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January 2010

Alejandro Cerrudo became HSDC’s first Resident Choreographer in 2008. But even before his appointment to this position, he had been creating works for the company since arriving as a dancer in 2005: Lickety-Split (2006) and Extremely Close (2008). His third work, Off Screen, had its world premiere during HSDC’s 2009 Spring Series.

Cerrudo received his training at the Real Conservatario Professional de Danza de Madrid. After joining the Stuttgart Ballet in 1999, he choreographed his first piece, Beige and Brown, which was performed at their annual Noverre’s Association Workshop in 2000. He went on to create more works for the Stuttgart’s Noverre Gesellschaft workshop and the Sphaera Organization. In 2005 Cerrudo received awards for two pieces that he created for the 5th International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition in Nagoya, Japan, and in 2006 he received an award for his solo work FUEL at the 20th International Choreographic Competition for Young Choreographers in Hanover, Germany.

Cerrudo’s most recent work, First Light, will receive its world premiere during HSDC’s 2010 Spring Series at the Harris Theater, performed by Hubbard Street 2.

Tell us about this new work.
First Light uses all six HS2 dancers. It is set to a piano transcription of Philip Glass’s opera Orphée but it is not the story from the opera [based on the Greek legend about the musician/poet Orpheus and his doomed journey to rescue his wife, Eurydice, from the underworld]. Like the story, this piece explores light and darkness, but the focus is on the movement and organic partnering. The dancing space is only the front half of the stage. The costumes by Branimira are very simple and elegant.

What’s it like working with HS2? How is it different from working with the main company?
It’s wonderful. They give so much, they’re so hungry for whatever you have to say. I’ve learned a lot. They are extremely professional and they show their youth only with their eagerness to learn and experience something new. The big difference from working with the main company is that I had much less time in the studio, only about two weeks, although we’ll be working again for a week in February. Communicating what you want in terms of the movement is different when you’re working with less-experienced dancers, but sometimes it’s a good thing to work with dancers at different levels of maturity; because they’re younger, they translate the movement differently.

HS2 performs much of the time for school-aged children. Does that have an impact on what you’re creating?
I didn’t choreograph with [an eye to] this role. I see HS2 in a much broader perspective, not just in terms of their performances at schools. There is no difference in the quality or content of their repertoire. I purposely didn’t think about it being viewed by students. This piece could work on the main company too.

You’ve choreographed about one new piece each year for the past several years. How is this affecting you as a dancer?
It’s affecting me positively; I’m more and more aware of how I develop as a dancer because I’m on “the other side” [choreographer] on other days. Sometimes it can be complicated to all of a sudden switch roles and change my relationships with the other dancers. But it’s enriching me enormously because I’m learning and experiencing so much in a short time. It’s like an advanced course in dancing and choreography; it makes me hyper-aware of everything in a good way. The more I do it, the more comfortable I feel with it, and I think my colleagues as well. I’m very interested in maintaining both sides for a while longer.

Do you approach things differently now than when you created Lickety-Split?
Very much, and I hope it keeps changing until I die! I take each new work as a new experience. I don’t have a formula that I use in every piece; every time I start a new work, I start from scratch. I’m always searching for new ways and better ways to create. I’m extremely interested in finding ways to enhance the atmosphere in the studio to make the work even better. The ambience you create in the studio has so much impact on the final product.

Opportunities are available to sponsor First Light. For information about sponsorship levels and the benefits of underwriting a new dance, please contact Manager of Individual Giving Meg Cockrell, 312-850-9744 ext. 130 or mcockrell@hubbardstreetdance.com.

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Following its successful debut in 2009, HSDC’s Family Workshop Series returns in early 2010. HSDC teaching artists will lead these workshops, which allow parents and children to experience dance as they participate in a variety of movement activities, culminating in the creation of a new family dance all their own.

“HSDC has shown my daughter that dance is not just a series of steps to memorize, but rather her own unique way of moving through the world,” said one parent. “The confidence she’s developed in her body is amazing.” Commented another parent, “My son has developed his creativity, while gaining control and coordination.”

HSDC thanks Target, Lead Community Partner and sponsor of the workshops and the Family Matinee performance.

Lead Community Partner

The 2010 schedule to date is as follows:

Saturday, February 27, 1 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe
Workshop includes a greenhouse walk.
Participation fee: $5 per person

Saturday, March 6, 11 a.m.–12 noon
The Center on Halsted
3656 N. Halsted Street, Chicago
Participation fee: $5 per person (must register no later than March 5)

Still to be scheduled: Art Institute of Chicago
111 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago
Check back soon for more information!

Call Kristen Jacobson at 312-850-9744, ext. 149 or e-mail community@hubbardstreetdance.com to register for any of the Family Workshops.

Saturday, March 20: Performance 3–4 p.m., Workshop 4:30–5:30 p.m.
Hubbard Street 2 Family Matinee AND Family Workshop
Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park
205 E. Randolph, Chicago
Families will enjoy an interactive program that features a mix of performance and experiential activities with the artists. After the performance, audience members may participate in a special Discover Dance Family Workshop at the Harris Theater.

Performance Tickets: $9 children/$18 adults for the performance.
(312-850-9744 or hubbardstreetdance.com)
Workshop: $5 per person
(312-850-9744, ext. 149 or e-mail community@hubbardstreetdance.com)

In addition to these special Family Workshops, HSDC offers a series of Youth Dance Classes for youth ages 9 months – 13 years. For more information, click here.

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HSDC’s main company made memories during the fall—for audiences and themselves—when they toured to Israel, the Netherlands and Germany, performing a program of Jim Vincent’s Slipstream, Alejandro Cerrudo’s Off Screen, Nacho Duato’s Gnawa and Jorma Elo’s Bitter Suite. Standing ovations abounded, and the company, including several board members who joined them for parts of the tour, had a great time.

“I have seen Hubbard Street perform internationally and nationally throughout the years, and it is always thrilling to sit in the audience and see how enthusiastically we are received,” said board member Linda Hutson.

The company made its Israel debut with four performances in Tel Aviv, where they also had the opportunity to work with choreographer Ohad Naharin on his work Tabula Rasa, in preparation for the 2009 Winter Series. “To be around Ohad, seeing him move and hearing what he has to say, is quite inspiring,” wrote HSDC dancer Jason Hortin in Hubbard Street Dance World, the company blog. “It’s amazing how much someone can affect you in such a short time. Ohad is truly a master of his craft and it’s been an honor working with him.”

Board Vice President of Membership Meg Siegler Callahan and her husband Tim spent a day off with the dancers. “We climbed Masada together and then went to the Dead Sea for a mud party and a refreshing float. Spending a day with the dancers of HSDC is as much fun as watching them on stage.”

Following two performances in Jerusalem and two in Haifa, the company traveled to the Hague (Den Haag) in the Netherlands to perform in the Holland Dance Festival. There they had a happy reunion with former Artistic Director Jim Vincent (now Artistic Director for Nederlands Dans Theater) and former company dancers Shannon Alvis and Jamy Meek. HSDC was greeted in grand style when United States Ambassador to the Netherlands Fay Hartog Levin hosted a reception for the company at her residence in The Hague. Ambassador Levin is a longtime HSDC fan and her daughter, Alyssa Rapp, serves on the HSDC board of directors.

“Den Haag is the Mecca of Dance—and Dutch dance aficionados see the best, including their ‘home team,’ the Nederlands Dans Theater,” remarked HSDC Board President Marc Miller. “Hubbard Street performed magically, captivating and exciting the audience, who responded with a well-deserved standing ovation. There is no question in my mind that HSDC is one of the most important contemporary dance companies and they proved that in their performances at the Holland Dance Festival. It was great fun to see the company on the road!”

The tour wrapped up with two performances in Germany, one in Coesfeld and the other in Friedrichshafen. German audiences have always responded enthusiastically to HSDC, and these performances were no exception. To read more about the tour and view photos, visit Hubbard Street Dance World and look back through the blog entries from October and November.

After returning from the tour, Hutson commented, “I think we tend to forget that when Hubbard Street Dance Chicago travels, we carry the town of Chicago in our name. We define contemporary dance in Chicago, and we who support the company should be very proud to be casting such a powerful, artistically and technically superb net to such far reaches of the globe.”

Coming up in early 2010, in addition to domestic tour stops in suburban Chicago (Governor’s State University, January 23) and Portland, Oregon and the 2010 Spring Series in March, the company visits Santiago, Chile for four performances in March. To keep up with HSDC’s touring schedule, click here.

These engagements were supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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In recent months, HSDC’s Board of Directors has approved the following new members:

		Juan Roberto DeAngulo joined Cape Horn Group in 2006, responsible for general oversight of all Cape Horn projects in Chicago including marketing, sales, operations and overall development activities. He previously managed and oversaw the execution of two pioneer industrial condo conversions in Southeast Florida. He entered the real estate industry in 2004, following a successful career in information technology with companies including enterprise solutions provider Lilly Software. He holds a B.B.A. (cum laude) from East Tennessee State University and an M.B.A. in international business from Regent University.
		Frances Henkel is a managing director and market manager in Private Wealth Management for JP Morgan. Her team is responsible for advising high net worth individuals on their investment, banking and trust needs. Prior to this position she was with JP Morgan’s Investment Bank as a managing director specializing in syndicated and leveraged finance. She currently serves on the Development Board of PAWS (Pets are Worth Saving) and co-chaired the 2008 Winter Benefit for Thodos Dance Chicago. She graduated with a B.A. from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and an M.B.A. from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
		Benjamin Reyes is president and CEO of DSR Group, Inc., which provides construction management services for more than $100 million in retail and residential development. He is a board member of the Public Building Commission of Chicago and previously was the Commission’s executive director, and he is a director of First Chicago Bank and Trust and board chair of National Urban Fellows. He served as COO for the Chicago Public Schools and Commissioner for the City of Chicago’s Department of General Services. He earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Illinois.
		Lyndon Taylor is a managing director in the Chicago office of Russell Reynolds Associates and a member of its Asset & Wealth Management, Global Banking & Markets and Board Services Practices. He also coordinates the firm’s Diversity Practice. Prior to beginning his executive search career in 2000, he held investment banking positions with UBS Warburg LLC and Merrill Lynch and worked in corporate development for Enron. He also served in the U.S. Navy. He received his B.A. in history and his B.S. in ethnic studies from Southern Methodist University. He earned his M.B.A., with concentrations in business policy and strategic management, from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

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