CHOREOGRAPHERS OF COLOR AWARD 2013
Three aspiring choreographers present World Premieres
at the Harris Theater March 10, 2013
CHICAGO – The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, presents the Third Annual Winning Works: Choreographers of Color Award, featuring three World Premieres by rising-star choreographers Ma Cong, William McClellan and Jeremy McQueen. New York-based fashion designer LaQuan Smith will conceptualize and design a costume for McQueen’s piece. The three World Premieres, along with Academy Co-Artistic Director Alexei Kremnev’s work titled Carnival of Animals, are presented in Winning Works: Choreographers of Color Award 2013 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, in one performance only, Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 4 pm.
The
Choreographers of Color Award was created to recognize promising young
minority choreographers whose diverse perspective will ignite creativity
in the field of dance. Each of the three
selected choreographers are given a minimum of 30 rehearsal hours to set
a new work on the Joffrey Academy Trainees. Each winning choreographer
also receives a $2,500 stipend and an opportunity to work directly with Joffrey Academy Artistic Directors, Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik.
"I am proud that the Choreographers of Color Award
has become an important platform for emerging and talented
choreographers,” said Ashley C. Wheater, Artistic Director of The
Joffrey Ballet. “It is our role as a leader in the industry to foster
and nurture the next generation of innovative and inspiring artists.”
“At the Joffrey, nurturing the next generation of artists is just as important as preserving the classics,” said Christopher Clinton Conway, The Joffrey Ballet’s Executive Director. “This
program provides the resources to support young artists and build new
audiences leading to the creation of important works of art. We
are deeply grateful to Allstate, Boeing, Sara Lee Foundation, Patti S.
Eylar and Charles R. Gardner and the Harris Theater for supporting this
artistic initiative.”
Ma Cong started
his career at the Beijing Dance Academy training as a Chinese Classical
dancer before he joined the National Ballet of China in 1995, then
Tulsa Ballet in 1999. He worked with international directors and
choreographers and performed leading roles in works by Balanchine,
Cranko, Robbins, Tharp, Duato, Kudelka, Kylian, Forsythe, MacMillan,
Hans Van Manen and many others. Cong has also appeared as a Principal
Guest Artist on international stages across the world. As a
choreographer, Cong has created original works for Tulsa Ballet, Houston
Ballet, BalletMet, Ballet Florida, Smuin Ballet, Richmond Ballet,
Ballet Nouveau Colorado, Ballet Des Moines, among others. In 2006, Cong
was named one of the “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine for his dancing and choreography as well as The Choo-San Goh award in 2007. In 2008, Cong was the winner of the 21st Century Choreographic competition and also received the “Audience Favorite” and received the “Editor’s Choice Award” from Pointe Magazine. Most recently, Richmond Ballet performed Cong’s Ershter Vals at the Linbury Studios at the Royal Opera House to sold out audiences.
William McClellan
is currently an MFA candidate in the Department of Dance at University
of Michigan. Before coming to Ann Arbor, he was principal dancer and
resident choreographer for ten years for the first and second Dayton
Contemporary Dance Companies (DCDC/DCDC2) in Dayton, Ohio. He worked
with renowned artists such as Bill T. Jones, Bebe Miller, Eleo Pomare,
Warren Spears, Ron Brown, Diane McIntyre, and Rennie Harris. He
represented DCDC at dance festivals, performing Talley Beatty’s
signature solo Mourner’s Bench, and received numerous awards,
including the JOSIE for Best Dancer in Performance and a Princess Grace
Awards nomination. He has created ballets for the Dayton Contemporary
Dance Company and the Cincinnati Ballet and has received recognition for
his choreography from the Ohio Senate. He was also an original member
of CounterGroove Dance Company in Detroit, MI. McClellan hails from the
South Side of Chicago and is a Whitney Young High School graduate.
San Diego native Jeremy McQueen has appeared in the 1st Broadway National Tours of Wicked and The Color Purple in addition to the New York City and National Touring companies of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
McQueen, a 2008 graduate of The Ailey School/Fordham University, BFA in
Dance program, has presented his choreographic works throughout New
York City, including the seventh annual Dance From The Heart concert presented by Dancers Responding to AIDS, the Young Choreographer's Festival held at Symphony Space, and the Dance Gallery Festival. In July 2012, McQueen's choreography was featured in the 80th
Anniversary of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival - Inside/Out series.
Most recently, McQueen was named a finalist for the 2012 Capezio Award
for Choreographic Excellence (Capezio A.C.E. Award). McQueen began his
training at the California Ballet School and the San Diego School of
Creative and Performing Arts. He has also trained as a scholarship
recipient with the San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and
Alonzo King's LINES Ballet. He
has also taught at the Peridance Capezio Center, Alvin Ailey Dance
Foundation, Steps on Broadway, and numerous high schools, universities
and dance studios around the country. He is currently on faculty at
Broadway Dance Center in New York City.
LaQuan Smith
has always had a love for fashion and design, but at the age of 13, his
grandmother passed on her old Singer sewing machine for him to practice
on. Smith began with simple patterns and then developed his own
techniques on creating garments. In 2007, after graduating from high
school, Smith began working as an intern at Blackbook, a
prominent magazine in New York City. After realizing his fashion thirst
was not yet quenched, he began exploring his design talents. In 2008, he
created his self-titled designer brand. Multiple fashion experiences
and pure ambition have opened doors for Smith, allowing him to work with
some of the industry’s top models and photographers. He started off
designing custom pieces for an array of celebrities, pop culture icons,
and artists including: Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Tyra
Banks, Sessilee Lopez, and fashion personality Andre J, among many
others.
The Winning Works program will also include a world premiere Carnival of the Animals
created by the Joffrey’s Academy Artistic Director Alexei Kremnev. It
will include a music score by Camille Saint-Saens’s and costumes by
Gabriel Hanson.
Ticket Information
Tickets for the Winning Works: Choreographers of Color Award 2013 at the Harris Theater are
$18
in advance and $22 at the door. Tickets can be purchased in advance by
visiting or calling the Harris Theater Box Office at 312-334-7777 or
online at www.harristheaterchicago.org.
About the Joffrey Academy Trainees
Students
are selected to participate in the Trainee Program by invitation from
The Joffrey Ballet Artistic Director, Ashley C. Wheater, and Academy
Artistic Directors, Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik. The Trainee Program
is a rigorous program in which students train in ballet and other dance
disciplines. Graduates from this program have been accepted into
ballet companies around the world, including The
Joffrey Ballet, Staatsballet Berlin, Dresden Semperoper, Atlanta
Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballet
Met, Richmond Ballet, Complexions and many more.
Trainees
rehearse and perform classical and contemporary works from The Joffrey
Ballet’s extensive repertoire and have the opportunity to work with
world-renowned guest choreographers. For
more information on the Academy Trainees of the Joffrey Ballet, or
other programs at the Academy of Dance, Official School of the Joffrey
Ballet, please visit joffrey.org/academy
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