Martha Graham Dance Company 75th Anniversary Performance
Appalachian Spring World Premiere
The Auditions Music performed by
Photo by Hibbard Nash Dancer: Lloyd Knight
International Contemporary Ensemble
November 14–17, 2019 Alexander Kasser Theater
Dr. Susan A. Cole, President Daniel Gurskis, Dean, College of the Arts Jedediah Wheeler, Executive Director, Arts + Cultural Programming
Martha Graham Dance Company Artistic Director Janet Eilber Executive Director LaRue Allen Senior Artistic Associate Denise Vale The Company Lloyd Knight, Ben Schultz, Xin Ying, Lloyd Mayor, Natasha M. Diamond-Walker, Lorenzo Pagano, Charlotte Landreau, Anne O’Donnell, Leslie Andrea Williams, Anne Souder, Laurel Dalley Smith, So Young An, Marzia Memoli, Jacob Larsen, Alessio Crognale
International Contemporary Ensemble Vimbayi Kaziboni, conductor Levy Lorenzo, sound engineer Isabel Lepanto Gleicher, flute Joshua Rubin, clarinet Ryan Muncy, saxophone Rebekah Heller, bassoon Michael Lormand, trombone
Jacob Greenberg, piano Nathan Davis, Ross Karre, percussion Jennifer Curtis, Josh Modney, Gabriela Diaz, Pauline Harris, violins Kyle Armbrust, Wendy Richman, violas Meaghan Burke, Chris Gross, cellos Randy Zigler, double bass
First Impressions: Saturday, November 16, post-performance discussion Share your first impressions with choreographer Troy Schumacher; artistic director Janet Eilber; composer Augusta Read Thomas; conductor Vimbayi Kaziboni; and Arts + Cultural Programming’s executive director, Jedediah Wheeler.
Major support for the Martha Graham Dance Company is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The Artists employed in this production are members of the American Guild of Musical Artists AFL-CIO. Copyright to all Martha Graham dances presented held by the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, Inc. All rights reserved. Appalachian Spring commissioned by the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Music and Choreography for The Auditions commissioned by PEAK Performances @ Montclair State University | Alexander Kasser Theater. Duration: 65 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission. In consideration of both audiences and performers, please turn off all electronic devices. The taking of photographs or videos and the use of recording equipment are not permitted. No food or drink is permitted in the theater.
Program Appalachian Spring Choreography and Costumes by Martha Graham Music by Aaron Copland† Set by Isamu Noguchi Original Lighting by Jean Rosenthal, Adapted by Beverly Emmons Premiere: October 30, 1944, Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, Washington, DC Springtime in the wilderness is celebrated by a man and woman building a house with joy and love and prayer; by a revivalist and his followers in their shouts of exaltation; by a pioneering woman with her dreams of the Promised Land. The Bride ...................Anne O’Donnell (11/14, 11/16), Charlotte Landreau (11/15, 11/17) The Husbandman .....................Lloyd Mayor (11/14, 11/16), Jacob Larsen (11/15, 11/17) The Preacher....................... Lloyd Knight (11/14, 11/16), Lorenzo Pagano (11/15, 11/17) The Pioneering Woman ................................ Natasha M. Diamond-Walker (11/14, 11/16), Leslie Andrea Williams (11/15, 11/17) The Followers ...............So Young An, Laurel Dalley Smith, Marzia Memoli, Anne Souder The original title chosen by Aaron Copland was Ballet for Martha, which was changed by Martha Graham to Appalachian Spring. Used by arrangement with the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, copyright owners; and Boosey and Hawkes, Inc., sole publisher and licensee.
†
~~Intermission~~ World Premiere The Auditions A ballet for chamber orchestra. Music and choreography for The Auditions commissioned by PEAK Performances @ Montclair State University. Choreography by Troy Schumacher Music by Augusta Read Thomas Lighting by Yi-Chung Chen Costumes by Karen Young World Premiere: November 14, 2019, PEAK Performances | Montclair State University | Alexander Kasser Theater Human beings are always searching for something, whether tangible, scientific, or spiritual. The Auditions contains a group of people in the present looking to be pioneers who both are unsure of where they are going and how and why they will get there. Dancers Lloyd Knight, Charlotte Landreau, Marzia Memoli, Anne O’Donnell, Lorenzo Pagano, Anne Souder, Leslie Andrea Williams
Where page and stage converse. PEAK Journal is a place for exploratory conversations between live art and the written word. Available in the lobby or on-line. In a time when traditional arts journalism seems evermore embattled and diminished, it is crucial to have thoughtful, nuanced writing about the arts, and to acknowledge that criticism itself is a literary art form. Who is writing about the art, and how they are allowed to write about that art, is just as important as who is making it. Claudia La Rocco, Editor Page 16 of the PEAK Journal | “The Map of Form” by Augusta Read Thomas, composer of the new music for The Auditions.
Further program content, including artist bios, may be found at peakperfs.org/programs.
Staff Office of Arts + Cultural Programming
College of the Arts
Jedediah Wheeler, Executive Director Stephanie Haggerstone, Managing Director Jill Dombrowski, Producing Director J. Ryan Graves, Director of Production Chrissy D’Aleo Fels, Cultural Engagement Director Camille Spaccavento, Marketing & Media Director Robert Hermida, Audience Services Director Regina Vorria, Associate Producer Andy Dickerson, Production Coordinator Colin Van Horn, Technical Director Andrew R. Wilsey, Master Stage Electrician Jeff Lambert Wingfield, Box Office Manager Patrick Flood/Flood Design, Art Director Blake Zidell Associates, Media Representatives Natalie Marx, Media Creator Martin Halo, Webmaster Susan R. Case, Copy Editor Bart Solenthaler, Program Layout Design Maureen Grimaldi, House Manager Vici Chirumbolo, Nick Hawrylko, Blythe Irish, Nick Kanderis, Kevin Johnson, Daniel Mackle, Taylor Pico, Production Run Crew Nickie Delva, Eliza Dumas, Student Assistants
Daniel Gurskis, Dean Ronald L. Sharps, Associate Dean Linda D. Davidson, Assistant Dean Marie Sparks, Director of Administration Zacrah S. Battle, College Administrator Abby Lillethun, Art and Design Thomas McCauley, John J. Cali School of Music Keith Strudler, School of Communication and Media Randy Mugleston, Theatre and Dance Patricia Piroh, Broadcast and Media Operations Elizabeth McPherson, PhD, Director of Dance
The Office of Arts + Cultural Programming (ACP) enhances the cultural, creative, and academic life of the Montclair State campus and the broader community. Its signature program, Peak Performances, features innovative works by international contemporary artists of exceptional merit, and by the next generation of great artists training at Montclair State University’s College of the Arts. Through its Cultural Engagement program, ACP offers master classes, workshops, lectures, and discussions designed to deepen participants’ understanding of the aesthetic, cultural, and social contexts of the performances presented. ACP gratefully acknowledges our student staff and volunteers: Box Office Representatives Alexis Amore, Jose Baez, Crystal Bass, Jacob Batory, Imani Carney, I’meera Coston-Cox, Noelle Florio, Dale Harris, Tony Jordan, Shannon Mulraney, Vic Ortiz, Gabriella Presilla, Martin Pyda, Tamir Rios, Will Taylor, Tashae Udo, Lauren Winston Assistant House Managers William Collins, Jocelyn Hernandez Ushers Eleziel Castro, Andrew DeSisto, Patzy Gutierrez, Katherine Hall-Lapinski, Azariah Johnson, Ivy Meyer, Joseph Respicio, Christie Rosales, Steven Ruiz, Madalyn Rupprecht, Nia Soanes, Danielle Sossi, Belah Watson
Next Up American Premiere Gandini Juggling and Alexander Whitley Spring December 12–15, 2019
Programs in this season are made possible in part by funds from: The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts Discover Jersey Arts New England Foundation for the Arts–National Dance Project Peak Performances is in partnership with WNET’s All Arts. Peak Patrons: Mary Brislin; Susan Campbell; Yong Chang; Joanna Conrad; Bob Fisher/Monroe Denton; Paul Horowitz; Eric Levin; Karen Lundry; Michael Peroff; Gerard Piserchia, Jr. To view our complete season and for more information, visit peakperfs.org. @peakperfs
@peakperfs
Program Notes Appalachian Spring (1944) tells the story of a young frontier couple on their wedding day. Created as the war in Europe was drawing to end, the ballet captured the imagination of Americans who were beginning to believe in a more prosperous future, a future in which men and women would be united again. Themes from American folk culture can be found throughout the dance. Aaron Copland weaves a Shaker tune, “Simple Gifts,” throughout his luminous score, while Martha Graham’s choreography includes square dance patterns, skips and paddle turns and curtsies, even a grand right and left. The spare set by Isamu Noguchi features a Shaker rocking chair. With its tale of a new life in a new land, the dance embodies hope. Critics called Appalachian Spring “shining and joyous,” “a testimony to the simple fineness of the human spirit.” The Auditions (2019) takes place in two worlds—one ethereal, one grounded. It follows its musical framework closely, which, in a cyclical nature, pulses between two very distinct, imaginative sonic and dramatic worlds: “the ethereal landscape” and “the audition room.” Designed in seven arcs: slow, fast, slow, fast, slow, fast, slow, the work has a duration of 26 minutes and is performed without a pause. We set out to make an agile and energized artwork whose flexibility would allow for a continually evolving braid of harmonic, rhythmic, lyrical, athletic, and contrapuntal elements, both in terms of music and movement. We collaborated closely for 18 months on the creation of this ballet. Human beings are always searching for something, whether tangible, scientific, or spiritual. Appalachian Spring looks at pioneers in historical America and touches on both what it feels like to be settled in a new place and how the yearning for exploration always continues. The Auditions contains a group of people in the present looking to be pioneers who are both unsure of where they are going and how and why they will get there. This piece is about people who do not know each other suddenly having to dance in a room together with an unknown goal. Language seeps between them, and they slowly become a community.
We devoted our strongest, most focused efforts to creating The Auditions and we feel profoundly fortunate for the investments made by Jedediah Wheeler, PEAK Performances, Janet Eilber, Martha Graham Dance Company, Vimbayi Kaziboni, and the International Contemporary Ensemble, each of the dancers and musicians, and the whole creative and production team. —Troy Schumacher and Augusta Read Thomas
About the Artists Martha Graham (Choreographer) has had a deep and lasting impact on American art and culture. She single-handedly defined contemporary dance as a uniquely American art form, which the nation has in turn shared with the world. Crossing artistic boundaries, she collaborated with and commissioned work from the leading visual artists, musicians, and designers of her day, including sculptor Isamu Noguchi and composers Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, and Gian Carlo Menotti. Graham’s groundbreaking style grew from her experimentation with the elemental movements of contraction and release. By focusing on the basic activities of the human form, she enlivened the body with raw, electric emotion. The sharp, angular, and direct movements of her technique were a dramatic departure from the predominant style of the time. Graham influenced generations of choreographers that included Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp, altering the scope of dance. Classical ballet dancers Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov sought her out to broaden their artistry. Artists of all genres were eager to study and work with Graham—she taught actors including Bette Davis, Kirk Douglas, Madonna, Liza Minnelli, Gregory Peck, Tony Randall, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, and Joanne Woodward to utilize their bodies as expressive instruments. During her long and illustrious career, Graham created 181 dance compositions. During the Bicentennial she was granted the United States’ highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom. In 1998, TIME Magazine named her the “Dancer of the Century.” The first dancer to perform at the White House and to act as a cultural
ambassador abroad, she captured the spirit of a nation. “No artist is ahead of his time,” she said. “He is his time. It is just that the others are behind the time.” Augusta Read Thomas (Composer) The music of Grammy-winning composer Augusta Read Thomas is majestic, elegant, lyrical; it is “boldly considered music that celebrates the sound of the instruments and reaffirms the vitality of orchestral music” (Philadelphia Inquirer). The New Yorker magazine called Thomas “a true virtuoso composer.” Donald Rosenberg of Gramophone wrote, “Heart and soul in the breathtaking music of a thoughtful contemporary composer. Thomas’s brainy brand of modernism reveals a lively, probing mind allied to a beating heart.” The citation at her 2009 American Academy of Arts and Letters induction read: “Her impressive body of works embodies unbridled passion and fierce poetry. She has become one of the most recognizable and widely loved figures in American Music.” Thomas has composed over 48 works for orchestra. She was the Mead Composer-in-Residence for Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez with the Chicago Symphony from 1997 through 2006, a residency that culminated in the premiere of Astral Canticle—one of two finalists for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Music. She founded and directs the Center for Contemporary Composition at the University of Chicago and the Grossman Ensemble. Barenboim, Boulez, Salonen, Knussen, Ozawa, Rostropovich, Luisi, Eschenbach, Masur, Boughton, Maazel, and McAdams have championed her music, which has been commissioned by leading orchestras and ensembles around the world. She won Germany’s prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Prize and many other international awards. Her opera, made in collaboration with librettist Leslie Dunton-Downer, commissioned by a consortium led by Santa Fe Opera and San Francisco Opera including Lyric Opera Kansas City, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Sarasota Opera, and Seattle Opera, was premiered three weeks ago and features Beatboxer superstar Nicole Paris. She studied for three summers with Oliver Knussen as a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center; and at Yale University with Jacob Druckman. Troy Schumacher (Choreographer) is an American choreographer, dancer, and director living in New York, NY. His aesthetic draws upon the artists he collaborates with to produce fresh, unexpected results. He is a soloist dancer with New York City Ballet and the founder of BalletCollective, an arts collective driven toward creating
new ballet-based works that has been moving ballet forward since its inception in 2010. His work has been presented by New York City Ballet, Performa, Danspace Project, Guggenheim Works & Process, the Joyce Theater, and NYU Skirball Center, among others. He has collaborated with many artists, including Jeff Koons, Zaria Forman, Thom Browne, Karen Russell, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, Maddie Ziegler, and David Salle. In addition to live performances, Schumacher has choreographed numerous art, fashion, and commercial shoots, including works for Google, Sony PlayStation, Capezio, HP, Aritzia, CR Fashion Book, Tom Ford, Thakoon, and the New York Times. troyschumacher.com Yi-Chung Chen (Lighting Designer), originally from Taiwan, is a New York City– based lighting designer. She designs lights for live performance at various venues. Her designs have been seen in New York at New York City Center, the Joyce Theater, Chautauqua Theater Company, La MaMa, Target Margin Theater, Shadowland Stages, New Ohio Theatre, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Judson Memorial Church, etc.; internationally at Palais Garnier, National Taichung Theater, NCPA Beijing, and Wuzhen Theatre Festival. She holds an MFA from Boston University. Karen Young (Costume Designer) has been associated with the Graham Company for many years, recently designing new works by Lucinda Childs, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Maxine Doyle, and Bobbi Jene Smith. She is overseeing the reconstruction and design of the costumes of Martha Graham’s repertoire that were damaged during Hurricane Sandy. Other design for dance includes ballets with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Kyle Abraham, Brian Brooks, Pontus Lidberg, Hubbard Street Dance, Miami City Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Basel, Acosta Danza Cuba, Pam Tanowitz, and Sonya Tayeh, as well as in Wendy Whelan’s projects “Restless Creature” and “the Day.” karenyoungcostume.com Janet Eilber (Artistic Director) has been the Company’s artistic director since 2005. Her direction has focused on creating new forms of audience access to Martha Graham’s masterworks. These initiatives include contextual programming, educational and community partnerships, use of new media, commissions from today’s top choreographers, and creative events such as the Lamentation Variations. Earlier in her career, Eilber worked closely with Martha Graham. She danced many of Graham’s greatest roles, had roles created for her by Graham, and was directed by
Graham in most of the major roles of the repertory. She soloed at the White House, was partnered by Rudolf Nureyev, starred in three segments of Dance in America, and has since taught, lectured, and directed Graham ballets internationally. Apart from her work with Graham, Eilber has performed in films, on television, and on Broadway directed by such greats as Agnes de Mille and Bob Fosse and has received four Lester Horton Awards for her reconstruction and performance of seminal American modern dance. She has served as director of arts education for the Dana Foundation, guiding the Foundation’s support for Teaching Artist training and contributing regularly to its arts education publications. Eilber is a Trustee Emeritus of the Interlochen Center for the Arts. She is married to screenwriter/director John Warren, with whom she has two daughters, Madeline and Eva. Denise Vale (Senior Artistic Associate) danced with the Company for ten years, dancing many of the major roles of the Graham repertory. She is well known for her performance as Woman in White in Diversion of Angels and widely acclaimed as the first Leader in the reconstruction of “Steps in the Street.” She starred in Night Chant, a ballet created for her by Martha Graham, and in the Graham solos Lamentation, Frontier, Satyric Festival Song, and Serenata Morisca. As senior artistic associate, Vale serves primarily as the rehearsal director for the Martha Graham Company, is on the faculty of the Graham School, and travels throughout the world teaching master classes in the Graham Technique for dancers of all ages and abilities. Vale also restages the Graham ballets for major dance companies such as Ballet de Lorraine, Ballet Flanders, Semperoper in Dresden, Germany, and the Grand Theater Opera in Lodz, Poland. Vimbayi Kaziboni (Conductor), born in Zimbabwe, has led many critically lauded performances with orchestras across the globe, including Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, UK, US, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, and Uzbekistan, and has performed at the most prestigious concert halls in the world, including Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Hall, and the Paris Philharmonie. This season he made his debut at the Elbphilharmonie, Acht Brücken, Mostly Mozart Festival, and South Bank Centre. Kaziboni has worked with many of today’s leading composers, including Helmut Lachenmann, George Benjamin, Matthias Pintscher, Rebecca Saunders, and Heiner Goebbels, among others. He has led premieres of new works at festivals including Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Utrecht), MaerzMusik
(Berlin), Sound State Festival, Los Angeles Composers Project, Turbulences Numériques, the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Hochschulwettbewerb, Voix Nouvelles (Royaumont), and Festival de Inverno de Campos do Jordão. Kaziboni has served as assistant conductor with Ensemble Modern and Ensemble InterContemporain and remains a frequent guest conductor. He has also been artistic director of the What’s Next? Ensemble, artistic director of the New Philharmonic Omaha, and conductor of the International Ensemble Modern Academy. A former Fulbright fellow, Kaziboni holds degrees from the University of Southern California and the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. He currently serves as assistant professor of orchestral studies and contemporary music at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
Dancers Lloyd Knight joined the Company in 2005 and performs lead roles in Appalachian Spring, Embattled Garden, Errand into the Maze, The Rite of Spring, and others. Born in England and raised in Miami, he trained at Miami Conservatory of Ballet and graduated from New World School of the Arts, under the direction of Daniel Lewis. There he worked with choreographers Donald McKayle, Robert Battle, and Michael Uthoff. He received scholarships to The Ailey School and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Dance Magazine named him one of the “Top 25 Dancers to Watch” in 2010. Knight partnered Wendy Whelan in Moon and Misty Copeland in At Summer’s Full. Ben Schultz joined the Company in 2009 and dances lead roles including King Hades in Clytemnestra and Jason in Cave of the Heart. He premiered Martha Graham’s work in Russia, performing Errand into the Maze with prima ballerina Diana Vishneva at the Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg. Earlier dance credits include the Tony Award®–winning Blast!, the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, and Hannah Kahn Contemporary Dance. Schultz has served as faculty and resident choreographer for the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities. He starred in the world premiere of AXE, a work created by Mats Ek for the Company. Xin Ying joined the Company in 2011 and performs many of Martha Graham’s own roles including in Herodiade, Errand into the Maze, Chronicle, Lamentation, Deep Song, and Cave of the Heart. Xin has also danced solo roles in Clytemnestra and Diversion of Angels. She has been featured in works created for the Company
by Nacho Duato, Pontus Lidberg, Annie-B Parson, Kyle Abraham, Liz Gerring, Maxine Doyle, and Bobbi Jene Smith. Xin also starred in the Chinese production Dreams and has been commissioned to create new choreography for Co•Lab Dance. Her Instagram account, on which she posts her own improvisations, has thousands of followers. Lloyd Mayor joined the Company in 2012 and performs lead roles in Appalachian Spring, Diversion of Angels, Embattled Garden, Andonis Foniadakis’s Echo, and Richard Move’s The Show (Achilles Heels), first danced by Mikhail Baryshnikov. In 2014, Mayor was honored with the Clive Barnes Dance Award and is now a board member of the Foundation. For the Company’s 90th anniversary in April 2016, Mayor danced an excerpt of Appalachian Spring with former Étoile and artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet, Aurélie Dupont. Natasha M. Diamond-Walker, from Los Angeles, joined the Company in 2011. Her favorite Graham roles to perform are The Chorus in Cave of the Heart, Lilith from Embattled Garden, and The Pioneering Woman in Appalachian Spring. While with the Company, Diamond-Walker has worked closely in originating roles with Annie-B Parson, Maxine Doyle, Bobbi Jene Smith, Pam Tanowitz, Lil Buck, and Nacho Duato. She can also be seen cameo-ing in myriad TV/film projects. Diamond-Walker holds a BFA degree from Fordham University. Lorenzo Pagano joined the Company in 2012 and dances lead roles in Graham’s Appalachian Spring, Embattled Garden, Night Journey, and Diversion of Angels and in contemporary works by Andonis Foniadakis, Lucinda Childs, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Nacho Duato, Pontus Lidberg, and Lar Lubovitch. A native of Torino, Italy, he moved to the US and trained as a scholarship student at The School at Jacob’s Pillow and the Martha Graham School. In 2016 Pagano received the Italian International Dance Award for “Male Rising Star.” Charlotte Landreau, a native of France, joined the Company in 2013. She dances lead roles in Graham’s Appalachian Spring (The Bride), Errand into the Maze, The Rite of Spring (The Chosen One), and Maple Leaf Rag. She trained as a rhythmic gymnast and studied ballet, circus, acting, and modern dance at the Maurice Béjart School (Switzerland). In 2012 she received a scholarship to study at the Martha
Graham School. Landreau danced with Graham 2 and was honored with the Pearl Lang Award. Anne O’Donnell joined the Company in 2014 and performs lead roles in Graham’s Appalachian Spring, Dark Meadow Suite, El Penitente, and Diversion of Angels and new works by Maxine Doyle and Bobbi Jene Smith, Pam Tanowitz, Annie-B Parson, Mats Ek, Lar Lubovitch, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. She danced with Ailey II and Buglisi Dance Theatre and attended Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Program, Glimmerglass Opera Festival, and Springboard Danse Montréal. She appeared on the cover of Dance Spirit’s February 2016 issue, “Young and Modern.” Leslie Andrea Williams was born in Newport News, VA, and grew up in Raleigh, NC. Williams joined the Company just two months after graduating from The Juilliard School in May 2015. Since then, she has performed numerous featured roles in iconic Graham ballets such as Chronicle, Appalachian Spring, Diversion of Angels, and Embattled Garden. She was recently featured in Dance Magazine as a dancer “On the Rise.” Anne Souder joined the Company in 2015 and performs lead roles in Graham’s Dark Meadow Suite, “Steps in the Street,” and Deep Song and works by Marie Chouinard and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Souder began her training in Maryville, TN, and continued to earn her degree in the Ailey/Fordham BFA program, graduating with a double major in Dance and Theology. There she performed works by Alvin Ailey, Ronald K. Brown, Dwight Rhoden, and more. Upon graduation, she joined Graham 2 and was awarded a Dizzy Feet Foundation scholarship. Laurel Dalley Smith, from England, joined the Company in 2015. She performs lead roles in Graham’s Errand into the Maze, Maple Leaf Rag, and Diversion of Angels and roles in contemporary works by Marie Chouinard, Pontus Lidberg, and Annie-B Parson. Dalley Smith graduated from Central School of Ballet with 1st class Honours. Before joining Graham she performed with the UK tour of West Side Story, Joss Arnott Dance, and Yorke Dance Project, creating roles in Robert Cohan’s 2014 Lingua Franca and Lacrymosa. So Young An joined the Company in 2016. An received a BFA from Dong-Ah University in Korea. She is the recipient of the 1995 International Arts Award and
the Grand Prize at the Korea National Ballet Grand Prix in 2001. She has danced with Korea National Ballet Company and Buglisi Dance Theatre and has also performed works by Yuri Grigorovich, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Mats Ek, Patricia Ruanne, and Samantha Dunster. Marzia Memoli, from Palermo, Italy, joined the Company in 2016 and performs lead roles in Graham’s El Penitente and “Steps in the Street” and works by Pontus Lidberg, Bobbi Jene Smith, Maxine Doyle, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. In 2018 Dance Spirit said she “may be the...Company’s newest dancer, but her classical lines and easy grace are already turning heads.” She graduated from the Academy of Teatro Carcano in Milan and the Béjart School, where she performed with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne. Jacob Larsen joined the Company in 2016 and performs featured roles in Diversion of Angels, Secular Games, and Appalachian Spring as well as in Woodland by Pontus Lidberg. Larsen received his BFA from Marymount Manhattan College performing works by Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and Aszure Barton, among others. He has worked with Sidra Bell Dance New York and, while at Springboard Danse Montréal 2015, performed works by Alexander Ekman and Banning Bouldin. Larsen was a member of Graham 2. Alessio Crognale is from Abruzzo, Italy, and joined the Company in 2017. He began is training in his home town and then pursued his major in Ballet at the Academy of Teatro Carcano in Milan. Crognale trained at the Graham School, where he graduated in 2016 and was a member of Graham 2. He danced with Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company in 2016 and 2017.
About the Companies Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company has been a world leader in the evolving art form of modern dance since its founding in 1926. Today, under the direction of artistic director Janet Eilber, the Company is embracing a new programming vision that showcases masterpieces by Graham alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary artists. With programs that offer a rich thematic narrative, the
Company creates new platforms for contemporary dance and multiple points of access for audiences. Since its inception, the Company has received international acclaim from audiences in over 50 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Company has performed at such illustrious venues as the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Paris Opera House, and Covent Garden as well as at the base of the Great Pyramids of Egypt and in the ancient Herod Atticus Theatre on the Acropolis in Athens. In addition, the Company has also produced several award-winning films broadcast on PBS and around the world. Though Martha Graham herself is the best-known alumna of her company, the Company has provided a training ground for some of modern dance’s most celebrated performers and choreographers. Former members of the Company include Merce Cunningham, Erick Hawkins, Paul Taylor, John Butler, and Glen Tetley. Among celebrities who have joined the Company in performance are Mikhail Baryshnikov, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Maya Plisetskaya, Tiler Peck, Misty Copeland, Herman Cornejo, and Aurélie Dupont. In recent years, the Company has challenged expectations and experimented with a wide range of offerings beyond its mainstage performances. It has created a series of intimate in-studio events, forged unusual creative partnerships with the likes of SITI Company, Performa, the New Museum, Barney’s, and Siracusa’s Greek Theater Festival (to name a few); created substantial digital offerings with Google Arts and Culture, YouTube, and Cennarium; and created a model for reaching new audiences through social media. The astonishing list of artists who have created works for the Graham dancers in the last decade reads like a catalog of must-see choreographers: Kyle Abraham, Aszure Barton, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Lucinda Childs, Marie Chouinard, Michelle Dorrance, Nacho Duato, Mats Ek, Andonis Foniadakis, Liz Gerring, Larry Keigwin, Michael Kliën, Pontus Lidberg, Lil Buck, Lar Lubovitch, Josie Moseley, Richard Move, Bulareyaung Pagarlava, Annie-B Parson, Yvonne Rainer, Sonya Tayeh, Doug Varone, Luca Veggetti, Gwen Welliver, and Robert Wilson. The current company dancers hail from around the world and, while grounded in their Graham core training, can also slip into the style of contemporary choreographers like a second skin, bringing technical brilliance and artistic nuance to all they do— from brand new works to Graham classics and those from early pioneers such as
Isadora Duncan, Jane Dudley, Anna Sokolow, and Mary Wigman. “Some of the most skilled and powerful dancers you can ever hope to see,” said the Washington Post last year. “One of the great companies of the world,” says the New York Times, while Los Angeles Times notes, “They seem able to do anything, and to make it look easy as well as poetic.” Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance Staff LaRue Allen, Executive Director Janet Eilber, Artistic Director Denise Vale, Senior Artistic Associate Faye Rosenbaum, General Manager Simona Ferrara, Company Manager Fran Kirmser, Director of Development A. Apostol, Development Officer Jordan Ryder, Assistant to the Executive Director Oliver Tobin, Director of MG Resources/Director of Teens@Graham Melissa Sherwood, Marketing Director Elizabeth Ajtay, Marketing Assistant Angelica Gorga, Administrative Assistant Haejin Han, Production Supervisor Yi-Chung Chen, Lighting Supervisor Karen Young, Costume Consultant Alina Bushong, Costume Supervisor Anne Posluszny, Theatrical Property Restorer Jennifer Patten, Head of School Tami Alesson, Dean of Student and Government Affairs Virginie Mécène, Program Director/Director of Graham 2 Lone Larsen, Program Director Sierra Powell, School Receptionist Yejin Lee, School Receptionist Harmony Jackson, School Receptionist Janet Stapleton, Press Agent
Regisseurs Amélie Bénard, Tadej Brdnik, Susan Kikuchi, Lone Larsen, Peggy Lyman, Virginie Mécène, Miki Orihara, Marni Thomas, Oliver Tobin, Ken Topping, Denise Vale, Blakeley White-McGuire Board of Trustees Kenneth Bloom, Chairman; Judith G. Schlosser, Chairman Emerita; Inger K. Witter, President; Lorraine Oler, Secretary; LaRue Allen, Executive Director; Janet Eilber, Artistic Director; Amy Blumenthal; Barbara Cohen; Merrie S. Frankel; Inga M. Golay; Sandra Harris; Emil Kang; Con Way Ling; Javier Morgado; Jayne Millard; Nichole Perkins; John Vail; Kathryn White; Hooman Yazhari North American Representation Rena Shagan Associates, Inc. www.shaganarts.com International Representation LaRue Allen, Executive Director lallen@marthagraham.org Alumni Search If you or someone you know has ever performed with the Martha Graham Dance Company or attended classes at the Martha Graham School, please send us names, addresses, telephone numbers, and approximate dates of membership. We will add you to our alumni mailing list and keep you apprised of alumni events and benefits. Call 212-229-9200 or e-mail info@marthagraham.org. The Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance is a not-for-profit corporation, supported by contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies. Contributions in support of the Martha Graham Center will be gratefully received at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, Inc., 55 Bethune Street New York, NY 10014, or visit www.marthagraham.org/contribute. For more information, visit www.marthagraham.org.
International Contemporary Ensemble The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is an artist collective that is transforming the way music is created and experienced. As performer, curator, and educator, the Ensemble explores how new music intersects with communities across the world. The Ensemble’s 36 members are featured as soloists, chamber musicians, commissioners, and collaborators with the foremost musical artists of our time. Works by emerging composers have anchored the Ensemble’s programming since its founding in 2001, and the group’s recordings and digital platforms highlight the many voices that weave music’s present. A recipient of the American Music Center’s Trailblazer Award and the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the International Contemporary Ensemble was also named the 2014 Musical America Ensemble of the Year. The group currently serves as artists-in-residence at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Mostly Mozart Festival and previously led a five-year residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The International Contemporary Ensemble was featured at the Ojai Music Festival from 2015 to 2017 and at recent festivals abroad such as gmem-CNCM-marseille and Vértice at Cultura UNAM, Mexico City. Other performance stages have included the Park Avenue Armory, The Stone, Big Ears Festival, and Greenland’s Diskotek Sessions. OpenICE, made possible with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, offers free concerts and interactive, educational programming wherever the Ensemble performs. As the ensemble in residence of the Nokia Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology, the International Contemporary Ensemble advances music technology and digital communications as an empowering tool for artists from all backgrounds. Curricular activities include a residency and coursework at the New School College of Performing Arts, along with a summer intensive program, called Ensemble Evolution, where topics of equity, diversity, and inclusion build new bridges and pathways for the future of creative sound practices. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for the Ensemble. Read more at www.iceorg.org and watch over 350 videos of live performances and documentaries at digitice.org. Performances and commissioning activities during the 2019–20 concert season are made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,
Howard Gilman Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc., Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, Amphion Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Pacific Harmony Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, mediaThe foundation inc., The Casement Fund, and BMI Foundation as well as public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. International Contemporary Ensemble Staff Rebecca Sigel, Executive Director Ross Karre, co-Artistic Director and Director of digitICE.org* Rebekah Heller, co-Artistic Director* Bridgid Bergin, Development Associate Karla Brom, General Manager Jacob Greenberg, Director of Recordings* Maciej Lewandowski, Director of Production Levy Lorenzo, Sound Engineer* Ryan Muncy, Director of Institutional Giving and co-Director, OpenICE* Joshua Rubin, Program Director of LUIGI* Lavender Suarez, Administrative Assistant and Board Liaison * Ensemble musician