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March 2009
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Daniel Ezralow: A History of Creating with HSDC
Daniel Ezralow is a longtime member of HSDC’s extended artistic family, having choreographed five works in nearly 20 years, including SUPER STRAIGHT is coming down, READ MY HIPS, In Praise of Shadows and Lady Lost Found. A native of Los Angeles, he began dancing while at UC Berkeley and in New York with Lar Lubovitch, Paul Taylor and Pilobolus. He was one of the original dancer-choreographers of MOMIX and a founding member of ISO Dance, and he has created original works for the Paris Opera Ballet and Batsheva, among many others. Ezralow choreographed Julie Taymor’s The Green Bird on Broadway, Ron Howard’s film The Grinch and the 1998 Academy Awards and 2000 Grammy Awards programs for television. He has created music videos for Andrea Boccelli, U2, David Bowie, Sting and Ricky Martin.
HSDC is reviving Ezralow’s most recent work for the company, SF/LB (2004), for the 2009 Spring Series April 1–5 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park. SF/LB was exclusively underwritten by Meg and Tim Callahan in celebration of Meg's 50th birthday.
SF/LB was your fifth work for HSDC. Can you tell us a little about the creation process?
I usually create from an improvisational point of view. I always have various movement ideas circulating in my head, but until I meet the dancers I am to work on, I cannot define what it is I want to make, particularly with a concert dance company like Hubbard. I always trust that the dancers I work with will collaborate in searching and finding what needs to be made at that particular time and with my particular participation. This sounds like a role reversal but it is really very true to life. I am a visitor to the company and I must respect where the dancers are, both physically and mentally. Of course it is my job to mold this collaboration into something concrete so an audience can be fulfilled by what they have seen. In a way, I am a servant: I serve the dancers, the company, the audience and, last but not least, myself. With SF/LB we started by talking about why: Why move, why jump, why dance? This led us on a journey to justify the movements we were doing, which led to a catalyst for creation.
What was it like to shift from setting the piece to David Lang to using the Leonard Bernstein work? How did it change (or not) your original choreography?
Remarkably, it worked really well to both pieces of music. I play this little game with myself of switching the music to a work that I have already created. I find that it opens up my eyes to see the movement in a new way.
I think the biggest challenge in creating new work is continuing to see it with fresh eyes. We tend to become too obsessed with a certain way to do things and lose perspective and lack the distance to really judge whether the work is connecting or not. By shifting the music I can step away from the way I think it should be and open myself up for the work to tell me how it wants to be. In this case, Leonard Bernstein, and in particular "Prelude, Fugue and Riffs," told me that the movement in fact wanted to be less abstract and more comprehensible to a jazzy score. Switching the music didn't really change the steps very much, but it changed the way the dancers expressed them—like singing Porgy and Bess in an operatic way or jazzy blues way. It also changed the way the audience interpreted the work.
When the piece received its world premiere, what was it like to see the dancers perform your work with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra?
It was thrilling being on the stage of Symphony Hall with the revered Chicago Symphony and the fabulous David Robertson conducting, as well as having John Bruce Yeh (a classmate of mine in high school) playing on the very same clarinet that Benny Goodman must have played for the premiere of Bernstein’s work in 1955. John told me that the family of Benny Goodman, after hearing and seeing John play, had given him the clarinet some years before on permanent loan from the Benny Goodman estate.
You've been working with HSDC for 20 years. What are some of the company’s strengths, and how is it different from working with other companies?
Hubbard for me has always had the magic combination of being a company of great talented dancers, smart people, grounded individuals who search for new material and are willing to take risks. That is due in large part to the direction of the company, originating with Lou Conte and growing and flourishing wonderfully with Jim Vincent. There is a maturity and respect within the organization and professionalism mixed with creativity that I have rarely found anywhere else.
Can you tell us about some of your recent projects?
I have gotten very excited about choreographing for the screen, and with my work on Across The Universe I began to understand how to make dance for the lens. I am currently choreographing for television and have a concert tour of a new show titled Why be extraordinary when you can be yourself—WHY for short. I will continue to choreograph for concert stage, television and film, and it is my eclectic nature that keeps me challenged and enjoying all three fields of choreography.
National Choreographic Competition Cultivates New Work
Hubbard Street 2 Performs World Premiere During 2009 Spring Series
As part of its mission to develop exclusive repertoire for the institution and contribute to the evolution of dance, HSDC presents its annual National Choreographic Competition (NCC), which offers three emerging choreographers the opportunity to hone their skills and develop original works with Hubbard Street 2.
Each year, HSDC accepts submissions for the NCC from choreographers all around the country. Winners each participate in a two-week residency to create an original work for HS2 and lead a workshop open to the public, receiving a $2,000 stipend, round-trip transportation to and from Chicago, per diem and accommodations.
Past NCC winners include Robert Battle, Aszure Barton, Camille Brown, Alex Ketley, Janice Lancaster, Edwaard Liang, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Lesley Telford, Amy Raymond, Johannes Wieland and HSDC dancers Brian Enos and Terence Marling.
“The National Choreographic Competition is an opportunity for emerging choreographers to develop their craft utilizing the talent of HS2 dancers and creating an environment of growth for all involved,” said HSDC Artistic Associate Taryn Kaschock Russell, who coordinates the program. “It’s also a chance to encourage the dancers’ own creativity and generate audience awareness and support of new choreographic voices.”
Hubbard Street 2 will perform the world premiere of Blush, created by 2008 NCC winner Andrea Miller, during HSDC’s 2009 Spring Series April 1–5 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park. The 2008 National Choreographic Competition was funded with a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
“I found the creative process with the HS2 dancers to be the most valuable and memorable experience,” said Miller. “They were so open to creating, experimenting and getting exhausted with me. I loved to see them take so much ownership of the work. I felt that they wanted it to be a meaningful experience as much as I did. I felt easy leaving it in their hands when I left Chicago.”
Miller has seen her work performed in the United States, Canada and Israel. Recent commissions include Repertory Dance Theater (UT), Zenon Dance Company (MN) and Arts Umbrella (Vancouver). She has choreographed for students at The Juilliard School, Alvin Ailey, SUNY Purchase and New Jersey Dance Theater Ensemble and teaches dance and movement to actors. In 2006 she established Gallim Dance, a New York City-based contemporary dance company.
HSDC’s artistic staff is currently reviewing submissions for the 2009 NCC and will announce the winners this spring. Meanwhile, to catch the world premiere of 2008 NCC winner Andrea Miller’s Blush during HSDC’s 2009 Spring Series, click here.
“What are you wearing to Hubbard Street this spring?”
Bloomingdale’s Presents Spring Fashion Preview to Benefit HSDC
Chicago’s spring weather can be challenging in terms of deciding what to wear, and if you’re attending HSDC’s 2009 Spring Series, you want to look your best. Just in time, Bloomingdale’s and Tom Kolovos of TheBestDressedList.com will welcome HSDC fans for a sneak preview of new spring fashions, modeled by the HSDC dancers.
On Tuesday, March 24 from 5:30 to 8 p.m., the Bloomingdale’s Michigan Avenue store will host “Dance into Spring with Bloomingdale’s and HSDC,” a free cocktail party for 50 including delicious refreshments, scrumptious hors d’oeuvres and a fashion show, featuring our own HSDC dancers and the lively spring collection at Bloomingdale’s. And as a bonus, any guests who shop that evening will be supporting their favorite dance company: Bloomingdale’s will donate 10 percent of each purchase to HSDC.
To keep the event intimate, the guest list is limited to the first 50 people who respond. So don’t delay! RSVP to 312-440-4515 by Thursday, March 19.
“Out and About” with HSDC
Partners Night, Boston Series, LCDS 35th Anniversary Celebration
HSDC kicked off the new year with a series of memorable events.
Partners Night: Works-in-Progress on January 29 offered about 300 HSDC VIPs a sneak preview of the 2009 Spring Series April 1–5 at the Harris Theater, including HSDC dancer/choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo’s Off Screen. GoodSmith Gregg & Unruh LLP was Lead Sponsor of the event, which included a backstage tour and a Q&A.
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(L–R) HSDC Executive Director Jason Palmquist moderates a Q & A with HSDC dancer and choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo and Artistic Director Jim Vincent. |
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Artistic Director Jim Vincent and Marilee Unruh, GoodSmith Gregg & Unruh LLP, enjoy a moment of conversation. |
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HSDC Costume Mistress Rebecca Shouse (C) talks with guests about costuming HSDC’s repertoire during the backstage tour. |
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Boston Celebrity Series performances February 6–8 brought Bostonians to their feet at the Cutler Majestic Theater. The 1,500-seat house was filled to the rafters with HSDC fans from Boston, joined by a few from Chicago, including past HSDC Board Chairs Karen Lennon and Randy White and board member Joe Bohne, who helped to host Boston Ballet Artistic Director Miko Nissinen and Roz Anderson of Nederlands Dans Theater.
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HSDC board members Joe Bohne (L) and Karen Lennon, toasting dancers Alejandro Cerrudo and Kevin Shannon (2nd and 3rd from L), hosted an opening night dinner at Avila on Boston’s famed Charles Street to celebrate the start of the winter tour. |
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HSDC Associate Artistic Director Lucas Crandall and dancers Laura Halm (L) and Penny Saunders outside the Cutler Majestic in Boston. |
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The Lou Conte Dance Studio 35th anniversary celebration February 27–March 1 offered a weekend of activity and conversation. Beginning at midnight Friday, Cirque de Soleil performer and HSDC teaching artist Dionna PridGeon led a Midnight Dance Jam, a free jazz funk class incorporating elements of jazz and hip-hop. On Saturday evening, “Conversation with Lou” brought together past and present HSDC colleagues for an intimate discussion with Founder Lou Conte and founding dancer and current LCDS Director Claire Bataille. The celebration concluded March 1 with free beginner-level classes in ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, Pilates, African and tap, taught by members of the distinguished LCDS faculty.
Lou Conte is surrounded by former HSDC dancers (L–R) Karen (Frankel) Jones, Julie (Berman) Kaplan, Claire Bataille and Ginger Farley. Karen and Claire were two of HSDC’s four original dancers; Ginger joined the company in ’79 and Julie joined in ’80.
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Lou visits with current scholarship students and interns. |
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Former HSDC dancers John Ross and Cheryl Mann reconnect with Lou.
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