White Bird
DANCE 2016-17
®
PLAYBILL COVER
DISCOVER A WORLD OF DANCE
TAHNI HOLT DANCE
January 18-22, 2017 | Diver Studio Theatre, Reed College Performing Arts Building
BALLETBOYZ®
January 24 & 25, 2017 | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
CCN - BALLET DE LORRAINE February 22, 2017 | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Now that the holidays are over, we hope that you are ready for a great diversity of dance from around the world. In January we are especially happy to continue our theme of Exploring the Power of Gender, featuring an all-female company as well as an all-male company.
PHOTO BY SARAH TOOR
A DIVERSITY OF DANCE FROM THE NORTHWEST, BRITAIN AND FRANCE
PAUL, WALTER AND BARNEY PREPARE FOR “CUISINE & CONFESSIONS” IN MARCH 2016. WATCHING THE FLOUR FLY!
January 18–22 we proudly present one of the most original choreographers working today, Tahni Holt, who happens to be based in our hometown of Portland. In 2014 we were delighted to award Tahni the “Barney” Creative Prize, a cash award that goes to a dance artist in the western states to create a work to appear in a future White Bird season. We have been following Tahni’s distinctive work over the past years, and there is no question that she has become one of the West Coast’s, as well America’s, most important new choreographic voices. Her new work, for six multigenerational women, is entitled Sensation/Disorientation, and there will be 7 performances in a venue new to White Bird, the intimate Diver Studio Theatre in Reed College’s beautiful Performing Arts Building. We want to extend great thanks to our friends at Reed, especially Professors Kate Bredeson and Carla Mann and Minh Tran, of the Theatre and Dance Departments respectively.
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The following week, on Jan. 24 and 25, we are looking forward to bringing back, after two years, the charismatic all-male company BalletBoyz from Great Britain, for two nights at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. This time the choreographers are Pontus Lidberg, from Sweden and Javier de Frutos, originally from Venezuela and now based in the UK. These two acclaimed choreographers will bring out the physicality, humor and lyricism that were so remarkable when BalletBoyz first performed with White Bird two years ago. February 22 Ballet de Lorraine will make its West Coast debut at the Schnitzer. There are 19 national choreographic centers in France (truly amazing!), and Ballet de Lorraine is one of the most prominent, celebrated for its dedication to performing the work of the best French contemporary choreographers working today. We are excited to introduce this major European company to all of you, with an exhilarating program that will also include Merce Cunningham’s masterwork Sounddance.
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
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THANK YOU FLOCK MEMBERS. YOU MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE!
IF YOU ARE NOT YET CONTRIBUTING, PLEASE CONSIDER A GENEROUS GIFT TO WHITE BIRD. IF YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO HIGHER! Our Flock List is current as of January 5, 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.
TITANIUM PLUME ($10,000+) Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Ken & Ann Edwards/ Starseed Foundation Walter Jaffe & Paul King Ronni Lacroute/ WillaKenzie Estate Dorothy Lemelson Trust Israel’s Office of Cultural Affairs in North America James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust National Endowment for the Arts Gary Nelson & Minh Tran Oregonian Media Group Regional Arts & Culture Council including support from the City of Portland, Multnomah County & the Arts Access Fund Darci & Charlie Swindells George & Nancy Thorn Willamette Week Work for Art PLATINUM PLUME ($5000+) Sheryl Acheson/Bonhams Barbara J. Fitzgerald Boeing Joan Cirillo & Roger Cooke Columbia Bank/ Columbia Trust Carol Ihlenburg The J & J Foundation Hugh & Mair Lewis Magaurn Video Media Oregon Arts Commission PosterGarden The Herbert A. Templeton Foundation Kurt Beadell/ Vibrant Table Catering WESTAF TourWest GOLD PLUME ($2500+) The Autzen Foundation Albert E. Chaffin MD, FAAP Deanna Cochener Michael Curry Design Ann & Edward Galen Enterprise Holdings Foundation Chris Greenaway Sandra & Stephen Holmes Dave Magilke MD & Butch Williams DMD Reed College James Russell & Larry Powlesland
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Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation Al Solheim The Standard Insurance Carol Streeter & Harold Goldstein Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust Jim & Susan Winkler Zupan’s Markets SILVER PLUME ($1000+) Association of Performing Arts Presenters Terrence Bean Jamie Beckland & Michael Pope Chris & Audry Bond Carlos Castro-Pareja Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest Janet & Ed Clark Nick Fish Gregory Flick & Kim Morrison French American Cultural Exchange Charles & Kyle Fuchs Mark Gaskill/ MKG Financial Group Kit Gillem & Deborah Horrell Maryanne & David Holman Kay Hutchinson Christopher Johnson Norm Kalbfleisch & Neil Matteucci Murray Koodish Drs. Dolores & Fernando Leon Jeff & Lynn Malzahn Anna & Vinn Marti The Nut House Fund Lesley Otto Janet & Frank Phillips David J. Pollock Portland Jewish Academy Robert Reed Dean Richardson Joanne & Steven Rizzo Steve Rosenberg & Ellen Lippman Jaymi & Francis Sladen Leslie Trim Linda & Jon Twichell Ellen Walkley Marc H Walters Eric Wan & Michele Goodman Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Robyn Williams & Roger Scarbrough
BRONZE PLUME ($500+) Carole Alexander Robert Aughenbaugh The Benevity Community Impact Fund Steve Buchert & Herb Trubo Richard & Marcia Bushnell Jedediah Chavez & Eric Delehoy Debi Coleman Dennis Deming & Corky Cortwright Ann Emmerson Meredith English Leslye Epstein & Herman Taylor The Fishbein Family Nancy Haigwood Jessie Jonas Stephen & Marge Kafoury Karen Kemper Gary Leavitt Kirsten Lee Mike & Bonnie Leiser Carol Schnitzer Lewis Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Barbara Lovre David & Julie Machado S A Marrero Gary McGee Keith Martin Richard H. Meeker & Ellen F. Rosenblum Christiane Millinger Phyllis Newmark Jennifer & David Nolfi Ronald & Shirley Pausig Stanley & Susanne Penkin & Jean Krosner Bob Speltz Aaron Tersteeg & Jessica Vasi Pam Town & VeAnna Morgan Por Que No Taqueria Travel Portland Peter J Vennewitz Veterinary Surgical Center of Portland Western Partitions, Inc. Gail Webb & Liz Bothwell Sam Wheeler Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Vinh Wong ANGEL ($250+) Anonymous AJ Arriola & Alice Jacobson Jan & Winston Asai Kathleen Bristow Jennifer Bruml
Beth Burns Ken Carraro David Cassard Mary Lou Cavendish & Michael Hughes Deborah Correa & Mark Wilson Virginia Daniel & Teyo Tyree Elizabeth Eckstrom Carol Edelman George Eighmey Leslye Epstein & Herman Taylor Marco Escalante & Dongni Li Stuart Farmer Mary V. Folberg Sheila Ford Richmond Robert & Christine Gilmore Bill Hogsett Leslie Homer Illinois Tool Works Foundation Indigo Design, LLC Kevin Irving Dennis Johnson Dennis Johnson & Steven Smith Alan T & Sharon Y Jones Anna S. King Monique Lampe John Light & Patricia Barnes-Light JoAnn Lusky & Bob Alvis Erin Manwaring Judith Bieberle Marks Anna Marti J May Hal & Alice McCartor Jim McGinn & Jamie Bluhm Sarah McNary John McVea James & Kathleen Meyer Kenneth R. Murphy & Yvonne De Maat Martin C. Muller Ken Murray Kimberly & Vitaly Paley Marthel Porter Portland General Electric Co. Judith E Posey & Edward J Doyle Mary Agnes & Noel Prosser Bonnie Reagan Sarah & Nathan Roe John & Marti Rosenthal Grace Serbu Linda Shelton Donna Shu & Thomas Kane Donna Silverberg
Bette Sinclair & Richard Didzun David & Chris Sinner Jane Unger Brian & Nikki Weaver Carolyn Wieden Timothy Wilson Patricia & Jack Wong Kim Ziebell FEATHERED FRIENDS ($100+) Ed Abrahamson & Cynthia Chilton Susan Agre- Kippenhan & Mike Kippenhan Hagen & Emily Amen Elizabeth Arch Jan & Winston Asai Karen Alexander Brown All Classical J Robert Alvis III Marlene Anderson Anonymous 3 Ruby Apsler April Avery Michele & Bill Bader Laurie Balmuth Bill Bard & James Donder Linda Barnwell Toni Berres-Paul John Bissonnette Jason Blackwell Joanne Bonime Craig Boretz & Rachelle Jacover Pat Brady Phil Brady & Pat Evenson-Brady Janet Brandt Martin & Diane Brandt Diana Bright Dennis Brown Warren & Donna Brown T.J. Browning & Scott Pratt Marianne Buchwalter Carol Bunten Kathryn Burlingham Amy Drake Campbell Don Caniparoli & Sarah Rosenberg Jessica Carneol James & Mary Chase Lisa Chickadonz Bradley Coffey Karen Creason Aaron Creurer & Fred Ross Susan Cyganiak Sally Dadmun Bixby Susan Dale Eloise Damrosch Christine D’Arcy George Devendorf Tomika Dew Bonnie Dickinson Anne Driscoll Jack & Terri Duncan Robert Dunit Marianne Dwyer Earl Dyer Heather Eberhardt Valerie Grudier Edwards Catherine Evleshin David Fanger & Martin Wechsler Wendy Farber Carolyn & Ruthie Ferguson Joan Findlay Barbara Fishleder & John Wolfe
Mary Folberg Lawrence M. Fong Margaret W. Frank Jerome & Mary Fulton Patricia Gauer Chris Gauger & Lee Leighton Benjamin Gerritz Arthur Glasfeld & Susan Mikota Nona Glazer Emily Goetz Deborah & Sid Green Pam Greenough Corrie Evelyn Hamann Jamey Hampton & Ashley Roland Margretta Hansen Gary & Lynne Hartshorn Jeff Hawthorne Terry Hasegawa Courtney Haxton Beatrice Hedlund Jennifer Heilbronner Karen Henell Diane Herrmann Phillip Hillaire Stephen Hillis Mark Holloway Maria & Jon Hopple Meghan Hoopes & Nicolas Nelson Al Horn & Nancy Goodwin Brook & Ann Howard Jan Hurst Martha Ireland Rachel Jacky Bob & Jill Jaffe David Jensen Daphna & Iddo Kadim Paula Kanarek & Ross Kaplan John Kellermann Paul M. Keown & Clyt’e Speidel Promise King Kathryn King-Goldberg Carol Kneeshaw Robert Kravitz Kroger Clara Kubeja Joanna Langdale Elizabeth Laucks Judith Lesch Fuchsia Lin Lydia & Derek Lipman Stephanie Lolich Katherine Longstreth Joyce Lozito Nekicia Luckett Jonathan Lurie Bel-Ami Margoles Phillip Margolin Pamela Matheson Carolyn McFadden Anne Egan & Tim McNichol Bonnie Merrill Greg & Sandy Mico Josie Moseley Ilse & Billie Moser Martha Murray Patricia Navin & Bill Poleson Fred R. Neal III Andy Nelson & Kathy Gorman Greg Netzer Alison Nimura Eileen Odum
Robert Olds Christine & Paul O’Mara Sandra Pagels Jon Palanuk Carolyn & Robert Palanuk Kathy Pape Toni Parque Judith & Jerry Paul Karen Pazucha & Laurence Morandi Sondra & Gordon Pearlman Heriberto Petschek Cheryl & David Pfaff Pfizer Foundation Scott Philips Laurie Pino Noel Plemmons & Patrick Weishampel David Quivey Judy Renzema David Ritchie & LaJean Humphries Rob Robbins Patricia Rojas Charles & Judith Rooks Alison Roper Mazzola Kat Rosenbaum Edward Rouffy SAIF Corporation Dan Saltzman Jone Sampson Liz Sandoval & David Lewis Ron Saroff & Irene Hecht Meredith & William Savery Jim Scherzinger & Claire Carder Diana Scoggins Virginia Sewell Roger & Janice Shea Joan & Paul Sher Jon & Ann Sinclair Eric Skinner & Daniel Kirk Janne Stark & Charles Curb The Steinfelds Brian Stief Charles Stilwell Stephanie & Stephen Sussman Gary Taliaferro Kathy Taylor Tyler Termeer James Thompson Christine Tschida Lyle Tucker Bianca Urdes Tony Urdes VIlma Chan Vasquez Jenny & Tony Vaught Michael Weaver Marguerite Weber Beth & Gary Westbrook Karen Whisler Margaret Willer Larry Williams Robert Woods & Jeff Pittman Anthony Yeznach Gary & Kay Zimmerli FRIENDS ($50+) August Altucher Sona Andrews Anonymous Sue Armitage Linda Barnwell Kristi Bigio John Henry Bourke Deborah Buchanan Treena & Dennis Buehler Bill Bulick & Carol McIntosh Joy Cartier & Bruce Villarreal Nancy Clement
Rick Comandich Eliza Crockett Jamie Cummings Helen M. Daltoso Deborah Danielson Lena Dubois Laraine Gladstone David Goldstein Elinor Gollay Nancy Gordon-Zwerling Connie Guist HB Design Nancy Hendrickson Caroline Henry Maureen Herndon Joan Hoffman Ava Hoover Jacqueline Hoyt Judy Jacobson Peggy Kavka William Kline & Todd Guenzburger Richard Leeuwenburg Billy & Mickey Lindsay-Mistler Barbara Lovre Marcy & Richard Lowy Jane Luddecke Katherine MacKenzie Mimi Maduro Tere Mathern Kelly McDermott Dr. & Mrs. Gary McLaughlin Michael McManus Sue Merfeld Amy Monroe Scott T. Moore Evelyn Nast Jennifer Neilson NW Natural Lee Ann & Daniel O’Leary Lisa Onstad Barry Pack & Francis Troy Bonnie Peterson David & Kay Pollack Chris Poteet Andrew Proctor Naomi Price Michael Reper Shawn Roerig Zach Ruhl Christina Scarzello Scott Schickli Barbara Schierstein Penelope Schott & Eric Sweetman Beth Segal Suzanne Silverstein Robert Simpson Michael Sisler Connie Speros-Literal Wendy Squires Jim & Nita Stell Erica Swartz Tony Testa Maria Thi Mai Jonnathan Triton Beverly Trover Carol Turtle Scott Urbatsch Susie Vischer Michael Weaver & Suzi Carter Susan Webb Carrie White Louise Williams James Wilson Tim Wilson & Luan Schooler Michael Wood Jessica Woodruff Adrian Woods
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS White Bird extends great thanks to the following foundations and government agencies for their support of the 2016–17 nineteenth season.
THE JAMES F. & MARION L. MILLER FOUNDATION The Regional Arts & Culture Council, including support from the City of Portland, Multnomah County and the Arts Education & Access Fund, Work for Art, including contributions from more than 75 companies and 2,000 employees, Starseed Foundation, The Autzen Foundation
COMMUNITY PARTNERS artistic directors jamey hampton + ashley roland
artistic directors jamey hampton + ashley roland
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Paul King, President Walter Jaffe, Secretary/Treasurer Kendall Acheson Sheryl Acheson Albert E. Chaffin, MD, FAAP Ann Edwards Ken Edwards
Sandra Holmes Carol Ihlenburg Gary Nelson Minh Tran Vinh Wong Nancy & George Thorn, Founding Board Members Emereti
THE WHITE BIRD TEAM 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 Liz Sandoval, Volunteer Group Sales Coordinator Natalie Anthony, Graphic Design Dave Weaver, Web Designer Office Volunteers: Connie Guist, Mary McGilvra, Stephanie Sussman, Jessica Vasi White Bird is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to bringing excellence in dance to Portland, Oregon. WHITE BIRD
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TAHNI HOLT DANCE Photo by Kamala Kingsley
SENSATION/Disorientation
PRESENTS
January 18-22 Reed College Performing Arts Building, Diver Studio Theatre
JANUARY 18–22, 2017 DIVER STUDIO THEATRE REED COLLEGE PERFORMING ARTS BUILDING
TAHNI HOLT DANCE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Tahni Holt
Sensation/Disorientation Sensation/Disorientation is commissioned by White Bird, made possible through the “Barney” Creative Prize awarded to Tahni Holt in 2014, supported by the Dorothy Lemelson Trust and the White Bird/MKG Financial Group New Works Fund.
TONIGHT’S PROGRAM
Sensation/Disorientation was choreographed by Tahni Holt in collaboration with the company: TRACY BROYLES SUZANNE CHI MUFFIE CONNELLY AIDAN HUTAPEA ELIZA LARSON CARLA MANN DRAMATURG Kate Bredeson
COMPOSER Luke Wyland
COSTUME DESIGN Alenka Loesch
LIGHTING DESIGN Jeff Forbes
WHITE BIRD UNCAGED 2016–17 IS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM
There is no intermission. RUNNING TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 60 MINUTES
MEDIA SPONSOR
For the safety of the artists and for the comfort of the audience, cameras and other recording devices are not permitted in the theater during the performance.
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THE RADICAL COLLECTIVE COLLISIONS
OF TAHNI HOLT’S SENSATION/DISORIENTATION BY KATE BREDESON, PRODUCTION DRAMATURG
T
ahni Holt’s Sensation/Disorientation stages a voluptuous world of organs, skin, breath, blood, bones, and corporeality. It is a celebration of weight, materiality, and the radical potential of bodies moving in space. In Sensation/Disorientation, these are specifically multigenerational women’s bodies. Holt asks how we see these bodies. What do we project onto these bodies based on our assumptions of race, class, and age? When they move a certain way, do we see love, conflict, maternity? Do we sexualize them? Do we read our own bodies onto those onstage? When? Holt asks questions and plays with different modes of seeing within one performance experience. She does not seek a unified understanding and asks each spectator to embrace an individual experience of the work. Her choreography trains the muscles of both dancers and audiences to embrace seeing and feeling, to revel in unknowing.
Holt’s work highlights that women’s bodies are sites of projection for seeing and feeling. And yet the social construct of gender is only one way that Holt engages these questions. Her choreographic project is twofold: she asks her dancers to explore sensation as a path to creation—this means that the dancers and their experiences are the central part of Holt’s research. Her process involves months of group exploration and conversation as ways to arrive at the composition. Second, Holt invites her audience to engage with the work and to question what they see and what they think it means. That the stage tonight is a tiered circle makes physical the idea that community presence is a necessary component of the composition. You are invited to see, and to see others seeing, the six dancers on this stark circle. Beyond the organs of the eyes, the kinesthetic is at play too. In watching the dancers, Holt asks you when you feel aware of the weight of your own body, and when are you not even thinking about yourself at all?
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A Portland choreographer working within an international dance vocabulary, Tahni Holt’s work dwells on weight sharing, collaborative creation, and archetypes. Holt received White Bird’s Barney Award to create Sensation/Disorientation, part of White Bird’s priority to commission new dance on both a local and international level. Sensation/Disorientation marks an invitation to Holt’s audiences to explore their own feelings of perception and reaction. While the timing of the piece was not designed to align with the 2016 presidential election, that election has brought into particular amplification the questions that Holt and her company explore. As the campaign wore on and the election took place, it became even more clear to the company that the act of putting onstage women’s bodies, and that exploring weight and presence became—and remains—a radical act.
This collision between seeing and kinesthesia is central to Holt’s project. In her body of work, she is interested in her audiences being able to identify, misidentify, and to revel in the unidentifiable. She wants her audiences to sometimes feel that they can relate to what they see, and at other moments to feel unable to identify what they are seeing. This tension is at the heart of Sensation/Disorientation’s productive unease. Holt’s inclusion of loaded objects, including Luke Wyland’s slippery and haunting soundscape, provide new opportunities for sensation and lead to moments of uncertainty. At the heart of this world and of Holt’s research are bodies—those of the dancers and the spectators—that in her visionary choreography collide in search of collective wonder.
SPECIAL THANKS Reed College crew: Technical Director: Rusty Tennant PAB Audio Visual Technician: Ry Malloy PAB Events Manager: Robert Brigham With special thanks to those of you who helped make this work possible: Esmé and Toby Query, Patty and Craig Holt, FLOCK Dance Center, Paul King and Walter Jaffe and all the dedicated staff at White Bird, Roya Amirsoleymani, Erin Boberg Doughton, Levi Query, Karen and Ron Query, Rebecca Harrison, and Kamala Kingsley. At Reed College: Peter Ksander, Minh Tran, Alissa Warren, Charlie Wilcox, the Reed Theatre scene shop, the office of Conference Events Planning, the Performing Arts Faculty, and Dean Nigel Nicholson. To all who gave invaluable feedback to our process: Jackie Davis, Suniti Dernovsek, Kaj-anne Pepper, Linda Austin, Daniel Addy, Lu Yim, Linda K. Johnson, Takahiro Yamamoto, Robert Tyree, Victoria Fortuna and Autumn Wheeler. 10
BIOGRAPHIES TAHNI HOLT DANCE TAHNI HOLT
(ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/ CHOREOGRAPHER) is a choreographer and artistic director based in Portland, OR., who has been creating performances for the past nineteen years. Her creative practice follows her curiosities by asking questions that demand rigorous specificity yet remain open to a terrain of inquiry—inviting rather than prescribing interpretation. She actively uses her intuition, improvisational forms, collaborations with performers, her ongoing somatic practice, and any other thing that she obsesses about, to create work. Holt is fascinated with how audiences see what performers do onstage, and she is always trying to research the complexity of this relationship. Holt’s work asks how it is possible to create performances that insist on being experienced through multiple and conflicting lenses at once? Is it possible to create performative structures that, as a dancer/performer, are all engaging and hold never-ending possibilities? This is where Holt finds the most vitality in her performances. Her work deals with perceptions of both audience and performer—always with the desire to never quite reside in certainty. Holt’s choreography has been presented throughout the United States at venues including On The Boards (Seattle), Fusebox Festival (Austin), The Lucky Penny (Atlanta), and PICA’s TBA Festival (Portland). Holt is a 2007 Oregon Arts Commission Fellowship recipient, and in 2010 was curated into the PORTLAND 2010 Biennial. She has had the pleasure of being an artist-in-residence in many places around the world, most recently at Caldera in Oregon. Other residencies include work in Anchorage, Boise, Atlanta, Walla Walla, France, and Greece; in 2013 the Suitcase Fund of New York Live Arts supported her residency with Bucharest choreographer Madalina Dan in Romania. She is a 2014–2015 NDP Touring Award recipient for Duet Love, which toured to Velocity Dance (Seattle), Pica’s TBA Festival and DiverseWorks (Houston). As a performer, Holt has worked with Deborah Hay on Hay’s solo commissioning project, danced for Miguel Gutierrez’s performance of Freedom of Information, and for Morgan
Thorson’s past work at the TBA Festival in September 2016. Holt is founder and director of Portland’s newest dance center, FLOCK. FLOCK is a dance center for movement exploration, creation and artistic practice, dedicated to Portland’s contemporary and experimental dance artists. Holt is honored to have received the Barney Award from White Bird Dance and has taken particular pleasure in working with the team of brilliant artists assembled for Sensation/Disorientation. Holt is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. www.tahniholt.com www.flockpdx.org
MUFFIE DELGADO CONNELLY is a choreographer, performer, curator and movement researcher based in Portland, Oregon, who creates original performance works and also maintains a commitment to arts advocacy and the development of underground dance and performance communities. As the co- artistic and executive director of Happydog, a performance company, her work has been presented across the United States, at LINKS HALL (Chicago), Packer Schopf Gallery (Chicago), The Art Institute of Chicago, Movement Research Festival (New York), The Gibney Dance Center (New York) and The Newmark Theater (Portland, OR). She was awarded the Illinois Arts Council’s Community Arts Assistance Program Grant and was selected to participate in a Ford Foundation Grant funded ethnochoreological field study in Harare, Zimbabwe. She has also been a resident artist in the NEW Artist Residency at New Expressive Works. Currently, Muffie is working in collaboration with her long time dance making partner, Leslie Cuyjet, on “Alike,” a new dance work that premiered in December at The Gibney Dance Center. Her film “Induction Ceremony” will be presented by The Digital Institute for Early Parenthood in the UK in January, and she will be performing locally, in March, for Claire Bararra’s presentation in the Alembic Residency at Performance Works Northwest.
SUZANNE CHI received her BA in dance from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. She has participated in
the Bessie Schönberg Residency at The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard. Performing has taken her around the Northeast and New England, the Pacific Northwest, and to Münster, Germany. She has been a dancer in Seattle-based Velocity’s Bridge Project, as well as the Northwest New Works Festival at On the Boards. She has been dancing in Portland, OR since 2008, where she has had the pleasure of working with artists such as Tahni Holt, Minh Tran, Carla Mann, Dawn Stoppiello, Tere Mathern, Rachel Slater, Lindsey Matheis (BodyTraffic), Franco Nieto (NW Dance Project) and Tracey Durbin. In 2014 she co-founded Muddy Feet Contemporary Dance with Rachel Slater. Suzanne is also a licensed acupuncturist practicing at Rose City Physical Therapy.
CARLA MANN has been making, performing, and teaching contemporary dance since 1983. Her choreographic work—which includes dances for stage, alternative sites, installation, and video— has been presented internationally and includes commissions for the Northwest Dance Project, Portland Taiko, Ten Tiny Dances, and Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre/NW, among others. Carla has performed with Benny Bell & Company, Bonnie Merrill, Oslund+Co/Dance, tEEth, Troika Ranch, Keith Goodman’s Dance Gatherer, Cydney Wilkes, and Minh Tran & Company, among others. She serves as Professor and Chair of Dance at Reed College, where she has taught since 1995. Carla was recently profiled in Stance on Dance. TRACY BROYLES is a Portland-based dancer, choreographer, movement instructor and energy counselor who has been active in the community since 2000. As a choreographer and a practitioner she is interested in accessing and embodying the psyche as well as the greater mysteries that lie beyond it. She is intrigued by collective archetypal stories and the way body and nature mimic and align together. Her work has been performed in Baltimore, San Francisco, Oakland, New York and Seattle, as well as Portland, where she has, to date, created seven full length performances. Tracy has received support from RACC, the MRG Foundation, and individual donors; she has received residencies from with Signal Fire, Caldera, Studio Two, Water in the Desert. She attended Deborah Hay’s Solo Commissioning Project in 2010 TAHNI HOLT • WHITE BIRD
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BIOGRAPHIES TAHNI HOLT DANCE and is now a keeper of Art and Life. Tracy loves working with others through artistic collaboration, teaching, and healing sessions. She is a certified Core Energetics Counselor.
AIDAN TIANA HUTAPEA is a fifteenyear-old freshman at Jefferson High. Drawn towards creative expression for as long as she can remember, she has pursued visual art studies through programs, workshops and camps at PNCA and Caldera. Aidan has also practiced martial arts since she was ten, most recently Heauk Choo Kwan style. In addition to Sensation/ Disorientation, she is currently studying dance at Jefferson. She has greatly enjoyed Tahni’s process, finding it engaging and surprising, and plans to continue dancing.
ELIZA LARSON returned to Portland in 2013 after receiving her MFA in dance from Smith College. She is currently a member of FLOCK and teaches, performs, and choreographs throughout the region. She has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Kathleen Hermesdorf, Paul Matteson, Angie Hauser, Chris Aiken, and Mark Haim, and was honored to recently receive a residency to study Piso Movil (mobile floor technique) under Omar Carrum in Mazatlan, Mexico. She is also an independent scholar and has published and presented on gender in dance as well as the creative process. Her writing has appeared in DanceUSA, Contact Quarterly, Kinebago, the Journal of Dance Education, and the 2017 book Dance and Gender: An Evidence-Based Approach (University Press of Florida). Eliza is a co-director of the longdistance dance company, Mountain Empire Performance Collective. She also creates choreographic work as Fault Line Dance, and will present her newest work In Circadia, in March, 2017. www.faultlinedance.org KATE BREDESON (DRAMATURG) is a dramaturg, a director, and a theater historian. Her dramaturgy work includes collaborations with Yale Repertory Theatre, Portland Playhouse, the Guthrie Theater, and Chicago’s Court Theatre, where she served as Resident Dramaturg. She won the 2011 Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) Residency Grant, and is the recipient of the 2016–17 LMDA Mark Bly Creative Fellowship to support 12
WHITE BIRD • TAHNI HOLT
her ongoing work with Tahni Holt. Kate’s scholarship has been supported by fellowships including a Fulbright and a Beinecke Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowship, and grants from the Mellon Foundation, Killam Foundation, and the American Society for Theater Research. She has been a resident at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France and the Rockefeller Center in Bellagio, Italy. Kate’s recent publications include essays in Theater, PAJ, TDR, and the books The Sixties, Center Stage: Mainstream and Popular Performances in a Turbulent Decade (U. Michigan, 2017), The Routledge Companion to Dramaturgy (Routledge, 2014), International Women Stage Directors (U. Illinois, 2013), and May 68: Rethinking France’s Last Revolution (Palgrave, 2011). She is currently finishing her book about theater surrounding the May 1968 events in France, Occupying the Stage: Theater of May ’68; her second book is an edited collection of the lifetime diaries of theater director Judith Malina. Kate is Associate Professor of Theatre at Reed College.
JEFF FORBES (LIGHTING DESIGNER) is a Portland based lighting designer working primarily in theatre and dance. He is a ten time winner of the Willie and Drammy Awards for theatre for such companies as Artists Repertory Theatre, Broadway Rose, Imago Theatre, the Musical Theatre Company, Storefront Theatre, and Tygres Heart Shakespeare Co. He has also designed for American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, Mass), the New Rose Theatre, Portland Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Portland Actors Conservatory, and many others. He tours nationally and internationally with Imago Theatre, NorthWest Dance Project, the Deborah Hay Dance Company, ate9 dANCE cOMPANY, and Antony and the Johnsons. His work in Dance and Performance includes frequent collaborations with choreographers such as Linda Austin, Tahni Holt, Linda K Johnson, Josie Moseley, Mary Oslund, Sally Silvers, and Cydney Wilkes, as well as ten years as resident designer for the Boris and Natasha Dancers. For the NorthWest Dance Project, he has worked with choreographers such as Danielle Agami, James Canfield, Lucas Crandall, Andrea Miller, Benoit-Swan Pouffer, Didy Veldman, and Patrick Delcroix.
He is currently the Technical Director for White Bird Dance, a presenting organization based in Portland, and has served as a technical director for PICA’s TBA Festival since its beginning in 2003. He is a co-founder, with Linda Austin, of Performance Works NorthWest, for which he also serves as technical director.
LUKE WYLAND (COMPOSER) is an interdisciplinary artist and composer based in Portland, OR. He is known primarily as the brainchild of the art-pop band AU, though he has been composing music for dance, film, and television for the past decade. A graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art, he has presented his work throughout North America and Europe to critical acclaim. His most recent project included the 155 singers of the Camas High School Choir program. lukewyland.com
ALENKA LOESCH (COSTUME DESIGN) spent her childhood on a farm in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do but learn to sew from her grandmother. She spent her time making costumes for the family’s entertainment. She went on to study art, art history and design in college and continued her studies in Butoh from the National Treasures of Japan, Koichi and Hiroko Tamano. She was a member of their touring company, Harupin-Ha as a dancer. Hiroko-san taught her many things about Japanese design and special sewing techniques. Alenka began her own company that toured Europe and Asia where she met Yumiko Yoshioka and joined her company Ten Pen Chii Art Labor as a dancer /designer, beginning a two year artist-in-residencey at Schloss Bröllin International Art Research Location in Germany. Other dancers began commissioning her to make costumes for them as she specialized in costumes for dance. Her latest commission was Degenerate Art Ensembles’ Predator Songstress, interactive theatre with live score and film, funded by Creative Capital and developed over three years in collaboration and playing live with Kronos Quartet. Predator Songstress is a currently touring show that debuted at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco and On the Boards, Seattle. Alenka currently resides on her farm outside Portland, Oregon with her family perusing her passions in farming and costume commissions.
BALLETBOYZ
®
LIFE.
Photo by Tristam Kenton
Co-Artistic Directors, MICHAEL NUNN WILLIAM TREVITT
JANUARY 24-25 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
JANUARY 24–25, 2017 ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
LIFE. presents
RABBIT CHOREOGRAPHY Pontus Lidberg LIGHTING DESIGN James Farncombe CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
Michael Nunn and William Trevitt DANCERS
Simone Donati Flavien Esmieu Marc Galvez Edward Pearce Harry Price Matthew Rees Jordan Robson Matthew Sandiford Bradley Waller Josh Wild
MUSIC Henryk Mikolaj Górecki, Kleines Requiem für eine Polka given by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Limited INTERMISSION
FICTION CHOREOGRAPHY Javier de Frutos LIGHTING DESIGN James Farncombe MUSIC Ben Foskett
SPONSORS
KEN & ANN EDWARDS
MEDIA SPONSOR
P. Jabara Last Dance. Published By BMG Rights Management Ltd. © 1978. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Words Ismene Brown with the voices of Jim Carter, Sir Derek Jacobi CBE and Imelda Staunton CBE
For the safety of the artists and for the comfort of the audience, cameras and other recording devices are not permitted in the theater during the performance. BALLET BOYZ • WHITE BIRD
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BALLETBOYZ DANCERS DANCERS BALLETBOYZ SIMONE DONATI Born in Italy, Simone initially trained at the Ateneo Danza in Forlì. He furthered his training by spending time at the American Ballet Theatre School in New York and the John Cranko School in Stuttgart. He moved to the UK in 2010 to join the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, where he has just graduated. During his time at Rambert, Simone has worked with choreographers Mark Baldwin, Kerry Nicholls and Leila McMillan.
FLAVIEN ESMIEU Born in Gap in the south of France. Flavien trained in gymnastics from the age of five, before coming to dance. At 14, he moved to Lyon to further his studies in ballet and contemporary dance before being accepted into the renowned Conservatoire National de Lyon, where he trained for four years. From 2011–12 he was a member of the Jeune Ballet de Lyon where he worked with Francesco Nappa and Jean Grand-Maître.
MARC GALVEZ Born in 1991 in Valence, France, Marc began his training at the age of 9. In 2006, he entered the Paris Conservatoire’s 5-year contemporary course where he had the opportunity to work with Yuval Pick, Mourad Merzouki, Yuha Pekka Marsalo, Thomas Lebrun, Emmanuel Gat and perform Noces by Angelin Preljocaj. In July 2011 he joined the CCN – Ballet de Lorraine and participated in creations with different choreographers such as Faustin Linyekula, Mathilde Monnier, Maria LaRibot and Gisèle Vienne, and perform repertory pieces from Paolo Ribeiro and Tero Saarinen amongst others.
EDWARD PEARCE Hailing from Somerset, Ed was a Royal Ballet Senior Associate before continuing his studies at Elmhurst Ballet School. He graduated from Rambert School of Ballet and
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WHITE BIRD • BALLET BOYZ
Contemporary Dance in 2010. During his final year he featured in Rambert Dance Company’s production of A Linha Curva by acclaimed Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili, which toured throughout the UK.
HARRY PRICE Harry began his training at Italia Conti Theatre Arts in many different styles from classical ballet to jazz. He went on to join Elmhurst School for Dance and finally joined the English National Ballet School graduating in 2013. In his final year with the school Harry toured extensively with English National Ballet and ENBII. Upon graduating he joined Baltic Dance Theatre. While with the company he performed in a variety of works by Jiri Kylian, Patrick Delcroix and Izadora Weiss. Harry then went on to perform in the international tour of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, Touring in Asia, Australia and Europe.
MATTHEW REES Matthew is from Hythe in Kent and is unique amongst the company in that he has no formal training. He was introduced to dance at Brockhill Park School and has worked with numerous youth dance groups in Kent as well as touring throughout the UK in summer 2009 as part of BalletBoyz in Without Walls commission. Had he not been selected to join the company, Matt would have completed his first stage application to join The Royal Marines.
JORDAN ROBSON Jordan was born in Newcastle and began dancing at the age of 16. Joining the CAT (Centre for Advanced Training) programme at Dance City, he trained in ballet & contemporary whilst simultaneously training semiprofessionally in Rugby Union. Upon deciding to further his dance career, Jordan enrolled at Rambert School of Ballet & Contemporary Dance. During his third year, Jordan became an apprentice at BalletBoyz. Jordan has
gained experience under tuition by the likes of Kerry Nicholls, Mark Baldwin and Amanda Britton.
MATTHEW SANDIFORD Born and raised in Luton, Matthew discovered dance at the age of 18 whilst studying performing arts at Luton Sixth Form College. He went on to train at Laban where he gained a first class honours degree, whilst working with Lizzie Kew-Ross, Sonia Rafferty, Amanda Gough and Lyndsey McConville. Matthew performed with Charlie Dixon Dance Company at the Roundhouse Theatre, Camden and The Arts Theatre London, West End and with Ffin2 for Resolution! 2012 at The Place, London. In August 2012 he was a featured dancer in the London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony.
BRADLEY WALLER Originally from Rotherham where he started dancing at the age of sixteen, Bradley first trained at the NECB School in Nottingham then onto the Rambert School for Ballet and Contemporary Dance, working with choreographers such as Mark Baldwin and Kerry Nicholls. In his third year he was invited by Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt to became an apprentice with BalletBoyz where he quickly became a full time member of the company three months later.
JOSH WILD Born in Manchester, Josh Wild began dancing Ballroom and Latin at the age of 15. He then went on to complete his training at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and graduated with a First Class Honours Degree. Josh has worked with a variety of companies and choreographers touring work nationally and internationally, including; Scottish Dance Theatre, Anton Lachky, Sharon Eyal, Avatara Ayuso, Odette Hughes and James Wilton.
CREATIVE TEAM BALLETBOYZ MICHAEL NUNN AND WILLIAM TREVITT
CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTORS, BALLETBOYZ Michael was born in London and trained at the Bush Davies School and the Royal Ballet Upper School. He joined The Royal Ballet in 1987 and was promoted to First Soloist in 1997 before returning as Guest Principal for the 2004 Season. William was born in Cambridge and trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1987. He was promoted to Principal in 1994 and also returned as Guest Principal for the 2004 Season. During their 12 years at The Royal Ballet between them they danced all the Principal roles. Together they created the documentaries Ballet Boyz and Ballet Boyz II – The Next Step and presented and curated the 4Dance season on Channel 4 in 2002 and 2003. In 2000 they cofounded Balletboyz and the Company was nominated for the 2001 and 2003 South Bank Show dance awards. In 2002 Michael and William devised Critics Choice ***** which was awarded the Theatrical Management Association award for outstanding achievement in dance. The Company’s commission Broken Fall—a trio for Nunn, Trevitt and French Prima Ballerina Sylvie Guillem— was awarded the 2004 Laurence Olivier award for best new dance production. Nunn and Trevitt’s television project The Rough Guide to Choreography was aired on Channel 4 in summer 2004 followed in 2005 by their films of Russell Maliphant’s Torsion, Two and Broken Fall. That same year Balletboyz became Associate Artists at Sadler’s Wells, London’s leading dance house. Regular seasons at Sadler’s Wells followed with shows Naked (2005), Encore (2006) and Greatest Hits! (2008). In 2007 the Boyz produced and danced in Darcey Bussell – Farewell, a tribute to The Royal Ballet’s Prinicpal ballerina on her retirement from The Royal Ballet, as well as curating and producing a gala event for the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall entitled Ballet For The People. In 2008 they made the film component of Christopher Wheeldon’s new creation for The Royal Ballet, Electric Counterpoint, creating a virtual corps de ballet as part of the video scenography. That same year, their documentary Strictly Bolshoi (broadcast on Channel 4 on Christmas Day 2007), which followed Wheeldon as he created a new work for the famous Bolshoi
Ballet, won the prestigious Rose d’Or and the International Emmy for best arts documentary. In 2009 Balletboyz created two more critically acclaimed TV works. The Royal Ballet in Cuba was an observational documentary commissioned by More4 charting The Royal Ballet’s historic visit to Cuba, featuring Carlos Acosta and stars of the company with breathtaking performance footage. Balletboyz: The Rite of Spring for BBC3 saw Nunn and Trevitt undertake a radical reworking of Stravinsky’s seminal work, assembling a world-class team of professional and amateur dancers to stage a jaw-dropping re-telling of this modern masterpiece. Both programmes were nominated for the 2010 Rose D’Or and Balletboyz: The Rite of Spring went on to win the Grand Prix at the prestigious Golden Prague International TV Festival. 2010 saw the first edition of Balletboyz’ groundbreaking new project the TALENT. Nunn and Trevitt selected eight male dancers from a variety of backgrounds and worked with them closely, mentoring and coaching to create a company of first-rate performers. Now in its fourth year the company has expanded to ten dancers and tours the UK and internationally. In 2012 they crossed the Atlantic to make A Chance to Dance, a seven-part TV series for US network Ovation co-produced by Nigel Lythgoe. Michael and Billy both live in West London Michael with their families. They make frequent television appearances and are regularly asked to comment on arts matters. They are Ambassadors for His Royal Highness Prince Charles’s charity Children and The Arts. They were made OBEs in 2012. In 2012 and 2013 BalletBoyz produced over 40 short films for Channel 4 and its Random Acts strand. BalletBoyz has recently been awarded Best Independent Dance Company at the National Dance Awards in the UK. In 2015 BalletBoyz shot their first feature film Young Men on location in France and in 2016 launched Frame, the first ever London Dance Film Festival.
CHARLOTTE POOK
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR Charlotte became a graduate of Trinity Laban in 2012 achieving a BA Honours Degree, following which she successfully joined Transitions Dance Company, culminating in attaining a Masters qualification. She has worked as a contemporary dance teacher at the same conservatoire, whilst also
teaching regular company class to State of Emergency, NDCWales, C-12 Dance Theatre and the BalletBoyz. She became the rehearsal director of the National Dance Company Wales Associates last year. Additionally, Charlotte has performed for various dance companies and choreographers including Luke Brown Dance, Summit Dance Theatre, C-12 Dance Theatre, Kerry Nicholls, Martin Nachbar, Shang-chi Sun and MOHO Dance. Recently returning from the Seychelles, Charlotte was the International Guest Choreographer for the Biennale des Danses 2015 event.
PONTUS LIDBERG
CHOREOGRAPHER
In just a few short years Swedish choreographer, filmmaker and dancer, Pontus Lidberg firmly established himself as a creative and visionary artist bringing dance and film together. He is recognized for his dance film The Rain, for which he received numerous awards. The New York Times wrote that The Rain, “illustrates what filmed dance can say that staged dance cannot.” As a choreographer for the stage, Lidberg has created more than 40 works for dance companies such as Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Semperoper Ballett Dresden, Martha Graham Dance Company, Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, The Royal Danish Ballet, Beijing Dance Theatre, The Royal Swedish Ballet, Morphoses, as well as for his own concert group, Pontus Lidberg Dance. He was nominated for a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) in Outstanding Visual Design, for his dance and film evening WITHIN (Labyrinth Within)—created during his 2012 tenure as Resident Artistic Director of Morphoses. Raised in Stockholm, Sweden, Lidberg trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. He holds an MFA in Contemporary Performing Arts from the University of Gothenburg, Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts.
JAVIER DE FRUTOS
CHOREOGRAPHER
Javier de Frutos was born in Venezuela where he began his dance training, continuing at the London School of Contemporary Dance and at the Merce Cunningham School, New York. From 1988-92 he was a member of Laura Dean Dancers BALLET BOYZ • WHITE BIRD
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CREATIVE TEAM BALLETBOYZ and Musicians in New York. In 1992, he was appointed Choreographer in Residence at Movement Research in NYC. On his return to the UK in 1994, he established the Javier de Frutos Dance Company, which toured around the world. Javier de Frutos’ work is in the repertoire of many dance companies, including Rotterdam Dance Group, Ballet Schindowski, Rambert Dance, The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Candoco, The Royal Ballet and Gothenburg Ballet. He choreographed Death and the King’s Horseman at the National Theatre (2009); The Most Incredible Thing at Sadler’s Wells (winner of an Evening Standard Theatre Award 2011, with a Critics’ Circle nomination for Best Choreographer); London Road at the National Theatre (winner of the Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical, 2012, and an Olivier Award nomination for Best Theatre Choreographer), and From Here to Eternity at the Shaftsbury Theatre (nomination for the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Choreography). In 2007, he received the Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on Cabaret.
of Sorrowful Songs’ (1976) and the large-scale Psalm setting for chorus and orchestra Beatus Vir (1979).
HENRYK MIKOLAJ GORECKI
JAMES FARNCOMBE
After musical studies in Rybnik and Katowice, Górecki’s compositions first made their mark in the mid-1950s when he found himself at the forefront of the Polish avant-garde at the time of the post-Stalin cultural thaw. His early works show a clear development from the folk-influenced worlds of Szymanowski and Bartók in the Four Preludes for piano (1955) and Songs of Joy and Rhythm (1956) to the modernist techniques of Webern and Boulez in Epitafium (1958) and Symphony No.1 (1959), both premiered at the Warsaw Autumn Festival. During the 1960s Górecki continued in a radical direction in the Genesis (1962–63) and Muzyczka (1967–70) cycles of works, whilst paring down his compositional material and exploring the folk music traditions of his beloved Tatra region in such works as Three Pieces in Old Style (1963) and Muzyka staropolska (Old Polish Music) (1967–69). The simple yet monumental style for which Górecki is today renowned became fully established in the 1970s with such works as Symphony No.2 ‘Copernican’ (1972), the much lauded Symphony No.3 ‘Symphony
James Farncombe’s West End credits include: People, Places, Things (Wyndhams); The Ladykillers (Gielgud & Vaudeville); Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense (Duke of York’s); Ghost Stories (Duke of Yorks); Swallows and Amazons (Vaudeville). Farncombe’s Theatre include: Edward II, The Magistrate, Man and Superman, People Places and Things, Three Winters, People, Juno and the Paycock, Men Should Weep, London Road and Double Feature (National Theatre); The White Devil and A Mad World My Masters and As You Like It (Royal Shakespeare Company)Dance includes Carmen, Firebird and The Nutcracker (Norwegian National Ballet); Life. (BalletBoyz).
COMPOSER
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BEN FOSKETT
COMPOSER
Ben Foskett is a composer and orchestrator working across many different genres from classical concert music to ballet, dance, incidental music for the theatre, pop, film and TV. He has received commissions and worked for ensembles and companies such as the London Sinfonietta, BBC Proms, Psappha, London Children’s Ballet, Thresh, Les Désespérant Idiots, Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, The Divine Comedy, Keaton Henson and on films and TV series such as The Maze Runner and Poirot. Future composing projects include an opera with writer Laure Salama based on the life of Olympe de Gouges as well as a new viola piece for the London Sinfonietta. Current orchestration projects include a new TV series Tutankhamun with composer Christian Henson. His music has been recorded and released by NMC recordings.
LIGHTING DESIGNER
BALLETBOYZ® BalletBoyz® has established itself as one of the most cheekily original and innovative forces in modern dance: revolutionising traditional programming formats, commissioning new work, collaborating with a wide range of cutting edge talents and building a big following through our TV work. Our chief aim is to challenge, excite and
enlighten audiences through the wide body of work that we carry out. We aim to bring together elements from diverse realms of the arts such as composers, artists, designers, filmmakers and photographers. We continue to develop groundbreaking education initiatives, particularly working with boys in dance and pride ourselves on dancer led workshops that provide an invaluable insight into the company’s repertoire. Now housed at their very own stateof-the-art rehearsal/creation space in the heart of Kingston, BalletBoyz® are thrilled to finally have a permanent home. The new space was completed in November 2012 and provides the company with two beautiful customdesigned rehearsal studios, office for company management and fully equipped AV editing suite. BalletBoyz® has been an Associate Company at Sadler’s Wells since 2005. BalletBoyz® 52a Canbury Park Road Kingston Upon Thames Surrey KT2 6JE T: 020 7278 5508 E: info@balletboyz.com
THE PRODUCTION TECHNICAL MANAGER Adam Hodgson TECHNICIAN Milo Digby
THE COMPANY ARTISTIC DIRECTORS Michael Nunn OBE and William Trevitt OBE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Kerry Whelan COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Mark Slaughter GENERAL MANAGER Sarah Setter CREATIVE LEARNING PRODUCER Fleur Taylor-Sutton DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Beth Crosland ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT Jordan James Taylor EDUCATION ASSISTANT Siân Cobern SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Georgette Purdey
CCN BALLET DE LORRAINE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, PETTER JACOBSSON
PLAYBILL PAGE
FEBRUARY 22 Photo by Laurent Philippe
ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
JAN | FEB 2017 • ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE
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FEBRUARY 22, 2017
TONIGHT’S PROGRAM
ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
DEVOTED Premieried 12 May 2015 at the Opéra National de Lorraine
presents
SPONSORS
CHOREOGRAPHY Cecilia Bengolea and François Chaignaud MUSIC Philip Glass, Another Look at Harmony Part IV LIGHTS Jean-Marc Segalen COSTUMES Cecilia Bengolea and François Chaignaud with the costume shop of the CCN - Ballet de Lorraine DANCE HALL TEACHERS Giddy Elite Team, Damion BG Dancerz DANCERS Amandine Biancherin Agnès Boulanger Pauline Colemard Laure Lescoffy Sakiko Oishi Marion Rastouil Elsa Raymond Elisa Ribes Ligia Saldanha DANCER ASSISTING WITH PREPARATION Erika Myauchi Thanks to Florence Abelin, Philippe Gladieux and Donatien Veismann REHEARSAL DIRECTOR Valérie Ferrando Piece for nine dancers on pointe, Chorus and organ, Another Look at Harmony by Philip Glass. “We composed a piece full of long lines, spins, using dance hall and ballet steps. We seek to create a continuity between the classical and modern past and today, drawing fleeting lines toward the past and speculation about the future.” –Cecilia Bengolea and François Chaignaud
MEDIA SPONSOR
The use of photography is prohibited. Please silence your cell phones.
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INTERMISSION
HOK SOLO POUR ENSEMBLE
INTERMISSION
Premiere March 5, 2015, at the Opera National de Lorraine
SOUNDDANCE
CONCEPTION AND CHOREOGRAPHY Alban Richard ASSISTANT Max Fossati MUSIC Hoketus, Louis Andriessen LIGHTS Valérie Sigward COSTUMES Corine Petitpierre REHEARSAL DIRECTOR Valérie Ferrando & Thomas Caley DANCERS Amandine Biancherin Pauline Colemard Laure Lescoffy Valérie Ly-Cuong Sakiko Oishi Marion Rastouil Ligia Saldanha Matthieu Chayrigues Charles Dalerci Tristan Ihne Yoann Rifosta Luc Verbitzky HOK solo pour ensemble is a choreographic work constructed to the score of Hoketus, a musical piece created in 1975- 1977 by Louis Andriessen. Energetic, brutal and hypnotic, the music of Hoketus is seemingly sourced in the sounds of hard rock and the works of Igor Stravinsky. Two identical groups of musicians face each other on stage using the medieval musical technique called Hocket. The word “hocket” first appeared in the early 14th century, based on the onomatopoeic sound hok, meaning a sharp interruption or a shock. The pulses and the rhythms involved in this minimalist score create a fascinating, powerful world. Alban Richard, an artist in residence at the Théâtre National de Chaillot, began in his earliest pieces to research a sort of kneading of the body within his dancers, inflating and over crossing their physical strata, bursting bubbles, while accentuating their individual rhythms. For this creation at the CCN – Ballet de Lorraine, he has created a solo for the ensemble. The dancers’ bodies form a unique, polymorphous mass. Closely bonded to Andriessen’s music, HOK solo pour ensemble is a work driven by a ferocious energy, its rhythm charging from body to body.
Created by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, March 8, 1975 in Detroit, Michigan Entered repertory on March 14, 2014 at the Opéra national de Lorraine CHOREOGRAPHY Merce Cunningham MUSIC David Tudor, Untitled (1974/1994) SET, COSTUMES AND LIGHTING Mark Lancaster STAGED BY Thomas Caley et Meg Harper DANCERS Amandine Biancherin Agnès Boulanger Valérie Ly-Cuong Sakiko Oishi Marion Rastouil Jonathan Archambault Alexis Bourbeau Matthieu Chayrigues Justin Cumine Yoann Rifosta Sounddance could easily be considered one of Merce Cunningham’s most beloved pieces, by audiences and critics alike! Cunningham created Sounddance upon his return after spending nine weeks with the Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris in 1973 where he created Un Jour ou Deux. Back with his own dancers, he created a work in opposition to ballet’s uniformity and unison. He choreographed a fast and vigorous “organized chaos”. The stage is divided in the middle by a gracefully draped plush gold curtain, designed by artist Mark Lancaster. This division or compressing of the space adds to the overlapping and frenetic choreography, as if we were seeing a miniature dance cosmos through a microscope. The dancers enter the stage as if thrust from the curtain, and at the end of the dance, with their exit, they are swallowed by it, as though they were being sucked into a wind tunnel. Musician and composer David Tudor created a powerful and driving score or Sounddance. It provides the perfect energetic accompaniment to Cunningham’s fast paced choreography. *The original music of Sounddance was David Tudor’s Toneburst. When the piece was revived in 1994, Tudor rethought the music, calling his new score Untitled (1975/1994).
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ABOUT THE COMPANY BALLET DE LORRAINE The current Centre Choregraphique National – Ballet de Lorraine, was first established in Amien France in 1968, in 1978 it was permanently relocated to Nancy. After acquiring the CCN title in 1999, the CCN - Ballet de Lorraine has dedicated itself to supporting contemporary choreographic creation. As of July 2011 the organization is under the General and Artistic direction of choreographer Petter Jacobsson. The CCN – Ballet de Lorraine and its company of 26 dancers is one of the most important companies working in Europe, performing contemporary creations while retaining and programming a rich and extensive repertory, spanning our modern history, made up of works by some of our generations most highly regarded choreographers. The CCN functions as an art center and venue for multiple possibilities in the fields of research, experimentation and artistic creation. It is a platform open to many different disciplines, a space where the many visions of contemporary dance may meet. In these artistic pursuits, he is joined by Thomas Caley, choreographer and Coordinator of research.
A CREATIVE TEAM Petter Jacobsson, choreographer and general director together with Thomas Caley, choreographer and coordinator of research. Born in Stockholm, Petter Jacobsson started his studies in dance at the age of three and was further educated at the Royal Swedish Ballet School, he later graduated from the Vaganova Academy in St.Petersburg in 1982. As a principal dancer with the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet in London between 1984 to 1993, he toured the globe dancing all of the renowned classical roles as well as appearing as guest artist with numerous international companies. In 1993, he moved to New York to begin a freelance career, studying with Merce Cunningham and working with Twyla Tharp Dance Company, Irene Hultman Dance and later Deborah Hay. Thomas Caley was born in Menominee, Michigan and in 1992, earned a BFA from Purchase College in New York. After a year of performing in a multitude of independent projects in New York City he joined the Merce Cunningham Company. From 1994 to 2000, he performed and toured throughout the world while participating in the creation of over 12 new works by Cunningham. Petter and Thomas started working as a creative team in the mid nineties, choreographing works for Martha@Mother, the Joyce Soho in New York and the choreography for the opera Staden at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, a commission for the 1998 Cultural capital of Europe. In 1999, when Petter was appointed the artistic directorship of the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm, they made the move to Europe to continue their artistic collaboration. An exceptional embodiment of their work for the RSB was the creating of two immense happenings, In nooks and crannies 2000 and 2001. The project included the Royal Ballet, Opera and Orchestra, as well as independent artists who took-over non-traditional, yet possible, performance spaces occupying the entire Royal Opera House of Stockholm. Petter received Choreographer of the year 2002 from the Society of Swedish Choreographers in recognition of the modernisation of the Royal Swedish Ballet. After years of collaboration, Petter and Thomas established an independent dance company in 2005—works include Nightlife, Unknown partner, Flux, No mans land- no lands man, The nearest nearness - in 2002 they won a “Goldmask” for best choreography for the musical Chess with Björn Ulveus and Benny Andersson (ABBA) As of 2011, they are leading and choreographing for the CCN Ballet de Lorraine in Nancy. Their curating for the CCN invites as well a wide variety of artistic talent from around the world. Each invited creator joins in the active questioning of a specific theme. La saison de La 12/13, Tête à tête à têtes 13/14, Live 14/15, Folk + Danse = (R)évolution 15/16 and Des plaisirs inconnus 16/17. To insure a lively and non fixed use of the art form they continue their searching through installations for the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris and Musée Pompidou Metz and an original initiative LAB-BLA-BAL, where a series of open house art experiments, workshops, and discussions are given at our choreographic center.
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CHOREOGRAPHER BIOGRAPHIES BALLET DE LORRAINE CECILIA BENGOLEA AND FRANCOIS CHAIGNAUD (DEVOTED) Born in Buenos Aires, the dancer and choreographer Cecilia Bengolea has been based in Paris ince 2001. She has collaborated with, among others, the choreographers João Fiadeiro, Claudia Triozzi, Mark Tompkins, YvesNöel Genod, Alain Buffard, Mathilde Monnier, Alice Chauchat, Monika Gintersdofer and Knut Classen. In 2011, she directed two short films in Rio de Janeiro in dialogue with the book Tristes Tropiques by Claude Levi Strauss,: La Beauté (tôt) vouée à se défaire with Donatien Veisman, and Cri de Pilaga. Born in Rennes, François Chaignaud studied dance from the age of 6. In 2003, he earned his degree at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Danse in Paris, working with, among others, the choreographers Boris Charmatz, Emmanuelle Huynh, Alain Buffard and Dominique Brun. Ranging from He’s One that Goes to Sea for Nothing but to Make Him Sick (2004) to (2013), he has created many performance pieces, using different forms of dance and voice, in a variety of venues, showing inspiration from many different inspirations. We see in his work the possibility of a body stretched between sensual demand and the power of the voice, as well as a convergence of multiple, heterogenous historical references—from erotic literature (Aussi Bien Que Ton Coeur Ouvre Moi Les Genoux, 2008) to the more sacred arts. He is also a historian and has published at PUR L’Affaire Berger-Levrault : le féminisme à l’épreuve (1898–1905). His historical curiosity has led him to initiate a number of interesting artistic collaborations, notably with the legendary drag queen Rumi Missabu, of the Cockettes, with the cabaret artist Jérôme Marin (Sous l’ombrelle, 2011, which resurrected some forgotten melodies from the early 20th century), with the artist Marie Caroline Hominal (Duchesses, 2009), with the fashion designers Romain Brau and Charlie Le Mindu, the plastician Theo Mercier, and the photographer Donatien Veismann. In 2005, he and Cecilia Bengolea, founded their company Vlovajob Pru. They created Pâquerette (2005–08), Sylphides (2009), Castor et Pollux (2010), Danses Libres (after works by François Malkovsky and Suzanne Bodak, 2010), (M)IMOSA (with Trajal Harrell and Marlene Monteiro Freitas,2011), altered natives Say Yes To Another Excess
– TWERK (2012) and DUB LOVE (2013). In 2009, they were awarded the prize for choreographic revelation by the dance critics of Paris. They received the Young Artists prize at the Biennial of Gwangju in 2014 for Sylphides and DUB LOVE. They have presented their creations at the Autumn Festival in Paris, the Centre Pompidou, the Impulstanz Festival (Vienna), The Kitchen (New York), the Avignon Festival, at the Sadlers Wells Theatre (London), the Tanz Im August Festival (Berlin), the Quartz theatre (Brest), the Ménagerie de Verre (Paris), the Dance Biennial of Lyon, the Festival Montpellier Danse, the Spiral Hall Theatre (Tokyo), at the Kochi Art Museum (Japan), the Panorama Festival (Rio de Janeiro), among others. They are long-term artists in residence at the Echangeur - CDC Picardie (2014/2015/2016) and associated with Bonlieu, Scène Nationale d’Annecy beginning in 2016.
ALBAN RICHARD
(HOK SOLO POUR ENSEMBLE) Alban came to dance at the same time he was studying music and literature. He has danced with, among others, Karine Saporta, Christian Bourigault, Christine Gaigg, Odile Duboc, Olga de Soto and Rosalind Crisp. In 1999, Come out, a duet to the eponymous music by Steve Reich, and Blood Roses to the Suites for harpsichord by Purcell laid out the bases for his choreographic universe. He founded the Ensemble l’Abrupt and created-Häftling- in 2000. In 2002, he choreographed and danced Sous surveillance. Downfall, in 2004, brought him decisive recognition from the profession, followed by disperse in 2005, a piece for eight dancers. His signature became clearer, through a process-based vocabulary, in a multitude of scores—in which dance, music and lighting converge to form an aesthetic and conceptual unity. As far as, a quintet created in 2007, marked yet another step forward. The solo A Conspiracy, and the triptych Trois études de séparation (2007–2009) showed his widening research axes. In 2009 he created a solo, With my limbs in the dark, to music by Paul Clift, a commission from IRCAM, and in 2011 he created a work for the Toronto Dance Theater. He created Pléiades, a music and dance concert involving six dancers and the musical ensemble Les Percussions de Strasbourg to music by Iannis Xenakis at the Montpellier Dance
Festival that same year. In 2012, IRCAM commissioned his solo Night: Light to music by Raphaël Cendo, and he also created Boire les longs oublis. From 2012 to 2014, he created a triptych of works for large groups of amateur dancers : For each extatic instant at the Scène Nationale in Orléans, From Afar at the Prisme in Elancourt and Forevermore at the Théâtre National de Chaillot in partnership with the Centre National de la Danse–Pantin. In 2014, Et mon coeur a vu à foison will be premiered at the Théâtre National de Chaillot. In May 2015, he became the Director of the CCN de Caen Basse-Normandie.
MERCE CUNNINGHAM
(SOUNDDANCE)
Born in Centralia, Washington on April 16, 1919, Cunningham began his career as a modern dancer at the age of 20, dancing for six years with the Martha Graham Dance Company. He presented his first recital in 1944, and formed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1953. The company was a living canvas for his experimentation and the creation of his unusual pieces. Over his long career he choreographed more than 150 pieces and more than 800 Events. Many dancers studied and worked with Cunningham before founding their own companies, among them Paul Taylor, Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs and Karole Armitage. He collaborated with many artists; his collaboration with John Cage had the most influence on his practice. Together Cunningham and Cage proposed a series of radical innovations in dance. The most famous and controversial of these dealt with the relationship between dance and music, able to coexist in the same space and time but needing to be conceived independently of each other. Cunningham continued to experiment and innovate throughout his life, and he was one of the first to use new technologies in his own art form. He choreographed and taught almost until the day he died, July 26, 2009, and received many awards and accolades. Cunningham’s life and work have inspired the publication of four books and three important exhibitions; several of his pieces have been presented by other prestigious companies such as American Ballet Theatre, the Ballet de Lorraine, the New York City Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Rambert Dance Company in London and the White Oak Dance Project. BALLE T DE LORR AINE • WHITE BIRD
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Photo: Laurent Philippe
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