Chamber Dance Project Continues VIRTUAL CHAT Series With Guest Choreographer Claudia Schreier

Chamber Dance Project (CDP), Washington's premiere contemporary ballet company, continues its popular Virtual Chat series on June 16 at 5 p.m. EDT with guest choreographer Claudia Schreier. She will discuss her new work for CDP, Alight, which will now premiere in June 2021. A video of a portion of the work will be presented. Schreier, who graduated Harvard in 2008, has choreographed for dance, opera, and film across the U.S. and internationally. She will discuss the development of her work for CDP and her ideas on ways to cultivate and amplify Black voices in dance. To receive the link for the Zoom session, email rsvp@chamberdance.org. For more information, visit https://chamberdance.org/virtual-chats or call 202.499.2297.

"These evolving global conversations expose deeply rooted pain and reinforce the need to address vast systemic inequities," said Schreier. "The arts are uniquely suited to reveal what societies prioritize and to inspire progress, and so it is important to examine how ballet connects to the broader dialogue."

Schreier, whose work fro Dance Theatre of Harlem was seen at the Kennedy Center last year, was just namedChoreographer in Residence at Atlanta Ballet. She has also worked with Juilliard Opera, Vail Dance Festival, ABT Studio Company, and New York Choreographic Institute. Her upcoming commissions include premieres for Miami City Ballet and Guggenheim Works & Process. She has contributed to programs at the White House, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and for the Kennedy Center Honors. Her work is the subject of two documentaries, most recently PBS's Dancing on the Shoulders of Giants, nominated for a Regional Emmy Award. She is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award, Toulmin Fellowship at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, NEFA National Dance Project Award, Lotos Prize, and Suzanne Farrell Dance Prize.

The series continues in June with presentations every Tuesday at 5 p.m. through June 23. Reservations and free links can be requested at rsvp@chamberdance.org.

On June 23 CDP violinists Claudia Chudacoff and Chaerim Smith will combine to perform several works and then deconstructing them musically. Chudacoff is the principal musician and concertmaster of the National Gallery Orchestra and the Alexandria Symphony. Smith is currently a member of "The President's Own" United States Marine Chamber Orchestra.

About Chamber Dance Project: Award-winning choreographer and Artistic Director Diane Coburn Bruning founded Chamber Dance Project upon her conviction that dance should be a collaboration between dancers and musicians, and that when artists' share the creative process with audiences, it deepens the audience's experience. The company commissions and performs new and contemporary works by outstanding choreographers and composers in collaboration with dancers and musicians (who appear together onstage). In past years, CDP performers shared their creative process with open rehearsals; this year's virtual series aims to provide the same connection between audience and artist. Most ballet companies in the U.S. hire their dancers for only 35-40 weeks per year; Chamber Dance Project hires it dancers during the January and June-July lay-off periods bringing dancers from all over the country to work in D.C. with CDP musicians.