Manuel Vignoulle's ability to create intensely engaging choreography is something that a lot of people in the dance world have known about for a while now. Not surprisingly though, his choreography gets even more attention now, because last November, his work Black and White was awarded the 2017 Choreography Festival Grand Prize Award at the McCallum Theatre Choreography Festival.
When it comes to dance, Shannon Alvis has pretty much done it all! Not only has she danced with two of the most renowned companies in the world - Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) and Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), she was also a recipient of the Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Work’s Choreographic Competition in 2017. I got the chance to chat with Shannon about some of her most pivotal moments in her career as well as what she is working on next. Here is what she told us:
On March 23 & 24, the dancers of GDC will grace the stage at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago to celebrate 55 years of legacy and innovation. Among the works being presented is the world premiere of Take a Gambol, choreographed by former company member and current Operations Manager and Giordano II Director, Joshua Blake Carter. DancerMusic's Kristi Licera asked Joshua about his journey through Giordano, as well as the creative process behind his new work. Read on to learn more about Joshua and how he is weaving his thread into the fabric of American jazz dance:
This March, the Evanston Dance Ensemble will premiere its completely reimagined production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. In six performances over four days (March 15-16 at 7pm and March 17-18 at 1pm and 4pm) audiences at The Josephine Louis Theater will get to see Shakespeare's widely loved romantic comedy in a brand new light. We asked Evanston Dance Ensemble's Béa Rashid to tell us just a little more about this complex creative adventure, beginning with how she even got such a bold idea. Here's what Béa told us:
After closing their twentieth anniversary with a massively successful series of performances at Chicago's Logan Center (their performance of Fana Tshabalala's INDUMBA was named Dance of the Year by the Chicago Tribune's Lauren Warnecke), Deeply Rooted Dance Theater is already right back at it. They're performing at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, February 24 at 7:30pm in a program entitled "Looking To The Future". The program includes works by Kevin Iega Jeff ("Church of Nations" and "In a Child's Eye"), Gary Abbott ("Desire"), and by Nicole Clarke-Springer. Clarke-Springer's "Femme" was featured, and widely admired, in Deeply Rooted's Twentieth Anniversary concerts, but their "Looking To The Future" presentation at the North Shore Center will also include the World Premiere of her work "Alice". DancerMusic's Johnny Nevin asked Nicole about "Alice", Deeply Rooted, and about what she sees moving forward from here. Here's what Nicole told us ...
If you get the chance to listen to Doug Varone — to his insights into dance, into movement, or even just into what it means to live and create — it can be so riveting that you just might forget. You might forget that this can only be part of the story, because in three or so decades of choreographing and performing and directing, his impact has been so immense. Dancer Music's Johnny Nevin had the chance to ask Doug Varone about some of the ideas and inspirations that have illuminated his work as choreographer, artistic director, and performer, and here's what he told us ——
You need not look far for inspiration, especially in a city like Chicago where it can be found at every turn. Whether the artwork is visual or is a live performance, each creation is connected by its ability to reflect life. Still Inspired(?): Connections is an evening of dance that explores this connection between 'still' and 'live' art. Four choreographers each select a piece of art from a Chicago based visual artist to serve as the inspiration for a new choreographic work. Now in its fourth season of production, Still Inspired(?): Connections presents an evening of dance exploring the work
Choreographer Jessica Miller Tomlinson of JMT Choreography, is resetting her work 'Berseluk-Beluk', which originally premiered in July 2017 at Thodos Dance Chicago's final installment of 'New Dances'. DancerMusic's Kristi Licera caught up with Jessica as she prepares to present a re-staged version of this work this coming March. Read on to learn more about the origins of her work, and what it's like to reset with a different cast of dancers:
While freelancing may not provide the stability that a full-time company can, it has a world of benefits all its own that many professional dancers will experience at some point in their career. For dance artist Brandon Coleman, the transition from full-time company dancer to freelance artist also came with a change of environment - a move from Chicago to New York City. Read on to learn more about Brandon's journey and how some big changes have ignited a new chapter in his career:
There is a connection between still and live art, and Still Inspired: Connections is an evening of dance that explores that connection. Four choreographers each select a piece of art from a Chicago based visual artist to serve as the inspiration for a new choreographic work. Now in its fourth season of production, Still Inspired: Connections presents an evening of dance exploring the work of Sergio Gomez. For co-producer and presenting choreographer, Laura Thurston, the visual impact of Gomez's work led her on a choreographic journey that led to reflections on her life and those of her cast of dancers. Join DancerMusic's Kristi Licera as we PRE-View the premiere of Laura's upcoming work, Debate: