Hubbard Street to Kick Off DANC(E)VOLVE: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL, 6/6

The highly acclaimed contemporary dance companies Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Hubbard Street 2 return to MCA Stage for the second danc(e)volve: New Works Festival. They perform new works created by rising choreographers within the company and former main company member Robyn Mineko Williams. The two-week long festival features seven new works under consideration to become a part of Hubbard Street's active repertoire.

The program is curated by Hubbard Street Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton to highlight the MCA and Hubbard Street's commitment to supporting emerging artists in the contemporary field. Performances take place at MCA Stage in the Edlis Neeson Theater on June 6, 8, 9, 13, 14 and 15 (all sold out), and June 16 (matinee and evening showings). danc(e)volve: New Works Festival is co- presented by MCA Stage and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

Each danc(e)volve: New Works Festival performance features seven works:

Two new works by Hubbard Street 2 Director Terence Marling

stop...stop...stop. (6 minutes) presents a lighthearted riff on power dynamics and miscommunication, featuring a young couple attempting to converse through fragmented voiceover, scrambled gestures, and the interruptions of a showman. Marling's original score for stop...stop...stop. includes selections from Patricia by Cuban bandleader Dámaso Pérez Prado, popularly known as the "King of the Mambo." The second work choreographed by Marling is set to the third Ruhevoll movement of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 4 in G major and is 9 minutes long. Both works feature both main company and HS2 members.

Adalea, 15 minutes
Choreographed by Hubbard Street dancer Penny Saunders
Penny Saunders created Adalea as a farewell to Hubbard Street. She retires this summer after nine years with the company. Adalea is one of the names selected for her first born child. The piece includes vignettes based on universal rites of passage and choreography by Saunders originally developed for Chicago's Benjamin Wardell and Michel Rodriguez Cintra. Adalea is set to music by Vincenzo Bellini, Tigran Mansurian, Göran Söllscher, and Antonio Vivaldi; mixed by Hubbard Street 2 Director Terence Marling.

Agape, 17 minutes
Choreographed by Hubbard Street 2 dancer Andrew Wright
Agape marks Andrew Wright's mainstage choreographic debut and is set to music by Goldmund (Keith Kenniff), Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Pan Sonic. Agape features all six of Wright's colleagues in HS2: BranDon Lee Alley, Alicia Delgadillo, Emilie Leriche, Felicia McBride, Lissa Smith, and Richard Walters. Agape seeks to demonstrate the Greek word that means selfless, altruistic love.

For the Wandered, 18 minutes
Choreographed by Hubbard Street dancer Jonathan Fredrickson
Jonathan Fredrickson says For the Wandered, "is a piece for people who feel they've lost their way." His Untitled Landscape from the first danc(e)volve: New Works Festival at MCA Stage in January 2012 joined the company's repertoire for its 2013-14 season and was performed in Algeria, Morocco and Spain. For the Wandered features text by Fredrickson and Hubbard Street dancer Alice Klock; music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, William Basinski, and Tim Hecker; and designs by Branimira Ivanova and Chicago-based visual artist Melena Ausikaitis.

Grey Horses, 19 minutes
Choreographed by former Hubbard Street dancer Robyn Mineko Williams
With a score by Chicago-based musician Robert F. Haynes, Grey Horses follows up on Williams' Recall, that premiered during danc(e)volve: New Works Festival at MCA Stage in January 2012, and was subsequently awarded a Joyce Theater Foundation commission.

Special presentation
A special presentation on the program, to be titled, is by Hubbard Street dancers and staff who traveled to Algeria, Morocco, and Spain in March and April 2013, to perform and lead workshops in dance education as part of DanceMotion USA, a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State and the Brooklyn Academy Of Music.

Premieres for danc(e)volve: New Works Festival are created through Hubbard Street's Choreographic Development Initiative. This project is partially supported by a grant from the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation and by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. At the heart of Hubbard Street's vision is an ambition to advance contemporary dance, requiring experimentation and innovation. The Choreographic Development Initiative's three programs support this creative work at Hubbard Street: the Inside/Out Choreographic Workshop, the National Choreographic Competition (NCC) and danc(e)volve: New Works Festival.

Hubbard Street, under the artistic leadership of Glenn Edgerton, celebrates 35 years as one of the most original forces in contemporary dance. The company encompasses a vast array of techniques and forms, as well as an understanding of abstract artistry and the emotional nuances of movement. Critically acclaimed for its exuberant, athletic, and innovative repertoire, Hubbard Street presents performances that inspire, challenge, and engage audiences worldwide. The company expands their eclectic repertoire with creations by master American and international choreographers. Since Lou Conte founded the company in 1977, Hubbard Street has added a Second Company, Hubbard Street 2 (HS2), which cultivates young professional dancers and choreographers; extensive education and community programs; youth dance classes (for ages 9 months to 13 years); and the Lou Conte Dance Studio, which offers a wide variety of weekly classes in jazz, ballet, modern, tap, African, hip hop, yoga, Pilates, and Zumba, at levels from basic to professional, as well as workshops and master classes.

The danc(e)volve program is presented on two weekends. All performances take place at the MCA Stage in the Edlis Neeson Theater, 220 East Chicago Avenue. Performances on June 6 at 7:30 pm, June 8 at 8 pm, June 9 at 3 pm, and June 14 at 8 pm are for Hubbard Street subscribers. Tickets for performances on June 13, 15, at 7:30 pm, and June 16, at 3 and 7:30 pm, are $35. Tickets may be purchased through the MCA Box Office at 312-397-4010 or online at mcachicago.org; and through the Hubbard Street Box Office at 312-850-9744 or online at hubbardstreetdance.com. Ticket buyers receive one free museum admission with an MCA Stage ticket stub, valid up to seven days after the performance.

ARTISTS UP CLOSE - Post-Show Talks:
On Thursday, June 6 and Thursday, June 13, Peter Taub, MCA Director of Performance Programs, leads a discussion with the artists and audience in the theater following the performance.

Pictured: Hubbard Street Dancers in ManRouge by Robyn Mineko Williams, from left: Jesse Bechard, Garrett Patrick Anderson, Jonathan Fredrickson and David Schultz. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.