the joffrey ballet

Photographing The Joffrey Ballet

August 31, 2012 by 4dancers

by Christopher Duggan

20120822_JoffreyBallet_Christopher.Duggan_169 — Derrick Agnoletti of The Joffrey Ballet in Son of Chamber Symphony; photo Christopher Duggan, courtesy Jacob’s Pillow Dance.

Last week marked the end of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival’s 80th Anniversary, and I found myself scrambling from one dress rehearsal to the other trying to squeeze in documentation of both main stage performances. I was so excited/nostalgic about the fact that this is the last week of the summer, and I wanted to capture it all.

20120822_JoffreyBallet_Christopher.Duggan_252 — Victoria Jaiani and Miguel Angel Blanco of The Joffrey Ballet in Son of Chamber Symphony; photo Christopher Duggan, courtesy Jacob’s Pillow Dance.”

I loved The Joffrey Ballet‘s program. They danced Bells by former Bolshoi Ballet dancer and San Francisco Ballet choreographer Yuri Possokhov, Age of Innocence by Edwaard Liang, and Son of Chamber Symphony, a world premiere by Stanton Welch. It’s always exciting to photograph a world premiere. My photos will be the first ones showcasing the new dance, and it makes me nervous and psyched.

20120822_JoffreyBallet_Christopher.Duggan_224 — Victoria Jaiani and Miguel Angel Blanco of The Joffrey Ballet in Son of Chamber Symphony; photo Christopher Duggan, courtesy Jacob’s Pillow Dance.

This idea is amplified at Jacob’s Pillow where world-renowned companies perform on a world stage. It’s a big deal to premiere work at the Pillow. All eyes are here. I knew the company wanted approval of the images before they were given to the press, so I wanted to be sure I delivered both quality and quantity. I made a larger number of photographs than I typically do at dress rehearsal, and prepared and edited the photos for use within hours. It’s a lot of pressure to photograph for press use, but it’s something I’ve grown used to in the fast-paced world of performance documentation.

I had a great time with The Joffrey. The dancers were so talented, and the tutus in Stanton Welch’s new work were exquisite and especially fun to photograph.

20120822_JoffreyBallet_Christopher.Duggan_159 — Yumelia Garcia and Matthew Adamczyk of The Joffrey Ballet in Son of Chamber Symphony; photo 2012 Christopher Duggan, courtesy Jacob’s Pillow Dance.

Please visit my blog if you’d like to see more from this year’s festival. I post photos from Jacob’s Pillow each Friday, and I’m doing a few special projects in the coming weeks that I’d love to share.

Contributor Christopher Duggan is the founder and principal photographer of Christopher Duggan Photography, a New York City-based wedding and dance photography studio. Duggan has been the Festival Photographer for Jacob’s Pillow Dance since 2006. In this capacity, and as a respected New York-based dance photographer, he has worked with renowned choreographers and performers of international acclaim as well as upstarts in the city’s diverse performance scene.

He has created studio shots of Gallim Dance, Skybetter + Associates and Zvidance, among others, and in 2011 alone, he has photographed WestFest at Cunningham Studios, Dance From the Heart for Dancers Responding to Aids, The Gotham Dance Festival at The Joyce Theater, and assisted Nel Shelby Productions in filming Vail International Dance Festival.

Duggan often teams up with his talented wife and Pillow videographer Nel Shelby (http://nelshelby.com). A New York City-based husband and wife dance documentation team, they are equipped to document performances, create and edit marketing videos and choreography reels, and much more.

Christopher Duggan Photography also covers Manhattan’s finest wedding venues, the Metropolitan and Tri-State areas, and frequently travels to destination weddings. The company’s mission is straightforward and heartfelt – create timeless, memorable images of brides, grooms, their families and friends, and capture special moments of shared love, laughter and joy.

His photographs appear in The New York Times, Destination I Do, Photo District News, Boston Globe, Financial Times, Dance Magazine, Munaluchi Bridal, and Bride & Bloom, among other esteemed publications and popular wedding blogs. One of his images of Bruce Springsteen was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s celebrated photography collection in 2010. His company has been selected for inclusion in “The Listings” in New York Weddings magazine.

Dance For Life Chicago 2012

August 13, 2012 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

On August 18th the Chicago dance community will come together at the Auditorium Theatre to support one another and raise money for HIV/AIDS AIDS care, education, and prevention–and for The Dancers’ Fund.

Dance For Life Chicago is a dance performance that first came to the stage at Chicago’s Organic Theater. Since its founding in 1992 it has sold out every single year. To date, close to $4 million dollars has been raised for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The organization has partnered with some of Chicago’s best companies, including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, River North Dance Chicago and Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. Those who attend the performance are in for a lovely evening of dance at one of the best venues in the city. In addition, this year’s show will feature two World Premiere performances choreographed by Chicago’s own Randy Duncan and Harrison McEldowney.

Before the curtain rises, those who purchase tickets for the Gala Reception will get to enjoy conversation and complimentary Absolut martinis in the Hilton Chicago Grand Ballroom. You can purchase tickets for the Gala and/or the August 18th performance here.

Those hoping to learn more about this event can watch Dance for Life: The Documentary airing Tuesday, August, 14th at 10 p.m. on Chicago’s public television station, WTTW 11.

4dancers is proud to be a sponsor for this year’s Dance For Life Chicago event–hope to see you there!

Here is a video from last year’s show–just a little visual for you:

10 Questions With…Allan Greene

June 5, 2012 by 4dancers

Today on 10 Questions With… we have Allan Greene, a pianist that works in the dance world…

We would also like to welcome Allan to our contributing writer staff here at 4dancers. He’ll be writing a new monthly column appropriately titled, “Music Notes”…

1. How did you get started in music?

I started composing on my own when I was eight years old after I tired of copying songs from our third grade songbooks. The next year I began studying the cello at my elementary school, and the next year I began studying piano with the wife of one of my father’s electronic engineer colleagues. Things moved rapidly from there.

The cantor at my family’s synagogue recommended me to a Viennese choir-master who passed me on to an eccentric Juilliard-trained pianist. The intensity of the Juilliard training was too much for me and conflicted with Boy Scouts and after-school basketball. I moved on to a retired violinist / pianist who devoted his Saturdays to me, and presented me in recital several months before my 16^th birthday.

All the while I was composing on my own. At the age of twelve I was composing suites of atonal works, for various chamber music combinations as well as solo piano. My high school choir performed a setting I created of a poem by James Joyce. Stylistically, I was heading out the trajectory blazed by Charles Ives, inventing what I called “stream-of-consciousness music” analogous to Joyce’s literary technique: I created a musical narrative out of musical objets trouvés, using juxtaposition of styles and recognizable snippets to shape the drama. A generation later, due to the invention of sampling synthesizers, personal computers and audio production software, some of my ideas were independently showing up as common compositional tools in film and television scores.

2. What brought you into the dance world?

Accompanying ballet and modern dance classes was a work-study contract gig available at Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota) in my freshman year. After a term washing dishes at one of the college’s cafeterias, it was a god-send. I found it easy, delightful to watch and participate in, and, importantly, made being a musician both quotidian and artistic. I’ve never liked having the spotlight trained on me, so this allowed me to participate and observe simultaneously. Accompanying dance became a laboratory for me to study the effect on collaborating artists of all kinds of music and all sorts of harmonies, melodies, rhythms and textures. It still is.

3. Where has your career taken you in terms of playing for dancers? [Read more…]

The Joffrey: Spring Desire Affinity Night

April 12, 2012 by 4dancers

4dancers is delighted to announce a partnership with the Joffrey Ballet and Vicki Crain of Rogue Ballerina!

Spring Desire Affinity Night will take place at Joffrey Tower on Wednesday, May 2nd. This is a totally FREE evening where you will get to see the Joffrey perform excerpts from the Spring Desire program, followed by a Q&A session with Artistic Director Ashley Wheater. Stay for cocktails and hors d’ouervres, mingle with fellow dance lovers and get an inside look at the space that the Joffrey calls home.

This is the perfect opportunity to bring a friend and let them experience the Joffrey for the first time–and all attendees will receive 50% off on tickets* for the final weekend of Spring Desire at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University.

*Offer not valid on previously purchased tickets. (Please note: attendees are NOT required to purchase tickets.)

Interested? There are still spots available, but be sure to act quickly–seating is going fast for this spectacular event–and you must RSVP to attend (see below).

Here’s the info:

Wednesday, May 2

Joffrey Tower — 10 East Randolph Street, Chicago
5:45 pm Registration
6:00 pm Program and Q&A
7:00 pm Cocktails and Hors d’ouevres

To RSVP, please email affinity@joffrey.org or call 312-784-4640. Provide your name and the number of people you will be bringing to the event no later than April 25th.

Both Vicki and I will be there–so if you can make it be sure to say hello!

Please share this post with anyone you think would be interested — it really is a great opportunity to introduce someone to ballet–

Hope to see you there,

Catherine

Interview with Trinette Singleton from the Joffrey

December 6, 2011 by 4dancers

Today we have a special feature for 4dancers readers..an interview with Trinette Singleton from the Joffrey. One of the company’s well-known ballerinas, Singleton appeared in the multi-media ballet, Astarte, created on her by her mentor, Robert Joffrey. She was also the first dancer to ever appear on the cover of a national news magazine – Time. Later, she went on to become Ballet Mistress for the Joffrey.

Listen to her reminisce about her career here, and enjoy!

Interview with Trinette Singleton from the Joffrey

If you are interested in learning more about the Joffrey and its history, be sure and keep tabs on the new documentary, Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance, slated for release in 2012. More on that soon….

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