NEW YORK CITY CENTER EDUCATION OCTOBER 2020 BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Wiseman Art by Ben FALL FOR DANCE Your personal guide to the Festival. While we cannot gather at City Center this A NOTE FROM October for our 17th annual Fall for Dance Festival, we remain committed to the tradition of performances live on our stage. And though the STANFORD theater will not be packed with audience members, we are proud to present the Festival directly from TABLE OF MAKISHI, our home to yours. While many things may be different, the Festival will be what it has always VICE PRESIDENT been: a celebration of dance and an elevation of CONTENTS OF PROGRAMMING some of today’s greatest artists. With this year’s Festival, it is City Center’s hope to offer some semblance of normalcy within the performing arts landscape. Though digital, the Festival still takes place at the time of year when New Yorkers have come to expect performing arts seasons to begin anew and we typically return to theaters for another year of exciting programming. 2 A Note from Stanford Makishi, VP of Programming This year’s Festival exclusively features artists from our great city, many of whom had their New 3 Meet the Dancers York seasons cancelled due to the pandemic. We have deep and longstanding histories with many of the individuals and companies in this year’s 8 The Essence of Grief: An Exploration of Lamentation Festival, and we are especially proud to honor those relationships this year. 10 An Interview with Jamar Roberts Many of the works in the 2020 Festival form a 12 Ask the Artists response to the issues present in our nation and around the world, while others punctuate the 14 Activity programs with simple moments of joy. Together, these pieces make the Festival a kind of snapshot 15 Write a Review of this moment in time. 16 Reccommended Dance Resources This year’s digital format allows us the unique opportunity to share the Festival with audiences far beyond New York City. Whether Fall for 18 Up Next for City Center Dance is an old favorite or a new discovery, we welcome you to City Center. —Stanford Makishi, Vice President of Programming Ballet Hispanico’s Shelby Colona; photo by Rachel Neville Photography CITY CENTER EDUCATION 3 MEET THE DANCERS MEET THE DANCERS (CONTINUED) Angelin Preljocaj, Alexei Ratman- Company in 2011 and danced solo roles Dance Festival since 2014. He was re- sky, and Liam Scarlett, among others. in Graham classics such as Diversion of cently profiled in The New York Times Danchig-Waring has received interna- Angels, Cave of the Heart, Embattled Arts & Leisure section in February tional recognition for performing on Garden, and Appalachian Spring, among 2020. major stages throughout the Americas, others. She has also originated roles Europe, and China. He was a founding for top choreographers Kyle Abraham, member of Christopher Wheeldon’s Lil Buck, Nacho Duato, Liz Gerring, company Morphoses, with which he Bobbi Jene Smith, and Pam Tanowitz. toured from 2005–2008. He is the di- Ms. Diamond-Walker appears as guest rector of the New York Choreographic artist with Annie-B Parson’s Big Dance Institute: an incubator for the develop- Theater and can be seen in myriad TV JOSEPH GORDON was born in ASHLEY BOUDER was born in Carl- SHELBY COLONA grew up in Hous- ment of new work in the field of classical and film projects. She holds a BFA from Phoenix, Arizona, and began his dance isle, Pennsylvania, and began her ballet ton, Texas where she graduated from and contemporary ballet. The Institute, Fordham University. training at the age of five at The Phoenix training at the age of six at the Central the High School for the Performing and in partnership with New York University Dance Academy. Gordon began study- Pennsylvania Youth Ballet with Marcia Visual Arts with honors in dance. Af- Tisch School of the Arts and The Juil- ing at SAB, the official school of NYCB, Dale Weary. After attending the School ter graduating, she attended The Ailey liard School, is committed to cultivating during the 2006 summer course and DAVID HALLBERG was born in of American Ballet (SAB) for one sum- School’s Certificate Program from 2011 the next generation of diverse choreo- enrolled as a full-time student that fall. South Dakota. He trained at The School mer session and the 1999–2000 school to 2013. In addition to her education, graphic voices of the 21st century. Since In August of 2011, he became an appren- of Ballet Arizona and the Paris Opera year, Bouder joined New York City Bal- Colona has performed works by Rob- 2014, Danchig-Waring has worked with tice with NYCB, and in July of 2012, he Ballet School, before joining American let (NYCB). She was promoted to prin- ert Battle, Billy Bell, Graciela Daniele, NYCB’s Education department and joined the company as a member of the Ballet Theatre (ABT) in 2001. He be- cipal dancer in 2005 and has remained Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Benoit-Swan The Weinberg Family Cerebral Palsy corps de ballet. He was promoted to so- came a principal dancer in 2005 and his with the company ever since. Bouder Pouffer, and Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Center to develop and disseminate a loist in February 2017 and to principal in repertoire includes leading roles in all has danced in ballet galas around the among others and has performed with methodology of movement workshops October 2018. Since joining NYCB, he the major classical ballets. He has per- world and guest starred in companies companies such as Alvin Ailey American for children and young adults with CP. has performed featured roles in ballets formed works by George Balanchine, including the Paris Opera Ballet, Rome Dance Theater at City Center, Lunge Danchig-Waring is a director of the DORMESHIA is a two-time Bessie choreographed by George Balanchine, Kurt Jooss, Lar Lubovitch, Mark Mor- Opera Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsbal- Dance Collective, and BHdos prior to Board of the George Balanchine Foun- Award winner (performer and chore- August Bournonville, Justin Peck, Alex- ris, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Ant- lett, and the Mariinsky Ballet. She has joining Ballet Hispánico. This is Colona’s dation. He was a 2017–2018 research ographer), and Princess Grace Statue ei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, and ony Tudor, and more, as well as roles he been awarded the Mae L. Wien Award sixth season with Ballet Hispánico. fellow at the New York Public Library Award and Astaire Award recipient. Her Christopher Wheeldon. Additionally, created in seven of Alexei Ratmansky’s for Outstanding Promise at SAB as a for the Performing Arts, Jerome Rob- Broadway credits include After Midnight, he originated featured roles in Benja- world premieres. He made history in student. As a professional, her awards bins Dance Division and is currently a Black and Blue, and Bring in ‘da Noise, min Millepied’s Neverwhere, Matthew 2011 as the first American to join the include the Janice Levin Honoree from Young Leaders Fellow with the National Bring in ‘da Funk!, including the inter- Neenan’s The Exchange, Alexei Rat- Bolshoi Ballet under the title premier NYCB, the Miss Expressivity for 2011 Committee on United States–China national tour (dance captain, principal, mansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and dancer. Hallberg has been a guest artist and the Miss Virtuosity for 2013 from Relations. lead). Her film credits include TAP with Troy Schumacher’s Common Ground, as with the Mariinsky Ballet, Paris Opera the Dance Open Gala, the 2019 Ben- Gregory Hines, Spike Lee’s Bamboozled well as corps roles in Kim Brandstrup’s Ballet, La Scala, The Royal Ballet, and ois de la Danse, and the Award for Ar- (assistant choreographer/actress), and Jeux and Justin Peck’s Everywhere We more. His recognitions include the Ben- tistic Excellence from the Borough of The Rise and Fall of Miss Thang, for which Go and Year of the Rabbit. Gordon is ois de la Danse prize, the Princess Grace Manhattan Community College for she received a nomination for Best Lead the recipient of a 2017 Lincoln Center Fellowship, The Bell Family Foundation her work in promoting gender equal- Actress. Some of Dormeshia’s choreog- Award for Emerging Artists and was the Emerging Artist Award, and the Chris ity in the ballet world. As the founder raphy credits include Michael Jackson’s 2015–16 Janice Levin Dancer Honoree. Hellman Dance Award and its Statue and artistic director of the arts collab- ADRIAN DANCHIG-WARING is a Rock My World, and The Blues Project While at SAB, he was the recipient of Award. Hallberg is the incoming artistic orative Ashley Bouder Project, Bouder principal dancer with NYCB where he’s (co-choreographer). Dormeshia contin- the Melissa Hayden Dance Scholarship director for The Australian Ballet, and works to promote gender equality, and collaborated with many of today’s re- ues her artistic journey with the first full- from 2006 through 2011. Gordon has he serves as a board member with City diversity and inclusion in creative lead- nowned choreographers and performed length work And Still You Must Swing: a also performed on stages around the Center and Performa in New York City. ership roles within the dance world. Her an active repertoire of masterworks by celebration of tap dance, jazz music, the world including the Théâtre du Châtelet previous choreographic work has been George Balanchine and Jerome Rob- connection between the two, and their of Paris, Bunkamura Festival Hall of To- presented at the SAB Choreographic bins. He has originated featured roles NATASHA M. DIAMOND- African roots. kyo, Copenhagen Royal Opera House, Workshop, NYCB, Peter Norton Sym- in works by Kim Brandstrup, Eliot Feld, WALKER is from Los Angeles.