fit with what I want to do, and how do we line up a little bit better? That was huge.

And then, the organization was tremendously under-resourced for a company that was trying to fill 900 seats [in the Newmark Theatre]. The budget my first season was $3.2 million, and boy, that is a brutal equation. So selling the vision, trying to figure out where the community was, and trying to increase our resources so we could put better work onstage, those were the biggest challenges early on.

WHAT ABOUT THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR TIME HERE? We’re sitting in the middle of the biggest challenge, in the middle. It’s profoundly challenging to build a new building, and it ended up being a $38.6 million project.

And that in itself, if you have all the winds at your back, is profoundly challenging.

we needed to say things have changed, and this is where we’re going.

There were so many people in the community—and probably rightly so—who didn’t believe we were ready or that we could pull it off.2 We were 15 years old at the time, and we didn’t have the deep donor base that could give those big gifts. So that was hugely challenging. And there were so many times when it looked like we just should have said, ‘OK, it’s not going to work. Good try.’ But luckily we’re here in Year 11 in the building [The Armory], and it’s been humongously successful. It’s a fantastic building. >>>>

1. Coleman’s first show as Artistic Director of Center Stage was Elizabeth Egloff ’s adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s The Devils, which featured simulated sexual molestations and other sexual activity onstage. A few years later, a Merchant of Venice that included male nudity generated angry emails, too, Coleman said.

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EXIT TO DENVER Continued from page 39

>>>> WHAT CHALLENGES ARE YOU LEAVING CENTER STAGE WITH THAT YOUR SUCCESSOR IS GOING TO HAVE TO WRESTLE WITH? They are just beginning the search for my successor. What will they have to wrestle with? Luckily, there’s not much to fix right now. The senior management team is super strong and talented and creative and funny.

Ticket sales are up: Ten thousand more tickets last year than the year prior. And subscriptions are up this year by almost a thousand. Donations are increasing. So there are a lot of trendlines that are moving in really good directions. I think the challenge will be coming in and inspiring the board and the audience base and patron base through the work and through your vision to take it to the next level. Because I really do think the organization is poised.

I think it’s really thought of very well nationally, and it’s poised to be one of the top five, six, theaters in the country. And that’s going to take a deeper financial investment than we have inspired yet. But the pieces are in place if the next person comes in and inspires people.

WHAT DOES THAT NEXT LEVEL LOOK LIKE? It’s more resources to say “yes” to more work of scale, so Astoria is not such a once-in-alifetime thing, and it is the ability to say yes to more development of new work, perhaps the development of new musicals. That is the area that I think we’re just right behind the top five or 10 regional theaters in the country. They just have deeper resources to be able to say yes to projects that then go on to raise the profile and create more of a national conversation about the work that the organization is doing.

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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE

2. A Willamette Week article about The Armory project attacked the financial arrangements, the role of Bob Gerding (who was both developer of the Brewery Blocks, including The Armory, and President of Center Stage at the time), and the use of public money in the project. Coleman: “Some guy that I vaguely knew said, ‘Oh, my God, I read that article. What are you going to do now?’ I said, ‘Well, we’re going to raise a bunch of money and rehab The Armory. What do you think we’re going to do? Do you think we’re going to sit down and cry?’”

“just when you think you’ve figured out what the audience is going to show up for, they surprise you, and I think that’s just the nature of this business.”

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You cannot predict who is going to show up, [whether you’ve] set your income numbers well, but a new work that’s untried with an author that may or may not have marquee value is an added risk. Like any R & D in any organization, you have to have financial support that lets you invest in a way that you are not expecting an ROI (Return On Investment) immediately the way you would on a regular production.

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I learned it over and over and over. I think just when you think you’ve figured out what the audience is going to show up for, they surprise you, and I think that’s just the nature of this business. So especially on new work, you try to be conservative on your income goals. But there’s always a battle in my head between the part that just wants to leap forward and go for it artistically, and the part that is really aware of the institutional costs if the audience doesn’t show up or it alienates a particular pocket of the audience too deeply. .

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41

VEDEM

A JEWISH RESISTANCE ‘ZINE FROM THE HOLOCAUST

By Nim Wunnan

The first exhibits at the new home for the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education include the story of a teen-written, underground magazine

T

he Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education has a new home and big plans.

Founded in 1990 as a “museum without walls” in the Multnomah County Central Library, the museum has been “peripatetic” ever since, according to Director Judith Margles. It has found temporary homes at Montgomery Park, an Old Town storefront, and a more comfortable, longer-term but still-temporary location on Northwest Kearney street.

They’ve now found their forever home in the former location of the Museum of Contemporary Craft, on the North Park Blocks at the corner of Northwest Davis Street.

Many of us in Portland still feel the sting of the sudden closure of the beloved contemporary craft museum that was considered, in the words of Oregon ArtsWatch’s Bob Hicks, “a pacesetting institution [by] both the city and a tightknit national craft art scene.” Luckily, the unexpected announcement of MoCC’s closure came at a time when the Oregon Jewish Museum had already begun a formal study to find a permanent location. That space was “too good to miss,” according to Margles. After initial discussions with the owner, Pacific Northwest College of Art, a 45-day exclusivity period was extended to OJM, giving them much-needed time to complete a fast, dedicated, and ultimately successful fundraising campaign that raised more than $5 million, mainly in large donations.

The new location is part art gallery, curated by Bruce Guenther, and part historical museum, with engaging exhibits from Bryan Potter Design and Janice Dilg at HistoryBuilt, and part cozy café. Add those parts together, and it sums to something more like a cultural center—a place for history, issues, and exploration of what it means to be Jewish and Jewish in Oregon. They’ve already begun hosting events in their 100-seat auditorium, most recently the panel discussion, “Never Again: A Jewish Response to the Rohingya Crisis.”

The new location of the OJMCHE at 724 Northwest David Street includes museum exhibits, an art gallery, gift shop, café, and a children’s play area. Photo by Max McDermott.

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Most of the second floor of the museum is dedicated to their three “core exhibits.” The first, Discrimination and Resistance, An Oregon Primer, looks at the history of official state discrimination—against Jews, African Americans, and others—while documenting and celebrat-

ing the resistance techniques that have been used to combat it. The second, Oregon Jewish Stories, gets specific and personal about the stories of the Jewish community of Oregon with a collection of artifacts, photographs, and historical accounts arranged to encourage exploration and curiosity.

Next to these exhibits, which directly address current issues of oppression and discrimination, The Holocaust, An Oregon Perspective presented by the Center for Holocaust Education offers a somber and weighty cautionary tale with stories of Oregon and southwest Washington residents who survived.

Egypt in the context of Holocaust survivorship. Wander’s prints use iconography from concentration camps and World War II to link the story of liberation from Ancient Egypt to the living memory of the Jews who survived the Holocaust.

captives of Terezin, who had been taken from their lives in the thriving intellectual culture of pre-war Prague. Vedem itself was more than a publication—the boys who produced it, led by Ginz and later also Sidney Taussig, called themselves “The Republic of Shkid” in reference to a Russian book about a children’s orphanage shared with them by Walter Eisinger. Eisinger supervised the boys in the foster home where they lived together in a converted schoolhouse on three-tier bunks. There, they found a discarded typewriter.

The initial issues of Vedem were typewritten on smuggled supplies, and when the typewriter ribbon wore out, the boys of Shkid handwrote the magazine.

THESE READINGS BECAME AN IMPORTANT SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HUB FOR THE CAPTIVES OF TEREZIN, WHO HAD BEEN TAKEN FROM THEIR LIVES IN THE THRIVING INTELLECTUAL CULTURE OF PRE-WAR PRAGUE. VEDEM ITSELF WAS MORE THAN A PUBLICATION.

The first floor hosts the main gallery, which recently closed I AM THIS, an excellent collection of paintings and sculptures by Jewish artists with a connection to Oregon, including Mark Rothko. A promising R.B. Kitaj retrospective will be opening in June, following two remarkable, newly installed book-arts exhibits—To Tell the Story: The Wollach Holocaust Haggadah and Vedem: The Underground Magazine of the Terezin Ghetto.

To Tell the Story: The Wollach Holocaust Haggadah Commissioned by Helene and Zygfryd B. Wolloch, the Wollach Pessach Haggadah in Memory of the Holocaust is a richly illustrated modern take on the Haggadah. With lithographic prints by David Wander and calligraphy by Yonah Weinreb, this beautiful, handmade tome places the traditional text of the Jewish liberation from slavery in

Vedem: The Underground Magazine of the Terezin Ghetto Called “the Dead Poets Society of Terezin” by the Jewish Journal, Vedem was an extraordinary, vibrant, handmade magazine produced by a collective of teenagers under terrifying conditions in the Terezin ghetto/concentration camp during WWII. With a title that means “in the lead” in Czech, Vedem was founded in Terezin by a 14-year-old artistic prodigy, Petr Ginz. Born in Prague, Ginz was a writer, poet, and artist who had written several novels while still a child. Creating Vedem and driving its weekly production became his final and most influential achievement before he was deported to Auschwitz and killed at the age of 16.

Vedem ran for 83 issues, published every Friday and distributed by being read aloud at secret meetings. These readings became an important social and cultural hub for the

More than 60 boys contributed under various pseudonyms over the run of Vedem, and Ginz was the engine behind the project. Many of the printing supplies came from Ginz’s parents, who still lived in Prague and were thus protected by the Nuremberg Laws. They regularly sent their son packages of art materials and food. He assigned projects to other children such as interviewing other residents of Terezin, writing poetry, or drawing illustrations of their daily life. As these were children risking their lives to produce the articles, they were often delivered as notes scribbled in secret on scraps of paper. Ginz groomed them to the editorial standards of Vedem. When there weren’t enough articles for the week’s issue, he’d bribe children to write with treats from his parents.

If that didn’t work, he’d write the whole thing himself, under multiple pseudonyms. >>>>

Vedem Editor, Petr Ginz (age 12).

Photo courtesy of Rina Taraseiskey.

Pages from the Holocaust Haggadah, commissioned by Helene and Zygfryd B. Wolloch, illustrated with lithographic prints by David Wander and calligraphy by Yonah Weinreb.

MARCH | APRIL 2018

43

VEDEM Continued from page 43 >>>> Taussig first joined as a sports writer but became essential to the magazine’s survival.

His father was employed in the administration of the camp, and Taussig himself had the job of delivering corpses to the crematorium.

Urged by Ginz to write something more substantial than his sports column, he eventually produced an account of the operations of the crematorium, one of the most harrowing and significant contributions to Vedem. Partially because of his father’s position, he was the only member of the Shkid boys to remain after the rest of them were shipped to Auschwitz about two years after the founding of the magazine.

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Alone, Taussig retrieved all the existing magazine material from the empty schoolhouse where his friends once lived and, with the help of his blacksmith father, built a metal box to store the archive along with 120 of Ginz’s paintings. He then smuggled the box to the edge of the city, where he interred it in the wall of the city moat, out of sight but above the waterline. After liberation, Taussig dug the box up and carried it with him on the journey back to Prague by horse and carriage, preserving the legacy of Vedem and Petr Ginz.

Taussig currently lives in Florida.

In the years since, Vedem has been recognized as a singular artifact of the Holocaust. The first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, even carried a drawing by Ginz into space. However, this traveling exhibition is the first major survey of the art and history of Vedem.

The exhibit is the brainchild of Rina Taraseiskey. A documentarian and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and resistance fighters, Taraseiskey was moved to begin work on a documentary about Vedem and Petr Ginz after learning about the magazine at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. She flew to Prague with survivors, including Taussig, and interviewed Ginz’s sister.

While working on the documentary, the richness of the material in Vedem made her feel “selfish that she was keeping it all to herself.” Taraseiskey partnered with designer Michael Murphy and writer Danny King to create a dynamic, highly visual exhibition.

Cartoons from the pages of Vedem are blown up to wall-sized graphics that frame the facts of life in the Terezin ghetto/camp. Sixteen of the Shkid boys, including Ginz and Taussig, are profiled in the “masthead” section, identified by their nicknames and drawn portraits. The highly-designed presentation of this material emphasizes the subversive, youthful nature of Vedem. Taraseiskey wants to show how the

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THIS IS AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO CONSIDER THE DEEPLY POLITICAL ROOTS OF INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING IN PORTLAND, BEYOND THE CONTEMPORARY “ZINESTER” CULTURE.

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rebellious humor, subversive art, and spirit of resistance that drove Vedem is as energetic and vital as the youth movements of resistance, independent publishing, and music of today.

It’s very clear from the museum’s current programming, updated collection, and these upcoming exhibits that, though the stories the Oregon Jewish Museum tells are from a Jewish perspective, they with all of us, one way or another, regardless of our beliefs or backgrounds. .

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EBRATIN G

Given how prominent independent publishing and progressive politics are in Portland’s present identity, this exhibit shouldn’t struggle for relevance here. Just as the museum encourages connections between the history of Jews in Oregon and the present issues facing all marginalized populations and voices, this is an excellent opportunity to consider the deeply political roots of independent publishing in Portland, beyond the contemporary “zinester” culture. For example, influential anarchist newspaper, the Firebrand, was published out of Sellwood in the 1890s before being shut down for “obscene materials,” which included a Walt Whitman poem. Then there’s Oshu Nippo, a Japanese-language daily that became essential to the large Japanese community in Portland in the first half of the 20th century.

Oshu Nippo was seized by federal agents the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed, and its printing press was later used by the U.S. government to print anti-Japanese propaganda while its founder, Iwao Oyama, was held in an internment camp in New Mexico. It’s worth noting that The Oregon Jewish Museum now stands just a few blocks from the waterfront Japanese American Historical Plaza, which commemorates the executive order that destroyed Portland’s Japantown by sending its residents, including Oyama, to internment camps. Likewise, the exhibits documenting the forced demolition of Jewish neighborhoods in Southwest Portland in the 1950s make the obvious connections to the destruction of Black communities after the Vanport flood, using the same language that we currently use to discuss the economic displacement of gentrification.

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Tickets at pcs.org, by phone at 503.445.3700 or drop by 128 NW Eleventh Avenue.

MAR. 31 – MAY 13

THE GRASSf lourishes DANCE GERRY RAININGBIRD NURTURES A POWWOW DANCE TRADITION

“OH, I FOLLOW ALL KINDS OF DANCE,” says Gerry RainingBird of the Nehiyaw Tribe (Cree) of his eclectic interest in the subject after casually mentioning that American Ballet Theatre’s Misty Copeland had recently taken a ballet class in town at BodyVox. “The expression through physical movement can be really emotional, and it’s very dynamic for me.”

By Hannah Krafcik. Photos courtesy of the artist.

TOP: CEREMONIAL DRUM. LEFT: GERRY RAININGBIRD DANCING IN FULL REGALIA.

RainingBird, the new Executive Director of Portland-based nonprofit Wisdom of the Elders, Inc., has cultivated his practice as a grass dancer for more than five decades.

Grass dance has historically been practiced mostly by young men at powwows—gatherings of Native communities in North America. This style sits within an array of powwow dances, each with their distinctive traditional elements. Grass dancers move swiftly, sometimes with legs swinging in arcing motions and feet skimming, alighting, and touching down to the earth, again and again, on the beat of the drum. “I think, because it was such a powerful dance, that people were pulled to it,” says RainingBird, noting that he and many of his peers were drawn to practice the dance at a young age.

Unlike ballet or other proscenium dance performance, a powwow is “not a show,” according to RainingBird. “It’s a very spiritually based and symbolic connection to our culture, our history, and our ancestors.” RainingBird describes participation in powwows as both an “important part of being Native,” and also an opportunity to share with the general >>>> MARCH | APRIL 2018

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THE GRASS DANCE FLOURISHES Continued from page 49

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RainingBird grew up with the powwow experience. He remembers watching his father create regalia for powwows at the local community center in Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, located in north central Montana, where the community and tribe would come together weekly to feast and socialize during the winter months. Dancers in regalia were joined by drummers—usually of four to eight men each— surrounding large, traditional drums. As with other forms of dance, the movements tell a story. RainingBird offers a beautiful example: There was once a young man who was without the full use of one of his legs. He turned to his grandfather for wisdom because he could not join his peers for activities such as hunting parties. Upon receiving advice, the young man went to a hill where he had a vision in which horses, excited by an impending storm, began to jump and move in response to the thunder and lightning. Strong winds swayed the surrounding tall grass, and as the storm subsided, a rainbow appeared in the sky, and the horses began grazing peacefully.

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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE

The young man shared the experience with his grandfather, and his grandfather interpreted it as relating to the young man’s purpose— part of which was to share this “dance” of the horses from his vision. With the support of his grandfather, the young man danced for his tribe, repeating all movements with both the right and left sides of his body—miraculously healing his leg in the process. From then on, the young man led teams of men to scout out new hunting and camping grounds, stomping down the tall grass in advance of the tribe.

– THE NEW YORKER

In fact, the tradition of the powwow is also a symbol of the Native peoples’ resilience. Given a history of systemic oppression by the U.S. government, it is also no surprise that Native dances fell under scrutiny. In 1923, for instance, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Charles H. Burke, worked to cap the number of times per year that Native peoples could gather in dance.

“The ceremonies that we performed and held dear were outlawed and basically forbidden, and our people were punished, taken to jail,” RainingBird reflects. However, he continues, “our people, especially those that were very connected to our spiritual principles, continued to practice and to encourage our people not to be deterred.”

According to RainingBird, the grass dance will always be a “healing dance for ourselves and for the people.” In describing his own practice, he expresses a desire to create movement that allows for a spiritual connection to those present who are not dancing or are unable to dance. “That’s when the real power and the sense of healing takes place, for both dancer and spectator.”

“It’s all about being a part of the circle where everyone has a voice; everyone has an opportunity to contribute,” he explains. “It’s not just about dancing. It’s not just about attending a powwow or putting on some moccasins. It’s about the values, the principles, the philosophy, and the spiritual power of the whole.” .

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RainingBird emphasizes that the dancers’ regalia is not a “costume.” The ceremonial dress has direct ties to the stories surrounding the tradition—fringe reminiscent of swaying grass; porcupine hair, eagle feathers, and beadwork or other elements representing the rainbow color spectrum and connection to the animal world. “Many people make that mistake of asking about our costumes.”

In response, RainingBird finds it especially important to share “about something cultural that many people may see as just being a public display of entertainment or a dance recital...It’s more than that.”

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WHO IS

SUSANNAH MARS?

Artslandia podcast host and Portland theater arts luminary SUSANNAH MARS pulls back the curtain on her long and illustrious career.

When playing a widow of a “certain age,” I want to challenge potential groupthink about who she can be based on her age.

How is this role or project a different experience than any you've done previously?

New work is thrilling, and the opportunity to be engaged with the playwright and composer (in this case, they are one person) is a real delight. Michelle (Horgen) is very generous and interested in conversing about the process and my character’s storyline.

What would you consider one or two highlights of your career thus far?

I’d say singing with the Oregon Symphony has been of the greatest thrills of my career, in addition to playing Diana in Next to Normal at Artists Rep, which (sadly) was a confluence of events, including the death of 54

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORM ANCE

my father. Being able to work on that show, at that particular time, was very healing and gratifying.

What role has been the most out of your comfort zone?

Recently, I’d say that the role that was out of my comfort zone, so to speak, was Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd at Portland Opera. Not that it was really out of my comfort zone, but my expectations for myself were so high. I have seen, in the past, such great actors in the role—Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone—that I challenged myself probably more than ever. It was an absolute thrill, and now that I think of it, belongs in the top two most thrilling opportunities in my career! Knowing that I blasted through the same pie shop door as Ms. Lansbury was a thrill!

How do you work most effectively and efficiently?

I am a firm believer that whatever I am doing in the moment is where I am most efficient, and I continue to practice that idea. When I am in the zone, I am in the zone.

Who has been an exceptionally memorable guest on the podcast so far?

Each podcast is unique; for instance, yesterday I interviewed three comedians, two players from the Oregon Symphony, and an independent producer. All three provided me total enjoyment. I may be a Pollyanna, but I guess I was in the zone! That’s where I hope to be when I’m keeping company with any of these amazing artists with whom I have the pleasure to connect.

What do you hope the rest of 2018 has in store?

More compassion, more love, more art! .

See Susannah in Scarlet, a world premiere musical in partnership with Bitch Media and PHAME, at Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott St., Portland, February 28– March 25. Call (503) 488-5822 for tickets.

Subscribe to Adventures in Artslandia with Susannah Mars at podbean.com or iTunes.

Photos by Max McDermott

What are the most fun and challenging parts of your current production, Portland Playhouse's Scarlet ?

I love having the opportunity to work with a large cast. That, coupled with the fact that it is a new work, is very exciting and energizing.

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