Loni Landon and Alex Soares Win Hubbard Street National Choreographic Competition

Terence Marling, Director of Hubbard Street 2 (HS2) and Hubbard Street Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton announce today the two winners of the 14th annual National Choreographic Competition (NCC), a program of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's Choreographic Development Initiative. 2013 winners Loni Landon of New York City and Alex Soares of São Paulo, Brazil, will each create an original work in fall 2013 while in residence at Chicago's Hubbard Street Dance Center. Both new works receive their world premieres in early 2014, at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts in Bloomington, Illinois.

Prompted by the loss of her family's home during Hurricane Sandy, Landon plans to choreograph a piece investigating themes of dispossession and recovery. "I want to focus on emotional as well as physical collapse, and the experience of rebuilding - the journey one takes when putting something back together," Landon explains. Her two-week creative residency with HS2 is scheduled for August 26 through September 6, 2013.

The Working Title for Soares' piece is Morador Deserto, Portuguese for "desert dweller." Soares' concept for a creation investigating perceived isolation is inspired in part by the music of composer and cellist Julia Kent. "Loneliness is not necessarily about being literally alone," Soares explains. "I'm interested in the feeling of being alone while surrounded by other people." Soares' two-week creative residency is scheduled for October 28 through November 8, 2013.

Says HS2 Director Terence Marling: "I'm excited to bring Hubbard Street 2 together in the studio with these two terrific young artists. I know that their choreography will push the dancers to the limits of their physicality, and I hope that the dancers' talents push these choreographers to expand their creative voices."

Says BCPA Performing Arts Director Joel Aalberts: "I am very excited Hubbard Street 2 has selected the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts to debut these two new works as a part of our 2013-14 season. HS2's commitment to developing new work by up-and-coming choreographers reflects the vitality of the Hubbard Street brand. The BCPA is delighted to play a small part in the debut presentation of these dances and is appreciative of the lasting, positive impact these world premieres will have on our audience."

As part of its mission to identify and nurture young choreographers, HS2 initiated the National Choreographic Competition in 1999. Each year, the competition provides residencies to choreographers, offering them the opportunity to create original works for HS2's dancers and to conduct master classes. The competition has gained an esteemed reputation, international recognition, and produced nearly 30 works to date, by notable artists including Robert Battle, Aszure Barton, Camille Brown, Norbert De La Cruz III, Gregory Dolbashian, Jonathan Fredrickson, Alex Ketley, Gabrielle Lamb, Edwaard Liang, Terence Marling, Andrea Miller, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Samar Haddad King, Dominic Walsh and Edgar Zendejas.

About the 2013 National Choreographic Competition Winners Loni Landon, born and raised in New York City, studied dance at the NYC High School of Performing Arts, the School at Jacob's Pillow, Dance Theater of Harlem and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In 2005 she received her BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School, under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes and the late Benjamin Harkarvy, and began working with choreographer Aszure Barton on the opening of the Baryshnikov Arts Center. She's worked professionally in Germany with Ballet Theater Munich, under the direction of Phillip Taylor; and with TanzTheater München, under the direction of Hans Henning Paar. Landon's choreography has been presented at numerous venues including The Joyce Theater, as part of Working Women; on the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival's Inside/Out stage; at Munich's State Theater, New York City Center, the Ailey Theater and Joe's Pub; and during H.T. Chen's newsteps Choreography Series and the Dumbo Dance Festival. A finalist in the Hannover International Choreographers Festival, and winner of choreography competitions at Ballet Austin (New American Talent / Dance) and Northwest Dance Project (Pretty Creatives), Landon represented the United States at the International Solo Dance and Theater Competition in Stuttgart. Her works have been commissioned by CityDance Ensemble, BalletX, the NYC High School for Performing Arts, the Hartt School, the Juilliard School, Marymount Manhattan College and Purchase College-SUNY. Landon is a

2012 participant in the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation's New Directions Choreography Lab and, with choreographer Gregory Dolbashian, is co-founder of The Playground, which gives emerging choreographers a place to experiment with professional dancers. The Playground was recognized by Dance Magazine as one of "25 to Watch" for 2013.

Alex Soares has worked in Brazil with dance companies including São Paulo City Ballet, Balé Teatro Guaíra and Cisne Negro Dance Company, performing choreography by artists including Ohad Naharin, Mauro Bigonzetti, Rami Levi, Gagik Ismailian, Itzik Galili, Angelin Preljoçaj, Cayetano Soto, Oscar Araíz, Maurício de Oliveira, Luis Arrieta and Henrique Rodovalho. Soares made his choreographic debut with Antiprisma, shown at São Paulo City Ballet's New Choreographers Workshop in 2006; his second work, Solo a Dois, was presented in Curitiba and São Paulo; and his WiiPrevisto has been performed in Brazil as well in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Also a filmmaker, Soares' For a lost moment (2009) received top recognition at the 2010 Festival do Minuto. In 2010 he departed São Paulo City Ballet to found the Mov'oLA Project, focused on site-specific performance, dance cinema and new methods of integrating choreography and technology. In 2012, Soares was a finalist at the 26th International Choreography Competition in Hannover, Germany and won Northwest Dance Project's Pretty Creatives choreographic competition. His forthcoming premiere for São Paulo City Ballet premieres in September 2013.

About Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Hubbard Street 2

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the artistic leadership of Glenn Edgerton, celebrates its 36th season in 2013 and 2014. Among the world's top contemporary dance companies and a global cultural ambassador, Hubbard Street demonstrates fluency in a wide range of techniques and forms, and deep comprehension of abstract artistry and emotional nuance.

The company is critically acclaimed for its exuberant and innovative repertoire, featuring works by master American and international choreographers. Hubbard Street's artists hail from four countries and 12 U.S. states, and comprise a superlative ensemble of virtuosity and versatility.

Since its founding by Lou Conte in 1977, Hubbard Street has grown through the establishment of multiple platforms. Each is dedicated to the support and advancement of dance as an art form, as a practice, and as a method for generating and sustaining communities of all kinds.

Hubbard Street 2, founded by Julie Nakagawa and Lou Conte in 1997 and now led by Terence Marling, prepares dancers ages 18 to 25 for careers in contemporary dance, and identifies next-generation choreographers. While members, talented young artists receive professional experience in a dynamic environment that fosters artistic growth while allowing them to hone multiple techniques. To date, 13 members of HS2 have advanced to Hubbard Street's main company, with numerous others joining top dance companies worldwide.

HS2's dancers reach thousands annually with diverse programming that provides valuable outreach in schools, site-specific work in museums and cultural institutions, and evening-length repertoire performances. HS2 has been honored to perform at many prestigious venues including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Joyce SoHo and North Carolina School of the Arts, and overseas in Germany, Luxembourg, South Africa and Switzerland.

Committed to the creation of quality family programming, in 2010 former HS2 Director Taryn Kaschock Russell conceived of Harold and the Purple Crayon: A Dance Adventure, the company's first program-length work created specifically for young people and families, choreographed by Terence Marling and former company dancer Robyn Mineko Williams. HS2 premiered this educational performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to a sold-out house and continues to engage young audiences around the world with this imaginative program.

HS2 is an integral component of Hubbard Street's Youth, Education and Community Programs, which bring students into the world of dance by actively engaging them in perception, research, reflection and discussion, assisting them in strengthening basic proficiencies to develop analytical and abstract thinking, interpretation and problem-solving skills.