The Harris Theater for Music and Dance resides on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. Many other tribes such as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, and Fox have also called this area home. The region has long been a center for Indigenous people to gather, trade, and maintain kinship ties. Today, one of the largest urban American Indian communities in the United States resides in Chicago, and members of this community continue to contribute to the life and culture of this city.
To learn more about the practice of land acknowledgement and the importance of honoring native land, visit usdac.us. The Chicagoland region is home to over 65,000 American Indians and the country’s oldest urban-based Native membership community center, American Indian Center Chicago (AIC). Visit aicchicago.org to learn more about AIC’s mission to foster physical and spiritual health in the community, an active connection with traditional values and practices, stronger families with multigenerational bonds, and a rising generation of educated, articulate, and visionary youth.
Thank you for joining us back at the Harris Theater for Summer Series: Facets, the grand finale of this milestone 45th anniversary season.
All Sapphire Season long, we’ve invited you to experience Hubbard Street from every angle, with revivals by established choreographers alongside world premieres by today’s most innovative choreographic voices. Like a sapphire, Hubbard Street’s work actually comes in many colors, and we hope you’ve enjoyed the diverse programs we’ve presented to you.
With Facets, we hope to honor the past while celebrating the present and future of contemporary dance. And speaking of the future—did you see our Season 46 announcement drop last week? In case you missed it, I invite you to visit hubbardstreetdance.com/abundance to check it out.
Now, to let the dance speak for itself, please enjoy Facets
Yours in motion,
Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell Artistic Director
The mission of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is to bring artists, art, and audiences together to enrich, engage, educate, and change lives through the experience of dance.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago grew out of the Lou Conte Dance Studio at LaSalle and Hubbard Streets in 1977, when Lou Conte gathered an ensemble of four dancers to perform in senior centers across Chicago. Barbara G. Cohen soon joined the company as its first Executive Director. Conte continued to direct the company for 23 years, during which he initiated and grew relationships with both emerging and established artists including Nacho Duato, Daniel Ezralow, Jiří Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, and Twyla Tharp.
Conte’s successor Jim Vincent widened Hubbard Street’s international focus, began Hubbard Street’s collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and cultivated growth from within, launching the Inside/Out Choreographic Workshop and inviting Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo to make his first work.
Gail Kalver’s 23 years of executive leadership provided continuity from 1984 through the 2006/07 season, when Executive Director Jason Palmquist joined the organization. Glenn Edgerton became Artistic Director in 2009 and, together with Palmquist, moved this legacy forward on multiple fronts.
In 2021, former company dancer Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell was named the fourth Artistic Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Season 44: RE/CHARGE marked her debut season as the artistic leader of the organization, with the goal of continuing to diversify the company’s repertoire and ensemble while building on the incredible legacy and reputation that HSDC has already established. Along with David McDermott, Executive Director since 2017, the company is looking forward to expanding its audience reach and increasing the local, national, and global reputation of Hubbard Street.
For 45 years, Hubbard Street has been one of the most original forces in contemporary dance—bringing top choreographers and works to Chicago and beyond. Hubbard Street’s ever-evolving repertory, created by today’s leading choreographic voices, makes us a company that dancers aspire to join and performance venues all over the world are eager to present. To date, the main company has performed globally in 19 countries and 44 U.S. states.
At home in Chicago, Hubbard Street performs 20 times a year and delivers renowned education programs in 50 classrooms across 17 Chicagoland schools. HSDC Education utilizes the choreographic process to teach essential problemsolving skills, creativity, and collaboration—expanding our reach beyond traditional concert dance audiences, ensuring that everyone has access to worldclass dance and instruction.
Love Infinite by Randy Duncan
Georgia by Lou Conte
Coltrane’s Favorite Things by Lar Lubovitch
Dear Frankie by Rennie Harris (World Premiere)
Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Artistic Director
David McDermott, Executive Director
Lou Conte, Founder The Company
Alexandria Best
Jacqueline Burnett*
Aaron Choate
Morgan Clune
Michele Dooley
Abdiel Figueroa Reyes*
Elliot Hammans
Jack Henderson
Alysia Johnson*
Shota Miyoshi
David Schultz*
Simone Stevens
Cyrie Topete
Matt Wenckowski
*Denotes Princess Grace Award Recipient
Randy Duncan, Choreography
Ira Antelis, Music
Luis Razo, Costume Design
Dustin L. Derry, Lighting Design
Dancers: The Company
Music: Love Infinite by Ira Antelis. Arranged and produced by Ira Antelis. Mixed and co-produced by Rick Fritz. Keyboards, drum programming, strings, synth: Ira Antelis. Poetry and spoken word: I sadat. Featured lead vocalists: Susanna McCullom, Stevie Robinson, Jacob Najafi. Background vocals: Landon Pigg, Gary Pigg, Jeff Morrow, Susanna McCullom, Stevie Robinson, Ira Antelis. Clavichord and horns: Jimmy Nichols. Bass: Alan Berliant. Additional percussion, drums, synth: Vince Lawrence. Lead cello: Elizabeth Anderson. Cellists: Margaret Daly, Richard Yeo, Mark Anderson.
Lou Conte, Choreography
Sandi J. Cooksey & Craig D. Black, Jr., Stagers
Hoagy Carmichael, Music
Robert Christen, Original Lighting Design
Todd Clark*, Lighting Recreation
Jackson Lowell, Costume Design
Dancers: Jacqueline Burnett and David Schultz
Music by Hoagy Carmichael: Georgia, as performed by Willie Nelson, from the album Stardust, recorded by Legacy Recordings, as published by Peermusic III LTD. Rose From the Blues was commissioned for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago by Matrix: Midland Festival of the Arts, Humanities and Sciences, Midland, Michigan.
Lar Lubovitch, Choreography
Jonathan E. Alsberry, Stager
John Coltrane, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Music
Jackson Pollock, Scenery
Jack Mehler*, Lighting Design
“In his time, the music of John Coltrane was described as ‘sheets of sound’, due to the aural environment created by his innovative wall-to-wall, top-to-bottom, overall constancy of sound. Simultaneously, mid-century artist Jackson Pollock was creating pictures depicting a visual environment for which the entire surface of the canvas itself was an overall ‘action field,’ the term coined to describe his paintings. In this dance, I have sought to draw a parallel between Coltrane’s sheets of sound and Pollock’s field of action.” —Lar Lubovitch
Dancers:
Duet: Alexandria Best, Shota Miyoshi
Quartet: Morgan Clune, Matt Wenckowski, Michele Dooley, Aaron Choate
Trio: Elliot Hammans, Simone Stevens, Jack Henderson
Music: My Favorite Things. Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. This selection is used by special arrangement with Rodgers & Hammerstein: A Concord Company, www.concord.com. All Rights Reserved.
Coltrane’s Favorite Things was commissioned in part by Ronald E. Creamer Jr., Elysabeth Kleinhans, W. Patrick McMullan III, Maxine Pollak, Dale L. Ponikvar and Lewis R. Steinberg. Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), 1950. Jackson Pollock (American, 19121956). Enamel on canvas, H. 105, W. 207 in. (266.7 x 525.8 cm), George A. Hearn Fund, 1957 (57.92) © 2010 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, U.S.A. Photo credit: Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY
Choreography copyright © Lar Lubovitch 2010
WORLD PREMIERE
Rennie Harris, Choreography
Darrin Ross, Rennie Harris, Music
Imani Sade, Costume Design
James Clotfelter, Lighting Design
Angel D. Anderson, Assistant to the Choreographer
Letter to Frankie written by Rennie Harris.
“This work is an homage to the city of Chicago, the godfather of House Music DJ Frankie Knuckles, the infamous dance club The Warehouse, and its club members. Frankie Knuckles and the other noted Chicago DJs introduced house music to the world. As a result, Chicago’s unique sound and dance have impacted not only music but fashion, television, film, radio and pop, and underground culture as we know it today.” —Rennie Harris
Dancers: The Company
Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell (Artistic Director, she/her) ascended to this role in 2021, after an extraordinary career as a professional dance artist and educator. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and began her dance training at the Baltimore School for the Arts under the guidance of Sylvester Campbell and Stephanie Powell. She was an apprentice with the Capitol Ballet in Washington D.C. and a full fellowship student at The Ailey School. While a student at The Juilliard School, she was invited by Hubbard Street founder Lou Conte to join the main company at the age of 19, thus beginning her professional dance career. After three seasons with Hubbard Street, she became a Principal Dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, under the direction of Judith Jamison. During her 13-year tenure with the company, she performed all over the world and was featured in the works of Alvin Ailey, Robert Battle, Talley Beatty, Ron K. Brown, John Butler, Donald Byrd, Ulysses Dove, George Faison, Rennie Harris, Geoffrey Holder, Judith Jamison, Louis Johnson, Alonzo King, Lar Lubovitch, Donald McKayle, Elisa Monte, Jennifer Muller, David Parsons, and Dwight Rhoden. She was invited to give a number of special performances throughout her career, including the White House State Dinner in honor of the President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, and the 12th Annual Kennedy Center Gala with Nancy Wilson and Liza Minelli. She has led a distinguished career as a dance educator in her hometown of Baltimore where, since 2005, she has been a Professor of Dance at Towson University and has served on the faculty of the Baltimore School for the Arts. Her research and scholarship in continuing the Ailey legacy within the Towson University and Greater Baltimore community has resulted in the Ailey II residencies from 2011-2019 hosted by Towson University and the establishment of AileyCamp Baltimore at Towson University in 2014 where she served as Director. She holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in dance from Hollins University and is an ABT® Certified Teacher. As a scholar, her entry “Alvin Ailey” has been published by the Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism. She and her husband have three children.
David McDermott (Executive Director, he/him) manages organization-wide strategy and administrative functions including oversight of Hubbard Street’s finances, operations, marketing, and development departments. Most recently, he led Hubbard Street through a post-COVID-19 restructuring, guided its new access-first digital strategy, and directed the company’s recent move to Water Tower Place. Prior to joining Hubbard Street he served as the First Deputy Commissioner at the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. In this role, he managed the day-to-day operations of the department and played instrumental roles in major initiatives such as creating the Chicago Cultural Plan, revitalizing the Taste of Chicago, and ensured the success of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Prior to his employment with the City, he led the Senator Durbin’s Department of Community Outreach, served as the Senator’s Political Director, and has managed political campaigns at the congressional, county, and municipal levels. He recently completed a fellowship at the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy and holds a degree in Public Policy from Trinity College at the University of Dublin.
Lou Conte (Founding Artistic Director, he/him) after a performing career that included roles in Broadway musicals such as Cabaret, Mame and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, established the Lou Conte Dance Studio in 1974. Three years later, he founded what is now Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Originally the company’s sole choreographer, he developed relationships with emerging and world-renowned dancemakers Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Margo Sappington and Daniel Ezralow as the company grew. He continued to build Hubbard Street’s repertoire by forging a key relationship with Twyla Tharp in the 1990s, acquiring seven of her works as well as original choreography. It then became an international enterprise with the inclusion of works by Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato and Ohad Naharin. Throughout his 23 years as the company’s artistic director, he received numerous awards including the first Ruth Page Artistic Achievements Award in 1986, the Sidney R. Yates Arts Advocacy Award in 1995, and a Chicagoan of the Year award from Chicago magazine in 1999. In 2003, he was inducted as a laureate into the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, the state’s highest honor, and in 2014, was named one of five inaugural recipients of the City of Chicago’s Fifth Star Award. He has been credited by many for helping raise Chicago’s international cultural profile and for creating a welcoming climate for dance in the city, where the art form now thrives.
Jonathan E. Alsberry (Senior Rehearsal Director & Director of Summer Intensives, he/him) from Normal, IL is a dance educator, creator and coach focused on inspiring excellence and joy in the study of Ballet, Jazz, and Modern techniques with a constant dedication to the exploration of artistry and the creative process. Currently the Senior Rehearsal Director & Director of Summer Intensives with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, he began dancing with his mother Lyndetta and went on to graduate from The Chicago Academy for the Arts where he has since been a guest faculty member. In 2006, he received his BFA from The Juilliard School where he met Aszure Barton. Jonathan a.k.a “Jojo” is now dancer, rehearsal director, and creative collaborator with Aszure Barton & Artists and has assisted Mrs. Barton in over a dozen creations including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Bayerische Staatsballett and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In 2007 he also joined the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and is currently a performer, rehearsal director and teaching artist with the company. He has shared two tours with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hell’s Kitchen Dance as well as Evolution with Alessandra Ferri and Herman Cornejo. Other credits include The Chase Brock Experience, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Nilas Martins Dance Company, and Eisenhower Dance Ensemble. Since 2007, he has been teaching, coaching and creating work at various educational institutions including Arts Umbrella, Harvard University, University of California at Irvine, Springboard Danse Montreal, Ballet Hispánico and University of Southern California.
Craig D. Black Jr. (Rehearsal Director, he/they) from San Jose, CA is the Rehearsal Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. He was appointed to this role in 2022 for the company’s 45th Anniversary: Sapphire Season. At the age of ten, Craig began dancing at South Bay Dance Center and continued his dance training at Abraham Lincoln High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. In 2011, Craig received his BFA from The Juilliard School. He obtained additional training at Springboard Danse Montréal, Nederlands Dans Theater, and the School at Jacob’s Pillow. Craig is a recipient of the 2010 Princess Grace Award in Dance as well as the 2011 Lorna Strassler Award for Student Excellence from the School at Jacob’s Pillow. For six seasons Craig performed and toured with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet under the direction of Tom Mossbrucker and Jean-Philippe Malaty. In 2017, Craig joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago where he danced for five seasons before transitioning into the HSDC Rehearsal Director position. He has had the privilege of dancing works by Kyle Abraham, Aszure Barton, Cherice Barton, Rena Butler, Alejandro Cerrudo, Peter Chu, Nacho Duato, Jorma Elo, William Forsythe, Jirí Kylián, Fernando Melo, Robyn Mineko Williams, Ohad Naharin, Crystal Pite, and Cayetano Soto Ramirez among many others. Craig has had the pleasure of co-choreographing and rehearsal directing Cardi B and Offset’s 2019 BET Awards performance. Craig is a passionate teacher and mentor. He is certified in IMAGE TECH for Dancers™ introductory through advanced level. Craig is on faculty for Dupree Dance and has served as guest faculty for the Hubbard Street Professional Program, Steps on Broadway, Peridance Center, The Joffrey Academy, and New York City Dance Alliance.
Please see Page 10 for biography.
RANDY DUNCAN, a native of Chicago, who began his dance training with Ms. Geraldine Johnson and credits much of his artistic development with Harriet Ross, has the unique privilege to be a three-time recipient of Chicago’s prestigious Ruth Page Award for Outstanding Choreographer of the Year. For 19 years, Randy danced and upon the untimely death of Joseph Holmes, served as the Artistic Director of The Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre. He has received numerous awards including the Artistic Achievement Award from the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, three Black Theatre Alliance Awards, and the Gay Chicago Magazine After Dark Award. He earned an American Choreography Award Nomination for his choreography in the block buster movie Save the Last Dance, starring Julia Stiles. Mr. Duncan’s work has been seen in the companies of Joffrey Ballet, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Ballet Met, and many others. He has created choreography for such theatres as the Goodman, Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Repertory, Actor’s Theatre, Court Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Washington Shakespeare Theatre, and Portland Opera. Most recently, Randy’s work can be seen in season four of Showtime’s The Chi. For the past 29 years he has been on the faculty of The Chicago Academy for the Arts, where he now serves as Dance Department Chair and received the 2019 Faculty Legacy Award. Randy has been choreographing the finale for Chicago’s annual Dance for Life Gala since 1994 and has received the 2013 AIDS Foundation Chicago Civic Leadership Award for his work with Dance for Life. He sits on the board of Chicago Dancers United, and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and the Stage, Directors, and Choreographers Union.
RENNIE HARRIS Known for bringing social dances to the concert stage and coining the term Street Dance Theater, Harris has broken new ground as one of the first Hip-hop choreographers to set works on balletbased companies such as Ballet Memphis, Colorado Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco), Giordano Dance Chicago, Lula Washington Dance Theatre, Cleo Parker Robinson, Dallas Black Dance Theater, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and more. He is also the first street dancer commissioned to create an evening-length work on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and to serve as a resident artist at the Alvin Ailey School for Eance. He’s received three Bessie Awards, five Black Theater Alvin Ailey Awards, an Herb Alpert Award, and been nominated for a Lawrence Olivier Award (UK). He has also received a Lifetime Achievement Award in choreography (McCullum Theater, 2019). Harris was also voted one of the most influential people in the last one hundred years of Philadelphia’s history (City Paper), and has been compared to Basquiat, Alvin Ailey, and Bob Fosse. In addition, he’s received a Guggenheim Fellowship, PEW Fellowship, a USA Artist of the Year Fellowship, a Governor’s Artist of the Year Award, and is noted as the first street dancer to receive two honorary doctorate degrees from both Bates College (Lewiston,
ME) and Columbia College (Chicago, IL). He served as a cultural ambassador for Ronald Reagan’s US Embassy Tour in 1986 and was invited to the White House by the Clinton Administration to share in the recognition of African American artists making a difference in the world (2001). Rennie Harris Puremovement has performed for such dignitaries as the Queen of England and the Princess’ of Monaco, and was chosen as one of four US companies to serve as cultural ambassadors for President Obama’s Dance Motion USA and toured Israel, Jordan, Ramulah, Egypt, Palestine, and surrounding countries. Lorenzo “Rennie” Harris is atop the Hip-hop heap as its leading ambassador. Harris is a recent recipient of the Doris Duke artist award (2020).
LAR LUBOVITCH is one of America’s most versatile and widely seen choreographers. He founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Over the course of 53 years, it has gained an international reputation as one of America’s top dance companies, produced more than 120 dances and performed before millions across the U.S. and over 40 countries. Many other major companies throughout the world have performed the company’s dances, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Joffrey Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, and more. Lubovitch has created ice-dancing works for Olympians John Curry, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Brian Orser, JoJo Starbuck, and Paul Wylie, and he has created feature-length ice-dance specials for TV: The Planets for A&E (nominated for an International Emmy Award, a Cable AceAward, and a Grammy Award) and The Sleeping Beauty for PBS and Anglia TV, Great Britain. His theater and film work includes Sondheim/ Lapine’s Into the Woods (Tony Award nomination), The Red Shoes (Astaire Award), the Tony Award-winning revival of The King and I (on Broadway and in London’s West End), Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame in Berlin, and Robert Altman’s movie The Company (American Choreography Award). In 2016, he premiered The Bronze Horseman, based on the Pushkin poem, for the Mikhailovsky Ballet in Russia. In 1987, he conceived Dancing for Life, which took place at Lincoln Center. It was the first response by the dance community to the AIDS crisis, raising over one million dollars. Together with Jay Franke, in 2007 Lubovitch created the Chicago Dancing Festival, in collaboration with the City of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art. It presented 10 seasons entirely free to the public. Recent awards: 2007 named Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune; 2008 named similarly by Chicago Magazine; 2011 designated a Ford Fellow by United States Artists and received the Dance/USA Honors Award; 2012 his dance Crisis Variations awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse for outstanding choreography at the Bolshoi Theatre; 2013 honored for lifetime achievement by the American Dance Guild; 2014 awarded an honorary doctorate by The Juilliard School; 2016 received the Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement and the Dance Magazine Award, named one of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures by the Dance Heritage Coalition and appointed a Distinguished Professor at UC/Irvine. In honor of his company’s 50th anniversary, in 2018 he was presented with the Martha Graham Award for lifetime achievement.
Learn more about the choreographers & the works on stage on pages 23–26.
Alexandria Best (she/her, Raleigh, NC) is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina where she began her dance training and love for this expressive art form. In her formal training years, Best acquired knowledge from various instructors across programs such as American Ballet Theatre, Arts Umbrella, Carolina Ballet, French Académie of Ballet, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. During this time she also had the opportunity to perform various works by Rena Butler, Alexandra Damiani, Jessica Hendricks, Jiří Kylián, Florian Lochner and Alice Klock (also known as “FLOCK”), and Crystal Pite. Best is a graduate of Pace University, where she received her BFA in Dance, and is in her second season with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Alexandria is elated to be continuing her time with the company and for all the opportunities and experiences coming forth this season. Company member since 2021.
Jacqueline Burnett (she/her, Pocatello, ID) received her ballet training in Pocatello, Idaho, from Romanian Ballet Master Marius Zirra. She moved to NYC in 2005 for the Ailey School/Fordham University BFA program, graduating magna cum laude with honors (2009). She joined HSDC in 2008 as a Center Apprentice and joined the main company in 2009. Jacqueline received a Princess Grace Honorarium in 2011 and with HSDC was part of DanceMotion USA 2013,a cultural diplomacy tour in Algeria, Morocco, and Spain. Jacqueline has served as an Artistic Lead and teacher for HSDC Summer Intensives, a repetitor for Penny Saunders, and a freelance dancer with Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists and Seattle Dance Collective. Jacqueline recently choreographed for Milwaukee Rep’s Murder on the Orient Express directed by Annika Boras and co-choreographed with David Schultz a new commission for Danza Visual in Mexico City. Company member since 2009.
Aaron Choate (they/them, Lexington, KY) is a recent graduate of The Juilliard School class of 2022. In 2018 they were named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and a YoungArts Gold Medalist. They have worked with renowned choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Justin Peck, Jamar Roberts, and Bobbi Jene Smith, and have restored works by Trisha Brown, Ted Shawn, and Paul Taylor. Aaron is an avid choreographer and was lucky enough to present their piece One Hundred People in a Line at 92nd Street Y in 2022. In 2021, they received the George J. Jakab Grant Award from Juilliard to create their first fully realized collaborative dance film. Upon graduation they were awarded the Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship. Aaron is honored, humbled, and thrilled to be joining HSDC for their first season. Company member since 2022.
Morgan Clune (she/her, Barrington, IL) graduated from The Chicago Academy for the Arts in 2018. She went on to receive her BFA in dance from The Juilliard School in 2022. She was recognized as a National YoungArts Winner in New York for Contemporary dance in 2018. At Juilliard, Morgan performed works by Ohad Naharin, Aszure Barton, Bobbi Jene Smith, Justin Peck, and more. Morgan was awarded the Martha Hill Prize upon graduation for her achievement and leadership in Dance as well as a Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship for her promise as an entrepreneur and engagement in the arts. She is beyond excited to begin her professional career with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago! Company member since 2022.
Michele Dooley (she/he/they, Philadelphia, PA) is a dance artist and teacher from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She began her dance training at The Institute of the Arts, graduated from The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, and later earned her BFA in Dance from The University of the Arts. Michele has completed programs with Bates Summer intensive, BalletX Summer Program, and DCNS Summer Dance Intensive and has worked with choreographers Gary Jeter, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Aszure Barton, Jermaine Spivey, Milton Myers, Spenser Theberge, and Nora Gibson. She has had the privilege of working with Eleone Dance Theatre and Spectrum Dance Theater. She is thrilled to be back for her second season with the company! Company member since 2021.
Abdiel Figueroa Reyes (he/they, Las Vegas, NV) was born and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, before moving to the United States at the age of 11. His professional dance training began at The Rock Center for Dance, where he was a studio company member. He graduated from Las Vegas Academy of the Arts as a Dance Major in 2016 and joined Hubbard Street’s Professional Program under the direction of Alexandra Wells in 2017. In 2019 he joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago as a main company member. DanceMagazine named him Top 25 to Watch and recognized him as 1 of 4 LatinX Dancers Breaking Boundaries in 2020. Figueroa is delighted to be a Princess Grace Award Winner 2022 and excited to continue in his fourth season with the company. Company member since 2019.
Elliot Hammans (he/him, Santa Fe, NM) began his formal dance training in 2008 with Robert Sher-Machherndl and continued his ballet and modern dance education with Moving People Dance in Santa Fe, NM, under the direction of Curtis Uhlemann. Hammans joined Moving People Dance Company as an apprentice in 2010, trained on full scholarship at the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center in San Francisco, and attended Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s 2011 and 2012 Summer Intensives. Following one season with Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance and studies abroad at Austria’s Tanzzentrum SEAD (Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance), Hammans earned his BFA in Dance in 2014 from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Hammans joined Hubbard Street 2 as a full company member in August 2014 and was promoted to Hubbard Street’s main company in August 2016. Company member since 2016.
Jack Henderson (he/him, Livermore, CA) grew up in Livermore, California where he began dancing at his local dance studio, Tiffany’s Dance Academy. He attended summer intensives and workshops during this time, including San Francisco Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and Hubbard Street intensives. In 2017, he moved to Vancouver, BC, to attend Arts Umbrellas pre-graduate program under the direction of Artemis Gordon. In 2018, Jack joined the graduate program at Arts Umbrella, performing repertoire and new creations by Crystal Pite, Lukas Timulak, Amos Bental, Ihsan Rustem, and Jonathan E. Alsberry, to name a few. He is very excited about joining a team of such dedicated and talented artists. Company member since 2022.
Alysia Johnson (Alysia/she/her, Dallas, TX) first found dance at Dallas Black Dance Theatre and later went on to graduate from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where she studied ballet, modern, and composition. A graduate of The Juilliard School and a two-time recipient of Juilliard’s Entrepreneurship Grant, she has served the Dallas dance community by founding and directing programs that cater to young artists in the DFW metroplex since 2015. Recently, Alysia was awarded the Princess Grace Honoraria Award for dance and she is endlessly thankful for the dance community at large for their support and unmatched creativity. Company member since 2018.
Shota Miyoshi (he/him, Kanagawa, Japan), a native of Japan, started to train in jazz and ballet at Nakura Jazz Dance Studio. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from SUNY Purchase college in 2022. He has performed works by Norbert De La Cruz, Jamar Roberts, Martin Løfsnes, Doug Varone, George Balanchine, Martha Graham and José Limón. Additional training includes MOVE|NYC|’s S.W.E.A.T and Paul Taylor Summer Intensive. He hopes to become a versatile dancer who is able to collaborate with a variety of musicians in order to create something the world has never seen before. Company member since 2022.
David Schultz (he/him, Grand Rapids, MI) began his training in Michigan with the School of the Grand Rapids Ballet, where he then performed for four seasons with its company, the Grand Rapids Ballet. David joined Hubbard Street 2 in 2009 and was promoted to the main company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, in 2011 where he has worked with many of the world’s leading contemporary choreographers. He is a recipient of a 2012 Princess Grace Award. As a choreographer David has had the honor of creating works for DanceWorks Chicago, Chambered Squared, Boston University, and a Co-choreographed piece with Jacqueline Burnett for Danza Visual in Mexico City. When he is not dancing, or choreographing David has spent many years studying music and has performed and scored many pieces for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago as well as for his own works. Company member since 2011.
Simone Stevens (she/her, Atlanta, GA) earned her BA in Dance and Minor in Anthropology from Kennesaw State University in July 2017. One year post-grad, Stevens moved to Chicago and trained on scholarship at the Lou Conte Dance Studio where she was mentored by Laura Wade, Ethan Kirschbaum, and Kristina Fluty. During that time, Stevens also freelanced throughout the city and performed works choreographed by Alice Klock, Alysia Johnson, Hanna Brictson, LOUD Bodies, and Joshua Peugh among others. Most recently she performed as a company member with Katlin Bourgeois’s Ensemble180 and was on faculty with Ethan Kirschbaum’s Chicago Movement Collective before joining Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In Stevens’s first season as a member of HSDC, she will be performing works choreographed by Jermaine Maurice Spivey, Aszure Barton, Rena Butler, Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato and others. Company member since 2021.
Cyrie Topete (she/her, Peoria, AZ) is from Peoria, Arizona, where she trained in competitive dance beginning at the age of thirteen. She then graduated from The Juilliard School where she received her BFA in the summer of 2022. Cyrie was given the FENDI Vanguard Award and is a YoungArts winner. She also attended programs including, Springboard Danse Montreal, Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Program, B12 in Berlin, Germany, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and more. She has also performed works by Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Alan Lucien Øyen, Bobbi Jene Smith, Peter Chu, Justin Peck, Aszure Barton, Jenn Freeman, and Jamar Roberts. Cyrie is extremely honored and excited to embark on this new journey with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago! Company member since 2022.
Matt Wenckowski (he/him, St. Charles, IL) received his early training at Moves Dance Studio in North Aurora and trained as a competitive dancer with Excel Dance Productions. In 2009, Matt joined the Joffrey Academy’s pre-professional programs under the direction of Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik, performing in The Nutcracker and more. He studied at Lou Conte Dance Studio under the guidance of Claire Bataille and joined DanceWorks Chicago in 2013 under the direction of Julie Nakagawa. In 2015, he joined the Grand Rapids Ballet performing soloist roles in classical and contemporary works. He’s performed pieces by Alejandro Cerrudo, Trey McIntyre, Ben Stevenson, George Balanchine, Yuri Possokhov, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Val Caniparoli, Robyn Mineko Williams, Penny Saunders, and more. Matt is thrilled and grateful to be part of HSDC and would like to thank his parents for all they’ve done to support him. Company member since 2022.
COVID Protocols:
All audience members attending performances inside the Theater will be required to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test prior to entering the facility. In addition, all audience members will be required to wear a mask while inside the venue, regardless of vaccination status. For more information, visit harristheaterchicago.org/faqs.
The Harris Theater strongly recommends proper wearing of masks at all times for audiences in the theater including while in line to enter, when in close proximity to others, and throughout the performance. For more information, visit harristheaterchicago.org/faqs.
In Consideration of Other Patrons and the Performers: Please turn off all cell phones. Photography is not permitted in the Theater at any time and texting during performance is strictly prohibited. Film or digital images will be confiscated or deleted by the Harris Theater house staff; violators will be subject to a fine. Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the house management. Smoking is prohibited within the Harris Theater. Allowance of personal items and baggage into the auditorium space is at the sole discretion of house management.
In Consideration of Other Patrons and the Performers: Photography is not permitted in the Theater at any time and texting during performance is strictly prohibited. Film or digital images will be confiscated or deleted by the Harris Theater house staff; violators will be subject to a fine. Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the house management. Smoking is prohibited within the Harris Theater. Allowance of personal items and baggage into the auditorium space is at the sole discretion of house management.
For Your Safety:
For Your Safety:
Please take a moment and note the nearest exit. In the event of an emergency, follow the directions of the Harris Theater house staff. In the event of an illness or injury, inform the Harris Theater Front of House Manager.
Please take a moment and note the nearest exit. In the event of an emergency, follow the directions of the Harris Theater house staff. In the event of an illness or injury, inform the Harris Theater Front of House Manager.
Accessibility:
Accessibility:
Wheelchair accessible seating locations, swing arm aisle seating, and inclusive/wheelchair accessible restrooms are available on all auditorium seating levels. The Harris is also equipped with an Infrared Assistive Listening Device system. Headsets are available for check out with a valid ID. Large print programs are available for all Harris Theater Presents engagements. Please call the Box Office in advance at 312.334.7777 regarding ticketing and accessible seating questions. If inquiring on any additional accommodation requests to enhance your performance experience, please reach out to access@harristheaterchicago.org or call 312.334.2486 at least two weeks in advance.
Wheelchair accessible seating locations, swing arm aisle seating, and inclusive/wheelchair accessible restrooms are available on all auditorium seating levels. The Harris is also equipped with an FM Assistive Listening Device system. Headsets are available for check out with a valid ID. Please call the Box Office in advance at 312.334.7777 regarding ticketing and accessible seating questions. If inquiring on any additional accommodation requests to enhance your performance experience, please reach out to access@harristheaterchicago.org or call 312.334.2486 at least two weeks in advance.
Parking:
Parking:
Discounted parking validation is available for all ticket holders using the Millennium Park Garage. A validation machine is located on Lobby Level 5 (Upper Randolph).
Discounted parking validation is available for all ticket holders using the Millennium Park Garage. A validation machine is located on Lobby Level 5 (Upper Randolph).
Rental Information:
If you have any questions about the Harris Theater, including rental of the facility, group tours, or volunteer opportunities, please email rentals@harristheaterchicago.org.
Rental Information:
If you have any questions about the Harris Theater, including rental of the facility, group tours, or volunteer opportunities, please email rentals@harristheaterchicago.org
Harris Theater Mission:
The Harris Theater is Chicago’s home for music and dance, connecting diverse audiences with artists from across the city, the nation, and the world. Opened in 2003 in Millennium Park, the Theater was the first multi-use performance venue built in downtown Chicago since 1929, and fulfilled the city’s need for a shared home for mid-size performing arts organizations. Today, the Harris features some of the most diverse arts and culture offerings of any venue in the city, and is a distinctive model for artistic quality, collaboration, and making the performing arts relevant and accessible to the widest possible audience.
Harris Theater Mission:
The Harris Theater is Chicago’s home for music and dance, connecting diverse audiences with artists from across the city, the nation, and the world. Opened in 2003 in Millennium Park, the Theater was the first multi-use performance venue built in downtown Chicago since 1929, and fulfilled the city’s need for a shared home for mid-size performing arts organizations. Today, the Harris features some of the most diverse arts and culture offerings of any venue in the city, and is a distinctive model for artistic quality, collaboration, and making the performing arts relevant and accessible to the widest possible audience.
Founded on the principle of serving Chicago’s vibrant creative community, the Theater is the home venue of more than 25 not-for-profit arts and culture organizations. The Harris Theater Presents series has featured world-renowned artists and ensembles including Laurie Anderson, Batsheva Dance, English National Ballet, Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir, Angélique Kidjo, and Paris Opéra Ballet. The Theater’s community engagement initiatives build bridges between artists and community members, providing master classes, artist talks, and free tickets for more than 35 partner organizations throughout Chicago.
To learn more about the Harris Theater, Chicago’s state-of-the-art 1,500-seat performance venue in Millennium Park, visit harristheaterchicago.org.
Founded on the principle of serving Chicago’s vibrant creative community, the Theater is the home venue of more than 25 not-for-profit arts and culture organizations. The Harris Theater Presents series has featured world-renowned artists and ensembles including Laurie Anderson, Batsheva Dance, English National Ballet, Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir, Angélique Kidjo, and Paris Opéra Ballet. The Theater’s community engagement initiatives build bridges between artists and community members, providing master classes, artist talks, and free tickets for more than 35 partner organizations throughout Chicago.
To learn more about the Harris Theater, Chicago’s state-of-the-art 1,499-seat performance venue in Millennium Park, visit harristheaterchicago.org.
Ira Antelis (Original Music) has been composing and producing music for pop artists, commercials, theatre, dance, movies and television over thirty-five years. Artists ranging from Christina Aguilera, Patti LaBelle, to Marc Anthony have sung his songs and his compositions also include theme songs for Disney and commercials such as “Be Like Mike” for Gatorade. Ira has also collaborated with Randy Duncan for over 30 years and Is thrilled to have this opportunity. Lastly Ira would like to give special thanks to Janet Louer and Karen Frankel Jones who first introduced Ira to Hubbard Street when he moved to Chicago. “Working with Hubbard Street is something I’d always hoped to do.”
Luis Razo (Costume Design) is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. A former dancer, he moved to Chicago in 1994 and has since been a costume designer for multiple theatre and dance productions. He has designed and restored a variety of classical and modern costumes for the Chicago Academy for the Arts Dance Department’s spring and fall programs from 2012–present, including Escapades, Journey, Held, and Solitaire. Luis has also an award-winning collaborator with Joffrey Ballet Academy’s (2018–2022) productions of Momentos, Mori, Sea of Stars, Vessals Bearing, Give the People What They Want, Borders, Brush Stroke, Ballet De Cour, Now But Not Now, Porcelain, Road to Fire, On the Same Boat, Coppelia, Swan Lake, Harlequinade, Ferdinand, Fire Bird, and Appalachian Spring. Other credits: Soles (Trinity Irish Dance Company, 2021), Awake, Youth Company, We Move Lightly (Visceral Dance Chicago, 2022), Adroit by Randy Duncan (Dance for Life/Dancers United, 2018), Never Enough (DFL/DU, 2022). Finalist in Charmweddings Toilet Paper Wedding Gown Contest (2017, 2019).
Dustin L. Derry (Lighting Design) is a co-founder of Stonewolf Studios, a production company focused on supporting dance, corporate events, and large scale lasershows. Dustin himself is a Chicago based lighting designer who has been creating and collaborating both locally and internationally for just over 20 years. His work can be seen within many companies city wide including Deeply Rooted, Ensemble Español, and a variety of other dance companies as well as theaters. Dustin is incredibly proud to be working on his first collaboration with Hubbard Street Dance.
Robert Christen (Original Lighting Design) served as HSDC lighting supervisor in the 1980s on the company’s first national and international tours, supporting Mr. Conte’s artistic vision and elevating the company’s professionalism. He designed lighting for original works by Lou Conte, Claire Bataille, Margo Sappington, and Lynn Taylor Corbett. Mr. Christen spent his entire career as resident lighting designer and supervisor at the Goodman Theatre designing over 70 productions including 36 years of the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. His range included opera and concerts and his work was seen all over Chicago, on and off Broadway, London’s West End, and at regional theaters across the US. The Michael Merritt Awards annual Robert Christen Award for Excellence in Technical Collaboration recognizes an outstanding technical professional whose career as a collaborator in the realization of theatrical design has been significant and sustained. A reader of history and lover of ballet, opera, and baseball, Mr. Christen died in 2014.
Todd Clark (Lighting Recreation) is primarily a Lighting Designer and Stage Manager for the corporate, live event, and theatrical industries. He attended North Carolina School of the Arts and, in 1986, began his career as the Lighting Director and Master Electrician for North Carolina Dance Theater. In 1987, he transitioned to Hubbard Street Dance Chicago starting as the Lighting Director and finishing in 2001 as the Production Manager, Stage Manager & Lighting Director. While at Hubbard Street, he also freelanced worked as a lighting designer for various dance and theater companies around the country. Upon Leaving Hubbard Street, he began working in the corporate and live event industry, first as a Lighting Designer and then moving into Stage Management, Technical Direction and Producing. Throughout all of those years he has worked with HMS Media in Chicago on 15 television specials for PBS and won 4 Chicago/ Midwest Emmy awards for lighting.
Sandi J. Cooksey (Co-Stager). Sandi J. Cooksey’s tenure with HSDC spans 16 years— 14 years as performer, nine years as Rehearsal Assistant, and two years as Rehearsal Director. During her time with the company, she performed, rehearsed, and assisted with the works of many local and world-renown choreographers. Her career also embodies two years of work with Twyla Tharp’s NYC-based company and one year with Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. Since retiring from her dance career, Sandi has worked in the medical industry – first in device sales, now at the bedside. For the past six years, Sandi has served as a Critical Care Respiratory Therapist at Rush University Medical Center. Sandi is grateful for theopportunity to reconnect with HSDC and Lou Conte under Linda-D’s directorship.
Jack Mehler (Lighting Design). Based in New York for over 25 years, Jack Mehler designs a wide variety of live performances including Lar Lubovitch dances for Atlanta Ballet, Austin Ballet, Ballet Florida, Jose Limon, Joffrey Ballet, Lar Lubovitch Dance, Martha Graham, San Francisco Ballet, and others. He received the 2012 Korean Musical Theatre Award (Korean Tony) for Elisabeth and the 2013 award for Rebecca. Other dance work includes Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Ballet Austin, BalletMet, Ballet Memphis, Ballet West, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Donald Byrd/Spectrum Dance (Gypsy award), Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and many others. Theatre work includes Cleveland Play House, Manhattan Theatre Club, North Shore Music Theatre (four IRNE nominations), Paper Mill Playhouse, Princess Cruise Lines/ Stephen Schwartz, Riverside Theatre, Seattle Rep, Walnut Street Theatre. He is a founding board member of ACT of Connecticut.
Darin Ross (Music) has recently completed composing for Boaz Yakin’s upcoming film Once Again! He also composed and created soundscape for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s first two act ballet called Lazarus. Ross has been collaborating with Dr. Rennie Harris for over 38 years. He also completed the score for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Beyond The Steps PBS Documentary and is featured in Ailey by Insignia/Neon films. In 2013, he was appointed United States Cultural Diplomat for the USA, completing diplomatic tours to Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. Ross is the recipient of a 2001 New York Dance & Performance Award (Bessie) for his music composition and soundscape for Rome and Jewels. Ross is currently touring his production Invincible: A Glorious Tribute to Michael Jackson. Ross is the president of RossLive Entertainment.
Imani Sade (Costume Design) is an up-and-coming female fashion stylist and cosmetologist. Her years of experience and ongoing research in fashion and beauty has developed her unique approach to styling that combines individuality, sustainability, and luxury fashion. Her ultimate goal is to help her clients achieve their “Higher Fashion Self” by creating personalized and visually stunning looks. Imani’s work focuses on the empowerment of minorities and small or not-for-profit businesses. She takes pride in collaborating with her clients to bring their creative visions to life, and she believes that fashion and beauty can be a powerful tool for self-expression and social change. Instagram @i.sadethestylist @blksheek.
James Clotfelter (Lighting Design) is committed to the creation of collaborative and socially conscious work for live performance, the built environment, and public space. Working broadly as a designer with a specialization in light, he is the co-founder of Studio C Projects, a performance-based, collaborative research studio that investigates the intersections of movement, design, and the built environment. James also maintains an architectural lighting design practice and teaches design and production for Duke University’s Dance MFA program. His work in live performance has been presented throughout the U.S. and internationally with artists that include Dan Rothenberg, Johannes Wieland, John Jasperse, Bill Shannon, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Reggie Wilson, Pete Wyer, Michael Kliën and Mark DeChiazza. With Dear Frankie, James is honored to celebrate 20 years of creative collaboration with Rennie Harris.
What were you thinking about as you were creating this new work for the company last fall?
I thought about love, because I’ve always loved Hubbard Street. I’ve been waiting all this time, just wondering if the time would ever come that I’d be able to create a piece for this fantastic company.
What do you hope audiences take away from Love Infinite?
Sometimes we get in our inner thoughts as choreographers, and we want to do things that people can just peep in on, that there might be some sort of secret to this particular piece—and I didn’t necessarily want that. I wanted this to be out there, and for the audience to really, really have fun by watching it and understanding that it’s for them as much as it is for the Dancers.
Tell us a little bit more about your experience working with the Hubbard Street Dancers.
They can bring about the passion; they can show you through movement what it means to love, what it means to hate, what it means to just be. Period. If it’s movement for movement’s sake, they can do that, too. And that’s really what I like about working with these Dancers. They’ve always seemed to have been chosen because they could do basically anything, and they all have to have that same flexibility. They’re not just trained dancers that execute movement well, but there’s something behind their movement. There’s a story to tell.
As we have the honor of bringing Georgia back to the stage at this performance, we acknowledge the impact that the late Claire Bataille had—not only on this seminal piece—but on Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and the wider dance community.
This performance is dedicated to the memory of the graceful, generous, beloved Claire Bataille (1952–2018).
“It’s very probable there would not be a Hubbard Street Dance Chicago had it not been for Claire Bataille.”
—Lou Conte
In Lubovitch’s energetic, animated piece, he explores the relationship between the work of two mid-century artists: John Coltrane and Jackson Pollock.
The “sheets of sound” phrase was first coined by music critic Ira Gitler to describe the 1958 Coltrane album Soultrane. Similarly the term “action painting” was applied to Pollock’s work to describe his gestural drip painting style, resulting in rhythmic patterns of paint dancing across huge, full canvases.
“Damn the rules, it’s the feeling that counts.”—John ColtraneJohn Coltrane, April 1966 Chuck Stewart Jazz Photographs, Courtesy of Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. ©Chuck Stewart. Detail of Autumn Rhythm Number 30 by Jackson Pollock. Image courtesy of galleryIntell.
In 1977, two Chicago dance legacies were both just beginning: Lou Conte founded Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and DJ Frankie Knuckles began his residency at a new club in Chicago: the Warehouse.
Originally from the Bronx, NY, Knuckles became an influential force in the music and club scene once he started DJ-ing at the Warehouse in Chicago’s West Loop (which as of last month, is set to become an official Chicago Landmark). In 1983, his fast success allowed him to open his own club, The Power Plant, while also breaking into the recording industry with his genre-defying tracks. He was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1996, and won the Grammy in 1998 for Best Remixed Recording, becoming the inaugural winner of that newly-created category. Having created remixes for some of the world’s top artists including Janet Jackson, Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, and Chaka Khan, his work has left an indelible mark on our art and culture today.
With Dear Frankie, Rennie Harris and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago pay tribute to the Godfather of House, Frankie Knuckles (1955–2014).
As you enjoy today’s program, we invite you to Delve Into Dance with us and enrich your experience by considering some of the following questions before, during, and after the performance:
n How does the music/soundscape contribute to your experience of the piece?
n Do any of the pieces evoke other art forms or societal/cultural influences?
n What emotions do particular movements or moments bring up for you?
n Do you think the choreographers created their pieces with a specific message or story to convey? If so, what?
For more than 20 years, our in-school Movement as Partnership (MAP) residency programs have transformed classrooms into living laboratories of movement and learning.
We partner with schools and community organizations across Chicago to provide access to our programs in support of our mission to enrich, engage, educate, and change lives through the experience of dance.
Interested in partnering with HSDC Education? Open this QR code with your camera app to complete our Residency Interest form.
Moments before each performance, our Dancers take hands center stage in a cherished Hubbard Street ritual known as Circle Places. Circle Places celebrates each individual artist as they come together to form a powerful collective.
Transform your Hubbard Street experience and become a member of the Circle Places Society—a brand new benefits program for HSDC supporters. Donate during Sapphire Season to unlock special discounts, advance access to announcements, and exclusive invitations to events and behind-the-scenes looks throughout the season!
Visit hubbardstreetdance.com/support-us/circle-placessociety or scan the QR code to learn more.
Your contribution provides critical funding to change lives through the experience of dance.
Our incredible Dancers are essential to who we are, but they’re only part of our story. The other part? You!
Support from people like you is essential in helping Hubbard Street Dance Chicago enrich, engage, educate, and change lives through the experience of dance.
Nurtures young minds through our award-winning education programs that reach over 1,000 students in primary through high school levels in more than 50 classrooms across Chicago. We encourage students to be inquisitive, make mistakes, and celebrate the process of learning by connecting their bodies and brains.
Brings the world’s best and brightest choreographic voices to Chicago to work with our Dancers and the broader community, including public school students. It also shares the exceptional talents of our Dancers across the country and the world when we tour.
Generates essential conversations to help us explore new creative possibilities. The virtual workshops and comprehensive study guides we create help address diversity, prejudice, culture, and appropriation in the arts.
Pushes contemporary dance in new directions. Besides showcasing world premiere works, we’ve streamed select performances to 31 countries for free, and films from our virtual season have won numerous awards!
Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell
Artistic Director
David McDermott Executive Director
Artistic Staff
Jonathan E. Alsberry
Senior Rehearsal Director & Director of Summer Intensives
Craig D. Black, Jr. Rehearsal Director
Krista Ellensohn Manager of Training Operations
Administrative Staff
Abby Olson General Manager
Jessica Adler, Belina Mizrahi, and Corinne Kibler, Arts FMS
Financial Management Services
External Affairs
Katie Grogan
Director of Development
Melissa Rosenberg
Individual Giving Manager
Nikki Horwitz
Grants Coordinator
Erik Kaiko
Director of Marketing & Communications
Megan Moran
Manager of Marketing & Communications
Youth, Education, and Community Programs
Eboné Harden Director of Education
Teaching Artist Faculty
Jamie Brunson
Rebeca G. Griffin
Anne Kasdorf
Danielle “Dani” Kfoury
Mara Noguez
Daisy Rueda
Julia Rzonca
Molly Strom
Desiree “Desi” VanDyke
Education Special Projects
Michelle Modrzejewski
June Tanoue
Production
Harrison Pearse Burke Director of Production
Kate Darby
Stage Manager and Head of Props
Casey Doyle
Head of Audio
Jack Horwitch
Head Electrician
Kevin Upham
Head Carpenter and Stage Operations
Board of Directors
Steven Collens Chair
Kristin Conley President
Camille E. Rudge Treasurer
Jodi Patt Secretary
Larry Gilbert
Immediate Past Chair, VP of Development
Yasmine Winkler
VP of Membership
Ross B. Bricker
Heather Caruso
Mara S. Georges
Ronda Joubert
Solange Sandy Lloyd
Jen Mallamud
Jasminka Milpak
Marc Miller+
Debra Moritz
Alison L. Richards
Life Directors
John W. Ballantine+
Corinne Brophy
Meg Callahan+
Edythe R. Cloonan++*
Pam Crutchfield
Sondra Berman Epstein+*
Stanley M. Freehling*
Charles R. Gardner
Paul Gignilliat
Sandra P. Guthman+
Gail Kalver
James Mabie++*
Marie E. O’Connor++*
Byron Pollock++*
Timothy Schwertfeger++
Jack D. Tovin
Randy White
William N. Wood Prince+
+ Past Board Chair
++ Past Board President
*In Memoriam
Program Book
Erik Kaiko Editor
Communiqué Graphic Design Designer
Hubbard Street would like to recognize the exceptional service of Belina Mizrahi . From her time as a full-time staff member, to her continued guidance through Arts FMS, Belina’s tireless dedication to Hubbard Street through thick and thin represents the best of arts leadership. We wish her the best on her next endeavors. Thank you, Belina!
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following corporations, foundations, government agencies, and individuals who made gifts to Hubbard Street Dance Chicago between February 1, 2022 and April 1, 2023. Their support kept the company moving and made the performance you enjoy today possible.
$100,000 and above
Athletico Physical Therapy
Polk Bros. Foundation
Pritzker Foundation
$50,000–$99,999
Chicago Athletic Clubs
City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Julius N. Frankel Foundation
Lloyd A. Fry Foundation
Sherman Fairchild Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
$25,000–$49,999
Crown Family Philanthropies
Elizabeth Louise Smith Fund at The Chicago Community Foundation
Illinois Arts Council Agency
Prince Charitable Trusts
PPM America, Inc./Jackson National Life Insurance
Anonymous
$10,000–$24,999
Carl R. Hendrickson Family Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee
CIBC
Daniel H. Lome Foundation
ITW
John R. Halligan Charitable Fund
National Endowment for the Arts
Sage Foundation
The Siragusa Family Foundation
William Blair and Company, LLC
Anonymous (1)
$5,000–$9,999
Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation
Dr. Scholl Foundation
Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation
Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P.
Jenner & Block, LLP
Sterling Bay
The Irving Harris Foundation
The Poetry Foundation
$1,000–$4,999
Chevron
Cushman & Wakefield
Council for Canadian American Relations
The Deline Charitable Foundation
JLL
Kovler Family Foundation
Princess Grace Foundation
Plus Power LLC
Sahara Enterprises, Inc.
Skyline Construction
$100,000 and above
Nancy A. Lauter and Alfred L. McDougal Charitable Fund
$25,000–$99,999
The Collens Family
Ginger Farley and Bob Shapiro
Martha Struthers Farley and Donald C. Farley, Jr. Family Foundation
Jana French and Peter Gotsch
Marla and Larry Gilbert
Sandra and Jack Guthman
Richard L. Rodes
$10,000–$24,999
Ross B. Bricker and Nina Vinik
Meg and Tim Callahan
Kristin Conley and Andrew Sudds
Mara Georges and Michael Mutz
Solange Sandy Lloyd and Arnold Schraa
Marc Miller and Chris Horsman
Debra and Blake Moritz
Kristen Otterson
R. Penny Rodes DeMott
Burton X. and Sheli Z. Rosenberg
Camille and Kevin Rudge
Yasmine and George Winkler
$5,000–$9,999
John and Caroline Ballantine
John Blosser
Joel and Katie Cory
Charlie Gardner and Patti Eylar
Howard and Gail Lanznar
Kay Mabie
Ron and Elise Magers
Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson
Jimmy Passarelli
Jodi Patt and Wesley Crampton
Nabeela Rasheed
Eleanor and William Revelle
Jim Suehr
Anonymous (2)
$2,500–$4,999
Ted Grady
Bruce and Jamie Hague
Jae Lee and Michael Heffernan
Kristy Moran
Thomas J. O’Keefe
Eric and Tammy Steele
Jack and Niki Tovin
Randy and Lisa White
$1,000–$2,499
Greg Albiero and Mark Zampardo
Sandra Bass
Dianne Blanco
Andrew and Shaun Block
Steven and Jacqueline Chilow
Jeff Corbin and Massimo Pacilli
Kathy DeHoff
Thomas Durica and Susan Jacob
Thomas J. Feie
Michael Grant and Carol McMahan
James Huberty and Marc Giles
In the Works Fund
Jastromb Family
Philanthropic Fund
Jonathan and Sally Kovler
Walter Mah
Mary Lou Marinas
Kathleen Miles
Sally and Ted Miller
Jasminka Milpak and Daniel Lapish
Steve and DeeDee Morcos
Stacey Newman
Susan C. Nutson
Claire and Michael O’Grady
Kesha Pate
Eleanor Pollack
Victoria Priola
Jeaneane and John Quinn
Lynn Ritchie
Janice Rodgers
Lee Rosenberg
Bonnie and Michael Rothman
Allyson Sand
Carleen Schreder
Charles and Bea Schutz
Maureen and Jeff Toner
Peter Vale
Holly Wathan
Benna and Hal Wilde
Anonymous (4)
$500–$999
Sid Bala and Jayanthi Subbian
Linda Bierig
Jeanne Brett
Nicole Brown
Hugo and Catherine Chavez
Sandi Cooksey and Todd Clark
Barbara and Michael Davis
Scott Deininger
Cindy Delmar
Judy Desenis and Scott Peterson
Jennifer Edgcomb
Cathy Ethridge
Molly Flanagan
Brandon Frein
Burt Fujishima
Julie L. Gentes
Meredith George
Jack Gerber
Lynn and James Grogan
Ada Guggenheim
Eloise Hirschey
Lauren Huefner
Andrea Hutchinson
Pat Iaconetti and Lisa Emerick
Marsha Kamen
Max Kaplan
Mark Larsen
Veronica Levine
Molly Lindberg
Jim and Beverly Maguire
Susan Bass and Stephen Marcus
David McDermott and Molly Graber
Jennifer Nelson
David Oskandy and Martha Garcia Barrafan
A. Paton
Barbara Reed
Lauren Robishaw
Robert and Marsha Rosner
Synove Rubalcaba
James Schulte
Kyle Seltzer
Mary Kay Shaw
Kevin Simmons
Marilee C. Unruh
Paul Waas
Debra Widmer
William Ziemann
Anonymous (2)
$250–$499
Karen Alpan
Jonathan Basofin
Larry Berlin
Erick Brethenoux
Janet Carl Smith and Mel Smith
Heather Caruso
Kellie and Dean Clune
Barry and Lisa Cohen
Azurii Collier
Victoria Darrow
Brian Dukerschein
Martin and Laly Furrer
Elizabeth Halajian and Andrew Burdick
Harry and Lyne Halme
Jacqueline Haywood
Susan and Steve Kaufman
Gina Kennedy
Brian & Christina King
Zarah Latif and Sandeep Mannur
Donald L. MacCorquodale
Meghan McNamara and
Paul Reetz
Sandra McNaughton
Kristin McNeil
Michael McStraw
Viktoras Petroliunas
Andrew and Judy L. Porte
Anne Rogers
Hadassah Solomon Rosen
Steve Roy and Lloyd Kohler
Earl and Sandra Rusnak
Jessica Seet
William and Edith Shannon
Patricia Sternberg
Dr. Cynthia Stewart
Carol Stone
Mary Toll and William Heimann
Hal and Lisa Tovin Gift Fund
Sandra Van Tilburg
Michael and Linda Welsh
Janice Wernette
Meade Whitaker
Marc Wilkow
Caren Yanis
Hubbard Street appreciates the support of all its donors and regrets the inability to list those who contributed less than $250 due to space limitations.
For any corrections to program name listings please contact the Development Office at giving@hubbardstreetdance.com.
Tribute and Memorial gifts are a meaningful way to recognize individuals who have a connection to Hubbard Street. For more information or to make a gift please contact the Development Office at giving@hubbardstreetdance.com
In honor of Abby, Linda-D, David, and all the amazing HS dancers
Kesha Pate
In honor of Sara Albrecht
Dedrea Gray
In honor of Jonathan Alsberry
Harriet and Irwin Ross
In honor of Michael and Nancy Basofin
Jonathan Basofin
In memory of Claire Bataille
Elizabeth Stewart
In honor of Craig D. Black, Jr., Andrew
Murdock, and Kevin J. Shannon
Kesha Pate
In honor of Craig D. Black, Jr., and Kevin
Shannon
Kristen Otterson
In honor of Jacqueline Burnett
Nicole I. Dean
In honor of Jacqueline Burnett and David Schultz
Anne M. Gaffney
In honor of Steven Collens’s birthday
Terry and Todd Holzman
In memory of Edythe R. Cloonan
Broad Street Homecare
Randy and Lisa White
Lauren Wolven and Family
In honor of Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell
Meg and Timothy Callahan
Paula Gilbert
Randy and Lisa White
Josianne Pennington
In honor of Sara Fox
Seth Lawrence Fox
In memory of Frances Glickman
Barbara Vertel
In memory of Susan Heston
Brian Heston
In honor of Chris Horsman’s birthday
Donald Santoski and April Brazell
In honor of Caryn Jendro and Phil Fensel
Geri Colesworthy
In honor of Christina King
Brian King
In memory of Malcolm M. Lloyd, MD
Solange Sandy Lloyd
In honor of David McDermott
Kesha Pate
In honor of Marc Miller
Sally and Ted Miller
In honor of Marc Miller and Chris Horsman
Michael Grant and Carol McMahan
In honor of the Parkinson’s Project
Richard and Marjorie Ettlinger
Dale Schlafer
In memory of Byron Pollock
Sheldon Holzman
In honor of Rich Rodes
Kevin Kranzusch
Karen Teitelbaum
In honor of Camille Rudge
Carole Hildebrandt
In honor of Kevin J. Shannon
Meredith George
Kristen Otterson
William and Edith Shannon
Barbara Grunewald
Mary Kay Shaw
In honor of Jack Tovin
Hal and Lisa Tovin
Alexandra Wells
Arts Consulting Group
Athletico Physical Therapy
Allied Integrated Marketing
Advertising
Athletico Physical Therapy
Official Provider of Physical Therapy
Chicago Athletic Clubs
Official Health Club
Arts Consulting Group
Executive Search and Strategic Planning
Taylor Ford, Jeremy Harris, Greg Smith
Accompanists
Rena Butler, Chanel DaSilva, Kimberly Dulac, Randy Duncan, Meredith Dincolo, Roderick
George, Ethan Kirschbaum, Andrew Murdock, Julie Nakagawa, Shamel Pitts, Ashley Rockwood, Patrick Simoniello, Laura Wade, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater*, Giordano
Dance Chicago*, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre*,
South Chicago Dance Theatre*, Red Clay
Dance Company*
Company Teachers
Savills
Real Estate
Quarles & Brady
Legal Services
Chicago Athletic Clubs
Microsoft Corporation
SoundLight Entertainment
Tessitura
Franczek P.C.
Legal Services
Jenner & Block
Legal Services
Michelle Reid
HSDC Resident Photographer; Season 45
Identity Photography
Imani Sade
Season 45 Identity Styling
Frank Ishman
Headshots and Bio Photography
David Schultz
Rehearsal Photography
Motion/Pictures Dance Project Inside the Studio Production Team
Kendall Karg Consulting
2023 Spotlight Ball Event Production
SoundLight Entertainment
2023 Spotlight Ball Video Production
Carol Fox & Associates
Public Relations
Communiqué Graphic Design
Graphic Design
*Community Class Partners
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is grateful to the following individuals who have included us in their estate plans. Our future is more secure because of their generosity.
Meg and Tim Callahan
Josephine H. Deutsch*
Marge* and Lew Collens
Denise Stefan Ginascol and John Ginascol
Jane Ellen Murray
Edward and Gayla Nieminen
Sarah J. Nolan
James F. Oates*
Edna K. Papazian*
Byron Pollock*
Alyssa J. Rapp
Richard L. Rodes
Richard Schieler*
Landon N. Stigall*
Sandra Van Tilburg
J. Randall White
*deceased
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following donors to the Endowment for Health and Wellness and the Endowment for Artistic Programs, which was established with a generous grant from the Ford Foundation.
$100,000 and above
Meg and Tim Callahan
Pamela Crutchfield
The Davee Foundation
Josephine H. Deutsch Trust
The Ford Foundation
Jay Franke and David Herro
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Jim* and Kay Mabie
Nancy A. Lauter & Alfred L. McDougal Charitable Fund
Timothy R. Schwertfeger and Gail Waller
$50,000–$99,999
Sara Albrecht
John and Caroline Ballantine
Deborah Bricker
Sidney and Sondra
Berman Epstein
Sandra and Jack Guthman
Mrs. Eleanor Wood Prince
William N. Wood Prince
The Rhoades Foundation
Earl and Sandra Rusnak
Randy and Lisa White
$25,000–$49,999
Lew Collens
Harold Florsheim
Paul and Ellen Gignilliat
Bernard and Averill Leviton
Dale and Dana Machalleck
James F. Oates
Randy White and Hope Wollman
$10,000–$24,999
Dean Balice
Katherine and Christopher Barber
Roger and Julie Baskes
Joseph and Anne Bohne
Janice Y. Burnham and Raymond B. Carney
James and Edie Cloonan
Joel and Katie Cory
Allan and Ellen Drebin
Susan and Bryan Erler
Trudy Giesel
Denise Stefan Ginascol and John Ginascol
Mary Louise Gorno
Jacqueline Hurlbutt and Norman Waite
Sarah J. Nolan
Dina Norris and Steve Young
Byron and Judy Pollock
Sally and Ellis Regenbogen
Eleanor and William Revelle
Dana and Andre Rice
Kevin and Camille Rudge
Warren D. Shifferd Jr.
Richard and Ann Tomlinson
Robert and Nancy Unglaub
Earl and Susan Webb
Sallyan Windt
$5,000–$9,999
Julia Antonatos
Sanchen Barnum
William and Donna Barrows
The Sidney and June Barrows Foundation
Corinne Brophy
Carla J. Eyre and Peter F. Gallagher
Patti Eylar and Charles Gardner
Judith Grubner and Craig Jobson
Stephanie Hickman
Linda Hutson
Marc Miller and Chris Horsman
Pat Pulido Sanchez and Manuel Sanchez
John Schwartz
Kenneth Shanoff and Steve Young
Deborah and Kelly Stonebraker
Jack and Niki Tovin
$1,000–$4,999
Kathy Catrambone
Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation
Carolyn Clift
Thomas and Lois Colberg
Jocelyn B. Hamlar and Leighton J. Toney
Jastromb Family Philanthropic Fund
Rachel Corn Kluge and Scott Kluge
David Mekemson and Irene Petruniak
Maureen Mosh
Donald Ratner
Patrick J. Schieble
Richard Turner and David Jenkins
$250–$999
Bill Nygren Foundation
Todd Magazine
Sheila Owens
Steven and Frances Shapiro
*deceased
