White Bird
DANCE 2017-18
®
DISCOVERING A WORLD OF DANCE FOR 20 YEARS
COMPLEXIONS
October 5-7, 2017 | Newmark Theatre
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY October 12-14, 2017 | Newmark Theatre
DANCENORTH AUSTRALIA/LUCY GUERIN INC October 26-28, 2017 | Lincoln Hall, PSU
PHOTO BY CHRIS ROESING
LAUNCHING OUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY 20 years! We cannot thank you enough, our incredible White Bird audience, especially our subscribers and donors, for your great enthusiasm and dedicated support over the past two decades. We are delighted to launch our anniversary season first with Dwight Rhoden’s and Desmond Richardson’s Complexions. It is tremendously important for us to bring this dynamic company that celebrates people of all color. We could not agree more with their declaration that “dance should be about removing boundaries, not reinforcing them.” A week later we present the company that started it all for us, Paul Taylor Dance Company. We were very excited, and
nervous, when we first presented the Taylor Company on that fateful night in October 1997 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Would anyone show up? You certainly did. In tribute to that inaugural evening, we have asked the company to perform once again the two Taylor masterworks on that program, Arden Court and Piazzola Caldera. The explosive Syzygy completes this evening of classic Taylor. Our Uncaged Series begins at Lincoln Hall in late October with a unique and dazzling new work Attractor, created by two of our favorite Aussie choreographers, Lucy Guerin and Gideon Obarzanek (Chunky Move founder), in collabora-
tion with Dancenorth Australia. The work, which recently won the prestigious Australian Helpmann Award, galvanizes the dancers to movement that is ecstatic as well as ritualistic. A vital component is the live music by Indonesian duo Senyawa. We are truly proud to have the North American premiere of Attractor. Thank you for joining us on this exciting 20-year journey through a world of dance!
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 Alchurch Flick 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 Linda Twichell, Director of Revenue & Community Partnerships, linda@whitebird.org Hannah Luckow, Marketing Director/NEST Coordinator, hannah@whitebird.org David Nolfi, Director of Finance, david@whitebird.org Justin Hastay, Special Projects Manager, justin@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
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 Linda Twichell, Director of Revenue and Community Partnerships, at linda@whitebird.org Anonymous (2) 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 September 22, 2017)
WHITE BIRD FLOCK
Our Flock List is current as of September 22, 2017. 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 Fred Fields Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation 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 Oregonian Media Group PGE Foundation Starseed Foundation Darci & Charlie Swindells Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Nancy & George Thorn Wells Fargo Willamette Week Work for Art
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 PPXX Gregory R. & Kim A. Flick PPXX Margaret W. Frank Ann & Edward Galen Maryanne & David Holman Sandra & Stephen Holmes PPXX Lola Jaffe Christopher Johnson & Rex Bills PPXX Jessie Jonas Gary Leavitt Ellen Lippman & PLATINUM Steve Rosenberg PLUME ($5000+) PPXX Maffei/Lintner Advised PPXX Anonymous Fund of Equity Foundation Sheryl Acheson/Bonhams Jeff & Lynn Malzahn Joan Cirillo & Roger Cooke PPXX Phyllis Newmark Columbia Bank & PPXX The Nut House Fund Columbia Trust Ronald & Shirley Pausig B. Fitzgerald Janet & Frank Phillips Carol Ihlenburg Robert & Jane Reed The J and J Foundation PPXX Dean Richardson Magaurn Video Media PPXX Jaymi & Francis Sladen Neil Kelly Al Solheim Oregon Arts Commission Linda & Jon Twichell PosterGarden PPXX Peter J. Vennewitz WESTAF TourWest Vibrant Table Catering PPXX Ellen Walkley GOLD PLUME ($2500+) Vinh Wong The Autzen Foundation Albert Chaffin MD BRONZE PLUME ($500+) Chris Greenaway PPXX Anonymous Enterprise Holdings PPXX Tom Ancona & Foundation Laura Tarrish PPXX Deborah Horrell & PPXX Chris & Audry Bond Kit Gillem Fund for Arts Robert Aughenbaugh and Conservation of PPXX Laurie Balmuth The Oregon Community Liz Bothwell & Gail Webb Foundation PPXX Kathleen Bristow Juan Young Trust Richard & Marcia Bushnell Murray Koodish PPXX Mary Lou Cavendish & Dorothy Lemelson Trust Michael Hughes PPXX Dave Magilke MD & Debi Coleman Butch Williams DMD
Dennis Deming & Corky Cortwright PPXX Jack & Terri Duncan Friends of the Cultural Center Inc. PPXX Carol Edelman 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 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 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 Western Partitions Sam Wheeler Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation PPXX Patricia & Jack Wong
ANGEL ($250+) Anonymous Sue Armitage AJ Arriola & Alice Jacobson 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 Mary Folberg Chris Gauger & Lee Leighton Bruce Guenther & Dr. Eduardo Vides, MD Hollywood Lights Inc. Ava & Charlie Hoover Illinois Tool Works Foundation Judy Jacobson Tom Kane & Donna Shu 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 Robert Olsen Steven P. & Eileen O’Neill Odum Oregon Children’s Theatre Cheryl & Dave Pfaff Judith E. Posey & Edward J. Doyle, MD Bonnie & Pete Reagan Sarah & Nathan Roe Carol Smith-Larson Leah Swetnam Jane Unger Brian & Nikki Weaver Kim Ziebell FEATHERED FRIENDS ($100+) Anonymous Susan Agre-Kippenhan & Mike Kippenhan Steve Albert & Janie Goldenberg 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 Amy Campbell Claire Carder & Jim Scherzinger 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 Carolyn & Ruthie Ferguson The Fishbein Family Barabara Fishleder & John Wolfe Jerome & Mary Fulton Eileen & Arlene Fromer Lucile Gauger Laraine Gladstone Arthur Glasfeld & Susan Mikota Benjamin Gerritz Nancy Goodwin & Albert Horn Deborah & Sid Green Evelyn Hamann Darlene Hardie Gary & Lynne Hartshorn Terry Hasegawa Jeff Hawthorne Jennifer Heilbronner Karen Henell Hewlett-Packard Stephen Hillis Bill Hogsett Mark Holloway Meghan Hoopes & Nicholas Nelson Martha Ireland Rachel Jacky Bob & Jill Jaffe Alan T. & Sharon Y. Jones David Jensen Daphna & Iddo Kadim Paula Kanarek & Ross Kaplan Mary Kane John Kellerman
Kathryn King-Goldberg Peter Kost Richard & Jann Leeuwenburg Matt & Rachael Lembo Drs. Dolores & Fernando Leon Jerry & Judith Lesch Andrew Lintz & Brian Stief Lydia & Derek Lipman Joyce Lozito Holly Macfee, Lookout Co. David Maier & Kaye Van Valkenburg Anna Marti Pamela Matheson Carolyn McFadden Laurence Morandi & Karen Pazucha Billie Moser Patricia Navin & Bill Poleson 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 Sarah & Rhys Quinn Sheila Ford Richmond Ruth Robinson Charles & Judith Rooks Zach Ruhl Saif Corporation Dan Saltzman Virginia Sewell Roger & Janice Shea Jon & Ann Sinclair Stefanie Silverman Alix & Mark Smith Carl Snook Susan Sorensen Wendy Squires The Steinfelds Jim & Nita Stell Kathleen Stephenson-Kuhn 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 Margaret Willer in honor of Anne Willer Robert Woods & Jeff Pittman Anthony Yeznach FRIENDS ($50+) Anonymous Anthony Altucher & Collette Young Sona Andrews Naomi Angier Michele & Bill Bader
Katherine S. Bang Linda Barnwell Ann Bellman & Michael Woods Belinda Beresford Kristi Bigio Amelia & John Bishop John H. Bourke Warren & Donna Brown Bill Bulick & Carol McIntosh Richard Colman Eliza Crockett Brian Diehl Jessica Duke & Scott Urbatsch Lucile Gauger Nona Glazer Andreanne Gingras Todd Guenzburger & Bill Kline Connie Guist Constance Hammond J. Benjamin Havris-Brown Caroline Henry Maureen Herndon Joan Hoffman Brook & Ann Howard Jacqueline Hoyt Mark Huey & Wayne Wiegand Georgia Lee Hussey Mary James Sharon Johnson Peggy Kavka Janice Kettler Daniel Kirk & Eric Skinner Carol Kneeshaw The Kroger Co. Joni Kutner Fuchsia Lin Jonathan & Vida Lohnes David Lewis & Liz Sandoval Sidne Lewis Martha Logan Mimi Maduro Katherine MacKenzie Sue D. McCulloch Katherine McKearnan Gary McLaughlin Michael McManus Cassandra Mercer Bonnie Merrill Max & Lori Miller Amy Monroe Sara Nosanchuk Kathleen O’Reilly Pfizer Foundation David & Kay Pollack Naomi Price Denise Reed Michael Reper Meredith & Bill Savery Beth & Amy Segal Bruce Simmons Amelia Simpson Penelope Schott & Eric Sweetman Suzanne Silverstein Judith Sobol Connie Speros-Literal Laura Stepp Harriet Stiller Erica Swartz Robert Welsh
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, and Starseed Foundation
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.
CO M P L E X I O N S
Photo by Moira Geist
CONTEMPORARY BALLET
OCT 5-7 NEWMARK THEATRE
OCTOBER 5–7, 2017 NEWMARK THEATER
presents FOUNDING ARTISTIC AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Dwight Rhoden Desmond Richardson PRINCIPAL CHOREOGRAPHER Dwight Rhoden ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/RESIDENT CHOREOGRAPHER Jae Man Joo COMPANY REPETITEUR Clifford Williams ARTISTIC ADVISORS Carmen de Lavallade & Sarita Allen ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE Christina Dooling, Gary W. Jeter II, Natiya Kezevadze, Clifford Williams, Terk Lewis Waters TECHNICAL DIRECTOR & RESIDENT LIGHTING DESIGNER Michael Korsch LIGHTING SUPERVISOR Jesse Meunch REHEARSAL DIRECTOR/BALLET MASTER Jae Man Joo & Meg Paul ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE/ASSISTANT TO THE ARTISTIC DIRECTORS Sumaya Jackson RESIDENT COSTUME DESIGNER Christine Darch PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER Luis Santiago THE COMPANY Sergio Arranz, Doug Baum, Greg Blackmon, Andrew Brader, Jillian Davis, Addison Ector, Larissa Gerszke, Brandon Gray, Shanna Irwin, YoungSil Kim, Kelly Marsh IV, Simon Plant, Kelly Sneddon, Eriko Sugimura Apprentices: Erin Brothers, Malik Berry
SPONSORS
MEDIA SPONSOR
KEN & ANN EDWARDS
The use of photography is prohibited. Please silence your cell phones.
STAR DUST (World Premiere May 2016/ Detroit, MI) A Ballet Tribute to David Bowie CHOREOGRAPHY BY: Dwight Rhoden MUSIC BY: David Bowie COSTUMES BY: Christine Darch LIGHTING AND SET DESIGN BY: Michael Korsch PERFORMED BY: The Company
TONIGHT’S PROGRAM
Brandon Gray & The Company
II. CHANGES (Hunky Dory album 1971),
BALLAD UNTO...
Andrew Brader & The Company
Complexions Premiere – Philadelphia, PA (October 2015) Ballad Unto…was created for and premiered by Tulsa Ballet, September 2015 CHOREOGRAPHY BY: Dwight Rhoden MUSIC BY: Johann Sebastian Bach COSTUME DESIGN BY: Christine Darch LIGHTING AND SET DESIGN BY: Michael Korsch PERFORMED BY: The Company BALLAD UNTO…rolls onto the stage with a bold and sprawling emotionality, as seven couples interact in an intimate abstraction of LOVE.
PAUSE
III. LIFE ON MARS (Hunky Dory album 1971),
Greg Blackmon & The Company
IV. SPACE ODDITY (Space Oddity album 1969),
Addison Ector & The Company V. 1984 (Diamond Dogs album 1974),
Sergio Arranz & The Company
VI. HEROES (Heroes album 1977), Sung by Peter Gabriel
Jillian Davis, Addison Ector, Doug Baum, YoungSil Kim, Kelly Marsh IV and Brandon Gray VII. MODERN LOVE (Let’s Dance album 1983)
The Company
IMPRINT/MAYA CHOREOGRAPHY BY: Dwight Rhoden MUSIC BY: David Rozenblatt WORDS BY: Maya Angelou/Soloist: Melanie Nyema (Vocal) COSTUMES BY: Christine Darch LIGHTING DESIGN BY: Michael Korsch PERFORMED BY: Desmond Richardson IMPRINT/ MAYA conveys a struggle through an intense movement dialogue that comes from within, combining a street vernacular with a classical articulation to express verse and rhyme in a solo of truth.
INTERMISSION
I. LAZARUS (Blackstar album 2016),
VIII. ROCK AND ROLL SUICIDE (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars album 1972)
Doug Baum & The Company
IX. YOUNG AMERICANS (Young Americans album 1975) The Company STAR DUST is the first installment of a full evening length Ballet tribute to the genre bending innovation of one of the prolific Rock Stars of our time, DAVID BOWIE. This Ballet takes an array of his hits and lays a visual imprint, inspired by his unique personas and his restless invention artistically— to create a Rock Opera style production in his honor. With Bowie’s 40+ year career and 25 Albums, that stretch across musical borders, STAR DUST pays homage to the iconic and Chameleonic spirit of what can only be described as...BOWIE. * STAR DUST was generously commissioned by Detroit’s Music Hall Special Thanks to Vince Paul
“Warszawa” Written by David Bowie & Brian Eno; Published by Tintoretto Music (BMI) administered by RZO Music, Inc EMI Music Publishing Ltd “Lazarus “ Written by David Bowie; Publishers: Nipple Music (BMI) administered by RZO Music, Inc. “Changes” Written by David Bowie; Published by Tintoretto Music (BMI) administered by RZO Music, Inc; EMI Music Publishing Ltd; BMG Blue (BMI) obo Chrysalis Music Ltd “Life on Mars?” Written by David Bowie; Published by Tintoretto Music (BMI) administered by RZO Music, Inc; EMI Music Publishing Ltd; BMG Blue (BMI) obo Chrysalis Music Ltd
“1984” Written by David Bowie; Published by Jones Music America (ASCAP) administered by ARZO Publishing; Bewlay Brothers Music; EMI Music Publishing Ltd; BMG Blue (BMI) obo Chrysalis Music Ltd “Heroes” Written by David Bowie & Brian Eno; Published by Tintoretto Music (BMI) administered by RZO Music, Inc ; EMI Music Publishing Ltd “Modern Love” Written by David Bowie; Published by Jones Music America (ASCAP) administered by ARZO Publishing
“Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide” Written by David Bowie; Published by Tintoretto Music (BMI) administered by RZO Music, Inc; EMI Music Publishing Ltd; BMG Blue (BMI) obo Chrysalis Music Ltd “The Young Americans” Written by David Bowie; Published by Jones Music America (ASCAP) administered by ARZO Publishing; Bewlay Brothers Music; EMI Music Publishing Ltd; BMG Blue (BMI) obo Chrysalis Music Ltd
ABOUT THE COMPANY COMPLEXIONS was founded in 1994 by Master Choreographer Dwight Rhoden and the legendary Desmond Richardson with a singular approach to reinventing dance through a groundbreaking mix of methods, styles and cultures. Today, Complexions represents one of the most recognized and respected performing arts brands in the World. Having presented an entirely new and exciting vision of human movement on 5-continents, over 20-countries, to over 20-million television viewers and to well over 300,000 people in live audiences, Complexions is poised to continue its mission of bring unity to the world one dance at a time. Complexions has received numerous awards including The New York Times Critics’ Choice Award. It has appeared throughout the US, including the Joyce Theater/NY, Lincoln Center/NY, Brooklyn Academy of Music/NY, Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts/New Orleans, Paramount Theatre/Seattle, The Music Center/Los Angeles, Winspear Opera House/Dallas, Cutler Majestic Theater/Boston, New Victory Theater/NY, and Music Hall/Detroit, The Bolshoi Theater, The Kremlin, The Mikhailovsky Theater, Melbourne Arts Center, and will make it’s debut at the Kennedy Center in 2017, as a part of Ballet Across America.
“A MATCHLESS AMERICAN DANCE COMPANY” –Philadelphia Enquirer The Company has appeared at major European dance festivals including Italy’s Festival of Dance ,the Isle De Dance Festival in Paris, the Maison De La Dance Festival in Lyon, the Holland Dance Festival, Steps International Dance Festival in Switzerland, Łódz Biennale, Warsaw Ballet Festival, Kraków Spring Ballet Festival, the Dance Festival of Canary Islands/ Spain, and the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur/Canada. In addition Complexions has toured extensively throughout the Baltic Regions, Korea, Brazil, Japan, Egypt, Israel, Russia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Serbia, Jamaica, and Australia. The company’s foremost innovation is that dance should be about removing boundaries, not reinforcing them. Whether it be the limiting traditions of a single style, period, venue, or culture, Complexions transcends them all, creating an open, continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of our world—and all its constituent cultures—as an interrelated whole. In 2006, Complexions held their first Summer Intensive program, serving 80 students in its first year. The program has grown to multiple cities and serves over up to 600 students annually. Since 2009, a Winter Intensive was added to the roster, serving an additional 400 students, and CCB added its Pre- Professional Program in 2016. Complexions’ artistic directors and company members teach master classes throughout the world, sharing the Complexions technique with dancers of all levels. Together, Rhoden and Richardson have created in Complexions an institution that embodies its historic moment, a sanctuary where those passionate about dance can celebrate its past while simultaneously building its future. In the 24 years since its inception, the company has born witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, more changeable, and more culturally interconnected than ever before—in other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself.
COMPLEXIONS | BIOGRAPHIES Desmond Richardson (Co-Founding Artistic Director) is an international performer, the first black American principal dancer of ABT, a Tony Award nominee in the original Broadway cast of Fosse, and a standout in the Tony winning production After Midnight. Recently on the cover of Dance Teacher, with his technical virtuosity and statuesque expressive demeanor, he has been hailed by the NY Times as among the greatest dancers of his time. Richardson has been a member and invited guest of prestigious companies such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Frankfurt Ballet, Royal Swedish Opera Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Teatro alla Scala, Washington Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. He has performed on important stages around the world including The Metropolitan Opera, The Kennedy Center, Teatro alla Scala, Paris Opera, The Bolshoi Theater, Mariinsky Theater St. Petersburg, Teatro Massimo, and The State Kremlin Palace. He has appeared in City Center’s Encore Series and Broadway including Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out, and made his singing debut in Burt Bacharach/Hal David’s The Look Of Love choreographed by Ann Reinking and Scott Ellis. He has received awards such as The Dance Magazine Award, Capezio Award, Ailey Apex Award, L.A. Ovation Award, Bessie Award, The YoungArts Alumni Award, a 1986 Young Arts Finalist and Presidential Scholar of the Arts. He has been celebrity guest performer and choreographer on TV, film, video and stage productions such as The American Music Awards, The Oscars, Italy’s AMICI, America, Australia and Israel’s So You Think You Can Dance, Teatro alla Scala’s Moise e Pharoné with Roberto Bolle and conductor Maestro Riccardo Muti, featured performer with Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Elton John and Aretha Franklin, in films such as the Oscar winning Chicago, Julie Taymor’s Across The Universe, and in the new independent film Fall To Rise. Internationally and domestically, he is a master teacher with the All Stars Project NY, YoungArts Miami, United Way, The Pulse, NYCDA and ASH. He served as co-creative director/choreographer with David Monn (davidmonn.com) for the Park Avenue Armory gala Masquerade. He worked on Grammy winner Jill Scott’s new video Back Together featuring dancers from Complexions, as well as with Tom Ford and Nile Rodgers. Mr. Richardson is currently Guest Artist in Residence at the new Glorya Kaufman School of International Dance at USC. In addition, he is back in the studio recording new music for his soon to be released EP.
Dwight Rhoden (Founding Artistic Director/Resident Choreographer of Complexions Contemporary Ballet) has established a remarkably wide- ranging career, earning distinction from The New York Times as “one of the most sought out choreographers of the day.” Rhoden was a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. For two decades, Rhoden’s choreography has been the lynchpin in the development of the Complexions repertory. “Musicality, innovation, purpose, consistency, a brilliant use of stage space and the ability to tell a story—all these qualities make him [Rhoden] one of today’s elect choreographers.” (The LA Times) Since 1994, Rhoden has created over 80 ballets for Complexions, as well as numerous other compa-
COMPLEXIONS | BIOGRAPHIES nies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Arizona Ballet, The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, BalletMet, Dance Theater of Harlem, Colorado Ballet, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, The Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, New York City Ballet/ Diamond Project, North Carolina Dance Theater, Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadanco, Marinsky Ballet (Kirov), Minneapolis Dance Theater, Phoenix Dance Company, Sacramento Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, The Washington Ballet, and Zenon Dance Company amongst others. Mr Rhoden has also directed and choreographed for TV, film, theater and live performances including So You Think You Can Dance, E! Entertainment’s “Tribute to Style”, Amici, and Cirque Du Soleil’s Zumanity, and choreographed and appeared in the feature in “One Last Dance”. He has also worked with, and/or created works for artists such as Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Kelly Clarkson, ELEW, David Rozenblatt, Nicholas Payton, The Drifters, Paul Simon, Billy Strayhorn, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, U2, The Turtle Creek Chorus, and Patrick Swayze. Rhoden is a recipient of various honors and awards including the New York Foundation for the Arts Award, The Choo San Goh Award for Choreography, and The Ailey School’s Apex Award. Rhoden recently received an honorary doctorate degree from The Boston Conservatory in recognition of his extensive contributions to the field of dance.
Jae Man Joo (Associate Artistic Director, Resident Choreographer) started classical ballet training in Kwang-Ju, Korea here he was born and raised. He graduated from Dankook University in Seoul, Korea. He studied and mastered Classical Ballet, Modern Korean traditional Dances with no boundaries. In 1996, he received The Best Individual Artist Award From The Bagnolet International Dance Festival In Paris, France. He was a Principal dancer at the Complexions Contemporary Ballet and at Ballet Hispanico. Also has worked with Shen Wei, Zvi Gotheiner, Igal Perry, Jessica Lang, Michel Elliman. Jae Man Joo is a recipient of Princess Grace Award for excellence in choreography in 2009. He choreographed “Sorrow” (Frank Schubert) at DTW in 2004, “Duet” (Jules Massenet) 2006 Korean Dance Museum invitation. As a resident Choreographer for Complexions Contemporary Ballet he created “Tears” (Sergei Rachmaninoff )
in 2007, “Surface” (Claude Debussy) in 2008, “Atmosphere” (J.S.BACH) in 2009, ”FLIGHT” (J.S BACH) in 2012, “RECUR” (Max Richter, Silverstrov) in 2013. All premiered at The Joyce Theater NYC. In 2015 he premiered “Beautiful Imperfection” (Nyman, Montero) commissioned by Marymount Manhattan College Dance Spring Concert. In 2015 Alvin Ailey School/Fordham BFA commissioned & performed his creation “Into The Light” music of Antonio Vivaldi. In 2016 he re-staged “Into the Light” for Peridance Contemporary Dance Company. In 2016 & 2017 Alvin Ailey School- Fordham BFA seniors performed his creation “Beautiful Imperfection” originally commissioned & performed at Marymount Manhattan College of Dance. Recently he created a new work “Circular” (Denisov, Handel) for Ailey II - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Currently he is creating a new work for Jacobs Pillow 85th Anniversary season contemporary work for the summer and new work for Complexions 24th season at the Joyce theater which is his 6th ballet for Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Joo joined Complexions in 1996.
Doug Baum (Dancer) began his dance training in Maryland at Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts before graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts in 2006. In 2010, Doug received his BFA from Fordham University in collaboration with The Ailey School, where he apprenticed with Ailey II for two years. Since graduating, he has toured internationally with Rasta Thomas Bad Boys of Dance, Compagnie Flak, and Les Ballets Jazz. Doug has completed three seasons with Zhukov Dance Theater in addition to working with Jose Mateo, Ezdanza, Thang Dao, Company XIV, Peridance, and iLuminate, as seen on America’s Got Talent. Baum joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2014.
Malik Berry (Apprentice) started his formal dance training at the age of 15 at Fort Hayes Metropolitan High School. After graduating high school he joined Columbus Dance Theatre as a company member. After a year, Malik went to Columbia College for a semester before deferring and pursuing a professional dance career in New York City. Malik has been awarded full scholarships to study at The American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theatre, and The Dance Theatre of Harlem summer intensives. Malik worked with Columbus Dance Theatre, Balletmet, and Texture Contemporary Ballet. Malik joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2017 as an apprentice.
Greg Blackmon (Dancer) began his formal dance training during his last two years as a vocal music major at Emerson School for The Performing Arts. During his time there, he trained at Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and upon graduation attended The Ailey School’s summer intensive where he was later offered a fellowship for the fall semester. After a few semesters at Ailey, he was awarded a scholarship to Dance Theater of Harlem and later an apprenticeship with the DTH Ensemble. Greg went on to dance with Opus Dance Theater Inc., Dance!!quail, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, DanceWorks Chicago, and Chicago Repertory Ballet. This will be Greg’s third season with Complexions Contemporary Ballet.
Andrew Brader (Dancer) was born and raised in New Orleans, LA, and began his training with Karen Hebert and at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts with Jan Miller and Miguel Lopez. He attended The Harid Conservatory on full scholarship and the Jaqueline Kennedy Onasis School at American Ballet Theatre, also studying privately with Susan Jaffe. He was invited to join ABT as an apprentice, dancing with the company at The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, and then joined the Houston Ballet performing in ballets by Stanton Welch, Ben Stevenson, John Cranko, Kenneth MacMillan and George Balanchine. He danced with the Los Angeles Ballet for four seasons performing principal roles in George Balanchine’s Agon, The Four Temperaments, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Serenade, Kammermuzik No.2, Lar Lubovich’s The Evangelist, Bournonville’s Napoli Pas de Six and original works by Josie Walsh, Sonya Tayeh, Olivier Wevers, and Melissa Barak’s Scrying presented as the first dance installation performed at NYC’s Modern Museum of Art. Andrew was a 2009 Lester Horton Award nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Performance and has been selected to dance with the National Choreographers’ Initiative for four seasons in Orange County, California.
COMPLEXIONS | BIOGRAPHIES He spent two seasons with BalletMet Columbus before joining Stadtische Theater Chemnitz as a Soloist in Chemnitz, Germany. Andrew joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2014.
Erin Brothers (Apprentice) is from Dallas, TX, where she trained directly under the leadership of Geralyn Del Corso Garner. She recently graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts’ class of 2017 with Distinguished High Honors in dance. While at BTWHSVPA, she performed numerous leading roles in the school’s repertory series, choreographed by such notables as Jodie Gates, Emory LeCrone, and Lar Lubovitch. Erin attended summer intensives at The School of American Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet Academy, and The Juilliard School, where she had the opportunity to study with distinguished professionals including Taryn Kaschock Russell, Shannon Gillen Lipinski, Jeff Edwards, Suki Schorer, Darci Kistler, and Complexions’ own Christina Johnson, Desmond Richardson, and Dwight Rhoden. Upon graduating, Erin was accepted and offered scholarships to the prestigious USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, Alonzo King Lines/Dominican BFA Program, and Point Park University. Erin is thrilled to be dancing with her dream company and would like to thank her family for their unending love and support. Erin joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2017 as an apprentice.
Jillian Davis (Dancer) started dancing in her hometown of Kutztown, PA at the age of 3. With the encouragement of mentors Jerzy Golek, Janie Ross-Morgan, and Kip Martin, she focused on ballet as a professional career. She studied extensively with Susan Jaffe and Risa Kaplowitz at Princeton Dance and Theater Studio in Princeton, NJ and also had the opportunity to study with schools including San Francisco Ballet, School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet on scholarship, and LINES Ballet on scholarship. During her time in San Francisco and New York City, she explored her interest in choreography. She was a guest choreographer at Missouri Valley college and also developed Jillian Davis Dance Project. Her piece, Tiel, was featured at Jennifer Muller’s “Hatched Series” and was also selected as a finalist for Rider University’s Emerging
Choreographer’s Showcase. She continues to choreograph with small companies around the country, including Berks Ballet Theater for their Spring 2016 Gala. Jillian’s most recent project was with Contemporary Ballet Dallas in April 2017, where she created Temptation, a ballet to Tom Waits music, for the company. Jillian joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet as a company member in 2014, where she has been part of the creation process for several Dwight Rhoden world-premieres, including “Headspace”, “Strum”, “Gutter Glitter”, and “Stardust- a tribute to David Bowie”, as well as other re-staged repertory. She also performed installation works by Desmond Richardson and an excerpt of “Approximate Sonata” by William Forsythe. Jillian is also a teacher for Complexions Academy for summer intensives and master classes. This will be Jillian’s fourth season with Complexions Contemporary Ballet.
Addison Ector (Dancer) born and raised in Los Angeles, CA began dancing at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy at 13 years old. After graduating high school, he was accepted into the scholarship program for 3 years at The Alvin Ailey School in New York City where he was the recipient of The Alistar Butler, Oprah Winfrey & Alvin Ailey Scholarships. He also attended the Jacob Pillow Contemporary Program in 2012, performed with Germaul Barnes/Viewsic Expressions Dance domestically and internationally & has performed with Company XIV. Mr. Ector has been featured in two books, The Art of Movement by NYC Dance Project & Dancers After Dark by Jordan Matter, along with being featured in Gap’s Fall 2015 Fitness Campaign. This will be Addison’s fifth season with Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Instagram@Legs_4_Lyfe.
Larissa Gerszke (Dancer) is a Canadian citizen, born in Ottawa, ON. She grew up studying dance throughout her secondary education at Canterbury Arts High School and spent many summers attending prestigious programs at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Canada’s Ballet Jorgen and Quinte Ballet School of Canada. In 2016, Ms. Gerszke graduated from Fordham University & Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, earning her BFA in Dance. Working tirelessly on her craft, she partook in intensive programs with Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Alonzo King LINES Ballet to
develop a unique style, as well as to collaborate on various projects with artists from around the country. She has been featured in works created by Dwight Rhoden, Bob Fosse, Alvin Ailey, Carmen Rozestraten, Taryn Kaschock Russell and Matthew Rushing. Today Ms. Gerszke hails from Complexions Contemporary Ballet and is a sponsored ambassador of Gaynor Minden pointe shoes. She has toured, adjudicated and taught dance in over 11 countries.
Brandon Gray (Dancer) began his dance training at the age of 13 at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. While training under numerous choreographers, including Charles Augins, Katherine Smith, Melvin Deale, Treanna Alexander, and Nikki Sutton-Mackey, he would later become a part of Darnese Wilkerson’s first Summer Dance Experience in 2012 at the Atlas Theater in Washington, DC. Mr. Gray was also a part of Alicia Perkins’ Take A Bow Performing Arts Group in Waldorf, MD as well as several productions there including The Wiz, A Lion’s Tale, and Any Dream Will Do, and Nolan Williams’ 2012 Christmas play The Christmas Gift. He has become apart of several other productions including Black Nativity, the Ailey School’s Roof Breaking Ceremony, and the Hudson Yards New York unveiling choreographed by Matthew Rushing as well as performing at the Kennedy Center and New York City Center in Alvin Ailey’s Memoria. He is a recipient of the DC-Capital Scholarship and just completed his second year as a Scholarship student at the Ailey School. This is Brandon’s second season with Complexions Contemporary Ballet.
Shanna Irwin (Dancer) grew up in Landing, New Jersey, where she began training as a competitive dancer. She soon switched her focus towards ballet when she was accepted into The New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble, under the direction of Nancy Turano. She spent her summers with World Dance MovementItaly, Complexions, and The Vancouver Arts Umbrella. Irwin went on to continue her studies at Marymount Manhattan College, under the direction of Katie Langan. Shanna began touring with Complexions Contemporary Ballet during her senior year, and graduated with a BFA in Dance in May 2014.
COMPLEXIONS | BIOGRAPHIES Young-sil Kim (Dancer) was born in Okayama City, Japan. She began her ballet training at Sugimoto Sonoko Ballet with Sonoko Sugimoto and Sve tlana Assaouliak. At the age of 18 Young-sil moved to New York City to study dance at the Joffrey Ballet School and later at Ellison Ballet professional training program, where she graduated in 2008. She has danced with Configuration Dance Theatre, Eglevsky Ballet, Connecticut Ballet Company, Ballet Hispanico II and Peridance Contemporary Dance Company. She has had the opportunity to perform works by choreographers including Susan Jaffe, Sidra Bell, Enzo Celli, Igal Peri, Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe and Dwight Rhoden. She has studied summers at Walnut Hill, Houston Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Springboard Montreal and Complexions. Ms. Kim joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2013.
Kelly Marsh IV (Dancer) is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in Dance, concentration in Ballet. Mr. Marsh started dance at the age of thirteen. He took his studies further after a receiving a full scholarship to the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) under the direction of Lee Noting, in his hometown of St. Louis, MO, and then accepted into The Ailey School as a fellowship student. Accepted into numerous summer intensive such as The Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive, Perry Mansfield, Richmond Ballet, American Ballet Theatre Collegiate Intensive, Dance Theatre of Harlem Complexions Contemporary Ballet Intensives and Cedar Lake 360. Marsh has had opportunities to perform works by many established world renowned choreographers such as William Forsythe, George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Eliot Feld, Ethan Stiefel, Susan Jaffe, Darrell Grand Moultire and many more. Mr. Marsh has can be seen in music videos as a feature dancer in Jill Scott’s “Back Together” and Nile Rodgers “I’ll be there.” Marsh joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2014.
Simon Plant (Dancer) was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, and has been dancing since he was 7 years old. Simon studied at The Australian Ballet School
under a scholarship grant from the Pratt Foundation. In 2013 he received his Graduate Diploma in Classical Ballet, as well as the Murphy Award for Excellence in Contemporary Dance. Upon graduating Simon joined the Australian Ballet where he spent two years dancing roles by a variety of locally and internationally renowned choreographers including Wayne McGregor, Graeme Murphy, Kenneth MacMillian, Simon Dow, Peter Wright, Stanton Welch, Jiri Kylian and Tim Harbour. In 2016 Simon joined Sydney Dance Company to be part of a commissioned piece by Australian choreographer Antony Hamilton. Simon now lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is thrilled to be joining the dancers of Complexions Contemporary Ballet for their 2017/18 season.
Kelly Sneddon (Dancer), originally from Baltimore, MD, began her dance education under the direction of her mother, Susan Joines. Upon graduation she attended North Carolina School of the Arts studying under Brenda Daniels. Kelly went on to continue her dance education as a trainee at The Joffrey Ballet School in NYC, where she studied with Davis Robertson and Brian McSween. There she was a member of the Joffrey Ballet Touring Company. In 2009 Kelly was recognized as a Maryland Distinguished Scholar for dance as well as a ballet finalist for the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts. Kelly went on to become a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2012. In 2014, Kelly became a soloist in Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatles LOVE show, in Las Vegas. Ms. Sneddon received the honor of becoming a Capezio athlete in 2015. She has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Dance Informa Magazine, and Dance Magazine. Kelly rejoined Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2017.
Eriko Sugimura (Dancer) was born in Japan and moved to Hong Kong at the age of 4. She began her dance training at a local studio under the direction of Akiko Takahashi(RCBA) and learned Contemporary/Modern styles by Tomoko Imanaka. She trained in Japan, Hong Kong, Russia (Vaganova Ballet Academy), and officially entered the State Ballet School of Berlin in Germany at the age of 15. Eriko studied at Ritsumeikan Univer-
sity, department of Literature in 2012-2015. At the age of 19, Eriko moved to New York City and trained at the Peridance Capezio Center with scholarship. She has worked and performed with Igal Perry, Jae Man Joo, Vivake Khamsingsavath, Jana Hicks, Marijke Eliasberg, Ballet Inc and solo for Erasing Borders 2016. She has appeared in several music videos such as Grammy Award Winner Nile Rodgers. She joined Peridance Contemporary Dance Company in 2016 under the direction of Igal Perry. This will be Eriko’s first season with Complexions Contemporary Ballet.
Sergio Arranz Vallejo (Dancer) was born in Madrid, Spain. He started his training at the local conservatory “CPR Carmen Amaya” where he studied for seven years. He first came to the US to do a Summer Course for “School of American Ballet” (SAB) where he was awarded with a scholarship in 2011, the following year he attended the “Joffrey Ballet School Summer Intensive” where he got offered a position as a trainee with full merit scholarship. After two years as a trainee he got asked to join “Joffrey Ballet Concert Group” on their 2014-2015 season, where he got the chance to perform principal and soloist roles in Arpino’s “Viva Vivaldi”, “Light Rain” and “Suit Saint-Saens” and George Balanchine’s “Valse Fantasie”. This is Sergio’s second season with Complexions Contemporary Ballet.
COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLET 22 Wilson Drive, New Rochelle, NY 10801 (212) 777-7771 | Complexionsdance.org ARTIST REPRESENTATIVE Margaret Selby, President Selby / Artists Mgmt 212 / 382-3260 | mselby@selbyartistsmgmt. com, Selbyartistsmgmt.com STAFF Finance Managers: James Giacopelli, Michelle Anderson Development Associate: Danni Gee Benefit/Donor Relations: Muadi Dibinga COMPLEXIONS ACADEMY Artistic Directors: Dwight Rhoden & Desmond Richardson Complexions Academy CEO: James Giacopelli Intensive Directors: Meg Paul, Michael Thomas Complexions Experience Faculty: Natiya Kezevadze, Wendy White Sasser, Mark Caserta, Natalia Alonso Website Design: Jae Man Joo
PAUL TAYLOR
Photo by Paul B. Goode
DANCE COMPANY
OCT 12-14 NEWMARK THEATRE
OCTOBER 12–14, 2017 NEWMARK THEATER PAUL TAYLOR DANCE FOUNDATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH WHITE BIRD PRESENTS
MICHAEL TRUSNOVEC ROBERT KLEINENDORST JAMES SAMSON MICHELLE FLEET PARISA KHOBDEH SEAN MAHONEY ERAN BUGGE LAURA HALZACK JAMIE RAE WALKER MICHAEL APUZZO MICHAEL NOVAK HEATHER MCGINLEY GEORGE SMALLWOOD CHRISTINA LYNCH MARKHAM MADELYN HO KRISTIN DRAUCKER LEE DUVENECK ALEX CLAYTON ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PAUL TAYLOR
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR BETTIE DE JONG
PRINCIPAL LIGHTING DESIGNERS
PRINCIPAL SET & COSTUME DESIGNER
JENNIFER TIPTON JAMES F. INGALLS
SANTO LOQUASTO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOHN TOMLINSON Major funding provided by The SHS Foundation. Leadership support provided by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Support also provided by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Additional support provided by Shubert Foundation. National tour supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
SPONSORS
MEDIA SPONSOR
JIM & SUSAN WINKLER The taking of photographs and the use of mechanical recording devices are strictly prohibited. Program subject to change. Latecomers will be seated only during intermissions. Please turn off all pagers and cell phones during the performance.
TONIGHT’S PROGRAM ARDEN COURT
PIAZZOLLA CALDERA
MUSIC BY William Boyce Excerpts from Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 CHOREOGRAPHY BY Paul Taylor SET AND COSTUMES BY Gene Moore LIGHTING BY Jennifer Tipton
“…The flawed confusion of human beings…worn away as by the labor of hands, impregnated with sweat and smoke, smelling of lilies and of urine, splashed by the labor of what we do, legally or illegally…as impure as old clothes, as a body, with its food stains and its shame, with wrinkles, observations, dreams, wakefulness, prophecies, declarations of love and hate, stupidities, shocks, idylls, political beliefs, negations, doubts, affirmations…”–Pablo Neruda
(First performed in 1981)
Parisa Khobdeh Sean Mahoney Eran Bugge Laura Halzack Michael Apuzzo Michael Novak George Smallwood Lee Duveneck Alex Clayton Original production made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the Mobil Foundation, Inc.; and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. Revival supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Preservation made possible by the support of Elise Jaffe and Jeffrey Brown, and by contributions to the Paul Taylor Repertory Preservation Project with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts.
INTERMISSION
SYZYGY The nearly straight line configuration of three or more celestial bodies in a gravitational system MUSIC COMPOSED FOR THE DANCE BY DONALD YORK CHOREOGRAPHY BY Paul Taylor COSTUMES BY Santo Loquasto LIGHTING BY Jennifer Tipton
MUSIC BY Astor Piazzolla and Jerzy Peterburshky CHOREOGRAPHY BY Paul Taylor SET AND COSTUMES BY Santo Loquasto LIGHTING BY Jennifer Tipton (First performed in 1997)
Parisa Khobdeh Michael Trusnovec Robert Kleinendorst James Samson Michelle Fleet Eran Bugge Laura Halzack Jamie Rae Walker Michael Apuzzo Michael Novak George Smallwood Christina Lynch Markham Lee Duveneck El Sol Sueño ����������������������������������������������������� Full cast Concierto Para Quinteto.........................Ms. Khobdeh, Ms. Bugge, Mr. Kleinendorst Celos �������������������������������� Mr. Samson and Mr. Apuzzo, Ms. Fleet and Mr. Trusnovec Escualo ������������������������������������������������������������� Full cast
(First performed in 1987)
Madelyn Ho Michael Trusnovec Robert Kleinendorst James Samson Eran Bugge Jamie Rae Walker Michael Apuzzo Heather McGinley George Smallwood Christina Lynch Markham Kristin Draucker Lee Duveneck Alex Clayton Original production made possible in part by The Eleanor Naylor Dana Charitable Trust and the National Endowment for the Arts. Preservation made possible by contributions to the Paul Taylor Repertory Preservation Project with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
INTERMISSION
Commissioned by the American Dance Festival with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Altria Group, Inc. and Brenda and Keith Brodie. Original production also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, The Eleanor Naylor Dana Charitable Trust, and Carole K. Newman. Revival supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Preservation made possible by generous contributions to the Paul Taylor Repertory Preservation Project with major support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Music performed by Gidon Kremer from the recording “Hommage à Piazzolla” on Nonesuch Records. Special thanks to Robert Hurwitz.
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY | ABOUT THE COMPANY PAUL TAYLOR
view of purgatory in Scudorama, using a received an Oscar nomination in 1999, was Paul Taylor, one of the commissioned, modern score. He inflamed hailed by Time as “perhaps the best dance most accomplished artists the establishment in 1965 by lampooning documentary ever,” while Private Domain, this nation has ever pro- some of America’s most treasured icons in originally published by Alfred A. Knopf, was duced, continues to shape From Sea To Shining Sea, and created more nominated by the National Book Critics America’s indigenous art controversy in 1970 by putting incest and Circle as the most distinguished biography of 1987. A collection of Mr. Taylor’s essays, of modern dance as he has since becom- spousal abuse center stage in Big Bertha. ing a professional dancer and pioneering After retiring as a performer in 1974, Mr. Facts and Fancies, was published by Delchoreographer in 1954. Having performed Taylor turned exclusively to choreography, phinium in 2013. with Martha Graham’s company for several resulting in a flood of masterful creativity. Mr. Taylor has received nearly every imyears, Mr. Taylor uniquely bridges the leg- The exuberant Esplanade (1975), one of portant honor given to artists in the United endary founders of modern dance—Isadora several Taylor dances set to music by Bach, States. In 1992 he was a recipient of the Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Doris was dubbed an instant classic, and has come Kennedy Center Honors and received an Humphrey and Ms. Graham—and the dance to be regarded as among the greatest dances Emmy Award forSpeaking in Tongues, promakers of the 21st Century with whom he is ever made. In Cloven Kingdom (1976) Mr. duced by WNET/New York the previous now working. Through his new initiative Taylor examined the primitive nature that year. He was awarded the National Medal of at Lincoln Center—Paul Taylor American lurks just below man’s veneer of sophistica- Arts by President Clinton in 1993. In 1995 Modern Dance—he presents great modern tion and gentility. With Arden Court (1981) he received the Algur H. Meadows Award works of the past and outstanding works by he depicted relationships both platonic and for Excellence in the Arts and was named today’s leading choreographers alongside romantic. He looked at intimacy among one of 50 prominent Americans honored his own vast and growing repertoire. And men at war in Sunset (1983); pictured Ar- in recognition of their outstanding achievehe commissions the next generation of mageddon in Last Look (1985); and peered ment by the Library of Congress’s Office of dance makers to work with his renowned unflinchingly at religious hypocrisy and Scholarly Programs. He is the recipient of Company, thereby helping to ensure the marital rape in Speaking In Tongues (1988). three Guggenheim Fellowships, and honfuture of the art form. As an integral part of In Company B (1991) he used popular songs orary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from his vision, these dances are California Institute of the Arts, accompanied at Lincoln Connecticut College, Duke Uni“THE AMERICAN SPIRIT SOARS WHENEVER Center by live music versity, The Juilliard School, SkidTAYLOR’S DANCERS DANCE.” whenever so intended by more College, the State University the choreographer. of New York at Purchase, Syracuse Paul Taylor was born on July 29, 1930—exactly nine months after the stock market crash that led into the Great Depression—and grew up in and around Washington, DC. He attended Syracuse University on a swimming scholarship in the late 1940s until he discovered dance through books at the University library, and then transferred to The Juilliard School. In 1954 he assembled a small company of dancers and began to choreograph. A commanding performer despite his late start in dance, he joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1955 for the first of seven seasons as soloist while continuing to choreograph on his own troupe. In 1959 he was invited to be a guest artist with New York City Ballet, where Balanchine created the Episodes solo for him. Mr. Taylor first gained notoriety as a dance maker in 1957 with Seven New Dances; its study in non-movement famously earned it a blank newspaper review, and Graham subsequently dubbed him the “naughty boy” of dance. In 1962, with his first major success—the sunny Aureole—he set his trailblazing modern movement not to contemporary music but to baroque works composed 200 years earlier, and then went to the opposite extreme a year later with a
– San Francisco Chronicle
of the 1940s to juxtapose the high spirits of a nation emerging from the Depression with the sacrifices so many Americans made during World War II. InEventide (1997) he portrayed the budding and fading of a romance. In The Word (1998), he railed against religious zealotry and blind conformity to authority. In the first decade of the new millennium he poked fun at feminism in Dream Girls (2002); condemned American imperialism in Banquet of Vultures (2005); and stared death square in the face in the Walt Whitman-inspired Beloved Renegade (2008). Brief Encounters (2009) examined the inability of many people in contemporary society to form meaningful and lasting relationships. In this decade he has turned a famously frightening short story into a searing drama in To Make Crops Grow and compared the mating rituals of the insect world to that of humans in the comedic Gossamer Gallants. As the subject of the documentary films Dancemaker and Creative Domain, and author of the autobiography Private Domain and Wall Street Journal essay Why I Make Dances, Mr. Taylor has shed light on the mysteries of the creative process as few artists have. Dancemaker, which
University and Adelphi University. Awards for lifetime achievement include a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship—often called the “genius award”—and the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award. Other awards include the New York State Governor’s Arts Award and the New York City Mayor’s Award of Honor for Art and Culture. In 1989 Mr. Taylor was elected one of ten honorary members of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Having been elected to knighthood by the French government as Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1969 and elevated to Officier in 1984 and Commandeur in 1990, Mr. Taylor was awarded France’s highest honor, the Légion d’Honneur, in 2000 for exceptional contributions to French culture. Mr. Taylor’s dances are performed by the Paul Taylor Dance Company, the six-member Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company (begun in 1993), and companies throughout the world including the Royal Danish Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He remains among the most sought-after choreographers working today, commissioned by presenting organizations the world over.
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY | BIOGRAPHIES BETTIE DE JONG (Rehearsal Director) was born in Sumatra, Indonesia, and in 1946 moved to Holland, where she continued her early training in dance and mime. Her first professional engagement was with the Netherlands Pantomime Company. After coming to New York City to study at the Martha Graham School, she performed with the Graham Company, the Pearl Lang Company, John Butler and Lucas Hoving, and was seen on CBS-TV with Rudolf Nureyev in a duet choreographed by Paul Taylor. Ms. de Jong joined the Taylor Company in 1962. Noted for her strong stage presence and long line, she was Mr. Taylor’s favorite dancing partner and, as Rehearsal Director, has been his right arm for more than 40 years
MICHAEL TRUSNOVEC,
Body of Work during the 2005/06 Taylor season, and in 2016, honored with the distinction of “Positano Premia La Danza” Dancer of the Year. Fall 1998 marked his debut with the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
ROBERT KLEINENDORST is originally from Roseville, Minnesota. He graduated from Luther College in 1995 with a B.A. in voice and dance. After moving to New York, he danced with the Gail Gilbert Dance Ensemble, and Cortez & Co. Mr. Kleinendorst also performed with Anna Sokolow’s Players Projects at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Having studied at The Taylor School since 1996, he joined the Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company in August 1998. Mr. Kleinendorst joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Fall 2000.
JAMES SAMSON was born
from Yaphank, New York, began dancing at age six, graduated from the Long Island High School for the Arts, and received a B.F.A. in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Professionally, he has danced with Taylor 2, Cortez & Co. Contemporary/Ballet, CorbinDances, and in works by Christopher Gillis and Margie Gillis. Mr. Trusnovec was a 1992 YoungArts Awardee and Presidential Scholar in the Arts. In 2006, he was a recipient of a Bessie Award for his
and raised in Jefferson City, Missouri. He began his dance training at age eight learning tap and jazz and soon after took an interest in gymnast, training and competing around his home state. He continued to be involved in dance and theater through high school, which then led him to study dance at Missouri State University, where he earned a B.F.A. in Dance with a minor in Business. He went on to study as a scholarship student with the David Parsons New Arts
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY
and touring extensively under the aegis of the U.S. Department of State. In 1997 the Company toured throughout India in celebration of that nation’s 50th Anniversary. Its 1999 engagement in Chile was named the Best International Dance Event of 1999 by the country’s Art Critics’ Circle. In the summer of 2001 the Company toured in the People’s Republic of China and performed in six cities, four of which had never seen American modern dance before. In the spring of 2003 the Company mounted an award-winning four-week, seven-city tour of the United Kingdom. The Company’s performances in China in 2016 marked its fifth tour there. While continuing to garner international acclaim, the Paul Taylor Dance Company performs more than half of each touring season in cities throughout the United States. In celebration of the Company’s 50th Anniversary and 50 years of creativity by one of the most extraordinary artists the world has ever known, the Taylor Foundation presented Mr. Taylor’s works in all 50
The Paul Taylor Dance Company is one of the world’s most highly respected and sought-after ensembles. Dance maker Paul Taylor first presented his choreography with five other dancers in Manhattan on May 30, 1954. That modest performance marked the beginning of more than 60 years of unrivaled creativity, and in the decades that followed, Mr. Taylor became a cultural icon and one of history’s most celebrated artists, hailed as part of the pantheon that created American modern dance. The Paul Taylor Dance Company has traveled the globe many times over, bringing Mr. Taylor’s ever-burgeoning repertoire to theaters and venues of every size and description in cultural capitals, on college campuses and in rural communities – and often to places modern dance had never been before. The Taylor Company has performed in more than 520 cities in 64 countries, representing the United States at arts festivals in more than 40 countries
Festival, the Pilobolus Intensive Workshop, and the Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive. Mr. Samson’s professional career has included Charleston Ballet Theatre, Connecticut Ballet, the Amy Marshall Dance Company and TAKE Dance, as well as guest artist appearances with New England Ballet and Omaha Theatre Company Ballet. He joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in February 2001.
MICHELLE FLEET grew up in the Bronx and began her dance training at age four. She attended Ballet Hispanico of New York during her training at Talent Unlimited High School. There she was a member of The Ballet Hispanico Jr. Company. Ms. Fleet earned her B.F.A. in dance from Purchase College in 1999 and received her M.B.A. in business management in 2006. She has performed in works by Bill T. Jones, Merce Cunningham, Kevin Wynn, and Carlo Menotti. Ms. Fleet joined the Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company in Summer 1999. She made her debut with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in September 2002.
PARISA KHOBDEH, born and raised in Plano, Texas, trained with Kathy Chamberlain and Gilles Tanguay. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.F.A in Dance
States between March 2004 and November 2005. That tour underscored the Taylor Company’s historic role as one of the early touring companies of American modern dance. Beginning with its first television appearance for the Dance in America series in 1978, the Paul Taylor Dance Company has appeared on PBS in ten different programs, including the 1992 Emmy Awardwinning Speaking in Tongues and The Wrecker’s Ball—including Company B, Funny Papers, and A Field of Grass—which was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1997. In 1999 the PBS American Masters series aired Dancemaker, the Academy Award nominated documentary about Mr. Taylor and his Company. In 2013, PBS aired Paul Taylor Dance Company in Paris, featuring Brandenburgs and Beloved Renegade. Dancemaker and Paul Taylor Dance Company in Paris are available on DVD. To learn more about the Paul Taylor Dance Company, please visit www.ptamd.org.
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY | BIOGRAPHIES Performance and Computer Science from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. While a scholarship student there, and at the American Dance Festival as a Tom Adams Scholar, she worked with choreographers Robert Battle, Judith Jamison, Donald McKayle and Shen Wei, among others. She also attended Paul Taylor and Martha Graham dance intensives in New York City. She made her debut with the Paul Taylor Dance Company at the American Dance Festival in Summer 2003. In 2006 she made her New York theatrical debut at the Stella Adler Studios in the lead role of Lanford Wilson’s play, Burn This, and was featured in Dance Magazine as a performer “On The Rise.” She was featured on the cover of that magazine’s December 2012 issue, and in October 2015 she penned an article for it entitled “Why I Dance.” She restaged Paul Taylor’s The Word at The College of William and Mary in 2013 and continues teaching masterclasses at universities, schools, and festivals around the world. She has choreographed dances to benefit human rights organizations and for independent films. Her most recent ballet, Traces, premiered in New York City for an arts fundraiser benefiting the Children of Bellevue Hospital. This year she performed in David Grenke’s Vespers at the University of California, Davis, and will appear in Doug Elkins’s film, A Hundred Indecisions, next Spring. Her body of work for the Taylor Company earned her a nomination for a 2016 New York Dance and Performance Award (“The Bessie”).
SEAN MAHONEY, born and raised in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, began his life in dance at age 12 by attending Princeton Ballet School on scholarship; that year he also started training with Fred Knecht. In 1991 he began as an apprentice at American Repertory Ballet (ARB) and became a featured dancer with the company, which he rejoined in 2000. Mr. Mahoney was chosen as one of the first members of the Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company in 1993. He has danced for David Parsons, Alex Tressor and Geoffrey Doig-Marx, and performed in Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular. As a frequent guest teacher, Mr. Mahoney has taught master classes at such institutions as Towson University, Princeton Ballet School, Santiago Ballet and Lafayette High school for the Performing Arts. He rejoined Taylor 2 in 2002, and made his debut with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 2004.
ERAN BUGGE is from Oviedo, Florida where she began her dance training at the Orlando Ballet School. She went on to study at the Hartt School of the University of Hartford under the direction of Peggy Lyman, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a B.F.A. in ballet pedagogy in 2005. She attended The Taylor School and the 2004 and 2005 Taylor Summer Intensives. Ms. Bugge has performed in works by Amy Marshall, Katie Stevinson-Nollet and Jean Grand-Maître. She was also a member of Full Force Dance Theatre and the Adam Miller Dance Project. In 2012 Ms. Bugge was the recipient of the Hartt Alumni Award. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Fall 2005. LAURA HALZACK grew up in Suffield, Connecticut and began her dance training at the age of four with Brenda Barna. She furthered her training at The School of the Hartford Ballet and studied at the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College. Ms. Halzack graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in History from the University of New Hampshire in 2003. She then studied at the Hartt School and at The Taylor School’s 2004 Summer Intensive. She has performed with the Amy Marshall Dance Company and Syren Modern Dance and has enjoyed teaching in her home state. Ms. Halzack studied at The Taylor School for two years before joining the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Summer 2006.
JAMIE RAE WALKER began dancing at age three in her home town of Levittown, Pennsylvania. As a young dancer she performed with American Repertory Ballet while extensively studying ballet and Graham techniques. In 1991 she continued her training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and in 1992 was awarded a full scholarship by Violette Verdy at Northeast Regional Dance Festival. Upon graduating high school Ms. Walker was invited to join Miami City Ballet where she performed principal and soloist roles in Balanchine and Taylor dances from 1994 to 2000. In 2001 she joined the original cast of Twyla Tharp’s Broadway show, Movin’ Out, while simultaneously studying on full scholarship at The Taylor School. Ms. Walker joined the Taylor 2 Dance Company in Fall 2003 and became a member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Summer 2008.
MICHAEL APUZZO grew up in North Haven, Connecticut. He studied Economics and Theater at Yale University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2005. Growing up in musical theater, he began his formal dance training in high school, then danced and choreographed in undergraduate companies. After being dance captain for an original production of Miss Julie choreographed by Peter Pucci, Mr. Apuzzo debuted professionally at the Yale Repertory Theater. He has since performed in numerous musicals at equity theaters across the country and in the National Tour of Twyla Tharp’s Broadway show, Movin’ Out. He is a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, author of Flying Through Yellow, certified personal trainer, and coproducer of the new Hamptons charity event Dancers For Good. Mr. Apuzzo joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Fall 2008. MICHAEL NOVAK was raised in Rolling Meadows, Illinois where he started dancing at age ten. He trained on full-scholarship at The University of the Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet. After graduating Columbia University with a BA in Dance Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, he studied at Springboard Danse Montréal under Alexandra Wells and Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie. He has performed works by Bill T. Jones, Stephen Petronio, and Vaslav Nijinsky, and has danced with Gibney Dance and the Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company. Mr. Novak began studying at The Taylor School in 2008 and participated in the Taylor Summer Intensive before joining the Company in Summer 2010. His debut season earned him a nomination for the 2011 Clive Barnes Foundation Dance Award. HEATHER McGINLEY grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Through her early training with Lisbeth Brown she attained a Diploma in the Cecchetti Method of Classical Ballet. She graduated from Butler University with a B.F.A. in dance performance in 2005. Ms. McGinley was a member of Graham II for two seasons and went on to perform with the Martha Graham Dance Company from 2008 to 2011. With the Graham Company she toured Italy in the
BIOGRAPHIES original cast of Antonio Calenda’s Looking for Picasso, a dance and theater piece featuring restaged classic Graham ballets. She participated in the 2010 Intensives at The Taylor School, and joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Spring 2011.
GEORGE SMALLWOOD is a native of New Orleans. He earned a B.F.A. degree in dance performance and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an International Focus from Southern Methodist University. He has been a member of the Parsons Dance Company, where he performed the signature solo Caught, and the Martha Graham and Lar Lubovitch companies. As co-founder of Battleworks he performed, taught master classes and re-staged Robert Battle’s works across the country. He has been in regional productions of Spamalot, Chicago, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma!, Crazy for You, The Music Man, White Christmas, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and 42nd Street. He joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company temporarily in Spring 2011 and rejoined in Summer 2012.
CHRISTINA LYNCH MARKHAM grew up in Westbury, New York and began dancing with Lori Shaw, and continued at Holy Trinity High School under the direction of Catherine Murphy. She attended Hofstra University on scholarship and performed works by Cathy McCann, Karla Wolfangle, Robin Becker, and Lance Westergard. During college she also trained at The Taylor School, and attended the Company’s Summer Intensive Program. After graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2004, she danced with the Amy Marshall Dance Company, Stacie Nelson and The Dance Theater Company. She joined the Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company in Summer 2008, and made her debut with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Summer 2013.
MADELYN HO is from Sugar Land, Texas, where she began dancing at Kinard Dance School and later trained with BalletForte under the artistic direction of Michael Banigan. She graduated from Harvard College with a BA in Chemical and Physical Biology. While there, she was awarded the Artist Development Fellowship and attended the Taylor School Winter
Intensive. She was a member of Taylor 2 from 2008 to 2012 and left to attend Harvard Medical School, during which time she was a guest artist for Alison Cook Beatty Dance and performed with Urbanity Dance. She joined Paul Taylor Dance Company in Spring 2015.
KRISTIN DRAUCKER was born in Washington DC and grew up in York, Pennsylvania. She began her training at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under Marcia Dale Weary. In 2005 she was awarded a Fellowship to study Horton and Graham at The Ailey School. Since moving to New York City she has danced with Michael Mao Dance, ArmitageGone!Dance, New Chamber Ballet, and at Bard’s Summerscape in Les Huguenots. In 2009 she joined the 50th Anniversary International Tour of West Side Story and in 2010 performed in Tino Sehgal’s KISS at The Guggenheim Museum. She began creating dances in 2014 and has shown her work in New York, Philadelphia and as part of the LaMAMA Umbria Festival in Spoleto, Italy. She joined Paul Taylor Dance Company in Winter 2017.
LEE DUVENECK grew up in Arlington, Texas, where he trained with Anne Oswalt and Gwen Price. He earned his B.F.A. in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University in 2010, where he studied with Taylor alumna Ruth Andrien and jazz dance icon Danny Buraczeski. While in New York, he has danced for Annmaria Mazzini, Mari Meade and Jessica Gaynor. Mr. Duveneck joined Taylor 2 in 2012, and joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Summer 2017.
ALEX CLAYTON grew up in Louisville, KY. He received his B.F.A. in Dance with a Minor in Visual Arts from Stephens College in 2013. He was a Graham 2 company member from 2014 to 2015. He also performed with companies including 10 Hairy Legs, Abarukas Project, Curet Performance Project and Performa15. He served as Rehearsal Assistant for Paul Taylor American Modern Dance “Taylor Company Commissions” choreographer Lila York when she created Continuum in 2016. He joined PTDC in Summer 2017.
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE FOUNDATION, INC.
STAFF
551 Grand Street, New York, New York 10002 | www.ptamd.org
Artistic Director: Paul Taylor Rehearsal Director: Bettie de Jong Principal Lighting Designer: Jennifer Tipton Principal Lighting Designer: James F. Ingalls Principal Set & Costume Designer: Santo Loquasto Taylor 2 Rehearsal Director: Ruth Andrien Taylor School Director: Raegan Wood Assistant to Mr. Taylor: Andy LeBeau Associate Rehearsal Director: Michael Trusnovec Production Manager/ Lighting Supervisor: Robert Brown Wardrobe Supervisor: Clarion Overmoyer Stage Manager: Katherine Houff Executive Director: John Tomlinson Chief Development Officer: Carmel Owen Director of Finance: Sarah Schindler Director of Public Relations: Lisa Labrado Director of Tour Engagements: Tim Robinson Director of Individual Giving: Josie Duckett
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Paul Taylor, President C.F. Stone III, Chairman Richard E. Feldman Esq. Darcy Gilpin John D. Golenski John G. Heimann C. Hugh Hildesley Marjorie S. Isaac, Trustee Emerita Randolph Kantorowicz Roger A. Kluge Wilfred Koplowitz, Trustee Emeritus Dianne La Basse Lee ManningVogelstein Douglas L. Peterson Ariane Reinhart Charles L. Reinhart Yvonne Rieber Hal Rubenstein William A. Shutzer Andrew Wilcox Elise Jaffe, Vice Chairman
Scott King, Vice Chairman Max R. Shulman, Vice Chairman Stephen Weinroth, Vice Chairman Dr. Robert A. Scott, Vice Chairman Joseph A. Smith, Treasurer Joan C. Bowman, Secretary John Tomlinson, Executive Director Robert E. Aberlin Carolyn Adams Lisa Brothers Arbisser, MD Norma Ketay Asnes Norton Belknap, Trustee Emeritus Sally Brayley Bliss Nancy H. Coles, MD Christine Ramsay Covey Deirdre K. Dunn
Director of Institutional Relations: Catherine Mikic Company Manager: Bridget Welty Archival Supervisor/ Administrator: Tom Patrick Manager of Development Operations: Jenna Jacobs Development Associate: Dorcas Yip Executive Assistant: Noah Aberlin Administrative Assistant: Christopher Senquiz Strategic Operations: Bruce Fagin Information Technology Consultant: Andy LeBeau, PC Umbrella Taylor 2 Tour Booking: Jeannette Gardner, Gardner Arts Network Digital Marketing Consultants: The Pekoe Group Archival Consultant: Linda Edgerly, The Winthrop Group Auditor: Michael Wallace, Lutz & Carr Orthopedic Consultant: David S. Weiss, M.D. Travel Agent: Michael Retsina, Altour Mr. Taylor’s Transportation: Will Coloma
DANCENORTH AUSTRALIA LUCY GUERIN INC / GIDEON OBARZANEK SENYAWA
Attractor
Photo by Gregory Lorenzutti
PRESENTS
OCT 26-28
Lincoln Hall, PSU
OCTOBER 26–28, 2017 LINCOLN HALL, PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
DANCENORTH, LUCY GUERIN INC, GIDEON OBARZANEK & SENYAWA ATTRACTOR A UNIQUE MUSIC/DANCE RITUAL DIRECTION & CHOREOGRAPHY Gideon Obarzanek and Lucy Guerin MUSIC Senyawa -Rully Shabara & Wukir Suryadi DANCERS Kyle Page, Jenni Large, Ashley McLellan, Georgia Rudd, Mason Kelly, Samantha Hines, Jack Ziesing, and Felix Sampson PRODUCED BY DANCENORTH DANCENORTH ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Kyle Page PARTICIPATION DIRECTOR Amber Haines DANCENORTH GENERAL MANAGER Deanna Smart
WHITE BIRD UNCAGED 2017–18 IS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM
White Bird’s presentation of Attractor is supported by WESTAF (Western States Arts Federation), the NEA and Oregon Arts Commission
SPONSORS
MEDIA SPONSOR
NANCY & GEORGE THORN
The use of photography is prohibited. Please silence your cell phones.
ATTRACTOR continued LIGHTING DESIGNER Ben Bosco Shaw AUDIO SYSTEM DESIGNER Nick Roux AUDIO ENGINEER Andres Salcedo Sanchez REHEARSAL DIRECTOR Amber Haines COSTUME DESIGNER Harriet Oxley PRODUCTION MANAGERS Murray Dempsey & Melanie Stanton Company Manager Kellie Williams Marketing Manager Georgia Bollard Education & Outreach Manager Susan van den Ham Education & Outreach Coordinator Jess Devereux Administration and Events Coordinator Ally Harris Attractor was commissioned by Arts Centre Melbourne for Asia TOPA through the KMATS Endowment Fund, the Playking Foundation and the Australia-ASEAN Council of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., Brisbane Festival, Arts Centre Melbourne, And WOMADelaide. This project has been assisted by the Australian government through the Department of Communication and the Arts Catalyst—Australian Arts and Culture Fund and the Australia Council for the Arts. Dancenorth is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its art funding and advisory body. Lucy Guerin Inc is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, and assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its art funding and advisory body.
DANCENORTH ATTRACTOR WILL BE PERFORMED WITHOUT INTERMISSION. RUNNING TIME APPROXIMATELY 60 MINUTES.
A NOTE ON THIS UNIQUE RITUAL
Indonesia’s tour-de-force music duo Senyawa and Melbourne’s choreographic luminaries Lucy Guerin and Gideon Obarzanek join forces with two of Australia’s leading dance companies, Lucy Guerin Inc and Dancenorth. Together they take you on a unique music/dance ritual. Senyawa reinterprets the Javanese tradition of entering trance through dance and music as a powerful, secular, present-day ritual. Their unusual sound borrows from the metal bands they listened to as teenagers—Black Sabbath, Metallica, Iron Maiden —and Indonesian ritual and folk idioms. As the performance unfolds, Senyawa’s unique fusion of hand-made electrified stringed instruments with operatic melodies and heavy metal vocals slowly builds to a euphoric pitch while the dancers are propelled into wild physical abandonment and ecstatic release, creating a visceral, empathic experience for the audience. Selected members of the audience will be called onto the stage to joining the dancers, dissolving the demarcation between dancer and non-dancer, audience and performer, professional and the amateur in a cross-cultural, shared ritual. This participatory act of doing dissolves the demarcations between dancer and non-dancer, audience and performer, professional and amateur. By crossing these thresholds, we collectively succumb to the inherent power of music and dance, and experience how they can propel each other into heightened states of energy.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Dancenorth is a contemporary dance company based in Townsville, Tropical North Queensland. An epicenter for artistic exchange and collaboration Dancenorth balances a dynamic regional presence with a commitment to creating bold, adventurous and critically acclaimed contemporary dance. Under the Artistic Direction of Kyle Page, Dancenorth delivers an ambitious and far-reaching program including the creation and presentation of new work, national and international touring, professional development opportunities for dancers and choreographers as well as national and international residencies and research projects. Parallel to this is Dancenorth’s education and cultural engagement program, The Enrichment Projects, which provides the framework for a wide range of reciprocal activities. Bound by an overarching ethos of inclusion, each branch of the Enrichment Projects has been designed to Inform, Impart and Inspire. As a creative hub for choreographic development and research, Dancenorth makes a significant contribution to Australia’s cultural ecology by valuing and supporting risk and innovation as a means of extending contemporary dance as an art form. Dancenorth is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body; the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, Townsville City Council and the Tim Fairfax Foundation.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE // GIDEON OBARZANEK
I first met Indonesian music duo Senyawa in Yogyakarta in 2014, when we set off on a long journey to a remote village in far eastern Java to observe a traditional trance ceremony. After two nights of prayers and offerings to the dead, dancers entered a state of trance through a series of vigorous performances. Now possessed, they were considered vessels for immortal spirits come to visit the living. To prove this extraordinary transition from human to non-human, they performed shocking acts of pain and strength before being exorcised by Shamans. While in the village, I reflected on my many years of creating virtuosic stage productions with highly trained dancers and my own contrasting early experience in dance. This happened on kibbutz in Israel as a child doing folk dancing where participation was privileged over performance. I am an atheist but have always been interested in religious art and traditional ceremony. While my folk dancing background is not religious, it shares a similar traditional relationship where watching and participating, performing and experiencing are all interchangeable. As contemporary artists performing to secular audiences, Rully, Wukir and I discussed our contradictory interest in traditional music and dance. We pondered why we and other seemingly non-religious people are drawn to this type of ceremonial performance. We concluded that dance and music can create transcendent states for participants, through which they become a part of something bigger than themselves. Making Attractor comes from a shared interest to construct rituals for non-believers.
GIDEON OBARZANEK (DIRECTOR/ CHOREOGRAPHER) Gideon is a director, choreographer and performing arts curator. Gideon founded dance company Chunky Move in 1995 and was CEO and Artistic Director until 2012. His works for Chunky Move have been diverse in form and content including stage productions, installations, sitespecific works, participatory events and film. These have bene performed in many festivals and theatres around the world including Edinburgh International, BAM Next Wave NYC, Venice Biennale, Southbank London and all major Australian performing arts festivals. In 2013 Gideon was a resident artist at the Sydney Theatre Company where he wrote and directed ‘I Want to Dance Better at Parties’. He later co wrote and directed a documentary version with Mathew Bate winning the 2014 Sydney Film Festival Dendy Award. Gideon is a recipient of an Australian Creative Fellowships working with theatre, dance and documentary filmmakers to develop projects with simultaneous live and screen outcomes.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE // LUCY GUERIN
This work for me has been a succumbing to the inherent power of music and dance and how they can propel each other into heightened states of energy, tone, rhythm and form. I have always believed that we can watch dance without having to translate it into a meaning beyond what we see and experience. We accept this easily with music, and with the help of Senyawa’s incredible sound I hope that we can experience this work beyond a representation of a narrative or a theme. The excitement of working with Senyawa and their willingness to play and try new things has been a joyous experience. We experimented initially with leading and following; dancers responding to the music and the musicians following the movements and rhythms of the dancers. But these boundaries have become blurred and get tossed back and forth throughout the work. The movement involves gradual evolutions of form that connect the dancers as one organism, made of individual bodies. I was not looking for clarity of image in this piece but rather a constantly shifting texture of movement that allows the eye to move between absorbing the whole picture and finding detail and precision. Kyle, Amber and the dancers have contributed generously to this creation with their remarkable skills. It couldn’t have happened without their patience and dedication and this has been deeply appreciated by both Gideon and myself.
LUCY GUERIN (DIRECTOR/CHOREOGRAPHER) Born in Adelaide, Australia, Lucy graduated from the Centre for Performing Arts in 1982 before working with Russell Dumas (Dance Exchange) and Nanette Hassall (Danceworks). She moved to New York in 1989 for seven years where she danced with Tere O’Connor Dance, the Bebe Miller Company and Sara Rudner, and began to produce her first choreographic works. She returned to Australia in 1996 and worked as an independent artist until 2002 when she established Lucy Guerin Inc in Melbourne to support the development, creation and touring of contemporary dance works. Lucy has toured her work extensively in Europe, Asia and North America as well as to most companies internationally, most recently, Lyon Opera Ballet (France), Skanes Dansteater (Sweden), The Young Vic (London) and Rambert (London). Her awards include the 2016 Australia Council Aware, a Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award, two New York Dance and Performance Awards (‘Bessies’), several Green Room Awards, a Helpmann Award and two Australian Dance Awards.
DANCENORTH | DANCERS KYLE PAGE
SENYAWA Jogjakarta’s Senyawa embodies the aural elements of traditional Indonesian music whilst exploring the framework of experimental music practice, pushing the boundaries of both traditions. Their music strikes a perfect balance between their avant-garde influences and cultural heritage to create truly contemporary Indonesian new music. Their sound is comprised of Rully Shabara’s deft extended vocal techniques punctuating the frenetic sounds of instrument builder, Wukir Suryadi’s modern-primitive instrumentation. Inventions like his handcrafted ‘Bamboo Spear’; a thick stem of bamboo strung up with percussive strips of the animal skin alongside steel strings. Amplified it fuses elements of traditional Indonesian instrumentation with garage distortion. Sonically dynamic, the instrument can be rhythmically percussive on one side whilst being melodically bowed and plucked on the other. Senyawa have performed at many notable festivals and underground clubs such as MONA FOMA Festival in Tasmania, the Adelaide Festival with Korean singer Bae ll Dong, Art Basel Switzerland, Copenhagen Jazz House Denmark, Resonate Festival Belgrade Serbia, CTM Festival in Berlin, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, UNSOUND Festival Poland, Pioneer Works NYC and Oct Loft Jazz Festival in China. They have collaborated and performed with many notable musicians such as Yoshida Tatsuya, Otomo Yoshide, Lucas Abela, KK Null, Keiji Haino, Rabih Beiani, Greg Fox, Arrington De Dionyso, and many others. Their next album is due to be released in early 2017 with Pioneer Works, Brooklyn USA.
(ARTISTIC DIRECTOR) Kyle Page is an Australian director, choreographer and performer. Throughout his career he has performed in 17 countries and collaborated with renowned choreographers including Meryl Tankard, Garry Stewart, Lucy Guerin, Gideon Obarzanek, Gavin Webber, Ikuyo Kuroda, Antony Hamilton and Stephanie Lake. At seventeen Kyle was already a professional dancer with Dancenorth Australia and just ten years later in December 2014 he returned to Townsville to assume the role of Artistic Director of the company. He has co-directed three full-length works for Dancenorth alongside his wife and long time collaborator Amber Haines, including Syncing Feeling, Spectra and Rainbow Vomit. Kyle recently directed Tectonic, a large outdoor installation work presented as part of the 2017 Strand Ephemera.In 2013 Kyle and Amber received an Asialink residency and spent three months in Varanasi, India. In 2015 Kyle was awarded the coveted Australian Institute of Management 30 under 30 and was listed as one of North Queensland’s top 50 most influential people. In 2016 he was chosen to participate in the Australia Council’s Arts Leaders Program, recognized as the AIM Emerging Leader of the Year for the North / Far North Queensland Region and was again listed as one of the top 50 most influential people in North Queensland. Kyle was recently awarded a 2017 Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship.
SAMANTHA HINES Samantha Hines was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. She studied contemporary and classical dance for two years at Sydney’s Ev and Bow under the directorship of Sarah Boutler and Lisa Evans. In 2010 she went on to continue her training at New Zealand School of Dance and in her final year was hired by Australian Dance Theatre. While with Australian Dance Theatre Samantha performed and toured extensively with the company throughout Australia, Europe and Asia. In 2013 she embarked on the Australian tour of G as well as Proximity at the Arts Centre Melbourne (winner of Green Room Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble) along with two European
tours of Proximity in 2013 & 2014. In 2015 she performed in three European tours of Multiverse, as well as the Australian national tour of Be Your Self. Samantha has collaborated and performed in the world premiere seasons of Daniel Jaber’s Nought (2013), Garry Stewart’s Multiverse (2014), Habitus (2016) and Beginning of Nature (2016). Samantha has since left Australian Dance Theatre and is now working as a freelance dancer around Australia.
JENNI LARGE Jenni trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. She graduated in 2010 receiving the Hawaiian Award for most outstanding graduate. During her studies she completed the international exchange program at the Taipei National University of the Arts and traveled to the United States to perform at the World Dance Alliance. As an independent artist, Jenni has developed, performed and toured works by Aimee Smith, Sue Peacock, Leigh Warren, Isabella Stone, Ashley McLellan and Lizzie and Zaimon Vilmanis. Jenni was a founding member of the Sydney-based Dance Makers Collective and has recently begun developing her own work with collaborator Jack Ziesing. From 2012-2013 Jenni was a member of Tasdance under artistic director Annie Greig, performing and touring works by Anton, Francis Rings, Larissa McGowan, Anna Smith, Marnie Palomares, Byron Perry and Tanja Liedkte. Jenni joined Dancenorth in 2015 under the directorship of Kyle Page. Performance highlights include A Pre-Emptive Requiem for Mother Nature by Alisdair Macindoe; If__Was__ a double bill by Ross McCormack and Stephanie Lake, The Three Dancers by Lee Searle; Rainbow Vomit (2015 Brisbane Festival) and Spectra (2015 Japan Tour) by Amber Haines and Kyle Page.
ASHLEY MCLELLAN Ashley was born in Cairns and began dancing at the age of 7 with ‘Creative Moves’, and later at ‘Daphne Learoyd School of Dance’ in Shepparton, Victoria. Ashley graduated from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), with an Advanced Diploma of Performing Arts (Dance) in 2010, where she was awarded the, Dance Theatre of WA Award 2008, Leinster Award for Dance
DANCENORTH | DANCERS 2008, and the Hawaiian Award for Ballet 2010. During and after her training, Ashley spent four years performing with the West Australian Ballet, under the directorship of Ivan Cavallari performing corps de ballet and soloist roles. She received the award for, Outstanding Performance by a Female in Melbourne’s Short and Sweet Festival for her self-choreographed solo, Other in 2013, and was granted a successful recipient of the Australia Council’s ArtStart Grant 2014, during which time she danced in workshops and festivals across Europe and Asia. Upon returning to Australia, Ashley choreographed and performed Pearl for Lucy Guerin Inc.’s season of Pieces for Small Spaces. In 2015 Ashley performed in Melanie Lane’s work, Merge for Melbourne’s Dance Massive festival and began dancing full time with Dancenorth Australia, under the newly appointed director Kyle Page. Over the years Ashley has worked with artists such as Graham Murphy, Marcia Haydee, Garry Stewart, Ivan Cavallari, Nana Bilus Abaffy, Tony Yap, Gregory Lorenzutti, Alisdair Macindoe, Melanie Lane, Kyle Page, Amber Haines, Geoffrey Watson, Stephanie Lake, Ross McCormack, Lee Serle, Lucy Guerin Inc. and Gideon Obarzanek to name a few.
MASON KELLY Mason Kelly, originally from Geelong, Victoria, attended The Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in Melbourne where he trained for three years. In 2013 he commenced fulltime training as a contemporary major at The New Zealand School of Dance. During his time at NZSD Mason performed in the World of Wearable Arts, directed by Malia Johnston and NZSD’s choreographic season of ’The Residents’ directed by Victoria Colombus which toured to Tempo Dance Festival Auckland. He also worked with James O’Hara, Lina Limosani, Michael Parmenter, Nils Christe and Ursula Rob. In 2015, at the start of his third year, Mason was lucky enough to join Dancenorth under the new directorship of Kyle Page. Since then he has performed and toured works around Australia by Alisdair Macindoe (A Pre-Emptive Requiem for Mother Nature) , Ross McCormack (If Form was Shifted), Stephanie Lake (If Never was Now), Lee Serle (The Three Dancers), Kyle Page and Amber Haines (Rainbow Vomit, Spectra) and Lucy Guerin and Gideon Obarzanek
(Attractor). He has also worked with the Townsville community choreographing and teaching workshops.
GEORGIA RUDD Georgia graduated from the New Zealand School of Dance as a contemporary major in 2015. During her training, Georgia performed two new works, Preface – Homage to a Risk (presented at Tempo Dance Festival) and Visions of Salome (M1 Contact Dance Festival Singapore) by Ross McCormack’s company Muscle Mouth. While studying she also worked with, Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich, James O’hara, Matthew Smith, James Pham, Thomas Bradley and Sarah Foster-Sproull. Professionally, Georgia has performed works by several choreographers in 2016, her first year with Dancenorth; Rainbow Vomit (Kyle Page and Amber Haines), If Form Was Shifted (Ross McCormack), If Never Was Now (Stephanie Lake), The Three Dancers (Lee Serle), and Attractor (Lucy Guerin and Gideon Obarzanek).
FELIX SAMPSON Born in Wellington, Felix studied at the New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD), graduating in 2015 with a Diploma in Dance Performance. While studying at NZSD he worked with many influential choreographers such as Ross McCormack (Preface: Hommage to a risk), Douglas Wright (Rapt excerpts), Craig Bary (Rapt excerpts) Thomas Bradley (Conditions of Entry), Iratxe Ansa (Metamorphosis 2015) and Sarah Foster-Sproull (Forgotten Things) among many others. Upon graduating, Felix worked with Malia Johnston in her short work Semble which was performed at the Cubadupa Festival in Wellington, and World of Wearable Art during their mini show at the Brancott Estate. Felix then joined Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) in May 2016 as a full-time company dancer. Upon joining ADT he performed in the return season of Ignition working with choreographers such as Lina Limosani, Katrina Lazaroff, Erin Fowler, Matte Roffe and Thomas Fonua. He then performed multiple works under the choreographer and directorship of Garry Stewart; Objekt, The Beginning of Nature, and Doppelganger.
JACK ZIESING Jack Ziesing began dancing in Canberra at Quantum Leap Youth Dance Company under the direction of Ruth Osborne. In 2008 Jack undertook training at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. While there he worked with choreographers Aimee Smith, Melanie Lane, Anton and Amaury Lebrun (Spain). In 2009, he received a scholarship to attend the Taipei Ideas Dance Festival specialising in rope and aerial work. Jack also travelled to the United States to attend the World Dance Alliance Conference and perform choreographer Sue Peacock’s any given moment. He graduated from WAAPA in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance. Upon graduating, Jack developed Ghostlight choreographed by Kate Weare (USA) for Buzz Dance Company and also performed in Chrissie Parrot’s Cyg.net 2 for the opening gala at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia. Jack joined Expressions Dance Company in 2011 under artistic director Natalie Weir. While at the company, Jack was fortunate to perform in many of Weir’s signature award winning works. He toured extensively nationally and internationally and collaborated with other companies including Queensland Ballet, Cathy Sharpe Dance Ensemble, LDTX/ Beijing Dance, Singapore Dance Theatre and Guangzhou Modern Dance Company. He also performed works by commissioned choreographers such as Antony Hamilton, Lucas Jervies, Paul Selwyn-Norton, Lisa Wilson, Nerida Matthaei, Liesel Zink, Cameron McMillan and Xing Liang. Jack now works as a freelance performer and choreographer. He recently performed in Ohad Naharin’s Decadance for STRUT as part of the MoveMe festival in Perth before choreographing for QL2’s EAT in Canberra. Jack is a multiple nominee for both the Australian Dance Awards and the Robert Helpmann Awards for Best Dance Performance by a Male.