Juan Porter's THE SERIES this June at the Hudson Guild Theater

Curated by Juan Michael Porter II, THE SERIES 2017 presents a versatile range of artistically provocative choreographers in contrasting programs of dance. At each performance, one or two of the 12 guest companies will share the program with Michael Mao Dance in a set of works that run the gamut from social dance to jazz to contemporary ballet to abstract pieces marked by their German Expressionistic values. The common thread running through each company featured in THE SERIES is the use of spectacular physical virtuosity to communicate fantastic ideas, June 6-11 at the Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 West 26th Street.

The series is also a celebration of the 49th Anniversary of Michael Mao Dance, with each program (with the exception of the Saturday matinee) featuring a Mao work chosen from the choreographer's 60-ballet repertory. The 12 companies that will share the stage at different performances with Mao Dance are: Soluq Dance Theater, Kilowatt Dance Theatre, DoubleTake Dance, NSquared Dance, Aaron McGloin Dance, Mook Dance Company, Depth Dance, JP Dance Group, The Dancing Georgina Project, Monteleone Dance, and Distributed Movement. The Saturday matinee performance is devoted to emerging choreographers selected for their talent and potential.

Highlights of the Michael Mao Dance presentations are: Still Night, a hauntingly beautiful elegy for those who have passed, set to Arvo Part's Stabat Mater. Adagio, a romantic reverie featuring three loves from a man's past, arranged to a lush rendering of Beethoven's Adagio Quartet # 10. Kinderspiel, literally "Children at Play", shows children in all their exuberance backed by Mendelssohn's delightful score, Sechs Kinderstücke. Bubbling over with joy and playfulness, Kinderspiel was inspired by the return of youthful love to the choreographer's own life.

Following his accomplished dance career, Michael Mao transformed New England Dinosaur into Michael Mao Dance and relocated from Boston to NYC. To date, Mr. Mao has crafted over 60 ballets, which have been critically hailed and presented to popular international acclaim as well as across the U.S. In recognition of his choreographic excellence, Mr. Mao has received funding from the Polaroid Foundation, the Dolfinger McMahon Foundation, the National Endowment's American Dialogue Program, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Rockefeller Foundation, and George Soros' Open Society Foundation. Mr. Mao's work has been commissioned by Hong Kong Ballet, Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble, Kosovo Ballet, Café de la Danse; Paris, Festival Internaciónal Cervantinó; Mexico and has been performed on tour throughout the continental United States, in Alaska, Paris, Oslo, Stockholm, Edinburgh, UK, and most recently in Calabria and Fabriano, Italy.
michaelmaodance.org

Soluq Dance Theater performs June 6 at 8 PM

In this age of raging despots and displaced peoples, these companion pieces - ASH and Water - remind all to stand against such horrors ever happening again.

Choreographed by Kevin Joseph Clark to Arvo Pärt's Fratres, ASH (2012) was inspired by the effort to connect events from the Holocaust to today's emerging generation of activists. Initially conceived as a dance film, for this concert Mr. Clark has staged this soul-searing dramatic work onto a cast of six powerful women. https://youtu.be/5D2HnfBmyOU

Water (2014) was choreographed by Kevin Joseph Clark and the dancers of Soluq Dance Theatre to music by Hauschka and Arvo Pärt. In Water, four dancers tumble through grief, religion, and the effort to reconcile with God, who seems to have abandoned them.

Made up of dancers coming from Israel, Serbia, and from across the U.S., Soluq Dance Theater is known for its raw energy, unique vocabulary, and emotionally resonant movement. Its work is marked by dramatic changes in tone from playful to desperate, lithe to violent and wild.
soluq-dance-theater.squarespace.com

Kilowatt Dance Theater performs June 7 at 8 PM.

Set to the rebellious music of the Blues and Swing-era Jazz, Kilowatt Dance Theater is excited to get down and frisky in this fabulous blend of concert dance and social dancing.

The Lowdown focuses on music from the post Swing-era while giving life to the anguish, assertiveness, rebellion, and relief that were so richly embedded in the jazz/blues scene of the time. Featuring pieces by Sonny Boy Williamson and John Lee Hooker, this bash dives into the emotional connection between its music's diverse rhythms.

Dance Me On And On takes a sensuous look at secret desires through a surreal arrangement of choreographed daydreams. These fantasy moments switch back and forth with real life, leaving the audience pondering, "Which life would I pick?"

Kilowatt Dance Theater is a NYC-based jazz dance company founded in 2014. Kilowatt has created work that focuses on the early roots of Jazz dance (Swing, Lindy Hop, Shag, Charleston, and Blues). These early styles of jazz are uniquely woven in with more contemporary dance techniques of today. The blend of movement along with the powerfully expressive themes they generate, creates a truly original experience for the audience. Kilowatt Dance Theater has performed the past three summers at Jacob's Pillow's Inside Out Series, and Battery Dance Festival, Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night's Swing, and The NY Jazz Choreography Project.

DoubleTake Dance and NSquared Dance Company perform June 8 at 8 PM.

This evening of jazz meets contemporary dance promises to please with its ever increasing display of incredible feats. DoubleTake Dance returns to the third incarnation of THE SERIES with MutatEvolution, which premiered at THE SERIES 2013, and Dreamscapes. This program tackles the issue of social violence and overcoming fear through a collection of hard-hitting vignettes.

Entering its 8th year as a company, DoubleTake Dance has been featured in some of NYC's leading venues/events such as: NYC SummerStage, Battery Dance Festival, Carnival Choreographers Ball, Webster Hall, Dixon Place, Fuse TV, the Ailey Theatre, NYC Half Marathon, among others. The Company has received choreographic commissions from Dancing Wheels Company (Cleveland, OH) and the Montclair Performing Arts Program (NJ), Chen Dance Center's newsteps, Jamaica Performing Arts Center's Next Stage Choreography Commission and Residency, the Eryc Taylor Choreography Grant, and the Periapsis Open Series. In addition to being featured in Dance Informa Magazine, the Company has choreographed and appeared in several films, music videos, commercials and industrials. Under the directorship of Ashley Carter and VanessA Martinez de Baños, DoubleTake Dance is swiftly emerging as one of the leading contemporary jazz dance companies in NYC.

doubletakedanceco.com

Nsquared Dance will present the world premiere of FOUR: An Elemental Arrangement, encapsulating the four classical elements - Water, Earth, Air, and Fire - in a thirty minute suite that transports the spirit to another world. Each of the individual elements - Beneath the Breaker (Water), Gaia (Earth), Zephyr (Air), and Incandescence (Fire) - flow seamlessly into each other, leaving the audience with a greater connection to the world around them.

Nick Neagle (Artistic Director/Choreographer) founded NSquared Dance Company in 2014 shortly after graduating with a BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College. Mr. Neagle has shown work in over twenty-five festivals and is a reoccurring choreographer for the Queensboro Dance Festival. As the resident choreographer for the Lower East Side Shakespeare Company, he received a nomination for Outstanding Choreography from the 2016 Planet Connection Awards. In pursuit of his mission to branch out beyond NYC, NSquared will travel to Michigan this August to perform in the Detroit Dance City Festival.

Zackery Betty (Executive Director/Choreographer/Dancer) received his BFA in Dance with a concentration in Jazz from Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to co-managing NSquared Dance with Mr. Neagle, Mr. Betty has danced with Keigwin & Co since 2015. As a member of K&C he recently toured to Africa in collaboration with The US State Department and Brooklyn Academy Of Music. Mr. Beatty has also been a member of Tami Stronach Dance and Project 44 Dance.
nssquaredance.com

Aaron McGloin Dance performs June 9 at 8 PM.

Aaron McGloin Dance stops off in the midst of its countrywide tour for a one-night only engagement. The company performs an action packed couplet of high-octane dances by Aaron McGloin that jump from the fun of teenage angst to the sexy complications of adult relationships.

UNDERAGE THINKING is a movement tantrum in the key of teenage angst. Based on the extreme emotions of our youth, this rocking group-work plays and pokes fun at the unpredictable jumps between coming-of-age aggression, lust, apathy, and joy.

CHEAT is a stark look at the trials and pitfalls of cheating in modern relationships. This intimate all-male quartet pairs aggressive athleticism and reckless abandon with moments of shocking vulnerability while defying traditional gender roles. This is a nuanced riff on what it means to "cheat".

Aaron McGloin graduated from Arizona State University with a BFA in Choreography and has danced with CONDER/dance, Arial Dance Chicago, Bryn Cohn + Artists, Christopher Williams, and Project 44. He formed Aaron McGloin Dance in 2007 with a mission to create ambitious art through joyous movement with an eclectic sensibility. His choreography has been presented in NYC at Joyce Soho, Dance New Amsterdam, Chez Bushwick/Center for Performance Research, Dixon Place, The Irondale Center, Triskelion Arts and the 92nd Street Y. Most recently Aaron McGloin Dance has performed at Georgia College, Baltimore Dance Invitational, KY/LD's Exhale Series in Philadelphia, Breaking Ground Dance Festival, and Chandler-Gilbert Community College for a months long residency. Aaron has received choreographic commissions from Eyrc Taylor Dance, Socrates Sculpture Park, and The Moving Beauty Series. When not creating new work, Aaron can be found teaching classes at Gibney Dance and Broadway Dance Center in NYC.

aaronmcgloindance.com

Beauty in Motion; the choreographer's concert performs June 9 at 8 PM.

The Moving Beauty Series' signature production platform, Beauty in Motion presents multiple talented choreographers of all styles in an evening of high artistry and riveting physical virtuosity. This year we are proud to present choreographers from France, The Philippines, China, Italy, and from all over the U.S. They include Annielille Gavino-Kollman, Jessica Warchal-King, Lindsey L Miller, Gina Montalto, Janice Rosario,Adriana Santoro, Billy Blanken, and Jonathan Breton with Alexandre Balmain.

Depth Dance and Mook Dance Company perform June 10 at 2 PM.

In an underground world not unlike NYC's subway system, Leftovers features a cast of 5 dancers excavating The Remains of unanswered questions. Inspired by actual conversations overheard late at night on the subway, these leftover thoughts display a viscerally affecting texture as the dancers of Depth Dance fully embody their meaning. Imagine the effect that we have on each other, as if that effect were an impossible to remove stain. In Leftovers, that stain is every word you've ever heard on your daily commute.

Ellen Sickenberger (Artistic Director) is a professional dance artist residing in Brooklyn. Since gaining her BFA in Dance Performance from East Carolina University, she has had the pleasure of dancing for many NYC-based artists such as Freddie Moore, Janice Rosario, Bryn Cohn, Yoshito Sakuraba, and Nadine Bommer. Ms. Sickenberger currently performs with Smashworks Dance Collective, of bones || Hollye Bynum, and Dante Brown|Warehouse Dance. Her work has been described as "hauntingly beautiful" and "captivatingly chilling" by Broadway World. ellensickenberger.com

In this cynical age it is easy to glorify the loss of faith. Winnie Berger's deeply personal The Universal Self defies that notion by taking a nuanced look at a group of people and all of their ugly complications. Through Berger's compassionate eyes the immaturity that comes from closed-mindedness is given the time and space to reveal the fear and hopes that drive us all. Piercing the veil of fear and ignorance, this faith affirming work illustrates one woman's journey towards connecting to the world around her.

Winnie Berger began her dance training in Tucson, Arizona, under the direction of Mary-Beth Cabana. She graduated from Fordham University and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's BFA program in 2014, with a dual degree in Dance and Theology. While continuing to perform with Exit 12 Dance Company and other freelance projects, Winnie realized that it was time to create a dance company of her own. Since the premiere of Inside Chunks' Head - a work dedicated to her sister's life with Autism - Winnie has devoted herself to tackling issues that too often fall by the wayside.
mookdancecompany.com

Distributed Movement performs June 10 at 8 PM.

This is The New York debut of acclaimed Austin dancer-choreographer, Michelle Thompson Ulerich's new company, Distributed Movement.

Big Escape features 8 dynamic dancers attempting to break through to the "other side". This interactive piece makes use of a field of green Astroturf that is metaphysically transformed according to the dancers' perceived desires. Performed to an original compilation of unraveling piano pieces by Joshua Piper aka Heavy Piano, Big Escape is a "feel everything" ballet that takes audiences from a place of tortured desire to an oasis of hard won contentment.

Originally from California, Michelle Thompson Ulerich trained at San Francisco Ballet for nine years before joining Ballet Austin. During her 14 years with the company, she performed in works by Stephen Mills, Balanchine, Ulysses Dove, Twyla Tharp, Nelly van Bommel, Thang Dao, Greg Dolbashian, & Sidra Bell. Since launching her career as a choreographer she has been commissioned by Ballet Spartanburg, Ballet Austin, Illusory Impressions (2016 Austin Critics Table & Robert Faires' Top Ten Treasures Award), The Moving Beauty Series, Califa Arts Collaborative, Ballet Zaida, MOTION Dance Theatre, San Angelo Civic Ballet, Steve Parker (2012 Austin Critics Table Award for Best Chamber Performance), Ballet Conservatory of South Texas, The Empathy Series, and Spark Movement Collective. In addition to choreographing, Mrs. Ulerich teaches dance at SUNY Purchase.
michellethompson.org

The Dancing Georgina Project performs June 11 at 3 PM.

The world premiere of Deconstructing VENUS... a moving female portrait revels in the architectural grace of the feminine form and all of its flowering beauty, while asking the question "Is beauty for the sake of beauty enough?"

Deconstructing VENUS... a moving female portrait abstracts the female form through Kyle Georgina Marsh's rapturous movement while reconstructing the ideal of what it means to be a woman. It all starts from the vantage point of merging one aspect into another until the audience witnesses a true transformation. To be a woman is to be more than one thing; being female is nuanced, complicated, challenging, and deadly.VENUS juxtaposes the idea of "purpose" and "being" from the feminine perspective and opens it up for the world's gaze.

A wandering citizen of the world, Kyle Georgina Marsh was born in Tokyo, Japan and raised throughout Australia, England, Hawaii, New York, and India. Currently a Brooklyn based dance artist and Pilates instructor, Kyle feels passionately about the power of imagination, movement, and intellectual exchange.The Dancing Georgina Project was formally organized in 2015.
thedancinggeorginaproject.org

Monteleone Dance performs June 11 at 3 PM.

The 'dazzlingly oddball choreographer', Joe Monteleone's "Y0UN1VERSE" reveals a fictional society's attempt to make sense of its crumbling virtual reality. In this bold new work, Monteleone's unprecedented movement invention interacts with video projections while uncovering secrets of an oncoming digital catastrophe.

Joe Monteleone is a solo dance artist and the Artistic Director of Monteleone Dance. His work has been presented extensively in NYCInception to Exhibition Festival, APAP, Center for Performance Research, Peridance, NYLA, Dixon Place, Dance Gallery Festival, Current Sessions, Baruch P. A. Center, Norwood Club, Amalgamate Artist Series, Green Space, The Moving Beauty Split Bill Series, Triskelion Arts' Split Bill Series, Comedy in Dance Festival, Dumbo Dance Festival, the Chocolate Factory, and Williamsburg Movement and Arts Center, among various showcases. His work has been presented nationally at the Reverb Dance Echoes Tour (Boston U), Your Move Dance Festival (Jersey City, NJ), Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ), The Wassaic Project (Wassaic, NJ), and the Breaking Ground Dance Festival (Tempe, AZ), to great acclaim. International credits include a tour with International BPM to Spain on multiple residencies, including the Institute of the Arts Barcelona, and a performance in the Bailar al Sol Festival. oe won the Audience Favorite Award at NYC10 in 2015 for his solo work "Defense Mechanism" and at The Intimate Series. His live installation work has been presented at the Peridance Capezio Center (NYC), the Alpha Art Gallery (New Jersey) and the Infinito Gallery (NYC). Residencies include two Solo Commissions by The Moving Beauty Series (Brooklyn), the coLAB Arts residency, and various institutional commissions. Joe has taught and lectured at Mason Gross School of the Arts (Rutgers), Raritan Valley Community College, PMT Dance Studio (NYC), Arizona State University, and DancePlus Little Silver.
monteleonedance.com

JP Dance Group performs June 11 at 8 PM.

JP Dance Group takes the audience on an adventure through video projection and choreography. Using Isadora software, each of the works showcases video manipulated in real-time so that it interacts with the live action onstage. Rather than two isolated visuals sharing space, The Web illustrates dance and video interacting with real consequence. The company's program includes two additional works:

Nocnica juxtaposes one woman's external persona with her internal demons while looking at where key components of her personality converge. Venus De Mio is the story of a modern-day artist who meets his muse in the flesh.

Julie Petrusak is a projectionist, choreographer, and the founder of JP Dance Group. Petrusak earned her degree from the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. in Dance Program after studying ballet at the Maryland Youth Ballet. In 2013 she co-directed and choreographed three productions at Riverbank State Park's Cultural Complex in Harlem, NYC that reached over 1,000 New York City school children. In 2015 she choreographed, directed, and produced Dance the World Nutcracker Festival, which featured authentic cultural dance by 11 cultural dance artists. She has presented at venues including Ailey Citigroup Theater, Aaron Davis Hall, The Riverside Theater, Theaterlab, Triskelion Arts Center, and Fashion Week 2013. In 2012, she Co-produced "New Works" at the TANK where she premiered her ghost story ballet, "Apparitions". In 2010, she assisted Karen L. Arceneaux in setting "Chasing a Dream" on the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A class of 2014. As a performer Julie has worked for companies such as Genesis Dance Company, Racoco Rx, and Millennium Dance Company. She was a featured dancer in Juan Borona's short dance film, Traumnovela and has appeared in music videos for The Clox and Alex Young.
jpdancegroup.org