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May 2009
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Vincent’s Slipstream Highlights Summer Series
Artistic Director’s Fifth Work for HSDC Premieres
During his nearly nine years with HSDC, Jim Vincent has frequently assumed a dual role: leading the company as artistic director while simultaneously taking on the task of creating new work as a choreographer. The results of these occasional ventures in “multitasking” have been five ensemble works: counter/part (2002), set to Bach; Uniformity (2005), to Vivaldi, Jimi Hendrix and David Lang; Palladio (2007), to Karl Jenkins; One on One (2008), also to Vivaldi; and Slipstream, which receives its official premiere during HSDC’s 2009 Summer Series.
Slipstream is a dance for five couples set to an early Benjamin Britten work, “Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge,” which Vincent has pondered for most of his professional career. “At some level I felt I could relax because I knew the music quite well—at least my perspective on it,” he said. “I had been listening to it long enough that I was at ease with the composition and its detailed structure as well as the individual variations and the rich atmospheres they create.
“Bridge was Britten’s teacher and mentor, and Britten utilized the second section of Bridge’s ‘Three Idylls’ as a source of inspiration for each of the variations and to structure and assemble the complete composition,” Vincent explained. “He took that original theme and used it to poke fun at traditional and popular styles of music, like the waltz and bouree. So he creates these succinct environments that one can find ease and comfort with quickly, especially for the ear. We tried to tap into that straightforwardness through some brief relationships or encounters within relationships.”
Vincent found the experience of creating Slipstream “less stressful” because “I allowed myself the right to choreograph…I guess I was just more comfortable in that skin. The dancers were very supportive and creative through the process, too. All in all, I believe we had an enjoyable time assembling the piece, with few moments of doubt. We spent much of our time considering our options, alternatives, and ultimately, it was time well spent.”
Like his first HSDC work, counter/part, Vincent’s newest effort was seen first by Chicago audiences in a collaborative performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Following that performance, critic Andrew Patner wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times that Slipstream “is one of the finest marriages of a new dance and live music in the partnership [between HSDC and the CSO] thus far…The passionate music of transformation and human change and the dance on the same themes meld together as one…”
Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein described the piece as “a playful mating ritual in the abstract, laced with delicious postmodernist wit. The dancers threw themselves into this nifty creation like lithe and limber dervishes…”
Vincent believes that Slipstream works equally well with live and recorded music. “There is a tension, an excitement, a spontaneity with live musicians that is incomparable. On the other hand, I think that the connection between the movement and the music, for the viewer as well as the dancers, is more obvious and direct with the recording as the piece was specifically created to one recorded interpretation.”
In August, Vincent will join Nederlands Dans Theater as its artistic director. Though this appointment did not have an impact on the initial creation of Slipstream, it did affect its completion. “I won’t be focused on choreography when I get to NDT as there will be so many other areas of artistic business and creative development to attend to,” he said. “Ultimately I am satisfied and content with this recently finished work—and it is now time to shift my focus to other priorities, at least for the time being.”
HSDC will premiere Slipstream on a program of HSDC originals—Nacho Duato’s Gnawa (2005) and dancer Alejandro Cerrudo’s Extremely Close (2008)—for the 2009 Summer Series June 4–7 at the Harris Theater. Click here for tickets.
“Inside/Out” Reveals Dancers’ Choreographic Talents
Ninth Annual Choreographic Workshop at HSDCenter June 27
New dances and new challenges for dancers—these are just two of the contributions each year from HSDC’s “Inside/Out” Choreographic Workshop.
Established by Artistic Director Jim Vincent, “Inside/Out” is an opportunity for HSDC dancers to choreograph and explore related talents, developing skills that will facilitate the transition to the next stage in their careers. Dancers work with their peers to create original choreography, then present their pieces as works-in-progress for the public. Some company members take on administrative and technical responsibilities.
Now in its ninth year, “Inside/Out” has added a new layer by challenging the participating dancers to create site-specific works in various spaces within the Hubbard Street Dance Center, from the warehouse to the conference room to offices. The works-in-progress will be performed on Saturday, June 27.
“Inside/Out” is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Dancers who will rise to this challenge and choreograph work using their fellow company members include Shannon Alvis, Meredith Dincolo, Brian Enos, Jason Hortin, Terence Marling, Jamy Meek, Kevin Shannon, Ben Wardell and Robyn Mineko Williams, along with Associate Artistic Director Lucas Crandall and Artistic Associate Taryn Kaschock. Programming is subject to change.
“In addition to cultivating the next generation of contemporary choreographers, the Choreographic Workshop allows us to develop work that is exclusive to our company,” said Vincent. “For example, dancer Alejandro Cerrudo’s Lickety-Split (2006), Associate Artistic Director Lucas Crandall’s Gimme (2005) and dancer Brian Enos’ Diphthong (2004) were developed through ‘Inside/Out.’”
For more information about “Inside/Out,” click here.
Summer’s Here and the Time is Right for Dance:
HSDC Offers Free Workshops/Performances, Hosts Summer Camp
This summer, HSDC is launching two programs that focus on providing families with opportunities to participate in an interactive dance experience and developing creatively stimulating summer activities for children: Hubbard Street in the Parks and Discover Dance.
Hubbard Street in the Parks, in collaboration with the Chicago Park District, will reach new, underserved families in six Chicago communities and allow them to experience both the visual spectacle and the process of choreography.
At several of the Park Districts, HSDC is working with the Parkways Foundation (the Park District’s philanthropic partner) to collaborate with their successful “Movies in the Park” program. At these locations, HSDC will offer Dance Explorations, our acclaimed 45-minute interactive family workshops, that allow parents and children to create dance together as they explore the integral role movement plays in expression and communication; a performance in the park by HSDC dancers, which will give program participants an opportunity to see how professional dancers implement concepts they leaned about in the workshop, while also creating a shared arts experience that the families can discuss together; and the concluding Movie in the Park.
HSDC also will present its Dance Explorations family movement workshops and performance, in conjunction with the Chicago Park District Summer Dance Camp, at several other Park Districts. Parents and caregivers will meet up with their children at the end of the camp day for an informal picnic dinner, followed by the HSDC program.
In recent years, numerous teachers and parents whose students participate in HSDC’s in-school programs throughout the year requested additional opportunities for further student enrichment. To meet this need for children throughout Chicagoland, HSDC has created Discover Dance, a summer camp that introduces students with varied levels of dance experience to the exciting world of contemporary dance. Working with HSDC’s professional dancers and teaching artists, students will experience professional dance from the ground up as they become HSDC choreographers. Each class will explore how contemporary dance is created by learning Lesley Telford’s Page One, created for and performed around the world by Hubbard Street 2, and will then use that experience to create a new work based on the themes and processes used in that work to be performed on the last day of camp.
This one-week camp, which takes place July 13–17 at the Hubbard Street Dance Center, will reach approximately 20 students who have completed kindergarten through second grade and 20 who have completed third through fifth grades.
“We believe that it is important for everyone to have active arts experiences in order to stimulate creativity, expression and engagement in the city’s cultural dialogue,” said Kathryn Humphreys, director of HSDC’s Education & Community Programs. “Dance has a unique ability to create these types of experiences, and audiences are better able to participate when they have taken part in the choreographic process and begun their own conversations about the art form.”
For more information about Hubbard Street in the Parks or Discover Dance, click here or call 312-850-9744, ext. 194.
Spring Events Set Festive Tone for Spring Series
HSDC kicked off—and concluded—its 2009 Spring Series with its two popular annual parties: Bold Moves for Bold Women, a preshow networking event, on Wednesday, April 1, and the Celebrity Cast Party, a closing night celebration for the LBGT community, on Sunday April 5.
Bold Moves for Bold Women was generously sponsored by Baker & McKenzie, Lead Corporate Sponsor, and Tiara, the Exceptional Women’s Network, Contributing Sponsor. The Celebrity Cast Party was generously sponsored by Exelon, Lead Corporate Sponsor. HSDC also thanks desert*rose graphic design for providing the graphic design services for both events. For a complete list of event sponsors, click here.
Bold Moves for Bold Women
(photos by HSDC staff)
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(L–R) HSDC board member and Bold Moves for Bold Women Co-Chair Betsy Morgan (Baker & McKenzie) enjoys great wine and conversation with Susan Webster and her guest, along with Donna Fleming. |
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HSDC board Treasurer Julia Antonatos tastes wines produced by female-owned vineyards and provided by Tara Nemeth of House Red, wine sponsor of HSDC’s Bold Moves for Bold Women. |
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Jaclyn Mitchell (Baxter International) enjoys a hand massage by mySpa, The Fairmont Chicago’s new spa retreat. |
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(L–R) HSDC Immediate Past Board Chair and Bold Moves for Bold Women Co-Chair Karen Lennon (SomerCor) spends time with Karen Lawler (GlenOaks Hospital Foundation), Jane Hove (Bloomingdale Chamber of Commerce), Rhonda Porkoj (Advantage National Bank Group) and Christine Smith (Advantage National Bank Group). |
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(L–R) Lourdes McKillup and Paula Krasny (Baker & McKenzie) talk with Chicago fashion designer Maria Pinto. |
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Celebrity Cast Party
(photos by Robert F. Carl)
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