DISCOVER: Fall 2018

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Dear friends, Welcome to Dance Place’s new seasonal brochure!

Hopefully you’ve seen the beautiful DISCOVER season poster that lists all of the incredible companies performing on our stage in the 2018-2019 season. If you are accustomed to receiving our annual season brochure and missed it this year, the guide you are reading now is meant to be a similar entry point to the work. The seasonal brochure will be published three times throughout the year, so our audiences are receiving a more digestible amount of information while our artists are better able to provide us with more up to date information about their work.

Within this brochure, I also hope to share a glimmer of insight as to why a given artist was invited to perform at Dance Place.

present in our theater through a number of platforms, including this publication. You may have already seen our Month in a Minute series, which is getting a fresh look this season. Maybe you recently started tuning in to Dance Place Radio, featuring in-depth podcast interviews with artists from our presentation series. Bringing you closer to the work that makes up the DISCOVER Season brings me great joy. The first presentation series I’ve curated since becoming Dance Place’s Executive Artistic Director in September 2017, the DISCOVER Season is an affirmation of Dance Place’s longstanding support of dancemakers and performers at every stage of their careers, from a broad spectrum within the field of dance.

It is a season full of wonders and I’m thrilled to share it with you.

As we at Dance Place work to connect audiences and artists, I hope to bring each of you closer to the work we

I look forward to meeting each of you in the theater.

Yours in dance,

Christopher K. Morgan Executive Artistic Director

Mission Founded in 1980, Dance Place builds a community of artists, audiences and students through high quality performances, commissions, training and educational programs.

We are committed to enriching the field of dance locally, nationally and internationally.

Our thriving arts campus serves as an anchor in our Brookland / Edgewood neighborhood in Washington, DC. DANCEPLACE.ORG

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Christopher K. Morgan. Photo by Brianne Bland COVER IMAGE: Words, Beats & Life. Photo by Aisha Sheffield-Watts

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2018 DC Dance Summit FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 AT DANCE PLACE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 AT DANCE EXCHANGE / DANCE PLACE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 AT DANCE INSTITUTE OF WASHINGTON

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After the success of last year’s first ever DC Dance Summit, Dance Metro DC reached out to Dance Place and other key local dance institutions to make the second year even bigger and better. The 2018 DC Dance Summit brings the regional dance community together for three days of performances, classes, panel discussions, and more. Start the weekend on Friday night at Dance Place – catch the hottest new works you can look forward to this year including sneak peeks at our new Artists In Residence and previews from the Kennedy Center’s Local Dance Commissioning Project recipients.

Dance Place is proud to announce the first annual Global Perspectives Festival of dance and music from traditions around the world. Our new showcase presents work from a curated group of choreographers, highlighting a breadth of dances by groups and artists based here in the DMV. Part of our continued vision to support artists at all stages of their careers, this new festival format creates more opportunities for artists in our community to present works and network with other artists and audiences. By expanding opportunities for dance forms not always found on the concert stage, we’re committing to providing artists and audience alike equity on our stage and in our community.

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Kwanzaa Celebration SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16*

For 14 years, we’ve been proud to host Coyaba Dance Theater’s singular performance honoring the principles of Kwanzaa. We invite you and your families to join us this holiday season for incredible West African dance and drumming, under the direction of Mama Sylvia Soumah. *Sunday’s Performance is Family Series: get 1 free ticket for a child 12 & under with paying adult.

Coyaba Dance Theater.

Photo © Enoch Chan 2012

Fieldwork for Mixed Disciplines Showing TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18 AT 7PM

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27 AT 8PM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28 AT 4PM*

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Global Perspectives Festival

Fieldwork is one of the ways that Dance Place provides support for artists of all disciplines, not just in the final stages of their creative process, but also at the nascent beginning stages of making a work. A program of nationwide non-profit The Field, Fieldwork is a forum for artists to share developing works and exchange peer-to-peer feedback. Dance Place is a long-term partner of The Field DC in offering this seasonal ten-week workshop for local artists, culminating in this informal showing.

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DISCOVER SEASON 18/19

Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 AT 8PM SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 AT 7PM From the shores of Miami, Rosie Herrera first came to Dance Place in 2015 and brought with her the dark humor and glamor her unique blend of dance theatre is known for. The choreographer’s meteoric rise to prominence, with commissions from half a dozen dance giants like American Dance Festival and Ballet Hispanico, has led her across the United States from Maui to Miami and here in DC’s home for dance.

Sitting in the theater watching Herrera lipsync to vintage Cuban ballads and shimmy in her gold tasseled cocktail dress, we immediately fell in love as she melted a chocolate rabbit onto her beautiful blue veil with a hair dryer.

With the smell of burnt chocolate still fresh in the air, Rosie was invited back for an Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency in our studios.

Dance Place’s week-long residency, named in honor of the Pulitzer-prize winning dance critic, offered Herrera a

rare chance to dive deep into the development of a new work, without the pressure of a product-oriented process to impede her creativity. The results were the first version of what would become Make Believe, which she returns this year to present in our theater, bringing this relationship full circle.

In its DC premiere, Make Believe investigates religious upbringing and the impact it has on the great loves of our lives. How does our introduction to belief systems at an early age influence our romantic experiences?

Herrera forges a path full of warmth, vulnerability, and pain to find an answer to this question at the heart of her spiritual journey. Joined by collaborators David Brick (Dramaturg) and Maiko Matsushima (Costume & Set Design Consultant), the company tugs at the audience’s heartstrings in this fanciful, even magical journey through the spaces between belief, faith, and love.

BOTTO M LINE : Q UIRKY AND PR OFOU N D, T HIS N AT I ON AL LYRE CO G NIZ E D STAR BRING S H E R CABAR ET AN D MODER N DANCE SK ILLS TO TH E FO RE .

This performance of Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre is made possible in part by support from the NPN / VAN Artist Engagement Fund. Major contributors include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information visit npnweb.org

PODCAST EPISODE P O ST- S H OW Q & A O N S AT U R D AY M A S T E R C L A S S AT DANCE EXCHNAGE Rosie Herrera Photo by Adam Reign

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Culture Shock DC SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 AT 8PM SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 AT 3PM & 7PM

Since 2013, the DC chapter of this nationwide non-profit has shared a close relationship with Dance Place. Between teaching hip-hop every Wednesday night for our adult students to performing on our stage, we’ve been so proud to have Culture Shock DC as a Partner Organization in our mission to bring high-quality arts education to Brookland / Edgewood. By bringing this vital social dance form to the stage, Culture Shock DC has continued to promote and innovate this genre for the concert stage with their athletic and adaptable choreography.

Culture Shock DC Photos courtesy of the Artist

PE RFE CT FO R: MTV FANS AN D CHARTTO PPING H E AVY HI T T ER S - I T ’S L I KE A LIVE M USIC VI DEO!

With Volume IV: The Enlightenment, Culture Shock DC returns to Dance Place with the fourth in a series of sociallyminded, irrepressibly fun shows. Filled with music, light and laughter, individual members of the professional company have come together to choreograph a series of hip-hop works on the theme of “enlightenment.” This eclectic troupe of over 150 dancers uses hip-hop dance, spoken word, and music to inspire positive change in our community.

Culture Shock DC is a Dance Place Partner Organization.

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DISCOVER SEASON 18/19

Helanius J. Wilkins

Helanius J. Wilkins Photo by Angelisa Gillyard © 2017

It’s been several years since Helanius J. Wilkins, a celebrated and beloved fixture of the DC modern dance community, left to pursue his career as a professor and artist at University of Colorado.

Before he left, he performed his epic evening-length solo /CLOSE/R at Dance Place.

The work seemed to herald a shift in focus for Wilkins - a reinvention that shifted his individual voice to the forefront and spoke of a new vulnerability. The multi-year

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6 AT 8PM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 AT 7PM creative research process that sparked /CLOSE/R has since expanded into a series of three eveninglength works. This year, we’ve brought Helanius back home to present the second installation of this contemporary dance trilogy, ten years in the making. “his paean to a city that has faced adversity but moves forward, a vibrant artistic and cultural gumbo.”

- Lisa Traiger DC Dance Watcher

F INA L T HO U GH TS : D I V E DE E P IN TH IS INTIM ATE AND I NT R I CATE SO LO, CH O CK FULL O F D RE AM Y P R OJ ECTI ONS .

In the world premiere of A Bon Coeur, Wilkins explores how movement can interrogate complex issues of race, culture and inclusivity. Drawing inspiration from his Creole roots and his childhood in Louisiana, Wilkins captures memories in a richly-textured multimedia collage. Interwoven with text, an original sound score and projections, A Bon Coeur melds physicalized ritual into a tool to construct and liberate black identity.

PODCAST EPISODE M A S T E R C L A S S AT DANCE EXCHANGE

P O S T- S H O W R E C E P T I O N O N S AT P O ST- S H OW Q & A O N S U N DANCEPLACE.ORG

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Words Beats & Life Featuring choreography by American and international Muslim dancers, Footsteps in the Dark: Journey of Hip-Hop Movement is an original hiphop production commissioned by local organization Words Beats & Life. This vibrant, highenergy performance includes collaborative presentations by some of the best Muslim hiphop dancers in the world and explores the intersections where hip-hop and Muslim communities meet. By amplifying the voices of Muslim creators, Words Beats & Life are unapologetic advocates for the transformative power of hip-hop culture.

The social taboo in some Muslim communities around dance is often rooted in patriarchy and misogyny. Through this journey, the artists share stories from the global Muslim community using the universal language of dance.

Part of their multi-year initiative, “From Sifrs to Ciphers: Hip-Hop is Muslim,” Words Beats & Life’s compassionate call to action creates a broader understanding of who we are as a people. By empowering artists to create and refine systems that enact change through creativity, they embrace the sacred nature of their work and their roles as keepers and innovators of hip-hop culture.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13 AT 8PM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14 AT 7PM

LAST WO RD : BRE A K DAN CE AN D B R EAK D OWN TH E BO RD E R S BE TWEEN MU SL I M DAN CER S FR OM ALL OVE R TH E WO R L D.

Words Beats & Life.

Photo by Aisha Sheffield-Watts

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DISCOVER SEASON 18/19

DISCOVER GALA SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20 AT 7PM When you hear the word “gala,” you might think small talk, black tie and colorless remarks. But if you’ve ever been to a Dance Place gala, you know that we bring our creativity and heart to this event, just as we do with everything else we do! We’ve created a fun and fabulous evening for YOU – our VIP guests - to enjoy. Our DISCOVER Gala will get you on your feet and dancing before the night is out!

Featuring two very special guest hosts, Dance Place is proud to welcome renowned choreographer and thinker Liz Lerman and Urban Bush Women Founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar to host the evening. Enjoy a sampler of performances from some of the artists that make Dance Place the vibrant arts hub it is: Gesel Mason shows a snippet before she returns later in the year for our Alan M. Kriegsman Residency; local hip-hop dancer, photographer and projection designer Jonathan Hsu shares a piece commissioned especially for our gala; Artist in Residence SOLE Defined previews their Mardi Gras musical; guest artists from the Washington Ballet perform a duet by our very own Christopher K. Morgan; and of course, our Energizers youth dance their hearts out and bring the house down. By honoring artists from our past, present and future, we’re ready to share the whole Dance Place story with you.

Your support means the world to us and forms the backbone of everything we do at Dance Place. Even if you can’t make it to the party yourself, consider sponsoring an artist to attend in your stead! With live music, a full familystyle outdoor feast and our legendary afterparty with DJ Glowstik, this is the social event of the dance community’s season and you simply can’t miss.

I N SH ORT: TR U ST US , WE RE ALLY K NOW H OW TO TH R OW A PARTY!

Cocktail attire recommended, Dance Place sunglasses provided!

SOLO TICKET: $175 DUET TICKET: $300 (2 TICKETS) $

ARTIST SPONSORSHIP: $150 *UNDERWRITE A TICKET FOR AN ARTIST!

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Photos by David Dowling Jonathan Hsu

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DISCOVER SEASON 18/19

DC Casineros

DC Casineros Photo by Yoav Magid

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3 AT 8PM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4 AT 4PM As a Dance Place Partner Organization, DC Casineros specializes in performing complex and energetic works based on Cuban popular and social dances such as Casino, Son, Danzon, Rumba, and Comparsa. Yearly, DC Casineros travels to Cuba to learn about the up-to-the-minute urban music and dance styles and brings a little bit of the island back to the District to share with their classes at Dance Place and across the city. Their commitment to spreading knowledge of this vibrant social dance form is inspiring and calls to us at Dance Place the importance of bringing longunrepresented dance forms to the concert stage in our performing series.

In their home season, DC Casineros delves into the music and history of Cuba’s most influential and legendary dance band, Juan Formell’s Los Van Van. Working throughout the post-revolutionary era, Los Van Van defended Cuban music on and off the island while inventing the style we know today as Songo. DC Casineros pays homage to five decades of dazzling music and dance with a video collage and mesmerizing dance in this interactive and performative history lesson.

DC Casineros is a Dance Place Partner Organization.

S TAY L AT E O N S AT U R D AY NIGHT FOR A SOCIAL DANCE PARTY RUNNING UNTIL 12:30AM

IN SUMMARY: BRING YOUR DANCING SHOES - WE’RE TURNING DA N C E P L AC E I N T O A F U L L- B LOW N C U BA N DA N C E C LU B !

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Bill Shannon SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10 AT 8PM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11 AT 4PM

Bill Shannon Photo by Art Like Us / Kelly Strayhorn Theater

PODCAST EPISODE M A S T E R C L A S S AT DANCE PLACE P O ST- S H OW Q & A O N S U N D AY

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Known for groundbreaking choreography exploring the social constructions surrounding disabled bodies, Bill Shannon, also known by his B-boy moniker “Crutchmaster,” is a performance artist that defies categorization.

Renowned in the underground club-dance scene, Bill Shannon has pioneered a unique dance technique defined and enhanced by his use of crutches. Rooted in the street cultures of hip-hop, punk and skating, his unique choreographic mix stems from philosophy as well as physical necessity as he lives with a degenerative hip condition.

His new project Touch Update marks the first time Shannon will set his own style on able-bodied dancers,

marking a significant shift from his previous work.

This DC premiere combines movement, wearable projection technology, and video installation to explore the significant and subtle implications of physical human contact in the digital era.

Shannon “reverse engineers” his virtuosic technique for dancing on crutches, as he dissects and dismantles the multiple online identities we create in order to mask our lived experience.

“Bill Shannon’s artistry can vary movement to movement…He glides, he skates, he dances. He choreographs and performs for theater and on the street.

He breaks boundaries…”

– Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

This performance of Bill Shannon is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Bill Shannon’s Touch Update is a National Performance Network / Visual Artists Network (NPN / VAN) Creation and Development Fund Project cocommissioned by Kelly Strayhorn Theater in partnership with Painted Bride Art Center, Dance Place, and NPN. For more information: npnweb.org.

LAST WORD: “HOT OFF THE PRESS” WORK FROM THIS REBEL AND PIONEERING MOVEMENT MAKER.

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DISCOVER SEASON 18/19

ReVision dance company SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17 AT 8PM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18 AT 4PM* & 7PM ReVision dance company was founded in 2011 when Artistic Director Shannon Quinn inherited and rebranded the long-running Carla & Company from Dance Place Founding Director Carla Perlo. Since then, ReVision has worked with diverse populations of professional dancers and novice movers, involving everyone - from young students to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities - in the arts, dance, and community. Their place as a Dance Place Resident Company has always connected us to the stories of our broad community in unexpected and heart-warming ways.

In this MFA thesis work by Quinn, Garage Sale reveals the sentimentality of objects and their power to transport us across time. ReVision’s gestural and evocative movement conjures the inner lives of objects and the people who’ve owned them, from abandoned junk to prized heirlooms. An interview sound score weaves generations of voices together as dancers of all ages join ReVision on stage. Set in a life-size living room, ReVision tugs the heartstrings with its intergenerational cast and inspiring message.

Dance Place Resident Company. *Sunday’s 4pm Performance is Family Series: get 1 free ticket for a child 12 & under with paying adult DANCEPLACE.ORG

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ReVision dance company Photos by David Dowling

BOTTOM LINE: BRING YOUR TISSUES FOR THIS POIGNANT REFLECTION ON OUR KEEPSAKES AND THEIR NAMESAKES

PODCAST EPISODE P O ST- S H OW R E C E PT I O N O N S AT U R D AY

cakeface SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 AT 8PM SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2 AT 4PM With crackling wit and startling honesty, Amanda Szeglowski and the women of cakeface serve up a silver-sequined dissection of the American Dream.

Synthesizing razor-sharp contemporary choreography and a poker-faced delivery of original text, the cast shatters the facade of “making it.”

Featuring sound and visuals from Brooklyn electronic duo Prism House and clips from the 80’s cult-favorite TV show of the same name, Stairway to Stardom honors the contributions of the wildly passionate

but questionably talented among us. “cakeface is a group of fierce, funny, talented women... Think Monica Bill Barnes for the Amy Schumer Generation.”

- CULTUREBOT Szeglowski, Artistic Director of cakeface, is a Brooklyn-based writer, director, choreographer, and performing artist. She is a recipient of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation’s Women Playwrights Commissioning program and was a HERE Resident

PERFECT FOR: DOWNTOWN DANCE AFICIONADOS LO O K I N G F O R A N E W B R E A KO U T STA R

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Artist from 2014-17.

Szeglowski launched her all-female company cakeface in 2008, to thread together intricate choreography and original, abstract scripts using grim themes and an inherently wry female wit. Stairway to Stardom, was deemed “vastly entertaining and ridiculously clever” (This Week in NY) and received 4 stars and a critics’ pick by Time Out New York.

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M A S T E R C L A S S AT DANCE PLACE P O ST- S H OW Q & A S AT U R D AY & S U N D AY

cakeface Photos by Maria Baranova

DISCOVER SEASON 18/19

Bowen McCauley Dance Company (BMDC) kicks off its 23rd Season this winter at Dance Place. To celebrate the company’s return, Lucy Bowen McCauley presents a premiere and two repertory works from 2018.

UnRavel was originally premiered in 1995 by beloved Washington, DC choreographer Eric Hampton and restaged on BMDC by Alison Crosby. Long time Dance Place audience members will recall the impact Eric Hampton had on the DC Dance Community. His works continue to be remounted 17 years after his passing.

Set to the well-tuned musicality of Maurice Ravel, UnRavel is a sly ode to ballet’s courtliness. BMDC will also perform Guest Artist Ilana Goldman’s 2018 piece, Fascile Manipulations, featuring music by Steve Reich.

F I N A L T H O U G H T S : M U S I C A L A N D E L E G A N T, C E L E B R AT E 2 3 Y E A R S O F B M D C W I T H P R E M I E R E S A N D FAV O R I T E S A L I K E !

S TAY A F T E R T H E S H O W O N S AT U R D AY, DECEMBER 8 FOR AN AFTER PARTY WITH THE COMPANY!

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Bowen McCauley Dance Company

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 AT 8PM SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9 AT 4PM

Bowen McCauley Dance Company Photos by Jeff Malet

Thank You DANCE PLACE 2017 – 2018 SEASON FUNDERS $5,000 AND ABOVE SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 – AUGUST 31, 2018 Adam Weers

Jared & Rachel Paul, in honor of Mitchell Paul and Hyman M. Perlo

Anonymous

John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation

Bloomberg

Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts

Bozzuto Group Carol & Willis Bradwell

LUMBERYARD Contemporary Performing Arts

Community Foundation for the National Capitol Region

MARPAT Foundation

Corina Higginson Trust

Mars Foundation

Dallas Morse Coors Foundation

Michael Demick

Daniel Hitchcock & Linda Arvin

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Nancy Peery Marriott Foundation

Denise Rollins Dimick Foundation

National Endowment for the Arts

Edgewood / Brookland Family Support Collaborative

National Performance Network New England Foundation for the Arts

Eugene Lang Foundation

Revada Foundation

Events DC

Share Fund

Fairfax County / Reston CenterStage

Stephen & Jeanette Bruce

George Preston Marshall Foundation

Sydney Polakoff Charitable Fund

Hattie M. Strong Foundation

Sylvan C. Coleman Foundation

Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation

The Menkiti Group

HumanitiesDC

United Way Summer Strong

The Shubert Foundation

Ina Kay Foundation

Janice Marks & Damien Agostinelli

US Commission of Fine Arts / National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs Program

Jannes Waples Gibson

Wendy Shapiro & Charles Ferris

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DISCOVER SEASON 18/19

Performances of Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre and Bill Shannon are made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The following performances are supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts: Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre, cakeface, Kwanzaa Celebration.

The 2018 DC Dance Summit is a program of Dance Metro DC in partnership with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Dance Place is a NPN / VAN Partner of the National Performance Network / Visual Artists Network (NPN / VAN). Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre is made possible in part by support from the NPN / VAN Artist Engagement Fund. Major contributors include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information visit npnweb.org.

Bill Shannon’s Touch Update is a National Performance Network / Visual Artists Network (NPN / VAN) Creation and Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Kelly Strayhorn Theater in partnership with Painted Bride Art Center, Dance Place and NPN.

Thank you to the

corporate sponsors of our 2018-2019 Season!

Bloomberg Courtyard Marriott The Menkiti Group Busboys and Poets Bognet Construction Grass Roots Communications Lee and Associates Landscape Architects Miller Development Occasions Caterers

Funding Credits

A project of DC Wheel Productions, Inc. 3225 8TH ST NE WASHINGTON, DC 20017 202.269.1600 DANCEPLACE.ORG DANCEPLACEDC DANCEPLACE

NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 2757 WASHINGTON, DC