Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Announces Schedule for Spring 2015 Studio Series

CHICAGO - Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the artistic direction of Glenn Edgerton and in partnership with the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, is pleased to continue its new series of master classes and workshops for advanced, pre-professional and professional dancers in Chicago.

Each Studio Series event is based on the work of dance artists performing in Chicago, or repertoire in production at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Hubbard Street 2, and led by internationally recognized artistic directors, dancers and choreographers. Following the program's fall 2014 launch events with choreographer Bryan Arias, writer and actor Carisa Barreca, Rosas rehearsal director Fumiyo Ikeda, and RUBBERBANDance Group founder Victor Quijada, the spring 2015 Studio Series offers a choreography workshop with Gustavo Ramírez Sansano and an onstage master class with Wendy Whelan, both made possible through underwriting by the Harris Theater; plus workshops with Kidd Pivot repetiteur Peter Chu and Hubbard Street Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo.

Space for all Studio Series events is strictly limited and advance registration is required, online athubbardstreetdance.com/studioseries. Additional Hubbard Street Studio Series events will be announced on an ongoing basis; for further details or to propose future opportunities, contact Program Director Meredith Dincolo via email, at workshops@hubbardstreetdance.com. The current schedule of events is as follows:

Choreography Workshop with Gustavo Ramírez Sansano
January 11, 2015 from 2-4pm
at the Hubbard Street Dance Center, 1147 West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago
$40 per person, limit 40 participants
Made possible by Commissioning Sponsor the Harris Theater for Music and Dance

Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, incoming artistic director of National Dance Company Wales, leads an exclusive workshop during his creative process for I am Mister B, commissioned by the Harris Theater for Music and Dance and premiering as part of Hubbard Street's Season 37 Spring Series, March 12-15, 2015. Workshop attendees will practice elements of Ramírez Sansano's specialized technique in a studio environment, then put them to use learning choreography from his repertoire.

Master Class with Wendy Whelan
January 18, 2015 from 11am-1pm
Underwritten by and held onstage at the Harris Theater, 205 East Randolph Street in Chicago
$25 per person, limit 40 participants

Called America's "greatest contemporary ballerina" by The New York Times, Wendy Whelan currently stars in Restless Creature, a unique program of four duets by choreographers Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Brian Brooks and Alejandro Cerrudo. Ahead of the sole Chicago performance during Restless Creature's international tour, on January 21, Hubbard Street is delighted to co-present this onstage master class, underwritten by the Harris Theater as part of its commitment to connecting Chicago's gifted young people with the field-leading artists that appear on its stage. Whelan will share her expertise in classical ballet technique and the incredible range of her artistry, gained through more than 30 years of experience working with the most celebrated and esteemed dancemakers of our time.

Choreography Workshop with Peter Chu
March 1, 2015 from noon-2pm
at the Hubbard Street Dance Center, 1147 West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago
$40 per person, limit 40 participants

Longtime Kidd Pivot company member and regular repetiteur for its founder, Crystal Pite, Peter Chu comes to Chicago to stage the first production of Pite's choreography at Hubbard Street, the solo A Picture of You Falling excerpted from The You Show, also part of Hubbard Street's Spring Series at the Harris Theater. Both an expert in Pite's intricate, kinetic approach to movement and an established choreographer in his own right, Chu's workshop will present attendees with a broad spectrum of satisfying and surprising movement challenges.

Full-Day Choreography Workshop with Alejandro Cerrudo
June 6, 2015 from noon-6pm
at the Hubbard Street Dance Center, 1147 West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago
$75 per person, limit 40 participants

In residence at Hubbard Street for six seasons, Alejandro Cerrudo has consistently reinvented himself as a choreographer, creating unpredictable, immersive works that delight both seasoned dance audiences and newcomers to the art form. During preparations for his 14th original work for Hubbard Street - premiering during the company's Summer Series at the Harris Theater - this workshop offers a deep dive into Cerrudo's complex movement vocabulary and rich musicality, as taught by longtime collaborators and Cerrudo himself.

About Hubbard Street's Spring 2015 Studio Series instructors

Gustavo Ramírez Sansano was artistic director of Chicago's Luna Negra Dance Theater from 2009-13 following four years directing proyectoTITOYAYA in Valencia, Spain. Sansano begins in June 2015 as artistic director of National Dance Company Wales, the Cardiff-based company for which he created Quixoteland in 2011. Awards and recognitions he's received for his choreography include first prizes at the Ricard Moragas competition in Barcelona, the Prix Dom Pérignon in Hamburg, and Las Artes Escénicas de la Comunidad Valenciana. International companies that have commissioned new works by Ramírez Sansano include Balé Teatro Guaíra, Ballet BC, Ballet Hispanico, Ballet Junior de Genève, BalletMet Columbus, Balletto dell'Esperia, Budapest Dance Theater, Compañía Nacional de Danza, Gyori Ballet, the Hamburg Ballet, IT Dansa, Nederlands Dans Theater, Norrdans, Otra Danza and TanzTheater München. During his career onstage, Ramírez Sansano performed works by choreographers Jacopo Godani, Johan Inger, Ji?í Kylián, Paul Lightfoot, Hans van Manen, Ohad Naharin, Victor Ullate and others, often originating roles, at Ballet Joven de Alicante, Ballet Contemporáneo de Barcelona, Ballet de la Comunidad de Madrid, Nederlands Dans Theater 2 and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Ramírez Sansano was named one of 15 choreographers to watch by POR LA DANZA magazine for its 15th anniversary, one of "25 to Watch" by Dance Magazine, and a Chicagoan of the Year in the arts and entertainment by the Chicago Tribune in 2012.

Wendy Whelan was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where at the age of three she began taking dance classes with Virginia Wooton, a local teacher. At age eight she performed as a mouse with the Louisville Ballet in its annual production of The Nutcracker. Joining the Louisville Ballet Academy that year, she began intense professional ballet training. In 1981 she received a scholarship to the summer course at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, and a year later, became a full-time student there. In 1984, Whelan danced as an apprentice with New York City Ballet, became a member of the company's corps de ballet in January 1986, was promoted to soloist in 1989, and promoted again to principal dancer in 1991. Whelan has worked with numerous choreographers including Christopher d'Amboise, Ulysses Dove, Boris Eifman, Jorma Elo, Albert Evans, William Forsythe, Edwaard Liang, Peter Martins, Wayne McGregor, Kevin O'Day, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Christopher Wheeldon, often originating featured roles. The recipient of a Dance Magazine Award in 2007, Whelan has toured extensively and worldwide, performing as a guest artist with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden and the ballet of St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre. She appeared as "Coffee" in the 1993 film version of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™, produced by Elektra Entertainment/New Regency Enterprises; on PBS in the nationally televised Live from Lincoln Center broadcast "New York City Ballet's Diamond Project: Ten Years of New Choreography" in 2002; and in the Live from Lincoln Center broadcast of "Lincoln Center Celebrates Balanchine 100" in 2004.

Peter Chu began training as a competitive gymnast before nurturing his artistry at Dussich Dance Studio on Florida's Merritt Island. Chu pushed further into his study of technique while making his first forays into choreography under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy at the Juilliard School in Manhattan, where he was awarded the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreography upon completion of his BFA. He has performed and toured internationally with Edgar Zendejas' ezdanza, Crystal Pite's Kidd Pivot, and BJM Danse, formerly Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal; his commercial work includes A New Day in Las Vegas, starring Celine Dion, and the lead role in singer Christina Perri's music video for "Jar of Hearts." Choreographic credits include two seasons of So You Think You Can Dance on Fox TV and the ARTV series Meneuse de Claques in Québec; original works for Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company, Orlando Ballet Theatre, Houston Met Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theater's Summer Intensive and the Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival; and Naomi Stikeman's Çaturn, consulted by Robert Lepage. Chu has guest-taught and served as faculty for numerous programs and organizations throughout Canada and the U.S. including BODYTRAFFIC, the 24 SEVEN Dance Convention, Western Michigan University, the Movement Invention Project and Springboard Danse Montréal. In 2008, Chu formed his own project-based company, chuthis, which has offered intensive programs in Fresno and Costa Rica, and presented its popular production Nothing Sticks in Vancouver, Las Vegas and New York City. He recently commenced a new solo while in residence at Vancouver's theater and gallery for contemporary art, The Cultch; the project premieres in spring 2015 at the West Las Vegas Library Theatre. Visit chuthis.net to learn more.
Alejandro Cerrudo was born in Madrid, Spain and trained at the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza de Madrid. His professional career began in 1998 and includes work with Victor Ullate Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater 2. Cerrudo joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in 2005, was named Choreographic Fellow in 2008, and became the company's first Resident Choreographer in 2009. Thirteen works choreographed to date for Hubbard Street include collaborations with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Nederlands Dans Theater. These pieces and additional commissions are in repertory at companies around the U.S. as well as in Australia, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands; touring engagements have brought his work still further abroad, to audiences in Algeria, Canada, Morocco and Spain. In March 2012, Pacific Northwest Ballet invited Cerrudo to choreograph his first work for the company, Memory Glow, upon receiving the Joyce Theater Foundation's second Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance. Additional honors include an award from the Boomerang Fund for Artists (2011), and a Prince Prize for Commissioning Original Work from the Prince Charitable Trusts (2012) for his acclaimed, first evening-length work, One Thousand Pieces. Cerrudo is one of four choreographers invited by New York City Ballet principal Wendy Whelan to create and perform original duets for "Restless Creature," and he was recently announced the 2014 USA Donnelley Fellow by United States Artists.

About the Harris Theater for Music and Dance
The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance is a 1500-seat, state-of-the art performance venue located in Chicago's Millennium Park. Opened in November 2003, the nonprofit Harris Theater was the first multi-use performance venue built in downtown Chicago since 1929. Harris Theater serves as a unique national model of collaboration between the philanthropic community and performing arts organizations in music and dance. More than a decade later, the theater features the most diverse offerings of any venue in Chicago, hosting local, national, and internationally renowned artists and ensembles.

The Harris Theater's primary mission is to partner with an array of Chicago's music and dance performing arts organizations to help them build the resources and infrastructure necessary to achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability. The Harris Theater's original group of 12 resident companies has grown to include 35 diverse and exceptionally talented performing arts organizations. Through these partnerships, the theater has earned national recognition as a distinctive model for collaboration, performance, and artistic advancement.

The theater supports its mission by providing partner organizations with subsidized rental, technical expertise, and marketing support, allowing the organizations to focus on what they do best: bringing the finest in music and dance performances to the public.

The Harris Theater is also dedicated to presenting internationally acclaimed music and dance organizations to enhance its reputation as well as to help build audiences for the theater's resident companies. Through the Harris Theater Presents series, the theater has achieved widespread recognition as a vital cultural anchor in Chicago.

The Harris Theater maintains a commitment to community engagement for children, teens and adults. Programs advance access to, and understanding of, the performing arts. They include the Family Series and the lunchtime Eat to the Beat series. Collaborating with community arts centers and health and human service agencies, the theater has provided more than 7,000 complimentary tickets through its Access Tickets Program. Through the Teen Arts Project, the theater partners with public and private schools to provide behind-the-scenes access to visiting world-class artists through master classes, artist discussions, and other enrichment activities.

About Hubbard Street
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the artistic leadership of Glenn Edgerton, celebrates its 37th season in 2014 and 2015. 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, directed by Terence Marling, cultivates young professional dancers, identifies next-generation choreographers, and performs domestically and abroad, in service of arts education, collaboration, experimentation and audience development.

Extensive Youth, Education and Community Programs, directed by Kathryn Humphreys, are models in the field of arts education, linking the performing company's creative mission to the lives of students and families. Hubbard Street also initiated the first dance-based program in the Midwest to help alleviate suffering caused by Parkinson's disease. Youth Dance Program classes at the Hubbard Street Dance Center include Creative Movement and progressive study of technique, open to young dancers ages 18 months to 16 years.

At the Lou Conte Dance Studio, directed by founding Hubbard Street Dancer Claire Bataille, workshops and master classes allow access to expertise, while a broad variety of weekly classes offer training at all levels in jazz, ballet, dance fitness, modern, tap, African, hip-hop, yoga, Pilates® and more.