Kansas City Ballet to Perform NEW MOVES, 2/6

KANSAS CITY, MO (January 6, 2015) - Artistic Director Devon Carney today announced the choreographers chosen for New Moves, a unique performance event designed to search out, develop and showcase emerging choreographers, both from the national dance scene as well as locally within Kansas City Ballet. New Moves is presented to provide time and space for choreographers to create world premiere works with accomplished professional dancers. New Moves will feature choreographers Robert Dekkers, Andrea Schermoly and Kelly Ann Sloan, plus Kansas City Ballet artists Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye, Travis Guerin and Jill Marlow.

Andrea Schermoly's work will be accompanied with live music through a new collaboration with the UMKC Music Program and live piano accompaniment provided by Kansas City Ballet Music Director Ramona Pansegrau. Additionally, Kelly Ann Sloan's work will be performed with both new and pre-existing compositions by Brandy Zdan. Ms. Zdan is joining New Moves through a collaboration with the Folk Alliance Artist in Residence program. Ms. Sloan's work also will be presented during the Folk Alliance Symposium being conducted in Kansas City at the Westin and Sheraton Hotels Feb. 18-22, 2015.

Performances of New Moves will be held at the Michael and Ginger Frost Studio Theater at the Todd Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity on Friday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 pm; Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 pm; Friday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 pm; and Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2 pm & 7:30 pm. A wine and cheese reception for audience members and artists is included, sponsored by Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.

"New Moves is a chance for audiences to see the next big name in choreography before they are considered the next big choreographer," Carney said. "It is a very up-close, visceral experience for audience and dancer alike. This series will highlight new choreographic talents while revealing the raw athletic strength and artistic energies of the dancers who will perform to all world premiere works with never before seen New Moves!"

Sponsors for New Moves include the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.

New Moves

February 6-14, 2015 | Todd Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity

New Moves is a unique performance event which pursues new emerging choreographers both from the national dance scene as well as locally from within Kansas City Ballet. A wine and cheese reception for audience members and artists of the company is included.

Fri., Feb. 6 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 7 7:30 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 13 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 14 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Reason Does Not Know

Choreography: Robert Dekkers

Music: Alektorophobic by Jonathan Pfeffer

The Physicist

Choreography: Travis Guerin

Music: world premier composition by Travis Guerin

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Choreography: Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye

Music: On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter

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Choreography: Jill Marlow

Music: Flying by Garth Stevenson

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Choreography: Andrea Schermoly

Music: Fratres by Arvo Pärt

Music performed live in collaboration with UMKC music department and KCB Music Director, Ramona Pansegrau

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Choreography: Kelly Ann Sloan

Music: Selections of original composition by Brandy Zdan

Music performed live by Folk Alliance's Artist in Residence Brandy Zdan

Kelly Ann Sloan trained at New Jersey School of Ballet and then graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet and Outside Field in Journalism. She danced with Cincinnati Ballet for five years and Los Angeles Ballet for six years. She has also performed with Barak Ballet, LA Opera, San Diego Opera, and National Choreographers Initiative. Kelly Ann has choreographed works for Cincinnati Ballet, Island Moving Company in Newport, RI, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ballet Academy East, and has been a finalist at the Choreography Under the Stars Competition in Palm Desert. She is currently the Ballet Chair of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.

Named "25 to Watch" by DANCE Magazine, Robert Dekkers is the founder and artistic director of Post:Ballet. Mr. Dekkers has created more than a dozen new works for Post:Ballet since launching the company in 2009, including: Mine is Yours (commissioned for SF International Arts Festival), Ours (short film premiered at Frameline Film Festival as part of HIV Story Project's documentary 'Still Around'), Interference Pattern, Flutter, Happiness of Pursuit, Colouring, Sixes and Seven, When in Doubt, B-Sides, ourevolution, and field the present shifts (nominated for an Isadora Duncan Award in "Outstanding Performance- Ensemble").

Collaborating with eclectic artists to present work that is "anything but risk averse" (SF Chronicle), Mr. Dekkers's choreography has been presented at venues including the Tanzsommer Festival (Vienna), Ballet Builders Showcase (New York City), Against the Grain Festival (Seattle), and WestWave Dance Festival (San Francisco). He has received commissions from companies including Atlanta Ballet's Wabi Sabi, Kansas City Ballet, Smuin Ballet, and Quixotic/Fusion, where he continues to serve as guest choreographer.

Mr. Dekkers was resident choreographer for Novaballet from 2008-2009 and was appointed resident choreographer for Diablo Ballet in 2013 after creating three critically acclaimed works for the company. His latest collaboration for the company, cares you know not, was commissioned for Diablo Ballet's 20th anniversary gala performance and featured an original score by Samuel Adams.

Mr. Dekkers danced professionally with Ballet Arizona, ODC/Dance, Company C Contemporary Ballet, and is currently performing with Diablo Ballet. He was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Award for "Outstanding Performance- Individual" for his 2012-13 season with Diablo Ballet, where he has danced leading roles in works by choreographers including George Balanchine, José Límon, Val Caniparoli, KT Nelson, Trey McIntyre, Septime Webre and Mario Radacovsky. He has also performed in works by Twyla Tharp, August Bournonville, Maurice Causey, Lar Lubovitch, Jodie Gates, Ib Andersen, Paul Taylor, Brenda Way and Julia Adam.

Mr. Dekkers is on faculty at ODC/Commons, LINES Dance Center, and Berkeley Ballet Theater. In addition to his work as a choreographer, teacher and dancer, he holds a degree in business from Rio Salado College.

Andrea Schermoly (Andi) was born in South Africa where she attended the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg. While in South Africa, Ms. Schermoly also competed around the world as a member of The South African National Rhythmic Gymnastics Team. She received a full scholarship to Rambert Ballet and Contemporary School and shortly thereafter a full scholarship to The Royal Ballet School, London, where she completed her dance education. While in school she danced with the Rambert Dance Company, and after graduation she joined Boston Ballet. While in Boston she danced leads in ballets 'Ginastera' by Rudi van Dantzig and 'Sharp Side of Dark' by Jorma Elo. She was invited to join Netherlands Dance Theater in Holland and began at NDT2 and later was offered a contract with NDT1. Ms. Schermoly enjoyed years of professional performance and touring with Netherlands Dance Theater. She had the extraordinary experience of performing existing repertoire as well as new creations by choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek, Paul Lightfoot, Sol Leon, Ohad Naharin, Hans van Manen, Alexander Ekman and many other great contemporary choreographers.

Ms. Schermoly has choreographed professionally for Festival Ballet Theater, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Ballet Theatre Afrikan, NDT Workshops, Quixotic Fusion Company and Boston Ballet 2 as well as over 70 solos for students attending dance competitions such as YAGP throughout the US and Europe. She was awarded the "Outstanding Choreographer" award in both 2012 and 2013 at Youth America Grand Prix and this year at YAGP was awarded the "Emerging Choreographer" award to choreograph at Lincoln Center at YAGP 2014 gala evening choreographing on dancers Maria Kotchekova and Joaquin de Luz. Ms. Schermoly has also choreographed for feature films and commercials in Hollywood including 'Beautiful Now, 'Budweiser Superbowl Commercial' and 'Star Trek into Darkness'.

Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye is a native of Waterville, Maine. He began his training at the age of 15 under the instruction of Andrei Bossov. In 2003, Mr. Nye joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division where he received the prestigious Arnold Spohr Scholarship. Upon graduation in 2005, Mr. Nye was asked to participate in the Banff Summer Arts Festival in Banff, Alberta. There, he originated roles in Sabrina Matthews' Losing Ground and Peter Quanz'sQuanz by Quanz, and performed the leading role in Fernand Nault's Carmina Burana. Mr. Nye began his professional career with Festival Ballet of Providence and then in 2006 joined the Eugene Ballet Company where he performed soloist roles in several works by Artistic Director Toni Pimble. In 2007, he joined Director Peter Anastos at Ballet Idaho and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2011. Mr. Nye is an award-winning choreographer and has had three world premieres with Ballet Idaho, including Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet and City Symphony with music by Philip Glass. With Kansas City Ballet, he has danced in Jessica Lang's Splendid Isolation III, Toni Pimble's Carmina Burana, Margo Sappington's Common People, and as Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker. This is his third season with the company. Mr. Nye joined KCB in 2012.

Jill Marlow began her training at the Draper Center for Dance Education in Rochester, New York, under the direction of Timothy Draper and Jamey Leverett. Additionally, Ms. Marlow spent time studying at American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet and Indiana University. She started out her professional career with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, spent nine years with Cincinnati Ballet, and now is in her fourth season with Kansas City Ballet. Ms. Marlow has danced leading classical roles in La Bayadere, Giselle, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Romeo and Juliet. She has also performed principal roles in Balanchine's Who Cares?, Serenade, Four Temperaments & Allegro Brillante, as well as performing Chaconne with Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Jill's favorite contemporary roles have included works by notable choreographers including Twyla Tharp, Ma Cong, Luca Vegetti, Jody Gates, Anthony Krutzkamp, Adam Hougland, and Mauricio Wainrot. Ms. Marlow graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelors of Science in Health Education (2011) and is the General Manager of The Kansas City Dance Festival. Ms. Marlow joined KCB in 2011.

Travis Guerin started dancing at the age of 8 in Spokane, Washington, taking tap and jazz classes at a local studio. At age 14, his focus shifted to ballet. He was accepted to the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Graduate Program at age 17. In 2009, he was asked to study at the San Francisco Ballet School. The next year, he became part of the first season of Cincinnati Ballet's Second Company. He has danced featured roles for Kansas City Ballet, such as Prince Charming in Victoria Morgan's Cinderella, Arabian and Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jodie Gates's Keep Me Wishing in the Dark, among others. Along with his passion for dance and performance, Mr. Guerin loves to compose his own music, and to choreograph contemporary movement to his own compositions. He has had works premiered for Kansas City Ballet, Motion Dance Theatre in Asheville, NC, Shut Up & Dance Festival in Philadelphia, PA, and Quixotic Dance Fusion in Kansas City. You can find his music available for free download at soundcloud.com/travisguerin. This is Mr. Guerin's fourth season with Kansas City Ballet.

Tickets Required: Seats are $35. Buy tickets online at kcballet.org or 816.931.2232.

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