During Rachel’s seven-year tenure, she helped propel The Wallis to great heights, significantly bolstering its operations and fiscal strength and fueling its national reputation as a vibrant cultural hub and performing arts campus for Southern California. Widely recognized as a prominent community builder, she led The Wallis team in forging significant artistic, community, and education partnerships, as well as building dynamic artistic collaborations and projects between The Wallis and Los Angeles’ great cultural organizations, as well as numerous educational and social service organizations. Among other significant endeavors, she helped launch and implement a $55 million campaign in 2021, which more than doubled the organization’s endowment in the campaign’s first year.
The entire Board and staff of The Wallis wish Rachel the very best in this thrilling adventure and we extend our whole-hearted gratitude for her many years of great leadership at The Wallis!
Michael Nemeroff
CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David C. Bohnett
CHAIRMAN, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Arnold S.
EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIR & ASSISTANT TREASURER
Honorable Vicki
VICE CHAIR, DEVELOPMENT
Ronald D.
VICE CHAIR, OPERATIONS & SECRETARY
Susan
VICE CHAIR, PLANNING & ASSISTANT SECRETARY
Jonathan A. TREASURER
Arnon Adar
FOUNDING CHAIRMAN
FOUNDING
CHAIRMAN
PRESIDENT
LIFETIME
Les
Donald
*IN
from Rachel pictured with actor Jason Alexander and his wife Daena Title at the Merrily We Roll Along Opening Night at The Wallis in 2016; Rachel pictured with Wallis artistic team members Coy Middlebrook and Camille Jenkins on stage at the 2022/2023 Season announcement event in the Bram Goldsmith Theater; Rachel pictured with Beverly Hills City Councilmembers Julian A. Gold and Lester Friedman at The Wallis’ Al Fresco Night Gala in 2021; Rachel pictured with Wallis Board member Carol Goldsmith; Rachel pictured sitting with Los Angeles Women Leaders in the Arts panelists Debbie Allen, Ann Philbin, Danielle Brazell, and Carolina Miranda for The Wallis’ Center Stage series; Rachel pictured with Wallis Board members Stephanie Vahn and Daphna Nazarian at A Tale of Two Sisters benefit honoring Wallis Board member Debbie Allen and her sister Phylicia Rashad.The Wallis’ Executive Director & CEO Rachel Fine is stepping down from her post in October 2022 to become Executive Director of the Yale Schwarzman Center at Yale University.
Bram Goldsmith Theater
Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission.
ANTHONY DOERR was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the author of the story collections The Shell Collector and Memory Wall, the memoir Four Seasons in Rome, and the novels About Grace, All the Light We Cannot See, which was awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and Cloud Cuckoo Land, which was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award and Novel of the Year in the British Book Awards.
Doerr’s short stories and essays have won five O. Henry Prizes and been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories, New American Stories, The Best American Essays, The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Fiction, and many other places. His work has been translated into over forty different languages and won the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize, the Rome Prize, the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEA Fellowship, an Alex Award from the American Library Association, the National Magazine Award for Fiction, four Pushcart Prizes, three Pacific Northwest Book Awards, five Ohioana Book Awards, the 2010 Story Prize, which is considered the most prestigious prize in the U.S. for a collection of short stories, and the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. All the Light We Cannot See was a #1 New York Times bestseller, remained on the New York Times Bestseller List for over 200 weeks, and is being adapted as a limited series by Netflix.
Doerr lives in Boise, Idaho with his wife and two sons. Though he is often asked, as far as he knows he is not related to the late writer Harriet Doerr.
DAVID ULIN (Moderator) is the former book critic for the Los Angeles Times, and writes frequently for the Los Angeles Times on arts, culture, and life in California. He is the author of many books, including Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles, The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time, and others. He is the editor of several anthologies, including the award-winning Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology.
For 26 years, Writers Bloc has been fostering the significance and importance of literature as an art form as well as enhancing the public knowledge and awareness of contemporary writers and thinkers who have made a significant impact on the cultural and literary landscape. The Wallis is proud to partner once again with Writers Bloc for a Fall series of conversations that will give you deeper insight into the literary process.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Iris Gordy
A BRISTOL ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION WORLD PREMIERE OF Rachel Fine Executive Director & CEO
Karla Gordy Bristol
MUSIC
Herman Jackson
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Kyle Scott
Thelma Houston - Brenda Holloway Scherrie, Lynda & Susaye Former Ladies of the Supremes - Dorian Holley - William Goldstein
Patrice Rushen MODERATOR
Brian Holland - Claudette Robinson - Iris Gordy - Janie Bradford - Miller London
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Robert Destefano
TALENT
MARKETING Nancy G. Cohen
Morgan Ashley
Pat Harvey
STAGE MANAGER John Freeland, Jr.
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Tony Duwon
MUSIC Rodney Gordy
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Lori Ward
ANNOUNCER
Shadoe Stevens
CONTROLLER
Joeleo Smith
Shelly Berger, Duke Fakir, Martha Reeves, Paul Riser, Smokey Robinson, Otis Williams
Bram Goldsmith Theater
Running Time: Two and a half hours, including a 20-minute intermission.
Immerse yourself in the Magic of early Motown with a unique opportunity to experience an evening with music trailblazers and icons, sharing rare insight into the phenomenal music, and the stories behind it, that positively impacted people and music around the globe. Where legends were born and dreams were made!
The World Premiere of Motown: Celebrating the Music, the Magic, the Love; created, produced and directed by Karla Gordy Bristol, of Bristol Entertainment, was developed to highlight the magical early days of Motown Records as only can be told by those truly in the Motown Family, while bringing together an evening of joy and unity.
Experience a presentation of nostalgic stories and relive the days of “Hitsville U.S.A.,” where it all began in the little house with the BIG sound, as envisioned by
Motown founder and living legend, Berry Gordy. The music and stories will captivate and educate. You’ll gain a new level of connection to the Motown Sound and those who lived the story.
Be prepared for your favorite hits of The Supremes, The Miracles, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Jackson Five and more!
The Motown classic songs performed have brought people together for over six decades; music that broke racial lines, welcomed all and brought unified joy. This incredible show truly celebrates the Music, the Magic and the Love of the Motown story.
For more information on Bristol Entertainment, please follow on Instagram: @Kgordybristol
A Uniquely Entertaining Show Highlighting the Early Era of Motown Records with Candid Conversations and Performances by Artists and Executives Who Were TherePhoto: Courtesy of Motown Museum
KARLA GORDY BRISTOL (Creator, Producer, Director) both in front of the camera and behind, is an accomplished event, film and television producer, and television host. From Detroit, and being raised in Beverly Hills, Karla’s love of family and humanity led her to create, produce and direct, Motown: Celebrating the Music, the Magic, the Love, a Bristol Entertainment production. Event producing for decades, Karla produced an allstar symposium at CNN, executive produced ten televised short films, co-produced twelve popular Friends of Fuller Strikefest extravaganza’s and was a Show and Talent Coordinator for Turner Broadcasting’s Trumpet Awards. She’s a talk show host at Beverly Hills Television, and a previous television host and producer at West Hollywood Television. She provided initiatives and booked performers for the City of Los Angeles, National 100 Black Men of America, Royal Caribbean Cruises and a host of organizations. Musically talented, Karla previously assisted creative projects at Motown Records, reviewing talent, contributing input on topselling album releases, and developing community outreach programs. Karla is also an Arts and Culture Commissioner for the City of Beverly Hills. Her public speaking engagements include Morehouse College and The Wharton School. Karla has dedicated years of service to community and foundation boards and appreciates her many honors.
JANIE BRADFORD (Panelist) is a prominent part of Motown’s legendary history. She started from day one as a receptionist/ secretary, but began her professional songwriting career as a teenager. Her first two songs, co-authored with Gordy, were included on Jackie Wilson’s album Lonely Teardrops
She then collaborated with Gordy on the mega-hit “Money (That’s What I Want),” which has been recorded over three hundred times by various legendary artists. She has written hits for Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, The Marvelettes, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Junior Walker, and others. Her involvement with Motown grew into the Director of Writer’s Relations and she worked with the company for more than 25 years. She has been honored and recognized by many for her music contributions. Bradford just completed co-writing an album of new songs with Motown label mate, Marilyn McLeod, manages her own publishing company, and publishes Entertainment Connection Magazine. She is the founder/producer of the annual Heroes and Legends (HAL) Awards.
PAT HARVEY (Master of Ceremonies) is co-anchor of CBS2’s 5, 6, and 11 P.M. broadcasts, with more than 30 years of broadcast experience in LA. She joined CBS2 after 20 years with sister station, KCAL9, as one of the original anchors of the nation’s first three-hour nightly newscasts. Pat was awarded the prestigious LA Area Governor’s Award from the Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences in 2015 for her body of work at CBS2/ KCAL9 and philanthropic work in the community. In February 2012, Harvey was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The Detroit native and veteran newswoman has covered some of the biggest local news stories, political conventions, and presidential inaugurations, while additionally traveling internationally, most notably covering the first all-race elections in South Africa. Pat has dedicated her career to community service, advocating for children, women’s health, education, and those in the specialneeds community.
BRIAN HOLLAND (Panelist) helped pioneer the classic Motown sound of the 1960s as part of the Holland/Dozier/Holland (HDH) production and songwriting team. After Holland joined Motown, he immediately co-wrote and produced the Marvelettes’ classic “Please Mr. Postman.” The HDH trio and their “symphonic soul” writing were responsible for much of the Motown sound, which helped the company grow to become an unparalleled hit machine. Artists, such as Marvin Gaye, Martha and the Vandellas, The Isley Brothers, The Supremes, and The Four Tops, recorded some of their many hits. Holland has written or co-written 145 hits in the United States and 78 in the UK. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1988. The iconic team of Holland/Dozier/Holland was inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Brian along with Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland were Honored on The Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 13, 2015 with a Star. Holland also composed songs for the First Wives Club musical and he remains today an active and legendary producer and songwriter.
DORIAN HOLLEY (Performer) has graced audiences worldwide with his one-of-a-kind voice. For 27 years Holley performed with the late Michael Jackson on each of his solo tours including working as Vocal Director for Jackson’s This Is It tour and film. Holley has toured with icons Coldplay, Rod Stewart, Queen Latifah, Don Henley, Lionel Richie, and Linda Ronstadt. Holley spent 11 years as vocal coach on American Idol and three years as lead singer for The Rickey Minor Band on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He’s been featured in numerous films including Coming to America 2, The Jungle Book, Creed II and he was the voice of Choir Boy in The Five Heartbeats. He is the producer and star of A Love Letter To Marvin Gaye, a 90-minute concert tribute to the Prince of Motown featuring a 15-piece band. He is currently touring with the legendary James Taylor.
BRENDA HOLLOWAY (Performer) was born in Atascadero, California with two siblings Patrice and Wade. Brenda, a classically trained violinist, was performing at a church Martin Luther King was visiting, and when she finished performing, he came up to her and said, “Young lady you have a gift. You should keep playing.” At seventeen, Brenda was at the Coconut Grove singing for a Disc Jockey convention, and at the end of a very long day she told a man that she did not know that she was tired. He left and went into another room, and when he returned, he introduced himself as Berry Gordy. He said “I like what I see and what I hear, and I’d like to sign you to Motown.” Brenda is best known for “Every Little Bit Hurts”, written by Ed Cobb. Brenda and Patrice Holloway, along with Frank Wilson, and Berry Gordy wrote “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” which sold over four million copies. Brenda says that she has the best of both worlds, with her four daughters and her Motown Family.
THELMA HOUSTON (Performer) is a GRAMMY®-Award Motown Legend and has recorded over 23 albums. She began in the 1960s performing gospel with the Art Reynolds Singers, and in 1967, Houston signed to Capitol Records and had her first HIT with “Baby Mine.” Houston’s first solo album, Sunshower, was written and produced by legendary Jimmy Webb.
Thelma later signed with Motown Records where she reached the top of the pop, R&B, and dance charts with her rendition of “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” Houston was the first female artist at Motown to win the Grammy for “Best R&B Female Vocal Performance.”
Thelma recently brought down the house with her standout performance on CBS TV’s “Motown 60: A GRAMMY® Celebration.” Thelma currently tours around the world with her band in her show called “THELMA HOUSTON: My Motown Memories & More!” For more information on Thelma Houston, please visit: www.ThelmaHouston.com Instagram: @ThelmaHoustonOfficial & Facebook: @ThelmaHoustonOfficial
HERMAN JACKSON (Music Director) is a GRAMMY®-Nominated Music Director, Producer, Composer, and Arranger from the birthplace of Motown Records, Detroit, Michigan. Herman played on the GRAMMY® Record of the Year “Speaker Box/The Love Below” with the hip-hop group OutKast. His CD “The Cool Side” is available on Apple Music, Spotify, and wherever you stream your music. His Television credits include American Idol, The Grammy Awards, The Kennedy Center Honors, two ABC Jessica Simpson Specials, The TV Land Awards, Don’t Forget the Lyrics, Showtime at the Apollo, and many more. He has toured, recorded, arranged, composed, and/or produced for Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight
& The Pips, James Ingram, Patti Austin, Earth Wind & Fire, Philip Bailey, Joe Cocker, Jennifer Holiday, EnVogue, Calloway, Norman Brown, Gerald Albright, George Benson, Peabo Bryson, Stephanie Mills, Heather Headley, and Chante’ Moore. He has conducted the San Francisco Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Houston Symphony, El Paso Symphony, and The Ft. Wayne Philharmonic.
WILLIAM GOLDSTEIN (Performer) has scored over 50 Movie & TV projects, including Fame and The Miracle Worker. He was discovered by Berry Gordy, and signed as an artist/producer in 1975, after Berry heard “Reves de Jeune Fille (Dreams of Young Girl).” He appeared on Motown as a solo artist and as William Goldstein and the Magic Disco Machine. He also wrote and produced for Smokey Robinson, Thelma Houston, and Syreeta Wright, and arranged for Jermaine Jackson and Jerry Butler. While at Motown he also scored The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings, for Universal, and Norman Is That You? for MGM. Today he has his own label distributed by The Orchard with 70 albums available, averaging 3,000,000 streams monthly. His May 2020 release, Remembering Mariupol, has generated over 700,000 streams. He has received international recognition as he continues the tradition of the great 18th and 19th century composer pianists, creating music in real time.
IRIS GORDY (Associate Producer, Panelist) a music industry veteran, began her career working as a clerk and music evaluator in Motown’s Quality Control Department., at Hitsville U.S.A. She was proud, as a young teen, to have been recognized by her uncle, Berry Gordy, as having a ‘great ear’ for music. Ms. Gordy rose from clerk, to West Coast music evaluator, to Department Head, to pioneering Record Producer – when it was quite rare to see a woman doing so – to VP Creative. She is credited with launching the successful Motown careers of Rick James, Teena Marie and DeBarge, as well as, producing album projects, on DeBarge, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and others. A respected influencer, her essay, “Two Dreams Rising: Motown and the Movement,” is included in a civil rights anthology she co-authored. Ms. Gordy is a trustee of Motown Museum, The Rhythm and Blues Foundation and founded Friends of Fuller Gordy “Strikefest,” along with daughter, Karla.
MILLER LONDON (Panelist) was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, where he also attended high school and college. Before completion of college, he was hired by Motown Records in 1969 as the first black salesman for the company or any major record company at that time. He moved to Los Angeles with the company’s exit from Detroit and stayed with
them for 21 years, elevating himself to VP and General Manager. He then went to New York to work for RCA Records as VP of Marketing and VP of Sales before he was called back to Los Angeles by A&M Records where he served as Exec VP & GM of the Black Music Division. After two years with A&M, he was hired by Network Magazine Group as President of Urban Network Magazine. After 9 years, London purchased Urban Network from the then owners, Clear Channel Communications. Because of his history-making entrance to Motown, Miller London’s character can be seen in the stage musical, Motown: The Musical, which opened on Broadway in 2013. London is now semi-retired.
CLAUDETTE ROBINSON (Panelist) was an original member of Motown Records first act and first million selling act, The Miracles. Claudette is the iconic label’s first female artist in a group, titled “The First Lady of Motown.” During her career, over 60 million records sold, “Tracks of My Tears,” “Ooh Baby Baby,” “Shop Around,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” are preserved for historical preservation by the United States Library of Congress, and inducted into GRAMMY® Hall of Fame. Her awards and honors include L.A. GRAMMY® Museum’s yearlong Miracles exhibit, induction into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, and induction into the Star Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, where Berry Gordy stated, “Without The Miracles, Motown would not be the Motown it is today.” In 2019, Claudette’s first book debuted: CLAUDETTE’S MIRACULOUS MOTOWN ADVENTURE. Claudette is recognized in a Los Angeles City Council Resolution for her recording industry and philanthropic work. Claudette served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves becoming a member of the Rifle Team (Sharpshooter).
PATRICE RUSHEN (Panel Moderator) is an award-winning musician, composer and one of the world’s top jazz pianists. This classically trained artist found success in the 70’s and 80’s with her signature fusion of jazz, pop and R&B. Her hit song, “Forget Me Nots,” has been frequently covered and sampled by other artists. Rushen is a four-time, GRAMMY® nominee who has composed scores for movies and television. Some of her compositions of symphonic music were commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She has been the first female musical director for many award shows (the GRAMMY®s, Emmys, People’s Choice Awards, and NAACP Image Awards), and has performed with legendary artists, such as Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Prince, Nancy Wilson, Ndugu Chancler, and Carlos Santana. Rushen is” Ambassador of Artistry In Education” at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, and Chair of the Popular Music Program at USC’s Thornton School of Music. She works with the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, NARAS “GRAMMY® In The Schools” program and other organizations dedicated to music education and mentorship programs for underprivileged youth.
SHADOE STEVENS (Announcer) is one of the most recognized voices in the world. He has been an award-winning, worldwide personality, and innovator for radio, television, film, new media, and visual arts. He is well known for his time hosting American Top 40, which aired in 110 countries and was heard by more than a billion people a week. Further identifiable work of his includes starring on two versions of Hollywood Squares, creating and launching the World Famous KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, starring on CBS’s Dave’s World, creating the advertising campaign “Fred Rated for Federated,” voicing “The Late Late Show” with Craig Ferguson, his multiple children’s books, RhythmRadio, Cabo Wabo Radio, Top of the World, Rock the World, Party Planet, MentalRadio, Blackout Television, The Weekly Show, the Craig Ferguson show on SIRIUSXM, countless commercials and voiceovers, artwork, motivational speaking, and for being the voice of the Antenna TV Network and the creator/producer of MentalRadio. net. Among other honors, Shadoe won the Billboard Magazine Radio Personality of the Year.
FORMER LADIES OF THE SUPREMES (Performers) The Supremes are the world’s all-time favorite female group, having earned the accolades of the world with their reign on the music charts during the ‘60s and ‘70s. During that time, The Supremes had eight individual members, and each of the eight ladies contributed to the group’s recording and performing successes. The Former Ladies of The Supremes united in 1986 and have acquired an impressive biography with recordings and sold-out performances all over the world. Over the last 36 years, Motown Supremes’ Scherrie Payne, Lynda Laurence, Jean Terrell, and Susaye Greene have all appeared as members of this new trio. Tonight is historic, as it is the first time this trio of former Supremes will grace the stage together, honoring their legendary group and record label. The ladies are proud of their Supremes history and have continued to present this beautiful music to audiences worldwide.
Photo: Hitsville U.S.A., courtesy of Motown Museum
MOTOWN: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC, THE MAGIC, THE LOVE, BRISTOL ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION, IS SUPPORTED BY SONY MUSIC AND THE BERRY GORDY FOUNDATION FOR TRUTH AND
Rachel Fine Executive Director & CEO
Fatima Andere, Amir Baldwin, Leonardo Brito, Chris Bloom, Antonio Cangiano, Amanda del Valle, Ana Estrada, Alex Haquia, Paulo Hernandez, Cori Lewis, Dylan Mclntyre, Hugo Pizano-Orozco, Omar Rivera, Isabel Robles, Gabrielle Sprauve, Dandara Veiga, Isabella Vergara, Mariano Zamora
7 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 212-994-3500 | 212-994-3550 mbledsoe@imgartists.com www.imgartists.com
MetLife Foundation is an Official Tour Sponsor of Ballet Hispánico. The 2022-2023 Ballet Hispánico National Tour is also made possible by JPMorgan Chase, an Official Tour Sponsor.
Bram Goldsmith Theater
Running Time: One hour and 40 minutes, including two 15-minute intermissions.
Dance @ The Wallis is made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
CHOREOGRAPHY BY Michelle Manzanales
ARTISTIC COLLABORATION WITH Ray Doñes SOUNDSCAPE INCLUDES Carla Morrison, Cheech & Chong, Julio Iglesias, Edward James Olmos, Gustavo Santaolalla, Michelle Manzanales, Juan Carlos Marin Marin, Ember Island, Mexican Institute of Sound POEM BY Maria Billini-Padilla COSTUME DESIGN BY Diana Ruettiger
LIGHTING DESIGN BY Joshua Preston Michelle Manzanales explores with humility, nostalgia and humor the iconic Mexican symbols that she was reluctant to embrace as a Mexican-American child growing up in Texas. Intertwining folkloric details with a distinctly contemporary voice in dance, set to music that ranges from Julio Iglesias to rock en Español, Con Brazos Abiertos is a fun and frank look at a life caught between two cultures.
15-minute Intermission
CHOREOGRAPHY BY Annabelle Lopez Ochoa MUSIC BY Pérez Prado, Dizzy Gillespie, and The Funky Lowlives COMPOSITIONS BY James Bigbee Garver COSTUME DESIGN BY Mark Zappone
LIGHTING DESIGN BY Joshua Paul Weckesser
In Tiburones, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa addresses the discrimination and stereotypes placed upon Latinx culture and the power the media has in portraying these themes by diminishing the voices of Latinx artists. Ochoa will deconstruct gender roles and identity to revitalize an authentic perspective of Puerto Rican icons appropriated within the entertainment industry.
15-minute Intermission
CHOREOGRAPHY BY Gustavo Ramírez Sansano MUSIC BY Pérez Prado
COSTUME DESIGN BY Ghabriello Fernando LIGHTING DESIGN BY Caitlin Brown and Savannah Bell
18+1 celebrates Gustavo's 19 years as a choreographer and the vulnerability, care, and hope that comes with each artistic endeavor. In a display of subtle humor and electric choreography, the movement merges with the playful rhythms found in Pérez Prado's mambo music. Sansano draws from his history and memory to take a joyous look at the past, present, and coming future.
EDUARDO VILARO (Artistic Director & CEO) was named Ballet Hispánico’s Artistic Director in 2009, becoming only the second person to head the company since its founding in 1970, and in 2015 was also named Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Vilaro has infused Ballet Hispánico’s legacy with a bold brand of contemporary dance that reflects America’s changing cultural landscape. Mr. Vilaro’s philosophy of dance stems from a basic belief in the power of the arts to change lives, reflect and impact culture, and strengthen community. He considers dance to be a liberating, non-verbal language through which students, dancers, and audiences of all walks of life and diverse backgrounds, can initiate ongoing conversations about the arts, expression, identity, and the meaning of community. Born in Cuba and raised in New York from the age of six, Mr. Vilaro’s own choreography is devoted to capturing the Latin American experience in its totality and diversity, and through its intersectionality with other diasporas. His works are catalysts for new dialogues about what it means to be an American. He has created more than 40 ballets with commissions that include the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Grant Park Festival, the Lexington Ballet and the Chicago Symphony. A Ballet Hispánico dancer and educator from 1988 to 1996, he left New York, earned a master’s in interdisciplinary arts at Columbia College Chicago and then embarked on his own act of advocacy with a ten-year record of achievement as Founder and Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades, Mr. Vilaro received the Ruth Page Award for choreography in 2001; was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame in 2016; and was awarded HOMBRE Magazine’s 2017 Arts & Culture Trailblazer of the Year. In 2019, he received the West Side Spirit’s WESTY Award, was honored by WNET for his contributions to the arts, and was the recipient of the James W. Dodge Foreign Language Advocate Award. In August 2020, City & State Magazine included Mr. Vilaro in the inaugural Power of Diversity: Latin 100 list. In January 2021, Mr. Vilaro was recognized with a Compassionate Leaders Award, given to leaders who are courageous, contemplative, collaborative, and care about the world they will leave behind. In May 2022, he was honored to serve as a Grand Marshall of 2022 Dance Parade. Mr. Vilaro is a well-respected speaker on such topics as diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts, as well as on the merits of the intersectionality of cultures and the importance of nurturing and building Latinx leaders. You can contact Eduardo at evilaro@ballethispanico.org.
JOHAN RIVERA (Associate Artistic Director) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and began his dance training at the School for the Performing Arts, PR under the direction of Waldo Gonzalez. Johan graduated Magna Cum Laude with his BFA from the New World School of the Arts/University of Florida in 2013. While there, he had the opportunity to perform the works
of Robert Battle, Kyle Abraham, Peter London, Daniel Lewis, Merce Cunningham and Doris Humphrey as well as simultaneously working with local dance companies in Miami, Florida. During his tenure with the Ballet Hispánico Company, Johan had the pleasure of performing the ballets of choreographers such as Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Pedro Ruiz, and Eduardo Vilaro. In addition, he was a vital member of Ballet Hispánico’s Community Arts Partnerships team as a teaching artist while on tour and at home in NYC. Aspiring to further his knowledge and skills, Johan ventured into the world of higher education. In 2016, he received a Master of Arts in Executive Leadership with high honors, an achievement he dearly treasures as the first member of his family to have this opportunity. Upon graduation, Johan had the honor of mentoring and directing second company BHdos in the fall of 2016 before taking over as Rehearsal Director for Ballet Hispánico’s main Company. After four seasons as the Rehearsal Director, Johan transitioned to Ballet Hispánico’s marketing department as the Digital Marketing Manager, playing a key role in the development and creation of the organization’s virtual programming. Now, as the Associate Artistic Director, Johan supports the artistic curation for the company and the implementation of Ballet Hispánico’s core artistic programs created to expand the organization’s legacy of artistic access. You can contact Johan at jrivera@ballethispanico.org.
MICHELLE MANZANALES (Choreographer) is a choreographer, dedicated dance educator of 30 years, and co-founder of the Latinx Dance Educators Alliance. The Director of Ballet Hispánico’s School of Dance since December of 2016, Michelle previously led the organization’s professional company as Rehearsal Director & Artistic Associate for seven seasons. Ms. Manzanales is committed to creating an environment where all students are inspired to explore movement, feel supported in their individual dance journeys, and draw meaningful connections between dance and their lives. She produced new choreography commissions in 2022, including new works for the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Oregon Ballet Theater, and Montclair State University. Her choreography for Ballet Hispánico, Con Brazos Abiertos, described as a “savvy but deeply sincere meditation on her Mexican American background” (-Marina Harss, New York Times) and “an exceptional, heart-tugging beauty” (LA Times), premiered in 2017, and has since toured worldwide to critical acclaim including its feature at New York City Center’s 2018 Fall for Dance Festival. CautivadX, a dance film she choreographed, edited, and directed for Noche Unidos, A Ballet Hispánico Night of Dance and Unity was presented in June 2020. If by Chance... which she created for the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts 75th Anniversary Gala in December 2019, “unspooled dreamily atop and between the tables” (-Courtney Escoyne, Dance Magazine). Other acclaimed works by Manzanales include her 2010 homage to Frida Kahlo, Paloma Querida, which was hailed a “visual masterpiece” by Lucia
Mauro of the Chicago Tribune and was described by the Chicago Sun-Times as a “gorgeously designed, richly hallucinatory, multifaceted vision of the artist.” Her 2007 choreography for Luna Negra Dance Theater, entitled Sugar in the Raw (Azucar Cruda), was applauded by the Chicago Sun-Times as “a staggering, beautiful, accomplished new work.” Five of her works have been recognized by the American College Dance Festival, of which two were presented at the Kennedy Center (Washington, DC), for their National Gala; Pour Me Out in 2006 and The Letting Go in 2008. Manzanales’ choreography has also been presented by Texas Contemporary Weekend (Houston, TX), Spring to Dance (St. Louis, MO), Festival de Danza Córdoba (Veracruz, Mexico), Capital Fringe Festival (Washington D.C), and Fort Worth Dance Festival (Fort Worth, TX).
ANNABELLE LOPEZ OCHOA (Choreographer) has been choreographing since 2003 following a twelve-year dance career in various contemporary dance companies throughout Europe. She has created works for sixty dance companies worldwide including Ballet Hispánico, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Compañía Nacional de Danza, Dutch National Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Göteborg Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, BJM-Danse Montréal, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, English National Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, to name a few. In 2012, her first full length work, A Streetcar Named Desire, originally created for the Scottish Ballet, received the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for “Best Classical Choreography” and was nominated for the prestigious Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production the following year. Annabelle is the recipient of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award 2019.
GUSTAVO RAMÍREZ SANSANO (Choreographer) was Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater (2009-2013), and now he combines his work as a freelance choreographer with the direction of Titoyaya Dansa, the company he founded in Spain with Veronica Garcia Moscardo in 2006.
Sansano has received numerous awards for his choreography, including first prize at the Ricard Moragas Competition in Barcelona (1997), Prix Dom Perignon Choreographic Competition in Hamburg (2001), and Premio de Las Artes Escénicas de la Comunidad Valenciana (2005). Sansano has been commissioned to create works for many companies such as Nederlands Dans Theater, Compañía Nacional de Danza, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Luzerner tanz Theater, Ballet BC, The Hamburg Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Hispánico, and Luna Negra Dance Theater, among others.
ABOUT BALLET HISPÁNICO For fifty years, Ballet Hispánico has been the leading voice intersecting artistic excellence and advocacy, and is now the largest Latinx cultural organization in the United States and one of America’s Cultural Treasures. Ballet Hispánico brings communities together to celebrate and explore Latino cultures through innovative dance productions, transformative dance training, and enduring community engagement experiences. National Medal of Arts recipient Tina Ramirez founded Ballet Hispánico in 1970, at the height of the post-war civil rights movements. From its inception Ballet Hispánico focused on providing a haven for Black and Brown Latinx youth and families seeking artistic place and cultural sanctuary. By providing the space for Latinx dance and dancers to flourish, Ballet Hispánico uplifted marginalized emerging and working artists, which combined with the training, authenticity of voice, and power of representation, fueled the organization’s roots and trajectory. In 2009, Ballet Hispánico welcomed Eduardo Vilaro as its Artistic Director, ushering in a new era by inserting fresh energy to the company’s founding values and leading Ballet Hispánico into an artistically vibrant future. Today, Ballet Hispánico’s New York City headquarters house a School of Dance and state-of-the-art dance studios for its programs and the arts community. From its grassroots origins as a dance school and community-based performing arts troupe, for fifty years Ballet Hispánico has stood as a catalyst for social change. Ballet Hispánico provides the physical home and cultural heart for Latinx dance in the United States. Ballet Hispánico has developed a robust public presence across its three main programs: its Company, School of Dance, and Community Arts Partnerships. Through its exemplary artistry, distinguished training program, and deep-rooted community engagement efforts Ballet Hispánico champions and amplifies underrepresented voices in the field. For fifty years Ballet Hispánico has provided a place of honor for the omitted, overlooked, and oppressed. As it looks to the next fifty years and beyond, Ballet Hispánico seeks to empower, and give agency to, the Latinx experience and those individuals within it.
FATIMA ANDERE was born in Mexico and raised in Miami, Florida. She trained intensively in Classical Ballet at Artistic Dance Center under the direction of Elizabeth Nuevo and Lissette Lucas. She graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with a concentration in Dance Science and injury prevention. While there, she performed works by George Balanchine, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Ilana Goldman, Anjali Austin, Millicent Johnnie and Francisco Graciano. Fatima had the honor of attending Alonzo King Lines, San Francisco Conservatory of the Arts, and BODYTRAFFIC Summer Intensives where she worked with world-renowned choreographers. This is Fatima’s first season with Ballet Hispánico.
AMIR BALDWIN is from Trenton, New Jersey. He received his BFA in Dance with a minor in American Sign Language from Montclair State University in Spring of 2022. His dance training consists of Ballet, Modern, Horton, Jazz, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Capoeira and more. Amir has also worked closely with choreographers such as Matthew Rushing, Clifton Brown, Frederick Earl Mosley, Helen Pickett, and Jessie Obremski. He has trained through facilities such as Ballet Hispánico (20182019), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and E.M.I.A. Throughout his training, Amir has had the opportunity to work professionally with Bloc Talent Agency, working with different companies such as Conscious Step, BET Awards, Ulta Beauty, and Google. Amir lives by a Nelson Mandela quote,“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
CHRISTOPHER BLOOM is from Fredrick County, VA where he began dancing at the Blue Ridge Studio for the Performing Arts and the Vostrikov Academy of Ballet. Chris graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Ailey/ Fordham BFA Program in 2012. He has performed with numerous companies such as Parsons Dance, Lydia Johnson and the Peridance Contemporary Dance Company. Chris joined Ballet Hispánico in 2013 and has originated roles in new works by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Edgar Zendejas, Miguel Mancillas, Fernando Melo, Michelle Manzanales, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, and Eduardo Vilaro. This is Chris’ tenth season with Ballet Hispánico.
LEONARDO BRITO is from Saquarema, Brazil and trained with Projeto Primeiro Passo, before training at Escola Estadual de Danca Maria Olenewa, Center of Art Nós da Dança, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Miami City Ballet School, and The Ailey School. Leonardo has performed with companies such as Mariinsky Ballet, Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, Emotions Physical Theater, Dance Theater of Florida, Alvin Ailey, and Ailey II. In 2016, Leonardo was awarded the III Brazilian Modern Dance Congress and he has performed works by Robert Battle, Jennifer Archibald, Troy Powell, Jae Man Joo, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Amy Hall Garner, Melanie Futorian, Ray Mercer and Bradley Shelver. He has also made appearances in Tommy Hilfiger Pride Campaign 2019, OUT Magazine May 2019 Issue and “POSE” FX Television series season 2. This is Leonardo’s fourth season with the Company.
ANTONIO CANGIANO was born in Naples, Italy. He began his dance training at age sixteen and was awarded scholarships from Ateneo Danza (Forli), Accademia Normanna (Naples), and the Martha Graham Dance School in New York City. Cangiano has danced for the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Dardo Galletto Dance, Acsi Ballet, and Graham 2. In 2014, he made his first appearance at the Italian International Dance Festival dancing in a homage to Luigi, the “master of jazz,” by Dianna Folio, and received the Festival’s Rising Star Award in 2017. In 2016, he was selected to dance at the Martha Graham Dance Company’s 90th Anniversary Season at New York City Center. This is Antonio’s fourth season with Ballet Hispánico.
AMANDA LAUREN DEL VALLE was born and raised in Miami, Fl where she began her early training with Miami Youth Ballet under the direction of Marielena Mencia and Yanis Pikieris. She continued her training at the New World School of the Arts with Mary Lisa Burns as the Dean of Dance. She graduated in 2016 with training in classical ballet, Horton, Limón, and the Graham technique. Amanda then continued her studies at Point Park University where she received her Bachelors in Fine Arts under the direction of Garfield Lemonius. There she had the honor of working with Jennifer Archibald, Jessica Lang, Robert Priore, Christopher Huggins, and Yin Yue. This is Amanda’s second season with Ballet Hispánico.
ANA ESTRADA was raised in Hermosillo, Son, México where she started training with Gabriela Estrada. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a BFA in Dance and a BS in Marketing. She has trained in companies including, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Ballet Arizona, and Kegwin and Company. Ana has been a part of various dance companies and projects in Mexico and USA including BH Dos, NYC Opera, Arch Contemporary Ballet, Numbus Dance Works, Broadway Christmas Wonderland National Tour, Hope Boykin (Alvin Ailey), Moving Borders Dance Company, Laleget Danza, La Infinita Cía (dancer and rehearsal director), Oscar Ruvalcaba Cía, H Dance Group, Tania Perez Salas Cía, Oscar Carapia’s Aquí Estamos TV Show, and Sugar - The Musical (swing). She has toured nationally and internationally with renowned singers Pepe Aguilar’s Jaripeo Sin Fronteras USA and MX Tour, and Angela Aguilar (USA and México). Ana has also been a part of Film and Television projects such as Amazon Prime’s “Ana”, the series, and Alejandro Gonzales Iñárritu’s new film: Bardo. This is her first season with Ballet Hispánico.
ALEXANDER HAQUIA grew up in Morris County, New Jersey and began his dance training at Nicole’s Broadway Dance Company at the age of 15. He is currently a student in the Ailey/Fordham BFA program and has previously studied at the Taylor School, ABT, and the The School at Jacob’s Pillow as a summer intensive student. Alexander has worked with choreographers including Francesca Harper, Twyla Tharp, Helen Simoneau, Ronnie Favors, Pedro Ruiz, Ray Mercer, and Yusha Marie Sorzano. He has performed at the Holland Dance Festival as well as in Memoria with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. This is Alexander’s second season with Ballet Hispánico.
PAULO HERNANDEZ-FARELLA is a first-generation Salvadoran-American from Los Angeles, California. After four years at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, they attended the University of Southern California on a full-ride. In just four years, Paulo graduated with both a BFA in Dance from the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and a Master’s in Public Administration from the USC Price School of Public Policy. Paulo has been a scholarship student for a multitude of renowned schools such as the Juilliard School Summer Intensive, the Joffrey Ballet’s International Intensive, and Alonzo King LINES Intensive. Paulo is also one of seven 2016-2017 dance scholars with Nigel Lythgoe’s Dizzyfeet Foundation. During their career Paulo has studied and performed the works of Forsythe, Kylián, Duato, Balanchine, Graham, Taylor, Petipa, Lopez- Ochoa, Rhoden, Cerrudo, Andrea Miller, Aszure Barton, and choreographed their own original work. This is Paulo’s third season with Ballet Hispánico.
CORI LEWIS was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her dance training began at Lusher Charter School and The New Orleans Ballet Association. She received her BFA in Dance with a Minor in Mathematics/Computer Science from SUNY Purchase College in May 2020. Lewis has performed works by choreographers such as José Limón, George Balanchine, Eduardo Vilaro, Ronald K. Brown, Dwight Rhoden, Martha Graham and David Parsons. She performed for children across the greater New York area with BHdos for the 2018 season. This is Cori’s second season with Ballet Hispánico.
DYLAN MCINTYRE was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. He started dancing at Palm Beach Ballet Center when he was 8 years old. When he was 16 he moved to Tampa to be a trainee with Next Generation Ballet. After 2 years he joined Richmond Ballet to complete his training and then started his professional career with Richmond Ballet’s second company. In
2019 he became a company dancer with Ballet Memphis where he danced for three seasons, and he participated in a season with Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance in the summer of 2022. This is Dylan’s first season dancing with Ballet Hispánico and he is beyond eager to be part of this company.
HUGO PIZANO OROZCO was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and moved to New Mexico at an early age where he began his training with NDI-NM. He attended the New Mexico School for the Arts under the direction of Garrett Anderson. Hugo is currently a fourth-year dancer at the Juilliard School, where he will graduate with a BFA in Dance in 2022. During his time at Juilliard, he has had the pleasure of learning repertoire by Forsythe, Balanchine, Ratmansky, Taylor, Cunningham, Kylian, and Donald McKayle. Additionally, he has been a part of new creations by Marcus Jarrell Willis, Jamar Roberts, Bobbi Jene Smith, and Ohad Naharin. This is Hugo’s second season with Ballet Hispánico.
OMAR RIVÉRA is originally from Los Angeles, CA. After moving to Dallas, Texas, Rivéra trained at Prodigy Dance & Performing Arts Centre under the direction of Camille Billelo. He graduated from the prestigious Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts, and was a part of HSPVA’s dance ensembles Repertoire Dance Company I & II, where he performed a variety of works by choreographers such as Robert Battle and Desmond Richardson. Rivéra was a scholarship student at the University of Arizona- School of Dance and graduated with a BFA in Dance in 2018. Rivéra was one of eight men selected to perform at The Joyce Theater for the José Limón International Dance Festival, and danced works by guest artists including Christopher Wheeldon’s The American, Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Boiling Point, and Bella Lewitzky’s Meta4, among others. This is Omar’s fith season with Ballet Hispánico.
ISABEL ROBLES was born in Arlington, Virginia, and was raised in Reston, Virginia. From a young age Isabel gravitated towards dance and began training in ballet at age 4. While at the Classical Ballet Theatre she gained experience in the styles of ballet, jazz, Horton, Graham, character dance, modern, and contemporary. After attending a summer intensive at The Houston Ballet, Isabel was offered a scholarship to join their yearround pre-professional program in 2013. Isabel spent 3 years with the program performing reworks of Stanton Welsh, George Balanchine, David Lichine, and John Neumeier ballets. Isabel then returned home to Northern Virginia to finish high school while also attending the Washington Ballet pre-professional program. During her time at the Washington Ballet Isabel worked with Julie Kent and Xiomara Reyes and performed with their company in The
Nutcracker. Isabel furthered her modern and contemporary background at Joy of Motion Dance Center in Washington, D.C., for a year before attending James Madison University. Isabel will graduate in May 2022 with her B.A. in Dance. During her time at JMU she has worked with Kyle Abraham, Christian Warner, Omar Román De Jesús, Julie Nakagawa, and Ballet Hispánico. For the past three summers Isabel has attended DanceWorks Chicago’s summer program under the direction of Julie Nakagawa and Sara Bibik. This is her second season with Ballet Hispánico.
GABRIELLE SPRAUVE was born in Queens, NY and raised in Savannah, GA where she attended Savannah Arts Academy for the Performing Arts, studying at the Ailey School and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance during the summers. She earned her BFA at Marymount Manhattan College in 2017. While at Marymount, Gabrielle performed works by Larry Keigwin, Alexandra Damiani, Norbert De La Cruz, Paul Taylor, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Adam Barruch, and Jo Strømgren. This is Gabrielle’s sixth season with Ballet Hispánico.
DANDARA VEIGA is originally from Brazil where she began her dance training at Projeto Social Primeiros Passos, before training as a scholarship student at Escola de danca Ballerina. She also studied at Studio Margarita Fernandez in Argentina, Opus Ballet in Italy, and Annarella Academia de Ballet e Danca in Portugal. Dandara continued her training as a scholarship student at The Ailey School in 2016/2017. She has participated in dance festivals around the world and received scholarships from San Francisco Ballet and Ballet West. She has performed for the Vibe Competition, Assamblé International, Harlem Arts Festival, and the Ailey Spirit Gala. She has had the opportunity to work with artists Charla Gen, Robert Battle, Caridad Martinez, Claudia Zaccari, Jean Emille, Ray Mercer, Raul Candal, and Melanie Futorian. This is Dandara’s sixth season with Ballet Hispánico.
ISABELLA VERGARA (Apprentice) is a dancer, yoga instructor, pilates teacher, and dance educator from Westfield, New Jersey. Isabella graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.F.A. in dance from Mason Gross School of The Arts at Rutgers University where she received the Marjorie J. Turner Choreography Prize in 2018. She has performed nationally at the Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow, The Joyce Theater, and The Apollo, as well as internationally in the Philippines, China, and Taiwan. Throughout her career she has performed work by artists such as Yvonne Rainer, Martha Graham, Lar Lubovitch, Pam Tanowitz, and Maxine Doyle. Currently, Isabella is a freelance dance artist in the greater New York area, performing regularly with Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, OCA Dance, and DzulDance. Most recently, she
completed the Pa’lante Scholars Professional Studies Program at Ballet Hispánico as part of the inaugural cohort. This is Isabella’s first season with Ballet Hispánico.
MARIANO ZAMORA GONZÁLEZ is a Costa Rican artist residing in New York City. He began his training at Jazzgoba Dance Academy and later continued at CityDance School & Conservatory in Washington DC. He accepted a scholarship to pursue a BFA in Dance from the University of Southern California under the direction of Jodie Gates. Mariano also acquired a minor in Architecture to combine his visual and kinesthetic talents with functionality of form and space. He is eager to explore various platforms, on concert stages, commercially, and through media entertainment, as his artistic career takes off. This is Mariano’s second season with Ballet Hispánico.
What is it about our favorite music that’s so transporting? How does something as simple as a song lift us up, wrap us in its harmonies, and spirit us away?
In creating this evening’s program, I’ve returned again and again to the idea of music as a journey. Opening with the Mambo Kings’ iconic “Marinera” (“Sailor”), we feel the salt air and sea spray on our face. Energized, we sail into 19th and 20th century Zarzuela arias – classic works that fuse the Olympian vocal virtuosity of Grand Opera with the driving dance rhythms of your favorite salsa bar. These arias feature the Spanish modal scale that was born centuries earlier in the minarets of Northern Africa, traveled to the Iberian peninsula, and merged with gypsy spirit to become flamenco.
From Spain, we journey on to Cuba, with the bittersweet melodies and Afro-Cuban rhythms of Castillo, Duarte, Matamoros, and then to Mexico, where we find Álvaro Carrillo and the first lady of Latin song, Consuelo Velázquez. Continuing south, we savor the Brazilian poet-composer Jayme Ovalle’s gently rocking “Azulão” (“Blackbird”) before soaring over to Argentina and Uruguay for fiery tangos. Our journey carries us home to our great U.S. melting pot, birthplace of Latin icons including the Harlem-bornand-bred Tito Puente, whose “Oye Como Va” catapulted Latin music to worldwide recognition in the 1960s.
I am so thrilled to share this music with you in my first performance here as 2022-23 Artist-in-Residence at The Wallis. This moment is made extra resonant for me by the fact that my dear dad and his six siblings grew up not far from here, in Anaheim, in a house that was always full of music. My grandpa, Adolfo Zamora, worked long hours in a refinery, but he always found time to serenade my grandma with his “No me mates con tomates,” accompanied on his beloved guitar. My dad and gramps would have been over the moon to see their daughter/granddaughter on this august Beverly Hills stage. I like to think they’re looking down from on high tonight and humming along.
This concert would not be possible without my incredible friends and collaborators, the Mambo Kings (how lucky am I to work with these guys?); our brilliant manager Jami Greenberg; our teachers, whose lessons are built into our voices (looking at you, Frances, Fred, Lois, and Carlos!); and the amazing Staff and Board of The Wallis. Last but not least, our boundless thanks to the namesake of this invaluable cultural hub, Ms. Wallis Annenberg, who stands as a living example of the miracles that happen when vision meets generosity. ¡Mil gracias y abrazos fuertes a todos!
“Marinera” (Richard Delaney, 1997)
“Romanza” from Maria la O (Ernest Lecuona, 1930)
“Zapateado” from La Tempranica (Gerónimo Giménez, 1900)
“Tango de la menegilda” from La gran vía (Federico Chueca & Joaquin Valverde, 1886)
“Tres Lindas Cubanas” (Guillermo Castillo, 1925)
CUBA
“Como fué” (Ernesto Duarte Brito, 1953)
“Lagrimas negras” (Miguel Matamoros, 1929)
MEXICO
“Sabor a mí” (Álvaro Carrillo, 1959)
“Bésame mucho” (Consuelo Velásquez, 1941)
“Caribe” (Michel Camilo, 1988)
Intermission
BRAZIL
“Azulão” (Jayme Ovalle, 1945)
“Por una cabeza” (Carlos Gardel, 1935)
URUGUAY
“La cumparsita” (Gerardo Rodríguez, 1916)
“Blue Rondo à la Turk” (Dave Brubeck, 1959)
“Day Tripper” (Lennon & McCartney, 1965)
“Quien será / Sway” (Pablo Beltrán Ruiz, 1953)
“Oye como va” (Tito Puente, 1962)
CAMILLE ZAMORA (Soprano and 2022/2023 Artist-In-Residence @ The Wallis)
“A singer blessed with intense communicative ability who blazes with passion” (Opera Magazine, UK), Camille Zamora balances a vibrant career of opera, recital, and concert performances. In collaboration with artists ranging from Yo-Yo Ma to Sting, Camille has garnered acclaim for her “dramatic and nuanced” (The New York Times) interpretations of repertoire ranging from Mozart to tango. She is known for her “dignity and glowing sound” (The New York Times) in “luminous, transcendently lyrical” performances (Opera News) that “combine gentility and emotional fire” (The Houston Chronicle). Hailed by NBC Latino and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus as a leading interpreter of classical Spanish song, Camille’s performances of Spanish repertoire have been heard on five continents, in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to Zimbabwe’s Harare International Festival, and in live broadcasts on NPR, BBC, Deutsche Radio, and Sirius XM. She has performed Tango Caliente and Sueños de España – her signature concerts of zarzuela arias, boleros, and more arranged for her by GRAMMY® Award winner Jeff Tyzik –with orchestras including Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and more. She has performed and recorded principal roles in zarzuelas including La Verbena de la Paloma, La Revoltosa, La Tabernera del Puerto, and Luisa Fernanda, the latter in ten soldout performances with LA Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Camille has sung with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including Orchestra of St. Luke’s, London Symphony Orchestra, Guadalajara Symphony, and American Symphony Orchestra, and in live broadcasts on NPR, BBC Radio, Deutsche Radio, and Sirius XM. She performed Brahms’ Liebeslieder with Leon Fleisher at Aspen Music Festival, Beethoven’s Mass in C at Alice Tully Hall, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “The Resurrection” with Chattanooga Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with Tucson Symphony, Schubert Lieder for the opening night of American Ballet Theater at City Center, Bach’s Magnificat at Carnegie Hall, and, also at Carnegie Hall, the premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’ Song of Elos, a performance she repeated at the American Academy in Rome. A champion of contemporary music, she made her Lincoln Center Festival debut in Bright Sheng’s Poems from the Sung Dynasty for Soprano and Orchestra and premiered GRAMMY® Award winner Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein’s Away, but Not Far Away at Cooper Union’s Great Hall. She has performed Aaron Jay Kernis’ Simple Songs for Soprano and Orchestra under the baton of the composer, and works of Ricky Ian Gordon with the composer at the piano at Lincoln Center. She has also premiered works by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Bernd Franke, Roberto Sierra, Henry Brant, and Richard Wargo with companies including Spoleto Festival USA, New York Festival of Song, Continuum, and American Opera Projects.
Camille’s discography is extensive, with her most recent album – If the night grows dark / Si la noche se hace oscura: Four Centuries of Spanish Song – debuting on Billboard‘s Top Ten Classical Chart. Her recordings of twentieth and twenty-first century works include The Music of Chris Theofanidis (Albany Records), Strauss’ Die Liebe der Danae (ASO), New Music with Guitar / David Starobin (Bridge), and Scott Gendel’s At Last with Yo-Yo Ma on An AIDS Quilt Songbook: Sing for Hope (Naxos/GPR). Other recent recordings include Pauline Viardot’s Le Dernier Sorcier, which was a #1 Classical Best Seller on Amazon and an Opera News Critic’s Choice, and Hindemith’s The Long Christmas Dinner, a New York Times Classical Playlist Choice and an Opera News Recording of the Year. Camille’s recent seasons have featured performances with Yo-Yo Ma at the US Capitol, her Kennedy Center recital debut, and operatic roles including the tour de force double-bill of La voix humaine and I Pagliacci, which was cited as “Favorite Performance of the Year” by The Columbus Dispatch. Other recent highlights include music of Enrique Granados with Yo-Yo Ma and Cristina Pato in the award-winning documentary film The Music of Strangers; American Songbook classics by Gershwin, Berlin, Ager, and Arlen with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste in Los Angeles and New York City; and Twin Spirits: Robert and Clara Schumann at Lincoln Center and LA’s Music Center in collaboration with Joshua Bell, Jeremy Denk, Nathan Gunn, Trudie Styler, and Sting.
Camille’s 2021 concerts included a range of streamed performance including Bachianas Brasileiras and Spanish arias with Cincinnati Pops; boleros and ballads in Havana Nights, her symphonic pops collaboration with the iconic Mambo Kings; and the title role in the North American premiere of Durón and Navas’s 1700 zarzuela Apolo y Dafne with the acclaimed Sonnambula Viol Consort at the Hispanic Society of America. Her acclaimed operatic appearances include Elle in La voix humaine at Auckland Opera, Opera Columbus, Phoenicia International Festival, and Bay Chamber Festival; Nedda in I Pagliacci at Opera Columbus; Mimì in La bohème at Opera on the James; Ilia in Idomeneo at Boston Lyric Opera; Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at Anchorage Opera; The Countess in The Marriage of Figaro at On Site Opera; Amore/Valetto in L’incoronazione di Poppea at Houston Grand Opera; Rosita in Luisa Fernanda at LA Opera; Despina in Così fan tutte at Glimmerglass Opera and Virginia Opera; and Europa in Die Liebe der Danae, The Countess in Die Verschworenen, and Mascha in The Chocolate Soldier at Bard Summerscape. Other signature roles include Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites), The Governess (The Turn of the Screw), and the title roles in Susannah, Alcina, and Anna Bolena, of which The Houston Chronicle wrote, “Camille Zamora digs deep into Anna Bolena with the richness of her colorful and unwaveringly powerful soprano instrument… a consummate actress whose ability to get inside her character is phenomenal.”
An advocate for arts in education, Camille is the Co-Founder of Sing for Hope, a leading “arts peace corps” that creates initiatives – including the Sing for Hope Pianos in parks and public spaces
from the Bronx to Beirut – that promote the mission of art for all. She has presented and performed at The United Nations, the US Capitol, Aspen Institute, Harvard University, Oxford University, and the Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurship. She has been honored with a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award, a World Harmony Torch-Bearer Award, a 100 Hispanic Women Community Pride Award, and named one of the Top 50 Americans in Philanthropy by Town & Country, NY1’s New Yorker of the Week, and one of CNN’s Most Intriguing People. Camille is a graduate of The Juilliard School, and serves on the Boards of Directors of Juilliard and Grameen Creative Lab.
MAMBO KINGS, together since 1995, are enjoying great success as Upstate New York’s foremost Latin jazz ensemble, and have rapidly earned a national reputation for their explosive blend of Afro Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation. Since their orchestral debut in 1997 with the Rochester Philharmonic and Conductor Jeff Tyzik, Mambo Kings have appeared at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and in Pops concerts with orchestras in Baltimore, Vancouver, Detroit, Dallas, Naples (FL) and Portland (OR), among many others, performing original compositions and arrangements by pianist Richard DeLaney. As a quintet, Mambo Kings have appeared as featured soloists at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Fest, the Music In The Mountains Festival in Colorado, the Lewiston (NY) Jazz Fest, and the Big Sky Arts Fest in Bozeman, MT. More recently, the 2019 season featured performances with the Alabama Symphony, a sold-out concert at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago and a show with the Des Moines Symphony. The band weathered the 2020-2021 season with online performances with the Austin, Buffalo, and West Michigan Orchestras and a live performance with the Virginia Symphony to wrap up the year. Mambo Kings released their third self-produced recording, Nostalgia, in July of 2008. Nostalgia, along with their previous releases — Live! (2005) and Marinera (2003) — continues to receive radio airplay throughout North America and Puerto Rico.
RICHARD DELANEY (Musical Director), a native of Lima, Peru, has been active as a jazz pianist, arranger, and composer in Rochester since earning a Master’s Degree from the Eastman School Of Music in 1978. He has written and performed music for film, television, the stage, and the concert hall. He has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic and the Rochester Chamber Orchestra, as well as with Paquito D’Rivera, Bobby Sanabria, and numerous bandleaders in Rochester. Richard joined the piano faculty of the Hochstein School Of Music in 1985 and has directed the school’s Jazz Ensemble Program since 2001. He received the Faculty Service Award in 1996.
WILFREDO (FREDDY) COLÓN (drums, timbales, bongos) has performed with Aretha Franklin, Tito Puente, Soneros Del Barrio, Johnny Rivera, El Cano, and Paquito Acosta. He has taught percussion at the Eastman School Of Music’s Community Education Division and is much in demand as a percussion clinician in the Rochester area.
JOHN VIAVATTINE (Saxophone) has been an accomplished woodwind specialist in Rochester for many years. John has toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, including a memorable performance in Washington, D.C. at President Reagan’s 1980 Inaugural Ball. John has also performed with Chuck and Gap Mangione, Jeff Tyzik and the Rochester Philharmonic, The Temptations, Ray Charles, Patti Page, Connie Francis, Vic Damone, and Lou Rawls.
HECTOR DIAZ (Bass) has been playing with bands in the Western New York area since the age of thirteen. He has performed with Ismael Miranda, Hector Tricoche, “El Cano” Estremera, Paquito Acosta, Zafra Negra, Luisito Rosario, Wendell Rivera, and Johnny Rivera. While in the Army, Hector toured with an All Soldiers show throughout Army bases in South Korea.
TONY PADILLA (Congas) was born and raised in Rochester. A self taught percussionist, he began playing at age 12 and has been performing professionally since the age of 14. Tony has played with such artists as Paquito De Rivera, Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, Arturo Sandoval, Jerry Gonzalez, Lou Gramm, The Maelstrom Percussion Ensemble, and The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1983, Tony has been conducting clinics/workshops throughout the United States, including The Eastman School Of Music, The New York State Teachers Music Association, The Percussive Arts Society, and a variety of colleges and high schools.
As a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor, the contemporary pieces on this album obtain new life by arising from the soundworld, past traditions and gestures—ashes, if you will—of Liszt. Liszt is present in every work on this concert program, especially in his virtuosic and orchestral use of color when describing a painting or image. Whether it is the virtuosic, colorful splashes on the canvas created by Debussy, the urban landscape constructed by Jennifer Higdon, or the combination of intense improvisation and still, haunting, dissonant starkness by Anthony Davis, each work on this program was created by the ashes of Liszt. The pianism in these two works, even though rooted in the soundworld of Calypso, pays a debt to Liszt. Finally, the finale of this concert is Beethoven’s legendary “Hammerklavier” sonata, which had its world premiere by Liszt himself, and, in my opinion, made the legacy of Liszt possible.
STEWART GOODYEAR: PHOENIX My composition, Phoenix, is inspired by two different legends surrounding this bird; one legend saying that the bird combusts in flames, and the other legend saying that it is born from her ashes after dying and decomposing. It was composed in 2016, and this performance will be the California premiere.
BEETHOVEN: SONATA NO. 29 IN B-FLAT MAJOR, “HAMMERKLAVIER” OP. 106 No other sonata has inspired such discussion, dissection, and argument than this one. It has been called the “Mount Everest” of sonatas, the striving for Elysium, a scale so massive and imposing, mere mortals cannot come close to it. It is also an emotional and human sonata, one striving for peace and sanity but never reaching them. It is a very tragic sonata in the major key of B-flat. Almost everything about this sonata encourages bloodshed between musicians, the biggest thing being the metronome markings in the score. The first movement is marked half-note=138, a marking deemed by many to be utterly ridiculous. The metronome marking is correct, if one thinks of the movement as being in homage to a baroque concerto movement, and not “Mount Everest”. The movement begins with a fanfare, followed by a dialogue between voices or instruments, leading to another full-orchestral fanfare utterance. This is very similar to how a Bach or Vivaldi first movement would be composed. The rhythm of the opening is repeated and developed; it is the germ of the whole movement, and the insistence of the rhythm is very exciting and holds momentum in Beethoven’s metronome marking. If the second movement is pure slapstick and one of the shortest of all movements, the third is pure anguish and one of the longest. All the elements of human suffering seem to be in this movement, and the pianist ranges from showing restrained sorrow to screaming sobs. The improvisatory introduction in the last movement is utter magic. Starting with all the F’s (except one) in the piano, the listener is led on an odyssey until the fugue which concludes the sonata. If the last movement of the 9th Symphony was an Ode to Joy, the last movement of the “Hammerklavier” is an Ode to chutzpah. This is probably the most thorough and craziest fugues ever written in the piano literature. The subject of the fugue is developed, turned upside down, and even played backwards. The subject also pays homage to that of the first movement of the sonata, the first two notes with their huge leap being shared. As the entire sonata opened with an upbeat, Beethoven rests the final chords on upbeats.
STEWART GOODYEAR (Piano) Proclaimed “a phenomenon” by the Los Angeles Times and “one of the best pianists of his generation” by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished concert pianist, improviser and composer. Mr. Goodyear has performed with, and has been commissioned by, many of the major orchestras and chamber music organizations around the world. Mr. Goodyear’s discography includes the complete sonatas and piano concertos of Beethoven, as well as concertos by Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Rachmaninov, an album of Ravel piano works, and an album, entitled For Glenn Gould, which combines repertoire from Mr. Gould’s US and Montreal debuts. His Rachmaninov recording received a Juno nomination for Best Classical Album for Soloist and Large Ensemble Accompaniment. Mr. Goodyear’s recording of his own transcription of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker (Complete Ballet), was chosen by the New York Times as one of the best classical music recordings of 2015. His discography is released on the Marquis Classics, Orchid Classics, Steinway and Sons, and the Bright Shiny Things labels. Highlights of the 2022-23 season include return engagements with the Baltimore Symphony, Colorado Symphony and the Nashville Symphony, his debut with Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and his North American tour with the Chineke! Orchestra.
Rachel Fine Executive Director &
Tina Finkelman Berkett
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Rosado
Katie Garcia, Pedro Garcia, Alana Jones, Tiare Keeno, Ty Morrison, Joan Rodriguez, Jordyn Santiago, Whitney Schmanski
Tiare DIRECTOR Jarett
Bram Goldsmith Theater
Running Time: Approximately one hour and 40 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission and two 5-minute pauses.
Dance @ The Wallis is made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
CHOREOGRAPHY BY Matthew Neenan
MUSIC BY Performed by Peggy Lee; composed by Robert Sour & Una Mae Carlisle, Johnny Mercer & Harold Arlen, C. Farrow, Irving Berlin, Mike Stoller & Jerry Leiber, Adrian Zing & Benny Goodman, Arthur Hamilton
LIGHTING DESIGN BY Burke Wilmore
COSTUMES BY BODYTRAFFIC
PERFORMERS Katie Garcia, Pedro Garcia, Alana Jones, Tiare Keeno, Ty Morrison, Joan Rodriguez, Guzmán Rosado, Jordyn Santiago
PREMIERED AT THE WALLIS ANNENBERG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, BEVERLY HILLS, CA, 2018
A Million Voices is inspired by the inimitable Peggy Lee, who was a pioneer in the art of “persona.” Her legendary music, which was created in response to the political climate of her time, spurs us to embrace the passion of living even in the darkest of times. This work was made possible in part by the Made in Wickenburg Residency Program at Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts with funding from the RH Johnson Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wellik Foundation, WESTAF, and Benner-Nawman.
– PAUSE–
CHOREOGRAPHY BY Baye & Asa
MUSIC BY On the Hills of Manchuria [Na Sopkah Manchzhurii] by Russian Brass Band; Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56:III. Pe-loc-Andante, Composed by Bèla Bartók, Performed by Andrew Rangell; The Snowstorm: II. Waltz & VII. Echo of Waltz, Composed by Georgy Sviridov SOUND DESIGN Jack Grabow
LIGHTING DESIGN Michael Jarett SET DESIGN Baye & Asa and Michael Jarett COSTUME DESIGN Oana Botez COSTUME ALTERATIONS Angela Manke
PERFORMERS Katie Garcia, Pedro Garcia, Tiare Keeno, Ty Morrison, Joan Rodriguez, Guzmán Rosado, Jordyn Santiago, Whitney Schmanski PREMIERED AT THE JOYCE THEATER, NEW YORK CITY, NY 2022
The Company is incentivized towards perpetual growth. The Company develops relationships with politicians and regulatory agencies, lobbying for legislative language that protects their constant growth. The Company language is parroted until fabrication becomes fact. The Company’s profit margins are built on theft: of natural resources, human labor, and life.
You don’t make a billion dollars, you steal a billion dollars.
The One to Stay With was created in response to Patrick Radden Keefe’s “Empire of Pain.” His book chronicles the Sackler family’s rise to power and their central role in the opioid crisis.
Thank you to Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek, CO for a technical residency in support of the creation of this work.
CHOREOGRAPHY BY Micaela Taylor
LIGHTING DESIGN Michael Jarett
ORIGINAL MUSIC AND SOUND EDITING SHOCKEY
PERFORMERS Katie Garcia, Alana Jones, Tiare Keeno, Ty Morrison, Joan Rodriguez, Jordyn Santiago
CHOREOGRAPHY BY Alejandro Cerrudo
MUSIC BY Memories Are Made of This by Joe Scalisi, In The Chapel In The Moonlight by Dean Martin, That’s Amoré by Dean Martin
LIGHTING DESIGN BY Matthew Miller
PERFORMERS 1st solo: Joan Rodriguez, 2nd solo: Pedro Garcia, 3rd solo: Guzmàn Rosado
INSIDE/OUT CHOREOGRAPHIC WORKSHOP, UIC THEATRE, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BY HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO, 2011. BODYTRAFFIC PREMIERE: THE WALLIS ANNENBERG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, BEVERLY HILLS, CA, 2021
Three solos for male dancers set to songs popularized by “the king of cool,” Dean Martin. PACOPEPEPLUTO shows Alejandro Cerrudo’s skill at balancing aesthetic austerity and sharp wit. This work dares viewers to nakedly and joyfully embrace their true self-expression.
BODYTRAFFIC uses the creative spirit of its Los Angeles home as a backdrop for delivering performances that inspire audiences around the globe to simply love dance. The company attracts skilled dancers from throughout the world who have trained at such places as The Juilliard School and the School of American Ballet, and its enviable repertory includes the works of stellar contemporary choreographers like Kyle Abraham, Ohad Naharin, Fernando Magadan, Sidra Bell, Victor Quijada, Hofesh Shechter, and Micaela Taylor. This combination of superb artists and highly creative choreographers has elicited numerous critical accolades, including one from the Los Angeles Times which described BODYTRAFFIC as “one of the most talked about companies—not just in LA, but nationwide.” Since its founding in 2007 by Artistic Director Tina Finkelman Berkett and her co-founder Lillian Barbeito, BODYTRAFFIC has preserved its place at the forefront of the concert dance world with a style that, according to The Boston Globe, “suggests invention, attitude, and urban edge,” an aesthetic that has led to appearances at many prestigious international theaters and festivals. In 2015, the company was selected by the Obama administration to be United States cultural ambassadors to Israel and Jordan through DanceMotion USA, a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US State Department that sought to engage international audiences through educational opportunities, cultural exchange, and performance. BODYTRAFFIC also served as cultural ambassadors of the United States in South Korea (2016), Algeria (2017-2018), and Indonesia (2018). In 2016, the company made its Hollywood Bowl debut when it performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and, during the 2017-2018 season, it went on to celebrate its 10th anniversary season with an international tour to more than 20 cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg for the CONTEXT Diana Vishneva Festival, and The Hague for The Holland Dance Festival. The celebratory season culminated with performances at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, where BODYTRAFFIC went on to become the organization’s company-in-residence. BODYTRAFFIC’s extensive outreach and education programs are essential to its commitment to ensuring that dance endures for both the artists and the audiences of the next generation. Touching lives in Los Angeles and beyond, the company provides training opportunities for preprofessional and professional dancers, as well as customized dance experiences for all people, with an emphasis on sharing the art form with underserved and diverse populations. For more than fifteen years, BODYTRAFFIC has exhibited the talent, devotion, and discipline necessary for preserving the art form. As it looks forward to a future filled with even more dance, the company thanks those who have supported it along the way.
www.BODYTRAFFIC.com
There's nothing quite like coming home. For 15 years, BODYTRAFFIC has been known as the dance voice of Los Angeles on the global stage. Our work is inspired by the infinite energy and sense of possibilities that characterize Southern California. But most of our performances have historically taken place across the country and around the world. Now, we're launching a home season and local education initiatives to present more performances for more Angelenos than ever before. It all begins this week through the continuation of our partnership with The Wallis. We are also proud to present our strongest company of L.A.-based dance artists yet, performing works in which we believe so deeply. In putting this season together, we have come to realize that home can be a place that helps us rediscover who we really are. This year, we've challenged our choreographers and dancers to explore issues of identity and belonging in these wild times we share. The results are life-affirming. Through dark times and triumphs alike, and even when all may seem lost, we can always find ourselves through the magic of live dance.
Here's to homecomings, to the strength of our dance community, and to the resilience of the artists I have the pleasure of calling my family. I am filled with gratitude for our dancers, our team, our board, Guzmán and Margaret (and the SELBY/ARTISTS MGMT team), Rachel and Coy (and everyone at The Wallis), and the unmatched Los Angeles audiences. And finally, a special shout out to Guz's and my greatest loves, Jack and Sofia, who serve as the ultimate inspiration, and my endlessly supportive parents who make it all possible.
With love, Tina Berkett BODYTRAFFIC Artistic DirectorTINA FINKELMAN BERKETT, Artistic Director and a founder of BODYTRAFFIC, is an influential dance leader and community builder, producing original, compelling repertoire and sharing a new vision of dance across the U.S. and around the world. Tina grew up in New York City attending Stuyvesant High School of Math and Science and graduating summa cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University with a double major in Mathematics and Economics. Her love of dance was ignited by her teacher and mentor, Michele Cuccaro Cain. Tina’s professional dance career began at Aszure Barton & Artists, a distinguished contemporary dance company where she quickly became a featured dancer and then Barton’s assistant, teaching both in the U.S. and abroad. A true highlight of Tina’s career was being a founding member of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hell’s Kitchen Dance and touring internationally alongside Mr. Baryshnikov himself. Tina began her interest in arts administration when she served as the company’s dancer liaison. In 2007, Tina relocated to Los Angeles and launched BODYTRAFFIC with Lillian Barbeito. Now serving as the company’s sole Artistic Director, Tina is focusing on re-envisioning and revitalizing BODYTRAFFIC. With her deep commitment to taking the company to new heights, she is curating and discovering exciting choreographers and programming challenging programs that audiences enjoy, seeing incredible dancers doing their best work. “BODYTRAFFIC is a home for dancers, choreographers, and dance-lovers of all ages. We’re excited about the future and touring again!”
GUZMÁN ROSADO (Associate Artistic Director) started dancing at the International School of Dance of Carmen Roche Scaena in Madrid on a scholarship sponsored by the Ministerio de Cultura de Madrid. Guzmán danced with Ballet Joven de Carmen Roche until 1999, when he was offered a scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet (SAB). After his time at SAB, Edward Villella invited him to dance with Miami City Ballet. From 2002 to 2007, Guzmán danced with Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporaneo. In 2007, with André Mesquita and Teresa Alves da Silva, Guzmán co-founded Tok’Art, a cultural platform. He has performed extensively as a guest artist throughout Europe. He teaches ballet, yoga, and movement workshops. Guzmán is also currently BODYTRAFFIC’s resident filmmaker and has won awards for his film work.
BAYE & ASA is a company creating movement art projects directed by Amadi ‘Baye’ Washington & Sam ‘Asa’ Pratt. Individually we have performed with Akram Khan Company, Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More, Abraham in Motion, David Dorfman Dance, Gallim, Kate Weare Company, and The Francesca Harper Project. We’ve presented our stage and film work internationally, and we are one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch for 2022. We are currently artists in residence at the 92nd Street Y, and working on commissions for Pioneer Works and The Martha Graham Dance Company.
ALEJANDRO CERRUDO is a Chicagobased choreographer born in Madrid, Spain. His professional career includes work with Victor Ullate Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 2, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC). Cerrudo became HSDCʼs first-ever Resident Choreographer in 2008 and held that position until 2018. Cerrudo’s body of work has been performed by over 20 professional dance companies around the world. In March 2012, Pacific Northwest Ballet invited Cerrudo to choreograph, upon receiving the Joyce Theater Foundationʼs second Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance, his first work for the company, Memory Glow. Additional honors include an award from the Boomerang Fund for Artists (2011) and the Prince Prize for Commissioning Original Work from the Prince Charitable Trusts (2012) for his acclaimed, first evening-length work, One Thousand Pieces. In 2014 he was awarded the USA Donnelley Fellowship by United States Artists. Also, Mr. Cerrudo was one of four choreographers invited by New York City Balletʼs Wendy Whelan to create and perform original duets for Restless Creature. In 2017 Cerrudo was invited by Daniil Simkin to choreograph a site-specific performance for the Guggenheim Rotunda, a Works & Process Rotunda Project commission, featuring Daniil Simkin and original costumes by Dior. Cerrudoʼs Sleeping Beauty, created with Ballet Theater Basel in 2016, was nominated as “Production of the Year” in Switzerland in the “Tanz, Jahrbuch 2016” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. In 2020 Cerrudo was appointed Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Resident Choreographer; with that, he became the first artist in the company’s history to have the honor of holding that title.
MATTHEW NEENAN began his dance training at the Boston Ballet School. He later attended the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts and the School of American Ballet in New York. From 1994-2007, Matthew danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet, where he was also named Choreographer in Residence. Matthew’s choreography has been featured and performed by the Pennsylvania Ballet, BalletX, The Washington Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet West, Ballet Memphis, Milwaukee Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet, Ballet Met, Oklahoma City Ballet, Juilliard Dance, New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute, Sacramento Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Indiana University, Opera Philadelphia, and LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts (NYC), among others. He has received numerous awards and grants for his choreography from the National Endowment of the Arts, Dance Advance funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Choo San Goh Foundation, and the Independence Foundation. Matthew has been honored to receive the New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute’s Fellowship Initiative Award and fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. In 2005, Matthew co-founded BalletX with fellow dancer Christine Cox and is now the resident dance company at the prestigious Wilma Theatre.
MICAELA TAYLOR (BODYTRAFFIC Artist in Residence) is a dancer, choreographer, and the Artistic Director, Founder, and Choreographer of the TL Collective. Trained in hip-hop and ballet, she has created her own dance genre called Expand Practice, exuding emotion from the core and creating varied physical shapes and textures as expressions of one’s authentic self. Her quirky style of exaggerated facial expressions, gesture, and athletic theatricality sets her work apart. Taylor created her own technique and is building The TL Collective all from the ground up. She received the Inaugural Springboard EMERGE Choreographic Award, was named in Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch in 2019, and graced the cover of Dance Magazine in April 2020. A millennial herself, Taylor is a role model and influencer to aspiring BIPOC artists and is creating groundbreaking work that introduces commercial styles to concert dance. Taylor’s work has been presented at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Broad Stage, Ford Amphitheatre, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, and more. Alongside the launch of her company, Taylor has been commissioned to choreograph and teach by Rambert Dance Company, The Getty Museum, BODYTRAFFIC, Springboard Danse Montreal/Gibney Dance Company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, B12 Festival Berlin, Carlos Acosta’s Acosta Danza, and more. Upcoming commissions include Martha Graham Dance Company and a co-commission by Jacob’s Pillow and American Dance Festival.
KATIE GARCIA (Company Member) originally from Miami, Florida, graduated from The Juilliard School in 2017. She also trained at New World School of the Arts, Dance Town Studios Miami, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Springboard Danse Montréal. After graduation from Juilliard, she was a member of Parsons Dance for two and a half years and performed in her own collaborative works. Katie has taught master classes at such institutions as Yale University, New York University, Akron University, Florida State University, and Hunter College. In pursuing her passion for community outreach, she participated in GLUCK and TAP for Life, programs allowing her to perform in NYC and Miami hospitals and wellness centers. In 2016, she orchestrated a project in Botswana, where she taught dance and special education movement therapy classes for children. She has also presented her co-produced dance films with Joan Rodriguez at the Blacktinx Dance Festival, Solo Due Dance Festival, Dumbo Dance Festival, and at a NYC art gallery with mixed media artist, Anna Khachatryan.
PEDRO GARCIA (Company Member) began his studies at the National Conservatory of Lisbon, working with teachers including Mikahall Zavialova, Irina Zavialova, Catarina Moreira, and José Luís Vieira, among others. In 2014, he won the 3° prize at Tanzolymp Competition in Berlin. He received his diploma in 2015 and continued on to earn a degree from School Superieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower. Pedro joined the junior ballet Rosella Hightower DNSP3 for one year and then went on to join the Ballet Nacional de Marseille, where he worked with Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten until 2018. In 2019, he joined Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporaneo, under the direction of Vasco Wellenkamp. Most recently, Pedro has worked with choreographers Nelia Pinheiro and André Mesquita, and joined Quórum Ballet for one season where he worked with Daniel Cardoso and Lior Tavori.
ALANA JONES (Company Member) is a Houston native. She is a founding member of Vitacca Dance Project under the direction of Kelly Ann Vitacca and trained under Ballet Master Phillip Broomhead while attending the High School of Performing and Visual Arts. In 2014, Alana was accepted on scholarship and trained with American Ballet Theatre and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Thereafter, Alana was accepted on scholarship to SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, where she received her BFA. While at Purchase, she was invited into the ballet concentration where she performed and studied works by George Balanchine, Norbert De la Cruz, Michelle Ulerich, and Colby Damon. She has also trained
with Ballet X, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance, and Arts Umbrella. Alana earned her BFA and began her professional career with Visceral Dance Chicago.
TIARE KEENO (Dance Captain) received her BFA from The Juilliard School in 2016. While at Juilliard, she worked with choreographers Camille A. Brown, Kyle Abraham, Kate Weare, and Brian Brooks. She also performed repertoire by Jíri Kylián and Twyla Tharp, as well as lead roles in Martha Graham’s Dark Meadow and José Limón’s Missa Brevis. After graduation, Tiare was a company member of Nevada Ballet Theatre and worked in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. She attended Springboard Danse Montreal, where she performed works by Aszure Barton, Spenser Theberge, RUBBERBAND Dance Group, and Kidd Pivot. She has been a faculty member of FRESH Dance Intensive in Canada and is currently a member of Share the Movement, an organization aiming to increase diversity in the professional dance community through educational and financial support to young BIPOC artists. In 2017, Tiare moved to Macau, China to appear in a cirque show with MGM’s ScenoPlus Productions. Upon returning to the US, she performed in Al Blackstone’s Freddie Falls in Love at The Joyce Theater.
TY MORRISON (Company Member), from the greater Boston area, dedicated 13 years of his life to versatile dance training at The Gold School Dance Art under the direction of Rennie Gold. Ty received a BFA in Contemporary Dance from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee on full scholarship.
During his time at The Boston Conservatory, he worked with and performed works by such acclaimed choreographers as Darrell Moultrie, Catherine Coury, Bradley Shelver, Adrianne Hawkins and Martha Nichols. Immediately after graduation, he was featured in on-site dance film productions with choreographers Roderick George, Ashley Lindsay, and Antonio Brown. He has had the honor of being a guest artist with The Limón Dance Company and an active artist with a little house dance company.
JOAN RODRIGUEZ (Company Member) was born in La Habana, Cuba where he graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Arte with the “Best Graduate of the Year” award. His professional career began with DanzAbierta, and he went on to join Malpaso Dance Company. He became a political refugee in 2017 and relocated to Arizona, where he focused on creating, teaching, and producing multimedia projects. He has also served as a Guest Artist in Residency for universities and arts centers throughout the U.S. and has received awards in several dance competitions. In 2019, he joined Parsons Dance and choreographed an original work for the company as part of the
2019 GenerationNow fellowship program. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Joan has focused on freelancing in dance, teaching and videography. Joan has also showcased his own collaborative works at the Blacktinx Dance Festival, the Solo/Duo Dance Festival, and at NYC art galleries as part of mixed media performances. He has taught guest classes at The Juilliard School, New York University, Gibney Dance, Yale University, Hunter College, Akron University, and RWU. He was recently commissioned as a choreographer by Connecticut Ballet for their Ballet Under the Stars 2021 summer program.
JORDYN SANTIAGO (Company Member) is from North Carolina and is a Los Angelesbased dancer and choreographer who studied at The Dance Theatre of Jacksonville before continuing to train throughout the U.S and in Israel and Europe. Jordyn has studied with artists such as Danielle Agami, Melissa Jackson, Jiri Pokorny, Tilman O’Donnell, Medhi Walerski, Adi Salant, Bryan Arias, Diana Matos and Jermaine Spivey. She has toured as a backup dancer with Los Angeles based band Half Alive and has created new works with Bryan Arias. Jordyn has worked on a multidisciplinary VR experience Cosmos Within Us that was directed by Tupac Martir and produced by Satore Tech & Satore Studios. She had the opportunity of dancing with choreographers Dana Wilson, Ebony Williams and Christopher Scott for the motion picture production of In The Heights with Warner Brothers Entertainment. Since making the move to LA within the past year Jordyn has been signed with Bloc Agency and was featured and documented in Western Digital’s creative campaign for Anthem highlighting various creatives across different industries and journeys.
WHITNEY SCHMANSKI (Company Member) received a BFA from The Juilliard School in 2016 and recently completed her MFA at UC Irvine. A performer, choreographer, and movement educator, she has performed works by such revered contemporary choreographers as Merce Cunningham, Jirí Kylián, Kyle Abraham, Camille A. Brown, Peter Chu, Kate Weare, Eliot Feld, and Bobbi Jene Smith. She danced with Brian Brooks Moving Company in performances at the 2015 Chicago Dancing Festival and the Hudson Valley Dance Festival and has appeared with MOMIX. Whitney is enthusiastic about exploring the profound connections between the mind and body, especially within the realms of science, somatic practices, and storytelling.
Rachel Fine Executive Director & CEO
PRESENT THE WEST COAST PREMIERE OF
TEXT ADAPTED BY Osvaldo Golijov
FROM THE NOVEL BY David Grossman
Dan Brantigan TRUMPET / FLUGELHORN
Hannah Collins CELLO
Shawn Conley ACOUSTIC BASS / ELECTRIC FRETLESS BASS
Jeremy Flower ELECTRIC GUITAR / MODULAR SYNTHESIZER
Johnny Gandelsman VIOLIN
Mario Gotoh VIOLA
Shane Shanahan PERCUSSION / DRUM SET
Mazz Swift VIOLIN
Reylon Yount YANGQIN
Biella da Costa WOMAN
Nora Fischer CENTAUR Yoni Rechter MAN
TRANSLATION FROM HEBREW BY Jessica Cohen
Bram Goldsmith Theater
Running Time: One hour and 20 minutes, no intermission.
DEDICATED TO The Parents Circle - Family Forum theparentscircle.org
AND TO Ruth & Mario Berchole Colleen & Bob Cording Cecilia & Néstor Fiore Paula & Haim Gromadzyn Michal & David Grossman Regan & David Harrington Cathy & Frank Vellaccio
Recording available on In a Circle Records.
Scan the QR code to purchase the Falling Out of Time album.
Falling Out of Time is presented with support from The John and Marcia Goldman Foundation, The Irving Harris Foundation, Pamela and David Hornik, Jennie and David Jadow, Martin Peretz, and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
Falling Out of Time was commissioned by Silkroad, a commission made possible thanks in part to support from the Alice L. Walton Foundation and the Barr Foundation. Silkroad is grateful to the members of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, for their partnership in the development of this work. Falling Out of Time premiered at Brooks Hall at The College of the Holy Cross on October 31, 2019.
OSVALDO GOLIJOV (Composer) is a Grammy-winning composer with works including the St Mark Passion; the opera Ainadamar; Azul, a cello concerto; The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, for clarinet and string quartet; the song cycles Ayre and Falling Out of Time, and the soundtracks for the Francis Ford Coppola’s films Tetro and Youth Without Youth. This season two new works have premiered: Um Dia Bom, for string quartet, for Brooklyn Rider; and Ever Yours, for string octet, for the St Lawrence String Quartet together with the Telegraph Quartet. He is currently working on a violin concerto for Johnny Gandelsman and The Knights to be premiered December 16, 2022, at the opening of the Prior Center for Performing Arts at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was born in Argentina, and lived in Jerusalem before coming to the US. He is the Loyola Professor of Music at the College of the Holy Cross.
DAN BRANTIGAN (Trumpet, Flugelhorn) is a trumpet player and composer that offers a unique sound and textural perspective to a diverse range of musical projects and films. He has performed around the world with notable artists including Osvaldo Golijov, David Byrne, Macy Gray, Bonobo, Sarah Brightman, Doyle Bramhall II, Kaki King, DJ Krush, and as a featured soloist in multiple Ken Burns documentary series. His composition and sound design work have received accolades from the Bourges Institute and the ASA and can be heard regularly in feature and documentary films.
HANNAH COLLINS (Cello) is a dynamic cellist performer devoted to building community through musical expression and the winner of De Linkprijs for contemporary interpretation. Resonance Lines, her solo debut album on Sono Luminus, is an “adventurous, impressive collection of contemporary solo cello music,” negotiated “with panache” (The Strad), pairing music by Britten and Saariaho with commissioned works by Caroline Shaw and Thomas Kotcheff. Over the past decade, New Morse Code, her “remarkably inventive and resourceful duo” (Gramophone) with percussionist Michael Compitello, has developed projects responding to society’s most pressing issues and were awarded the 2020 Ariel Avant Impact Performance Prize. Hannah has recently performed with A Far Cry, Bach Aria Soloists, Grossman Ensemble, and The Knights. She holds degrees in biomedical engineering and music from Yale, Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and City University of New York, and currently teaches at the University of Kansas. www.hannahcollinscello.com
SHAWN CONLEY (Acoustic Bass, Electric Fretless Bass) is a Hawaiian born bassist and composer who grew up loving all types of music. This love of diversity of sound developed into a career that straddles many genres. He has been with The Silk Road Ensemble for 8 years and is a member of the Brooklyn-based chamber orchestra The Knights. Recent projects include a release of the Brahms and Beethoven violin concertos with Gil Shaham and The Knights; the world premiere and recording of Osvaldo Golijov’s “Falling Out of Time”; the GRAMMY® Award-winning CD ‘Sing Me Home’ with the Silkroad Ensemble and Yo-Yo Ma; and an international tour of the new performance-art piece ‘The Head and the Load’ created by South African visual artist William Kentridge.
AARON COPP (Production Manager, Lighting Designer) is a lighting designer and production manager with recent projects including the Broadway production of The New One by Mike Birbiglia, Red State Blue State for Colin Quinn at the Minetta Lane, Candide at Tanglewood Music Center, One Line Drawn by Brian Brooks for Miami City Ballet, and Shahrazad for The Royal Ballet of Flanders. He has worked extensively in the dance world, and in 2008 received his second Bessie Award for Jonah Bokaer’s The Invention Of Minus One. He had a long association with Merce Cunningham, designing such pieces as Ground Level Overlay, Windows, and Biped, for which he also won a Bessie.
BIELLA DA COSTA (Woman) is one of Venezuela’s most acclaimed and versatile vocalists. She has been awarded the Premio Nacional del Artista twice, and has shared the stage with international artists such as Eric Clapton and Ray Charles, among many others. She has appeared in prestigious jazz festivals and venues throughout Europe, North America, Russia and Australia, including Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and the Sydney Opera House. Since 2000 Biella had been performing Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión Según San Marcos, Ayre, and Oceana.
JODY ELFF (Sound Engineer) is a GRAMMY® Award-winning audio engineer whose experience includes work with Yo-Yo Ma, Bang on a Can, Chris Thile and many others. Elff regularly mixes televised concert events including the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, NBC’s Annie LIVE! and Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga’s One Last Time for CBS. Jody’s company, HEAR, will provide music mix services for the upcoming Academy Awards and CMA Awards. His recordings include the Silk Road Ensemble‘s Sing Me Home, and Chris Thile’s Laysongs. Jody has recently developed several patent-pending audio technologies for mixing high-channelcount music events over distance and 360º immersive livestreaming concert experiences.
NORA FISCHER (Centaur) is an Amsterdam-based singer and vocal performer renowned for her adventurous approach to live performance and her creative and genre-defying collaborations. She is most comfortable right at the sweet spot where different music genres and performing arts join forces and forget that they once had strict boundaries. Her “affinity with experimental classical styles and sharp dramatic instincts” (New York Times) have led to close collaborations with composers, ensembles and theatre/dance/mime directors such as Louis Andriessen, Simon McBurney and Yo-Yo Ma’s Silkroad Ensemble, and to solo performances at both prestigious and experimental venues around the world.
JEREMY FLOWER (Electric Guitar, Modular Synthesizer) is a multi-instrumentalist and composer of acoustic and electronic music. His work with electronics has landed him on stage as a guest artist with orchestras and chamber groups all over the world as well as with world-renowned electronic producers in experimental, ambient and minimal techno genres. Flower has been commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for their Music NOW series, James Sommerville and the Hamilton Philharmonic for their new music festival, and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. Currently Flower is working on a couple of children, a second recorded song cycle to follow 2016’s The Real Me, and building modular synthesizers.
MARY FRANK (Artist, inspiration for projection design) (b. 1933, London, England) is a sculptor, painter, photographer, and ceramic artist, and a fierce advocate for human rights. Frank’s work is in the collections of the Metropolitan, Whitney and Brooklyn Museums and numerous private collections. Frank has collaborated with Terry Tempest Williams, Peter Matthiessen, Bread and Puppet Theater and Peter Kayafas. Represented by the DC Moore Gallery and Elena Zang Gallery in New York, Mary Frank lives and works in New York and Bearsville, New York. “Endlessly I ask myself- what is art for? The list changes. When people make music they inhale, connect their eyes and, on exhalation, begin the music- I would love to make that moment visible. A body of work is a wonderful expression. The feet, the space between the bones, the sigh, the scream, the wings, the eyes, the connective tissue in us and between all living things.” - Mary Frank
JOHNNY GANDELSMAN (Music Director, Violin) is a GRAMMY® award-winning violinist and producer whose musical voice reflects the artistic collaborations he has been a part of since moving to the United States in 1995. Richard Brody of The New Yorker has called Johnny Gandelsman “revelatory” in concert, placing him in the company of “radically transformative” performers like Maurizio Pollini, Peter Serkin and Christian Zacharias. Gandelsman is a founding member of Brooklyn Rider, and was a member of the Silkroad Ensemble for 18 years. Johnny integrates a wide range of creative sensibilities into a unique style amongst today’s violinists, one that according to The Boston Globe, possesses “a balletic lightness of touch and a sense of whimsy and imagination”. He lives in New York.
DR. MARIO GOTOH (Viola) is a GRAMMY® Award-winner, born in Japan, and sought for multiple, distinguished roles as an innovative, creative violinist, violist, passionate educator and composer with a remarkably unique style in all genres, performing worldwide. An avid interdisciplinary collaborator, Mario is a featured actor in William Kentridge’s The Head and The Load. She regularly records and performs on numerous soundtracks and artists, such as: Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Roger Waters, Sting, Katy Perry, broadcast on The GRAMMYs® , SNL, MTV VMAs, Colbert, Letterman. She was the original violinistviolist for Broadway’s Hamilton: An American Musical. She has dual-degree Doctorates in both Violin and Viola Performance. Mario is inspired by her community activism, language, literature, cooking, writing, visual arts, film, swimming, and exploring cultures worldwide. “Stunning, magical, unique…” (Time Out NY) “I’ll be thinking about my one-to-one concert with Mario Gotoh for a long time to come.” (NPR, All Things Considered) www.mariogotoh.com
MAILE OKAMURA (Costume Designer) has designed/ constructed costumes for Mark Morris Dance Group, Dance Heginbotham, Pam Tanowitz Dance, Houston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Tanglewood Music Center. She worked with artist Howard Hodgkin to realize the costumes for Layla and Majnun, a collaboration between Mark Morris Dance Group and Silkroad. She has also assisted artist Maira Kalman on costumes for Renard (MMDG), The Principles of Uncertainty (DH), and Herz Schmerz (DH).
YONI RECHTER (Man) is a composer, pianist, singer, and arranger, considered among Israel’s most important musicians, with a career spanning more than 40 years. His impact and influence on Israeli music is immeasurable. Many of his compositions are considered Israeli musical classics, and his Atur Mitzchech (Your Brow is Adorned) has been repeatedly voted the most popular Israeli song of all time. His two best-known collaborations are the legendary Kavaret group – also known as “Poogy”, and Hakeves Ha-16 (The 16th Lamb). A sought-after musical director, producer and arranger, Yoni has worked on numerous stage musicals, films, dance performances, and recordings.
SHANE SHANAHAN (Percussion, Drum Set) is a percussionist, composer, and arranger that has combined his studies of drumming traditions from around the world with his background in jazz, rock and Western art music to create his own unique, highly sought-after style. He is a founding member of Yo-Yo Ma’s genre defying, Grammy-Award Winning Silkroad Ensemble and served as Co-Artistic Director (2017-2020) and Learning Programs Advisor (2012-2020) for the organization. Shane has performed and/or recorded with Bobby McFerrin, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, Philip Glass, Alison Krauss, Deep Purple, Jordi Savall, Sonny Fortune, Chaka Khan, Bill Frisell and Glen Velez, among others. He is adjunct percussion faculty at The Hartt School and the Eastman School of Music.
MAZZ SWIFT (Violin) is a Violin/Vox/Freestyle Composition artist that engages audiences worldwide with their signature weaving of improvisation and composition. They are a violinist, composer, conductor, and educator whose works include commissions by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Kronos Quartet, and the Silkroad Ensemble. Mazz is a 2019 Jerome Hill Fellow and 2021 United States Artist Fellow, working on several projects, all of which are centered around protest songs, spirituals and the Ghanaian concept of ‘Sankofa’: looking back to learn how to move forward.
MIKIKO SUZUKI MACADAMS (Scenic Designer) is originally from Kobe-city, Japan, now based in NYC, Native land of Munsee Lenape. Her work has been seen Off Broadway and in regional theatres all around the U.S. and in Japan. As an associate set designer, she has worked on several Broadway, West End and National tours including My Fair Lady and The King and I. For her full credits, please visit mikikosmacadams.com. Currently, she is a faculty member of the David Geffen Drama School at Yale.
CAMILLA TASSI (Projection Design) is a projection designer and musician from Florence, Italy. With backgrounds in computer science and voice, her design credits include Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Apollo’s Fire), Pollock’s Stinney (PROTOTYPE Festival), Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol (Yale Opera) and Talbot’s Path of Miracles (Conspirare). Tassi enjoys bringing design to traditionally unstaged compositions (choral, art song, recital, oratorio), recontextualizing the repertoire with today’s audiences. She has produced early and contemporary performances (Williams and Delinger’s Talk to Me Like the Rain, staged Carissimi’s Jepthe, and the US Premiere of Morricone’s Se questo e` un uomo). She translates Italian libretti and sings with the Yale Schola Cantorum. camillatassi.com
REYLON YOUNT (Yangqin), also known as Mantawoman (they/them/Rey/M), is a genre-fluid performer, yangqin player, and singer-songwriter based in London. As the youngest member of the Silkroad Ensemble, Reylon has toured venues such as Lincoln Center, TED, Park Avenue Armory and Xinghai Concert Hall. A Harvard College graduate and Marshall Scholar, Reylon pairs their music-making with research around transcultural identity and fluidity as a healing response to fragmentation. Reylon is a 2020 City Music Foundation Artist and has received support from nonclassical, Arts Council England, Help Musicians UK, Britten Pears Arts and the Royal Philharmonic Society. They have recorded on soundtracks for the Sundance Award-winning short RENEEPOPTOSIS and Marvel’s blockbuster SHANG CHI. Reylon co-founded Tangram, a London-based artist collective reimagining Chinese cultures through music (tangramsound.com). More recently, Reylon has begun performing as Mantawoman, a psychedelic siren giving hypnopop surrealness (mantawoman.com), showcasing their “lovely baritone” (I Care If You Listen).
Charlie Campbell MONITOR ENGINEER
Cristin Canterbury Bagnall EXECUTIVE PRODUCER (THE SHEPHERD)
Lauren Cavanaugh STAGE MANAGER
Aaron Copp PRODUCTION MANAGER / LIGHTING DESIGNER
Cat J. Cusick LIGHTING DIRECTOR
Jody Elff SOUND ENGINEER
Johnny Gandelsman MUSIC DIRECTOR
Maile Okamura COSTUME DESIGNER
Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams SCENIC DESIGNER
Camilla Tassi PROJECTION DESIGN (BASED ON ART WORK BY MARY FRANK)
Johnny Gandelsman IN A CIRCLE RECORDS
Cristin Canterbury Bagnall BROADBAND COLLABORATIVE
WITH THANKS TO Kinan Azmeh, Anthony Barbir, Eduardo A. Braniff, Jonathan Brill, Mary Pat Buerkle, Carole Charnow, Meghan Coleman, Lou Cove, Nicholas Cords, Kathy Fletcher, Deborah Harris, Vanessa Hoheb, Isabelle Hunter, Yonca Karakilic, Liz KellerTripp, Golnar Khosrowshahi, Yo-Yo Ma, Ben Mandelkern, Karen Ouzounian, Deborah Rutter, Jessica Shuttleworth, Hillel Sommer, Sara Stackhouse, Lori Taylor, Jason van Eyk, Wu Man
I.
We hear two weary voices humming a lament over a murmuring heart and ticking clocks. We see the Centaur: half-writer, half-desk. He tells us that the only way he has to understand the death of his son is by re-creating it as a story (“There is a man. There’s a woman. He will walk. She will not”).
We see the Man, and the Woman, his wife. The Man can’t bear staying at home any longer and decides he has to go “there, to him.” His wife despairs (“there’s no there”).
The Man sings of the night when messengers came to their home to tell them about their son’s death (“they…mercifully, quietly, stood at the threshold and gave us the breath of death”).
His wife brings that night into the present and addresses the messengers (“Don’t be afraid. I did not shout when he was born, and I won’t shout now either”).
Man, Woman, and Centaur sing of falling into a void – the absence created by the child’s death (“Come, Chaos”).
The Woman climbs atop a belfry and sings of her husband who walks in circles on the hills surrounding their town (“step, another step”).
In a hallucination, the Walking Man conjures up his son: he “empties” his own body so that his son can enter it and live there the rest of his unlived life (“...hurry, my boy... everything now is yes”).
The Centaur tells how some of the townsfolk who are also bereaved see the Walking Man, leave their homes, and follow him into the hills: a midwife, her husband the cobbler, a mute net mender, an elderly math teacher. They all walk in a procession towards a barren hill (“It is the brain of the universe… It has no wails, no thoughts. It has no answers, and no love”).
II.
We hear a cry piercing the skies. There is no answer, only a faint echo. The Walking Man sings of hovering between here and there (“I’m walking my mind away”).
The music turns into a mantra from which the Centaur emerges (“It breaks my heart, my son, to think…I have found the words.”)
The Centaur then addresses the Walking Man (“If you meet him…will you tell him of his brother born after him? Will you tell him that you gave his dog to a boy in the street?”).
One of the walkers (voiced by the Centaur) sees a fly landing on a green leaf without noticing that a spider had built his web. The fly is trapped and killed. (“What? What is it you know now, that you did not know the moment you were spawned?”)
As the Walking Man realizes the futility of his walk and stops (“You were right, Woman, there’s no ‘there’”), the Woman Atop the Belfry sees him far away and blesses him
(“Go now, be like him. Conceive him, yet be your death, too…and there, my love, among the shadows of father-son, there will come peace –for him, for you”).
Giant, Momus-like drums erupt. The Walking Man hollers a string of questions to his son (“Where? Where are you? How are you there? And who are you there?”)
The stars mock his questions. A cry pierces the skies. There is no answer. Only a faint echo. We hear the voice of a boy (“There is breath, there is breath. Inside the pain. There is breath”).
You—
Where are you?
What are you?
And how are you there?.
And who are you there?
Falling Out of Time is a journey to nowhere – or more accurately, a journey to no where. For the dead are no longer in time or place, and those who love them and would follow them must seek a route beyond linear boundaries. This is a kind of madness, and a kind of truth.
The seed of this musical project was sown at a 2002 encounter between Osvaldo Golijov and Yitzhak Frankenthal, founder of The Parents Circle, an organization of Israelis and Palestinians who have lost family members to the ongoing conflict. Mr. Frankenthal shared the story of a bereaved father who could not reconcile himself to leaving his dead son and reentering the world of time. For many days he remained at his son’s side, at night sleeping upon the grave. Narrating with his actions a story of madness and truth.
The seed found soil 12 years later, when Osvaldo read David Grossman’s brilliant, almost unbearable novel about a man who walks, a father who describes with his feet impossible, ever-widening circles, driven to go to his dead son.
The notion of losing one’s child conjures, in Osvaldo’s words, the utmost pain imaginable, a supernova of pain. Is it madness to try to translate such experience into words, into music? Perhaps. A supernova is very big. But as one of the characters says, there is “Great, definitive death” – boundless, eternal, immortal –and then there is “Your single, little death, / inside it.”
In a sense, it is the “single, little death” that both David Grossman and Osvaldo take for their starting points. They enter the fathomless through the particular, the palpable, the present. One foot placed in front of the other. One heartbeat at a time. Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk. We are very much in time –music is nothing if not an organization of time – and in motion. The father is joined by other townsfolk, each having lost a child; each railing against circumstance; each compelled on a relentless walk of resistance at once mad and true. The heartbeat and the walking, the walking and the heartbeat. The body’s humble metronomes – the very movements that separate the living from the dead – allow the journey.
We find a crucial counterpoint to these rhythms in the questions that erupt from the walkers. Osvaldo, for
whom the novel is “a book of questions,” has distilled from it three, which we hear again and again. At times a cry to pierce the sky, at times an echo swollen with tenderness: Where are you? Who are you there? How are you there? To ask, a form of madness. To refrain from asking, another.
And the questions themselves contain echoes of the sorely missed children – indeed, of all children: their lovely doggedness, their lively insistence on asking the unanswerable. We all go in circles, children with their hunger to know why? where? who? how? and grownups who in suffering find we have not lost the appetite: “teach me – as I not long ago / taught you – / the world and all its secrets.” All of us circling, circling, until in time we come to perceive that perhaps the “walk itself is both / the answer and the question.”
“Great, definitive death” touches us all, yet grief is always isolating. Each “single, little death” inflicts its separate suffering, a unique exile. Even parents mourning the same child do not share the same grief.
A coda to the story about the bereaved father who could not bear to leave his son’s grave: When Mr. Frankenthal heard about this man, he went to the cemetery. And remained there. Day and night he kept company with this man, until he was able to rise back up and reenter the world and time.
Perhaps more than an act of making art, the joining of Osvaldo’s musical voice to David Grossman’s literary one is an act of accompaniment. And by collaborating with the Silkroad Ensemble in the creation of this piece, Osvaldo widens the circle of accompaniment. Accompaniment is not a cure for grief. But it may be the opposite of madness.
Sitting shiva, the Jewish custom of gathering around the bereaved for seven days after a death, is a ritualized form of accompaniment. Falling Out of Time, with its ever-expanding circles of community –from the townsfolk in the novel to the musicians bringing it to the stage – might be thought of as a walking shiva, an act of accompaniment that remains, like the breath of the living, in motion.
There is breath there is breath inside the pain there is breath
BY LEAH HAGER COHENThe Wallis continues its beloved free monthly outdoor Sunday Funday family events with a variety of engaging programming on select Sundays on the Promenade Terrace.
BROADWAY
DANCE SUNDAY: (Debbie Allen/Lyrik Cruz)
STORY
DANCE
MOSTLY KOSHER
DANCE
BROADWAY
DANCE
SPRING GROOVE
DANCE SUNDAY: Hop (Chantel Heath)
PARKER BENT
DANCE SUNDAY: (Debbie Allen/Lyrik Cruz)
MOSTLY KOSHER
DANCE Basquiat)
NATHALIA
DANCE
Monday–Friday 10am–6pm @ 310.246.3800 9390 N. Santa Monica Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90210 TheWallis.org
Monday–Friday 11:30am–6:30pm @ 310.746.4000
During performance dates, Ticket Services will be open two hours before performance time and a half hour after the performance begins. Please note that Ticket Services is unable to process exchanges and future sales one hour prior to curtain time on performance dates.
For the wallis’ current Health & Safety protocols visit TheWallis.org/Safety ACCESS
The Wallis is committed to accommodating and ensuring a pleasant experience for all of our patrons with special needs or disabilities. Please contact Ticket Services, our House Manager or an usher to discuss your needs.
Should you arrive late for any performance or need to leave your seat during the performance, please expect to be held in the lobby until an appropriate moment or pause. To minimize any disturbance to other patrons, you may be seated in the first available locations by our staff even if different than your assigned seat locations. Please also be advised that some performances or circumstances may not allow for late seating or return seating.
The Front of House Staff is happy to provide programs with larger print to patrons upon request.
TELECOIL INDUCTION SYSTEM FOR HEARING ASSISTANCE
A state of the art “hearing loop”—a thin copper wire—has been installed beneath the floor of the orchestra seating in the Bram Goldsmith Theater. For guests wearing a hearing aid with a copper telecoil wire or who have a cochlear implant, the system captures electromagnetic waves and broadcasts signals directly to your hearing aid device. For assistance, please inquire with Patron Services.
Gifted by Virginia and Frank Maas.
The Lynn and Les Bider Family Foundation Quiet Room is available during the performance for patrons who wish or need to step away for a moment. You can still see and hear the performance in progress, but we can’t hear you.
Les Bider CO-CHAIR
Marc Zachary CO-CHAIR
Betty Hayman HONORARY CO-CHAIR
Ronald D. Rosen
BOARD LIAISON TO THE AMBASSADORS
Camille Adar
Laura Alpert
Judy Beckmen
Barbara Belzberg
Dan Clivner
Eunice David
DeeDee Dorskind
Jill Erman
Mimi Alpert Feldman
Judy Flesh Sonia and Robert Freedman
Anita Dann Friedman
Donna Ellman Garber
Bruce Goldsmith
Carol Goldsmith
Laurie Gordon Peggy Grauman
Evelyn Heyward
Laurie Konheim Sandra Krause Susan and Rick Kurtzman
Deborah Laub Judi Lawenda
Marlene Leitner
Kathy Liberman Karen and Walter Loewenstern
Marlene Louchheim
Barbara Marcus
Joanne Mogy
Diane Morton
Ilene Nathan
Harriet Nichols
Suzanne Papaian
Arline and Buddy Pepp
Sandra Karole Peters
Gail D. Peterson
Jane Rascoff
Laurie Rodsky
Barbara Ruben
Wendy and Ken Ruby
Joan Selwyn
Marc Selwyn
Lee Silver
Lisa Sockolov
I. H. Sutnick
Karen Sulzberger and Eric Lax Andrea Van de Kamp
Stephanie Vahn
Rayni Williams
May Ziman
As of May 4, 2022
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WALLIS AMBASSADORS
TheWallis.org/Ambassadors
PLATINUM CIRCLE Annenberg Foundation/ Wallis Annenberg & Kris Levine
Dan Clivner
The Seattle Foundation/Katharyn A. Gerlich
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Bruce Goldsmith
Peggy Parker Grauman
Los Angeles County Dept. of Arts & Culture Anahita and Jim Lovelace Meeghan and Michael Nemeroff Arline and Buddy Pepp Dwight Stuart Youth Fund Vanity Fair
GRoW @ Annenberg Foundation/ Gregory Annenberg Weingarten & Family Luanne Wells The Ahmanson Foundation
GOLD CIRCLE
Camille and Arnon Adar Ahsan Aijaz
Jacqueline* and Clarence Avant Leon Lowenstein Foundation/ John M. Bendheim Thomas J. Blumenthal
David C. Bohnett Colburn Foundation Carol Goldsmith
Chad Hummel and Tara Church Stacey and Donald Kivowitz Agnes Lew Cathy and Mark Louchheim Peter Lowy Nigel Lythgoe OBE Matt Construction Daphna Nazarian Neiman Marcus Linda May and Jack Suzar
The Estate of Ted and Hedy Orden Halle and Oliver Hammond
Vicki Reynolds and Murray Pepper Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Rosenstein Ruby Family Foundation/ Wendy and Ken Ruby Stephanie and Howard Sherwood The Simms/Mann Family Foundation Susan and Peter Strauss Linda May and Jack Suzar Leon and Stephanie Vahn Jonathan A. Victor May and Richard Ziman
SILVER CIRCLE
Anonymous City of Beverly Hills Lynn and Les Bider Family Foundation Anoosheh Bostani Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation Louise and Brad Edgerton Hon. MeraLee Goldman
Betty Hayman Morris and Shîla Hazan Charitable Fund Elisabeth and Jeffrey Lipsman National Endowment for the Arts
Gloria and Richard Pink Koni and Geoffrey Rich Karen Sulzberger and Eric Lax Bob Tuttle and Maria Hummer-Tuttle Catherine and Grant Withers
DIRECTORS CIRCLE
Beverly Hills Rotary Community Foundation Dale Cochran Bonnie and Ronald Fein The Feintech Family Foundation Sonia and Robert Freedman
Helene and Louis Galen Family Foundation Kiki and David Gindler
Debra Holstein Ronnie and Barbara Kahn David Lee Foundation Anu Leemann Karen and Walter Loewenstern Virginia and Francis S. Maas
Michal Amir Salkin and Kenneth H. Salkin Ronald and Carole Sasiela Moshe and Helen Sassover
The Selwyn/Wyatt Families The Younes & Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation
ARTISTS CIRCLE
Laura and Harvey Alpert Judith and Thomas Beckmen Martha and Barry Berkett Robert and Elissa Bregman Consulate General of Israel Eunice David Mrs. Diane Deshong Honorable Donna Ellman Garber Mimi Alpert Feldman
Sandra Krause and William Fitzgerald Judy O. and Robert T. Flesh Friars Charitable Foundation
Anita Dann Friedman
Benita and Bert Ginsberg Lou and Kelly Gonda Vera and Paul Guerin
Bucky Hazan & Eva Aaronson Dr. Ariella D. Herman Susan Howard Mark and Freya Ivener
Jewish Community Foundation Laurie and Lyn Konheim Pamela and Bob Krupka Tamara and David Lachoff Deborah Laub and Eddie Israel Lawry’s The Prime Rib Barbara and Joel Marcus Cookie Miller
Joanne Mogy
The Estate of Leah and William Molle
Ann Mulally
Lawrence Murphy
Ilene and Jeff Nathan
Suzanne Papaian
Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts
Jane Rascoff
Ron Rosen and Judi Lawenda
Barbara Ruben
Thomas Safran
Marc Selwyn Fine Arts
Joan and Paul Selwyn
In memory of Gail Silver
Lisa Sockolov
Melissa Rosenberg and Lev L. Spiro
Elaine and Ronald Stein
I.H. Sutnick
Elizabeth Topkis
Andrea Van de Kamp
Rayni Williams
ENTHUSIAST
Robert and Jeanie Anderson
Caherine Glynn Benkaim
Robert and Elissa Bregman
Judy Briskin
Barbara Bruser
Linda Burrow
Rosette Varda Delug
Laura Donnelly
Patricia Feldman
Diane Futterman
Howard Gleicher
Richard and Harriet Gold
Dr. Phillip Green and Dr. Neerad Varshney
Marty and Eden Halfon
Carolyn and Bernard Hamilton Bruce Heymont
Steven Jones
Deborah Bach Kallick
Sally Karbelnig
Patricia Keating and Bruce Hayes
Elodie Keene and Bruce Fortune
Joanne C. Kozberg
Stewart and Grace Krakover
Susan and George Krouse
Renee Kumetz
Pearle Rae & Mark Levey
Cornelius and Andrea Littlejohn
Marlene Louchheim
Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP
Jeannette Mandelbaum
The Marks Family Foundation
Jeanne and Leonard Marks
Charles and Dori Mostov
Mahnaz and David Newman
Phylis Nicolayevsky
Lee Ramer
Herbert and Felice Reston
Dan Ricketts
Brandi Roth and Bruce Clemens
Ann Sunshine Joel Wachs
Dr. and Mrs. Daniel Wallace
Janice and Daniel Wallace
Les Weinstein
Richard and Patricia Wilson
Keenan Wolens
Hailey Yoo
Marc Zachary Victoria Zalben
Walter Zifkin
THE WALLIS IS THE PROUD RECIPIENT OF GENEROUS SUPPORT AND RECOGNITION FROM
Christine Bernardi Weil
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Joel Hile
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Erin Mahan
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Coy Middlebrook
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Manuel Prieto
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Christopher Reardon
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION
David Truly
DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS
Michelle Wiesel
GENERAL MANAGER
Thomas Yamamoto
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Camille Jenkins PROGRAMMING MANAGER
Rachel Stormoen ARTISTIC COORDINATOR
Summer Grubaugh
DONOR RELATIONS AND SPECIAL EVENTS COORDINATOR
Loren Hayes
INSTITUTIONAL GIVING COORDINATOR
Minh Yin INDIVIDUAL GIVING COORDINATOR
Molly Lasher
SPECIAL EVENTS INTERN
Debra Pasquerette
DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE AGING PROGRAMS
Rachel Kilroy EDUCATION PROGRAM MANAGER
Madeleine Dahm ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
Victoria Kemsley
TEACHING ARTIST, CREATIVE AGING PROGRAM
Charleen Molina EDUCATION ASSISTANT
Michelle Rearick
GRAUMAN FELLOWSHIP ADVISOR
Annalise Englert EDUCATION INTERN
MARKETING
Chandra Jackson
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Hannah Burnett
DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER
Libby Huebner
Laura Stegman
PUBLIC RELATIONS CONSULTANTS
Meghan Ripchik DIGITAL MARKETING & PR INTERN
Samantha Else PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
Ojin Kwon
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Lauren Wemischner* LIGHTING SUPERVISOR
Joe Skowronski* INTERIM LIGHTING COORDINATOR
Joyce Maddox PRODUCTION ADMINISTRATOR
Bryant Heatherly PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Vanessa Mejia
PAYROLL & ACCOUNTS PAYABLE MANAGER
Emily Bisno
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO
FACILITIES
Roland Henriquez FACILITIES MANAGER
TICKET SERVICES
Jacob Houser
ASSISTANT TICKET SERVICES MANAGER
Tori Long TICKET OPERATIONS SPECIALIST
Eric Latham
Kevin Pass TICKET SERVICES ASSOCIATES
FRONT OF HOUSE
Bryan Puckett AUDIENCE SERVICES MANAGER
Piatrice Shekerjian HOUSE MANAGERS
Diana Borja
Timm Carney
Jacqui Creekmore
Judith Halle
Rashaida Hill
Nick Johnson
Ruby Layne
Adam Linde
Laura Long
Ann McDowell
Charlie Pinel
James Poulin
* The noted staff employed by The Wallis are members of the IATSE union.
WARNING: The photographic or sound recording of any performance or the possession of any device for such photographic or sound recording inside the theater, without the written permission of the management, is prohibited by law. Violators may be punishable by ejection and violations may render the offender liable for money damages.
The City of Beverly Hills collects both waste refuse and recyclables in the same container.
Rachel Fine EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO