Visceral Dance Chicago Launch 5th Season with Annual Fall Engagement

Visceral Dance Chicago will launch its fifth season with their annual Fall Engagement, performing the program at both North Shore Center for the Performing Arts and the Harris Theater in Millennium park- the Company's home theater. This year's Fall Engagement will include a world premiere by Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Recipient, Danielle Agami as well as returning audience favorites.

With an original composition by Glen Kotche, drummer from groundbreaking American rock band Wilco, Agami's Pick a Seat delves into the simple workings, habits and attitudes of everyday life in an exploration of the ordinary.

Nick Pupillo's She Three returns to the stage, bringing three of Visceral's female dancers to the forefront in this technically masterful and harmonious work. Brian Sidney Bembridge's specific and intriguing lighting is featured throughout She Three, creating a formidable and tangible connection between the dancers onstage.

Marguerite Donlon's dynamic, dark-humored Ruff Celts returns to the Harris stage for the second time. Inspired by the personalities of the dancers, Donlon uses a mixed score of contemporary Irish and German composers. Fusion of contemporary and deconstructed technical vocabularies define this sharp-witted, quirky, full-company work that has become a crowd favorite.

Returning to the Company's offerings is Montreal-based Mark Godden's Minor Threat, an incredibly technical ballet which showcases each of the dancers' versatility and strength. [Choreography to Mozart's Piano Concerto in D minor No. 20] Mark Godden's "Minor Threat is a delicate and vigorous creation, graced with vernacular episodes that are as grounded and as heavenly as its score".

Pupillo's most recent creation Synapse, commissioned for Visceral Dance Chicago by the Harris Theater for Music and Dance with support from the Pamela Crutchfield Dance Fund through the Imagine Campaign, is an LED-light immersive experience that has stimulated the Chicago audience with a responsive interaction of music, dance and lighting. Electrical energy joins together the driving house beat of Darryl Hoffman's work with the technicality and provocativeness of Visceral Dance Chicago.

North Shore Center for the Performing Arts Skokie, IL

September 16 | 7:30 PM

Harris Theater for Music and Dance Chicago, IL

October 7 | 7:30 PM

ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP

Nick Pupillo, Founder and Artistic Director of Visceral Dance Chicago, graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet. In 2001, Pupillo joined the acclaimed Giordano Dance Chicago where he toured nationally and internationally for three years. Pupillo decided in 2006 to train and mentor young talent by developing the prestigious Visceral Studio Company.

In 2007, he founded Visceral Dance Center to provide the Chicago community with a new venue for artistic and technical growth. This facility continues to be a Chicago dance landmark. TimeOut Chicago lists Visceral Dance Center as "A bustling, well-appointed facility...with instructors from top companies and in-demand guest teachers." Utilized by a number of Chicago-based companies, Visceral Dance Center is home to its resident company, Visceral Dance Chicago.

Pupillo founded Visceral Dance Chicago in the fall of 2013. This repertory company presents his daring vision to explore the infinite possibilities of contemporary movement. The dancers of Visceral demonstrate this choreographic invention and are recognized for their technique, passion, and athleticism. In less than three years, Pupillo has led the company in a forthright direction, establishing a repertoire described as "expertly devised and stylish as they come." (Laura Molzahn, Chicago Tribune) He created five signature works for the company, Impetere, Senza di te, My Realm, Sum Noir and She Three. He has also commissioned world premieres by Sidra Bell, Banning Bouldin, Monica Cervantes, Brian Enos, and Robyn Mineko Williams as well as company premieres by Ohad Naharin and Fernando Melo. Pupillo continues the company's bold vision this season, commissioning works by Danielle Agami, heightening the "distinct flavor to this fledgling company that differentiates it from the other high kick, high flair, contemporary dance companies." (Lauren Warnecke, Art Intercepts)

Pupillo has received various awards for his choreography, including "The Dance Chicago Outstanding Choreography Award" in 2005 and 2012 and "The Cliff Dwellers 2013 Choreographer of the Year." His work has been described as "a stroke of choreographic genius...complex, tumbling changes...in this portrait of perpetual motion." (Laura Molzahn, Chicago Tribune) "Nick Pupillo's world premiere piece, She Three, was by far one of the most visually stunning performances I have encountered thus far." (Rebecca Curl, Chicago Stage Standard) Pupillo is frequently invited to conduct master classes in the U.S. and around the world and has taught for the Jazz Dance World Congress, Chicago Dance Connection and Chicago National Association of Dance Masters. Pupillo is currently an artist in residence at Culver Academies.

GUEST ARTIST

Danielle Agami was born in Israel in 1984, where she studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance High School and was a member of the Batsheva Dance Company. Between 2007 and 2009, Agami served as the Artistic Director of Batsheva Dancers Create, and functioned as the company's rehearsal director from 2008-2010. After 8 years with Batsheva, Agami moved to New York to serve as the Senior Manager of Gaga U.S.A.

In 2012 Agami relocated to Seattle, where she founded Ate9-an undertaking that fully realized her artistic voice as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. "With intriguing imagination, well-developed craft and an eye for nuance, this budding choreographer may surprise us yet." (Ora Brafman, The Jerusalem Post). Danielle was the grand prize winner of the 2013 & 2014 Annual Choreography Festival at the McCallum Theatre and Dance Magazine's Top 25 to watch in 2015. In 2016, recognized with the Princess Grace Award for Choreography.

ABOUT VISCERAL DANCE CHICAGO

Founded in 2013 by Artistic Director Nick Pupillo, Visceral Dance Chicago is a contemporary dance company dedicated to a bold and progressive world of movement. In less than three years, the company has developed a diverse and respected repertoire. With works by distinguished choreographers Sidra Bell, Mónica Cervantes, Robyn Mineko Williams, Brian Enos, Banning Bouldin, Harrison McEldowney, Fernando Melo, Marguerite Donlon, Ohad Naharin, and Pupillo, Visceral Dance Chicago continues to challenge audiences' expectations. In January of 2015, Visceral Dance Chicago was named one of Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch, recognizing the company's accomplishments and potential in the national community. "Visceral Dance Chicago breathes life into the Chicago arts community with their ability to intertwine complex human emotions with the raw beauty of dance and physical movement." (Chicago Stage Standard)

Visceral Dance Chicago will begin their fifth season performing at the 26th Anniversary of Dance For Life, followed closely by a fall engagement at both North Shore Center for the Arts and the Harris Theater, presenting a world premiere by Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Recipient Danielle Agami. In the Spring of their 2017-2018 season, Visceral will round out their An evening of exciting world premieres and classic company works, SPRINGFIVE will celebrate Visceral's scope of movement and artistic contribution to the Chicago community. This performance on April 6th and 7th brings to the Harris stage world premieres by Kevin O'Day and Artistic Director/Founder Nick Pupillo, alongside returning works by Danielle Agami and Pupillo. On April 28, the company will bring their full-length, emotionally nuanced collaboration with the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, entitled The Dream, to the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts stage. Completing the season, Visceral Dance Chicago will return with the fifth edition of SOLUS, a signature evening of solos.

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