Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Returns with Thrilling Program Feb. 23
"Hubbard Street Dance Chicago proves that contemporary choreography can be joyous, readily understandable and thoroughly engaging."- The Boston Herald Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will bring a special program to Portland that features the dazzling work Walking Mad, choreographed by Johan Inger, former Artistic Director of Stockholm’s Cullberg Ballet, set to Ravel’s "Bolero." The evening also includes Tabula Rasa, a masterwork by Ohad Naharin of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company, and a new piece, Bitter Suite, by Jorma Elo, whose thrilling Red Sweet closed Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s program in October. Beginning with the Jorma Elo work, that HSDC commissioned and premiered in Fall 2009, Bitter Suite opens with a furiously alive first movement, set to Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, which segues into a more meditative, less frenzied second movement, set to Monteverdi. As was demonstrated by Elo’s Red Sweet for Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Bitter Suite displays Elo’s complex, physically demanding choreography that the eight HSDC dancers perform with impressive agility and forcefulness. The second piece is Ohad Naharin’s Tabula Rasa (1986), widely considered one of the famed choreographer’s masterworks. The haunting score by Arvo Pärt accompanies movement evoking anxiety and tension as the 10 dancers try to establish intimate relationships with each other. In the second part, the dancers enter one by one, in a slow, rocking motion, building momentum and suggesting that they have acquired a greater sense of balance and wisdom. The Chicago Tribune called the work "striking, exquisite and gently profound."
Who: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton
Presented by: White Bird
When: Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 7:30pm
Where: Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
"White Bird Words" Pre-Show Talk: Bob Hicks, former Editor and Arts Writer, The Oregonian, 6:45 -7:05 pm Schnitzer Lower Lobby, free to all ticket-holders
Sponsor: The Oregonian
Tickets: $20-$50 plus service fee. 20% discounts for students/seniors.
1.800.745.3000 all Ticketmaster outlets including PCPA Box Office. Online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Group Discounts/Info: 503.245.1600 ext. 201.
Visit www.whitebird.org for the latest information.
The program will close with Johan Inger’s "Walking Mad," a refreshing, totally unpredictable treatment of Ravel’s "Bolero." There are numerous surprises in this work that will not be divulged in this press release. Johan Inger has said of the piece, which he created in 2001 for Nederlands Dans Theater, "It revolves around a man on a journey to something, encountering a new world, a world of madness, playfulness and sadness. I wanted the audience to feel as if they had been taken on an emotional roller-coaster ride."
One of the country’s most important contemporary dance companies, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago showcases a vast array of techniques and forms, an understanding of abstract artistry and an appreciation for the emotional nuances of movement. It is a repository for work by some of the 20th and 21st century’s foremost contemporary choreographers and has commissioned more than 25 new dance works over the past eight seasons.
Founded in 1977 by Lou Conte, HSDC grew out of Lou Conte’s Dance Studio and, within 10 years, was attracting nationally known choreographers. During Conte’s 23 years at HSDC, he developed relationships with emerging and world-renowned choreographers including Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Margo Sappington, Daniel Ezralow, Nacho Duato, Jiří Kylian, and Twyla Tharp. Upon Conte’s retirement in 2000, Jim Vincent became Artistic Director, introducing new choreographic development initiatives that helped dancers such as Alejandro Cerrudo, Brian Enos and Terence Marling create their own works for HSDC. In 2009, Glenn Edgerton, former Artistic Director of Nederlands Dans Theatre (NDT), replaced Vincent who, incidentally, left to become Artistic Director of NDT.Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton began his dancing career at The Joffrey Ballet where, mentored by Robert Joffrey, he performed leading roles in the company's contemporary and classical repertoire for 11 years. In 1989, Edgerton joined the acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater and, after dancing for five years, retired from performing to become Artistic Director of the main company, leading NDT1 for a decade and presenting the works of Jirí Kylián, Hans van Manen, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Mats Ek, Nacho Duato, Jorma Elo, Johan Inger, among others. From 2006 to 2008, he directed The Colburn Dance Institute at The Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles. Edgerton joined HSDC’s artistic leadership team full-time as Associate Artistic Director in 2008 before becoming Artistic Director in June 2009.
White Bird’s 12th season (2009-10) is supported by the Regional Arts & Culture Council and Work for Art, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Meyer Memorial Trust, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, The Collins Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, Oregon Cultural Trust, The Kinsman Foundation, The Jaffe Foundation, The Autzen Foundation, Bank of America Foundation, Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) and U.S. Bancorp Foundation
