Amy Seiwert’s Imagery a contemporary ballet company SKETCH 4 | Music Mirror World Premiere Ballets by: Amy Seiwert Adam Hougland Original Live Music By: Kevin Keller July 24–27, 2014 ODC Theater 3153 17th Street San Francisco, CA 94110 Photo: Imagery artists Weston Krukow and Sarah Griffin, photo by David DeSilva Dear Patron, Thank you so much for choosing to come to Amy Seiwert’s Imagery’s SKETCH 4 | Music Mirror. By doing so, you have supported live art which, in of it itself, is important. But more than that, you have chosen to participate in a unique program. Each year, Amy identifi es a theme and invites stunning artists that she thinks have a pertinent message to create dances for Bay Area audiences — dancers, choreographers and composers that we wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to. This year, in SKETCH 4 | Music Mirror, the focus is on how two very diff erent ballet choreo- graphers, Adam Hougland and Amy Seiwert, interpret the same piece of original music by composer Kevin Keller. Seiwert and Hougland are widely recognized for their inventiveness and versatility. Seiwert is known for her abstract explorations; Hougland for his creative storytelling. SKETCH 4 is an exploration of how these two artists interpret the same piece of commissioned music. Imagery is in the midst of a One Hundred Friend Challenge in which we are asking you to help recruit one hundred new or increased donations by September 1, 2014. For each new Friend or increased donation, the Imagery Board of Directors will match donations up to $8000. Help us take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to grow our community of supporters. By investing in Imagery, you directly impact our ability to create and present exceptional work in the Bay Area and beyond. The SKETCH series has become a staple of mid- summer dance in San Francisco, but it won’t be able to continue without your generous support. We thank those of you who were able to support, in any way, SKETCH 4, and ask for your help in Imagery’s future endeavors. If you are pleased tonight, tell your friends. To give a donation, visit our website www.asimagery.org or talk to a company member. Thank you for your attention. On behalf of the entire Board, I hope you enjoy this off ering as much as we have enjoyed presenting it to you. Niko Mayer, Chairman of the Board Photo: Imagery artists Weston Krukow, photo by David DeSilva Amy Seiwert’s Imagery a contemporary ballet company Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, a San Francisco-based contemporary ballet company, believes that ballet is an expressive and vital voice relevant to our times. ASI’s artists share the belief that through collaboration and experimentation, vibrant and courageous ideas are expressed. An environment of risk is fostered, and habitual reactions are discouraged. Imagery Board of Directors Artists of the Company Imagery Staff Niko Kozak Mayer — President Sarah Griffi n Amy Seiwert — Artistic Director Lori Laqua — Treasurer Brandon “Private” Freeman Barbara Hébert — Project Manager Amy Seiwert — Secretary Rachel Furst Colleen Griffi n — Administrative Assistant Kristine Elliott James Gilmer KT Graham Weston Krukow Company Class Teachers Joan Lazarus Ben Needham-Wood Joanna Berman, Laura Rae Bernasconi, Fred W. Terman Annali Rose Lee Wei Chao, Sandra Chinn, Maurya Len Weiss Katherine Wells Kerr, Amy London, Amy Seiwert Amy Seiwert’s Imagery is a 501(C)3 non-profi t corporation. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Amy Seiwert’s Imagery is honored to be a Resident Arts Group at Zaccho Dance Theatre. Amy Seiwert’s Imagery is grateful to the following foundations for their support for SKETCH 4 | Music Mirror: The Zellerbach Family Foundation, the W&F Hewlett Foundation, and the Fleishhacker Foundation. Amy Seiwert’s Imagery is supported by San Francisco Grants for the Arts. SKETCH 4 was supported by New Music USA, made possible by an annual program support and/or endowment gifts from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Baisley Powell Elebash Fund, Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. Program Design: Phyllis Peterson, www.MagnoliaStudio.com SKETCH 4 | Music Mirror Music composed by Kevin Keller Music performed by: Robert Howard on cello and Keisuke Nakagoshi on piano Lighting: Jim French Costumes: Christine Darch Beautiful Decay Don’t You Remember? Choreography: Adam Hougland INTERMISSION Choreography: Amy Seiwert Dancers: Full Company Dancers: Full Company The choreographers gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the dancers in the creation of this new work. About SKETCH 4 | Music Mirror The SKETCH series was launched in 2011 as a platform for experimentation and innovation in ballet based choreography. Each choreographer self identifies a risk and uses that as their departure point for creation. The SKETCH series was created specifically as a resource for choreographers to abandon their comfort zones. For SKETCH 4 | Music Mirror, Imagery commissioned an original score by Kevin Keller. To foster dialogue about the relationship between dance and music, we are exploring how two choreographers explore the same musical score. A challenge presented in how to not let one artist drive this creative process. Our scheme to deal with that issue: Hougland and Seiwert, independent of each other, submitted three visual images to Keller for inspiration. Keller then created six movements of music based on those images. Hougland and Seiwert have not seen each other’s images, nor has Keller shared which image inspired which movement. Finally, Hougland and Seiwert can order the movements in any way they wish. A heartfelt thank you to all individual Principal Season Sponsor: $5,000 and above donors who collaborated in 2014. Anonymous Your patronage is the difference. Barbara Maclaren Choreographer Dancer Sponsor: Sponsor: Friend: Sponsor: $500–$999 $100–$249 $35–$99 $1,000–$4,999 Peggy Heinmann David Archuletta Robert E. Friedman Jennifer and Mike Krukow The Bob and Edie Michele Benza Theresa Furst Ana Cecilia Bukowski Lori Laqua Kirkwood Fund Nancy C. Griffiths Joseph Copley Richard and Joan Lazarus Jean Halvorsen Darlene Gilmer Sharonjean Leeds Karren Shorofsky Contributor: Kristine Keefer Niko Mayer $250–$499 Dalia Rawson and Ann Mari Spector Lenard G. Weiss Barbara Hébert Gareth Hughes Sharon Wehner We also have tremendous gratitude to the many individuals who donated below the $35 level, as well as individuals who donated after July 10th. Choreographers and Composers AMY SEIWERT (Choreographer and Artistic Director) — Amy Seiwert’s collaborations with artists of other disciplines and commitment to experimental work from a classical base make her a unique voice in the Bay Area dance community. As Rita Felciano wrote in the Bay Guardian: “She quite possibly is the Bay Area’s most original dance thinker, taking what some consider a dead language and using it as a 21st century lingo to tell us something about who we are.” She was named one of‚ “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine, one of the ”Hot 20 under 40“ by 7x7 Magazine, was honored with a “Goldie” award from the Guardian, and twice her choreography has been listed in the “Top 10” dance events of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle (2007, 2010). Twice she has worked with dancers from the New York City Ballet, participating in the NY Choreography Institute at the invitation of Peter Martins. In addition to creating for Imagery, her creations are in the repertory of Ballet Austin, BalletMet (Columbus), Atlanta, Smuin, Washington Ballet, Cincinnati, Sacramento, Colorado, Louisville, Milwaukee and American Repertory Ballets, as well as Robert Moses’ KIN and Alaska Dance Theater. Future projects include premiers for Cincinnati and Kansas City Ballets. She is honored to be the Choreographer in Residence for Smuin Ballet as well as an Artist in Residence at the ODC Theater. Adam HOUGLAND (Guest Choreographer) — Adam Hougland grew up in Dallas, Texas and studied visual arts and acting from an early age. At 14 he began his dance training at the Dallas Conservatory of Ballet and the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. In 1999 he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from The Juilliard School A Legacy of Dance Excellence Celebrate a half century of beautiful dancing, dedicated training, and an enduring commitment to arts education, right here, in the East Bay! The only professional ballet company in Oakland and the East Bay that performs annually at the Paramount Theatre and continues to unite the local arts community by illuminating the dance arts with passion and humanity. OBC’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY FUND NOW ACCEPTING CONTRIBUTIONS AT www.OaklandBallet.org and then went on to perform with The Limon Dance Company, Toronto Dance Theatre and The Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. Adam has gone on to create original works for Morphoses/ The Wheeldon Company, The American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, Introdans in the Netherlands, The Limon Dance Company, Cedar Lake Ensemble, The Washington Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Ballet X and The New York Choreographic Institute at New York CIty Ballet. In 2006 he created a world premiere for Juilliard’s Centennial Celebration that toured to Chicago and Los Angeles and was broadcast on the PBS “Live from Lincoln Center” series. He has won The Princess Grace Award for Choreography, The Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography, a New York State Council for the Arts Commissioning Grant named Pointe Magazines’ “10 VIP’s for 2006” and Dance Magazine’s “25 to watch for 2011.” www.AdamHougland.com KEVIN KELLER, “MUSIC MIRROR” (Composer) — Starting out as a progressive rock guitarist, composer Kevin Keller moved to the piano while in high school, where a fascination with Debussy’s impressionism yielded to wider interests in the textural experiments of Eno and the electronic music of Subotnick.