Presented in association
with the Museum of Contemporary Art,
March 7-8, 2015
March 7-8, 2015
CHICAGO – The Joffrey Academy of Dance,
Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, and the Museum of Contemporary
Art Chicago presents four World Premieres in the fifth annual “Winning
Works” program, the culmination of the 2015 Choreographers of Color
Awards. Three of the new works come from this year’s Award winners
Jennifer Archibald, Abdul Latif
and Stephanie Martinez. The fourth piece is a new work
by Joffrey Academy Artistic Director Alexei Kremnev
called Windy Sand with original music by Karen LeFrak. All four works are performed by dancers from the
Joffrey Studio Company and the
Joffrey Academy Trainee Program. The Joffrey Academy of Dance’s “Winning Works” program is presented at a new venue in 2015, the
Edlis Neeson Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E. Chicago Avenue, over three performances:
Saturday, March 7 at 3 pm and 7:30 pm and
Sunday, March 8 at 3 pm.
An
MCA Talk: First Night program takes place following the Saturday, March 7 evening performance.
Audience members are invited to stay at the end of the performance for a
conversation with the three Winning Choreographers and Alexei Kremnev,
moderated by Yolanda Cesta Cursach, Associate Director of Performance
Programs. A reception follows and is free to
the public.
New York-based Jennifer Archibald is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Arch Dance Company and Program Director of ArchCore40 dance intensives. In
2013, she was awarded a Choreographic Fellows for Ailey's New
Directions Choreography Lab under the direction of Robert Battle, while
in 2014, the international portion of Ailey II’s 31-city world tour
premiered Jennifer’s work “Wings” in Poland, Germany,
Luxembourg, France, and Canada. Specializing in the Meisner
technique, Archibald has said the narration of her new work (title TBA)
will develop as the Joffrey dancers’ stories are shared and begin to
evolve, with a common thread of each dancer's experience
tying the storyline together.
Movement will incorporate the technical fundamentals of ballet,
modern dance and hip hop. Audiences can expect to see dancers pushed
athletically, moving with and against gravity as well as lyrically
flying across space, encompassing both the hard edge
of street dance and the fluidity of classical technique.
Abdul Latif, also based in New York,
is a member of two dance companies:
The Group, Donald Byrd’s contemporary ballet company and The Works,
Jennifer Muller’s contemporary company. Latif has
two Tony® Award-winning Broadway credits, as an ensemble cast member
in The Lion King and in
Hairspray. He
is currently conceiving The NEXT Project, launching his urban-contemporary style, and opening a performing arts firm called Abdul Latif-D2D/T. His new work,
A Year From Now Ago, addresses the passage of time,
how we as human beings share time and space with one another as we
watch and endure the inevitability of death coming into our lives.
Transition, fear, resilience and the loving, fighting
spirit that lives within each of us all come to bear within the piece.
The choreography is based on movement traditions built from classical
forms, using a contemporary
aesthetic infused with an urban sensibility.
Stephanie Martinez is
an award-winning Chicago dance artist with over 30 years
professional performing experience. After a 17-year stint with River
North Dance Chicago, for which she merited a Ruth Page Award for
Outstanding Performance, Martinez joined the Lyric
Opera of Chicago as a principal dancer for its productions of
Manon and The Merry Widow, followed by the Marriott Theater's
production of Swing.
She has also performed with Luna Negra Dance Theater, Ron de Jesus
Dance, Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre and has choreographed
for Luna Negra, Elements Contemporary Ballet, Visceral Dance
Chicago, and more. For this program, Martinez has created a work (title
TBA) that is particular to our modern world where 'multi-cultural' is
often an intimate experience between two people.
Her eclectic movement style reflects an ability to straddle many
cultural divides, with her choreographic instincts and choices moving
beyond those traditionally associated with Latin culture. Audiences can
expect to see a marrying of disparate styles, infusing
ballet with edgier, jazz-based elements, and grounding the more
cerebral modern vocabularies in funk and hip-hop.
The Winning Works program also includes a new work
by Alexei Kremnev
Joffrey Academy Co-Artistic Director,
called Windy Sand with original music by Karen LeFrak and costume design by
B. Michael.
Windy Sand is inspired by the natural beauty that all Chicagoans know and love, Lake Michigan.
The Choreographers of Color Award was created to
recognize emerging minority choreographers and to provide them with a
platform to showcase their original and innovative work. Each of the
three selected choreographers are given a
minimum of 30 rehearsal hours, a $2,500 stipend and an opportunity to
work directly with Joffrey Academy Co-Artistic Directors, Alexei Kremnev
and
Anna Reznik.
“For the fifth year, The Joffrey is honored to
recognize the country’s most promising diverse choreographers and
provide this opportunity to set their works on dancers at the cusp of
their professional careers,” said Joffrey Ballet Artistic
Director Ashley Wheater. “Audiences are rewarded with a first
look at the high caliber of artistry presented by these talented and
dynamic choreographers.”
“Winning Works” is an
example of our commitment to nurturing and empowering the diverse voices
and talent of young choreographers,” said Joffrey Ballet Executive
Director
Greg Cameron. “The creative language of the choreographers, our
committed Joffrey Trainees, and Chicago’s enthusiastic dance audience
will all be enriched as three Joffrey premieres grace the stage of the
Edlis Neeson Theater at the MCA”.
Added Museum of Contemporary Art Director of Performance Programs
Peter Taub: “I’m thrilled to welcome the Joffrey Academy with
this project, which enhances MCA’s role as a home for artists performing
new works. It will be extraordinary to experience these fresh
choreographic visions and exquisite dancers in the intimacy
of the MCA Theater.”
MCA Stage is a nationally recognized presenter of
contemporary theater, dance, music, and multimedia performances.
Featuring leading performers from around the globe, including Chicago’s
innovative artists, MCA Stage is the most active
interdisciplinary performing arts presenter in Chicago. Visit
mcachicago.org to learn more.
Tickets for “Winning Works” 2015 at
the MCA, March 7 and 8, are $22 and available for purchase at the MCA
box office located at 220 E. Chicago Avenue, by telephone at
312-397-4010, or online at
www.mcachicago.org and
joffrey.org/winningworks.
The Joffrey Ballet is grateful for the support of
its “Winning Works” 2015 Sponsors Allstate, The Edward and Lucy R. Minor
Family Foundation, Patti S. Eylar and Charles R. Gardner and Katten
Muchin Rosenman, LLP, and to its Joffrey Academy
of Dance Sponsor Athletico.
Generous support for MCA Dance is provided by David Herro and Jay Franke.
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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