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A fabulous opportunity awaits Chicagoans when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC), two of Chicago’s most important and accomplished arts institutions, celebrate their fifth season of collaboration with a special one-night-only performance on Friday, January 11 at 8 p.m. at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. The internationally acclaimed dancers of HSDC, under the artistic direction of Jim Vincent, will appear with the CSO in a program led by conductor Edwin Outwater. PricewaterhouseCoopers is the Exclusive Corporate Sponsor of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s appearance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
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Palladio duet
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The program for this fifth anniversary celebration revisits past collaborations and introduces several new works, including a preview of a new dance piece that will have its official world premiere by HSDC in March 2008. Returning works include the first-ever collaboration between HSDC and CSO, counter/part, which was choreographed by Jim Vincent and set to movements from Bach’s Brandenburg concertos. Also returning is Daniel Ezralow’s SF/LB, set to Leonard Bernstein’s “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs,” first performed by HSDC and the CSO in November 2004. New to CSO audiences is an excerpt from Palladio, Jim Vincent’s most recently choreographed work for HSDC, set to music by Karl Jenkins, which had its world premiere during the company’s 2007 Spring Series at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park. Also on the program is a preview of The Constant Shift of Pulse, choreographed by Doug Varone and set to music by John Adams, which receives its official company premiere during HSDC’s 2008 Spring Series March 26–April 5 at the Harris Theater.
Completing the program will be two pieces performed by the CSO alone: Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides Overture and Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances.
As one of Chicago’s leading cultural institutions, HSDC is continually expanding its audience base and seeking new artistic challenges. When Jim Vincent became artistic director, he stated that two of his goals for the company were to perform with live music and explore alternative venues (other than traditional dance theatres) for performances. The opportunity to collaborate with the CSO at Symphony Center fulfilled both of those goals.
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Feel the energy
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HSDC and the CSO first presented a joint program in January 2004, setting Jim Vincent’s counter/part to movements from Bach’s Brandenburg concertos. In November 2004, the two organizations presented the world premiere of Daniel Ezralow’s SF/LB, set to Leonard Bernstein’s “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs.” The third collaboration, in December 2005, involved choreography created especially for the HSDC-CSO partnership, Marguerite Donlon’s Strokes Through The Tail, performed to Mozart’s Symphony No. 40.
January 2007 marked the first time that both choreography and music were commissioned for the collaboration: conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen led the world premiere of From All Sides, featuring choreography by Jorma Elo with a score written by CSO Mead Composer-in Residence Mark-Anthony Turnage. The venture was made possible by The Prince Prize for Commissioning Original Work, awarded to both HSDC and the CSO. All four joint engagements have sold out and received extremely positive reviews from dance and music critics.
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counter/part
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In addition, the collaboration with the CSO has led to similar engagements for HSDC with other major orchestras. Partners have included the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada (January 2005 and February/March 2007) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl (July 2006).
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC), under the dynamic leadership of Artistic Director Jim Vincent, is among the most original forces in contemporary dance. Critically acclaimed for its exuberant, athletic and innovative repertory, HSDC presents performances that inspire, challenge and engage audiences worldwide. The company's 21 dancers display unparalleled versatility and virtuosity, allowing HSDC to expand its eclectic repertory continually with works by master American and international choreographers including Christopher Bruce, Marguerite Donlon, Nacho Duato, Daniel Ezralow, William Forsythe, Jirí Kylián, Lar Lubovitch, Susan Marshall, Trey McIntyre, Ohad Naharin, Kevin O'Day and Jim Vincent. HSDC also contributes to dance's evolution by developing new choreographic talent and collaborating with artists in music, visual art and theatre.
Since Lou Conte founded the company in 1977, HSDC has expanded beyond its main company to include Hubbard Street 2, which cultivates young professional dancers and choreographers and serves as the foundation of HSDC’s education initiatives; extensive Education & Community Programs, which offer city- and state-accredited professional development for teachers to incorporate movement into curriculums and expose young people to dance; and the Lou Conte Dance Studio, which offers a combined 80 classes weekly in jazz, ballet, modern, tap, hip-hop/funk, African and dance fitness for adults and teens at its state-of-the-art home studios and its satellite location, the Beverly Arts Center of Chicago. For more information, visit hubbardstreetdance.com.
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SF/LB
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Founded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is considered one of the greatest orchestras in the world. The CSO performs more than 100 concerts each year in Chicago and serves as its city’s ambassador in frequent sold-out tour performances across the country and internationally. CSO recordings have been awarded 58 Grammy® Awards, more than any other orchestra worldwide. Two of the world’s most celebrated conductors assumed titled positions with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the 2006-2007 season. Eminent Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink is the Orchestra’s principal conductor, and renowned French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez—the CSO’s Helen Regenstein principal guest conductor since 1995—furthers his long-standing relationship with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as its conductor emeritus. The Orchestra has had a long history of presenting groundbreaking performances of new music since its inception, having offered more than 330 world premieres and having commissioned more than 80 new works. The CSO is also the only American orchestra that has the distinction of an endowed composer-in-residence chair. Mark-Anthony Turnage and Osvaldo Golijov are the CSO’s Mead Composers-in-Residence through the Orchestra’s 2007-2008 season.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Friday, January 11 at 8 p.m. at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are $17–110 and are available by calling 312-294-3000 or visiting cso.org.
Photos:Todd Rosenberg Photography, courtesy of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
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