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Home , Christopher Wheeldon, Concert dance, Giordano Dance Chicago, Ruth Page (ballerina)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THODOS AND DANCEWORKS CHICAGO ANNOUNCE THE NEW 2020 COMPANY

CHICAGO— New Dances continues its over 30-year tradition of providing an extensive in-house incubation program for Chicago’s dance community press contacts with Melissa Thodos, Founder and Artistic Director of Thodos Dance Chicago (TDC), and Julie Nakagawa, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of DanceWorks Chicago Melissa Thodos (DWC), at the helm. Founded by Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble in 1983, New Thodos Dance Chicago Dances found a new home with Thodos Dance Chicago in 2000. This year marks the melissa.thodos@ 20th anniversary of New Dances being under the TDC umbrella, as well as the third thodosdancechicago.org year of New Dances being co-produced by TDC and DWC.

Julie Nakagawa Sixteen Chicago-based dancers have been invited to join the New Dances 2020 DanceWorks Chicago company after the project’s first-ever virtual audition. [email protected] New Dances 2020 Company Dancers: Mariterese Altosino, Jacob Buerger, Kim Davis, Ingrid Ferdinand, Abby Hare, Kara Hunsinger, Meredith Johnson, Andi Learman, Christina Morrison, Jacob Nahor, Moscelyne ParkeHarrison, Kara Roseborough, Hanna Swartz, Halina Tutaj, Alexandra Webb, and Imani Williams.

New Dances has not missed a beat as it continues to creatively evolve in unprecedented times. A record number of dancers from the Chicagoland area participated in the virtual audition. The six New Dances choreographers created a short audition prompt, and dancers recorded and uploaded their responses. Over seventy applications were received, and each choreographer reviewed the dancers’ work in order to complete their casting wish list. New Dances 2020 choreographer Joanna Meccia recalled, “Wow! What an incredibly moving/stirring 48 hours. There was something so inspiring about watching these audition videos, as the dancers were not only vulnerable in auditioning, but also in their willingness to open

up their own spaces to record. You really get to see a piece of who they are. It was an honor to witness. I just wanted to say thank you again, and I am so grateful to be here.”

The virtual audition is not the only first this season; New Dances will bring dance to a whole new stage as the artistic team prepares for virtual rehearsals in June, as well press contacts as a virtual panelist feedback session with Chicago dance community leaders to Melissa Thodos support the choreographers during the process. Virtual open company classes will be Thodos Dance Chicago available to the public providing an opportunity for dancers around the globe to take melissa.thodos@ class from New Dances choreographers, Sydney Jones, Drew Lewis, Brian Martinez, thodosdancechicago.org Joanna Meccia, Joe Musiel, and Peyton Winker, as well as Artistic Directors, Melissa Thodos and Julie Nakagawa. Julie Nakagawa DanceWorks Chicago New Dances 2020 will unveil six world premiere dance works featuring a diverse cast [email protected] of fresh, Chicago-based choreographers and dancers in performances scheduled to take place at Theater Wit June 17-20. Pandemic-related changes may shift these performances to a virtual stage. Updates will be shared as available.

New Dances 2020 Dancer Bios

Mariterese Altosino (Chicago) graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance and Business Entrepreneurship. Post-graduation, Mariterese danced with for four years, where she worked with world-renowned choreographers Ray Leeper, Peter Chu, and Marinda Davis and performed works by Ray Mercer, Christopher Huggins, Jon Lehrer, and . Mariterese has danced professionally throughout Chicago and has made TV appearances on Windy City Live and ABC 7 News. Mariterese is continuing her performance career as a main company dancer with South Chicago Dance Theatre and Banks Performance Project.

Jacob Buerger (Chicago), originally from Bolingbrook, IL, is a Chicago-based performer and teacher. He earned his BFA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago and has performed works by Emma Draves, Carrie Hanson, Vershawn Sanders- Ward, and Thomas DeFranz. In addition, Jacob has performed with The Puzzle League, Same Planet Performance Project, and Fred Darsow Dance. He is working toward certification in Thai Body Work and exploring the world of photography. Jacob joined Hedwig Dances and Inc in Summer 2018.

Kim Davis (Chicago), from Portsmouth, VA, started dancing at the age of 4. She trained at The Governor’s School for the Arts, Academy of Contemporary and Classical Dance, Broadway Dance Center, Peridance Capezio Center, and Gus Giordano Dance School. Kimberly is a 2019 graduate of George Mason University where she worked with Joan Boada, Christopher d’Amboise, Jean Emile, Alexander Hille, Pier Loup, Darrell Moultrie, Soon-ho Park, Susan Shields, Jamal Story, Septime Webre, and others. She has performed Bhangra Fever by Donald Byrd, Kosmos by Andonis Foniadakis, and understudied Na Floresta by Nacho Duato. Kimberly joined DanceWorks Chicago in August 2019.

Ingrid Ferdinand (Berwyn) began dance at The Academy of Movement & Music in Oak Park. There, under the tutelage of Stephanie Clemens, she trained in Vaganova,

Graham, Humphrey, and Bournonville techniques. She attended SFCD and ABT intensives and traveled to Guatemala with JUNTOS. She went to The Chicago Academy for the Arts and Marymount Manhattan College before happily landing at HSPro. press contacts Abby Hare (Crystal Lake) began her dance training at the Summers Academy of Dance. In 2014, Abby graduated from Webster University with a BFA in dance and Melissa Thodos Thodos Dance Chicago joined Thodos Dance Chicago, where she danced through the company’s final season melissa.thodos@ in 2017. Her performances include choreography by Melissa Thodos, Brian Enos, Ann thodosdancechicago.org Reinking, Kevin Iega-Jeff, and Shannon Alvis. Abby has also showcased her choreography within the Midwest. Abby teaches and choreographs for her local studio Julie Nakagawa and is working towards her Masters in Special Education. DanceWorks Chicago [email protected] Kara Hunsinger (Chicago) is from Modesto, CA, where she started her dance training at Steps Dance Arts Center and then at a professional level with Juline’s School of Dance. Kara’s additional training includes West, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Hubbard Street

Dance Chicago. In 2019, Kara graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Arizona, where she had the honor of performing works by , George Balanchine, Autumn Eckman, Nacho Duato, Sam Watson, Tamara Dyke- Compton, and Alexei Ratmansky. During her senior year she danced with Hawkin’s Dance Company under the direction of Shelly Hawkins. Post-graduation, Kara joined the DanceWorks Chicago family.

Meredith Johnson (Chicago) received her BFA in Dance from University, where she performed in works including Spill by Andrea Miller, Home by Rennie Harris, and Deuce Coupe by . Meredith spent a semester training in Jerusalem with former members and with Noa Wertheim of Vertigo Dance Company. Since graduating, Meredith danced for Company Danzante in Arlington, VA, before moving to Chicago to train at Common Conservatory under Terence Marling. While at the conservatory, she has performed works by Chicago artists including Meredith Dincolo, Joseph Hernandez, Alice Klock, and Anna Long.

Andi Learman (Chicago) is a graduate of Anderson University where she received a B.A. in Dance Business. Born and raised in Woodstock, Andi began dancing with Woodstock Ballet Studio. She has performed works by Earl Mosley, Eddy Ocampo and Gregory Hancock, among others. She has also been fortunate to train with Hubbard Street’s Professional Program under the direction of Alexandra Wells. Andi is excited to continue growing and developing her art form.

Christina Morrison (Chicago), a Massachusetts native, graduated in 2018 with a BFA in Performance from Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Since moving to Chicago, she has performed and/or presented works in festivals at Stage 773, Links Hall, The Edge Theater, and The Greenhouse Theater. Recently she performed Francesca Baron's FUSED at Links Hall. Current projects include the commission of her work Out of Sight for Simantikos, navigating a dance film with her

mentor Jacqueline Sinclair under Joel Hall's Mentorship Program, and dancing as a Guest Artist for Peckish Rhodes Performing Arts Society.

Jacob Nahor (Chicago), a native, attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts and received the Honors in Dance award upon graduation. He continued his dance press contacts education at Alvin Ailey & Fordham University and London Contemporary Dance School. In his junior year, Jake joined Ballet Hispanico 2 and danced in their New York Melissa Thodos Thodos Dance Chicago Season at The Theater. Jake participated in Springboard Danse Montréal and melissa.thodos@ danced in Crystal Pite’s Solo Echo, and the Contemporary Program at Jacob’s Pillow. thodosdancechicago.org Prior to joining Hubbard Chicago’s Professional Program, Jake toured the US with the first national tour or Hofesh Shechter’s Fiddler On The Roof. Julie Nakagawa DanceWorks Chicago Moscelyne ParkeHarrison (Chicago) graduated from The Juilliard School in 2019, [email protected] with the Joseph W. Polisi Award for Artist as Citizen. She attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts where she received her high school degree. She has had the pleasure of performing works by Helen Simoneau, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Roy Assaf, Hannes Langolf, Ryan Mason, Iztok Kovac, Stefanie Batten Bland, José Limón, Nacho Duato,

Martha Graham, Johannes Wieland, and Crystal Pite. Her group and solo works have been performed at Juilliard, Triskelion Arts, and the Studebaker Theater. Moscelyne is a member of Post:Ballet in San Francisco, and the director of BodySonnet.

Kara Roseborough (Evanston) is a multidisciplinary artist, and she is thrilled to join New Dances for the 2020 season. Kara is a guest artist with South Chicago Dance Theatre, the assistant director of Evanston Dance Ensemble 2, and a Cecchetti certified ballet teacher at Dance Center Evanston. Kara is an alumna of the Chicago Academy for the Arts and the University of Utah, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Cum Laude while dancing in the resident company, Utah Ballet. She is grateful to her parents for their love and support.

Hanna Swartz (Chicago) is a student at Columbia College Chicago, pursuing her BFA in Dance. She grew up as a competitive dancer and ballet student in Kansas City, competing across the nation in jazz, tap, and theater forms and performing in full- length yearly. After high school, she moved to Boston for a year of training at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee to pursue contemporary dance forms and choreography. Hanna has presented her works in Boston and Chicago, performed with independent artists on music videos, dance films, and staged productions since beginning her college career.

Halina Tutaj (Chicago) was born and raised in Chicago. She attended Whitney M. Young High School and studied ballet at the Ruth Page School of Dance until she graduated in 2016. In her year after graduating she traveled to Rome to study . Upon returning Halina began teaching dance at the Ruth Page Center and joined Venetia Stifler’s company, Concert Dance Inc.

Alexandra Webb (Chicago), from Arkansas, graduated high school from UNCSA in 2015, after which she attended the University of Oklahoma to pursue a degree in Ballet Performance. After deciding college wasn’t the right path, she spent a year with Tulsa Ballet before moving to Chicago to train at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s

HSPro in 2018. She looks forward to continued self-exploration through the dance medium and other forms of artistic expression.

Imani Williams (Chicago), from Atlanta, started dancing as a junior in high school. After graduation, Imani accepted a full scholarship at School’s (NYC) press contacts Jazz and Contemporary Program directed by Michael Blake, where he had the honor of dancing in works by former prima ballerina Margo Sappington, Tony Award-winner Melissa Thodos Thodos Dance Chicago Chet Walker, and choreographer of Rent Marlies Yearby, and performing in pieces by melissa.thodos@ Emily Bufferd, Lane Gifford, Tyler Gilstrap, and Sekou McMiller. Imani was featured thodosdancechicago.org in Joffrey Ballet School photos by Lois Greenfield. Imani has danced with Florida Dance Theater and Giordano II. Imani joined DanceWorks Chicago in September Julie Nakagawa 2018. DanceWorks Chicago [email protected] About Thodos Dance Chicago:

Melissa Thodos, a choreographer, educator, and performer for over 30 years, founded Thodos Dance Chicago in 1992. For 25 years, the company offered dancers a place to perform, a place to create new work and a place to educate the next generation of dancers. Thodos Dance Chicago successfully performed and taught for over one million dance fans in Chicago, across the country in 27 states, and around the world on five continents.

In its 28th year, Thodos Dance Chicago has evolved to undertake projects that provide the greatest impact in the Chicago community and beyond as a project-based dance organization. Our mission is to engage and enrich the community through dance creation, advocacy, education, mentorship and production. TDC is also working with Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Chris Olsen on creating documentaries and film about the development of and the performance of some of the Company’s high profile story ballets and dance theater works. For more information, visit https://thodosdancechicago.org/. About DanceWorks Chicago

Founded in May 2007, DanceWorks Chicago is committed to building a foundation for early career artists by providing a laboratory from which dancers and choreographers propel themselves and the art form to a new level of artistry through training, collaboration, mentorship, and performance. DWC’s efforts to nurture and convene the next generation of artists, audience, and dance citizens, inspires, empowers, and contributes to a sustainable future for dance. Think global; dance local! For more information, visit https://www.danceworkschicago.org/.

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