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Wendy Whelan At The Harris Theater: Restless Creature

January 21, 2015 by 4dancers

Wendy Whelan in Restless Creature. Photo by Christopher Duggan.
Wendy Whelan in Restless Creature. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

by Catherine L. Tully

Wendy Whelan is here in Chicago. And after waiting nearly a year for her to heal from a hip injury and re-schedule her tour, Restless Creature is on the schedule at the Harris Theater tonight.

The dance community is buzzing…

Whelan retired from New York City Ballet near the end of last year, and she is transitioning to the next phase of her career. Restless Creature is a unique dance offering that takes four young choreographers and challenges each to create a duet for one of the greatest ballerinas of our time.

But there’s a twist–they also dance these pieces with her.

Here’s a quick peek at each of the pairings that will be on stage this evening:

Alejandro Cerrudo and Wendy Whelan in rehearsal for Restless Creature, photo by Christopher Duggan.
Alejandro Cerrudo and Wendy Whelan, photo by Christopher Duggan.

Cerrudo

In Chicago Alejandro Cerrudo needs no introduction. This Spanish-born dancer became Hubbard Street‘s resident choreographer in 2009. His duet with Whelan, Ego et Tu is the first of the four to be performed.

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Joshua Beamish and Wendy Whelan, photo by Christopher Duggan

Beamish

Also on the program is Joshua Beamish with Conditional Sentences*. Beamish is the force behind MOVE: the company, which he founded in 2005.

Kyle Abraham and Wendy Whelan. Photo by Christopher Duggan.
Kyle Abraham and Wendy Whelan. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

Abraham

Choreographer Kyle Abraham has his own company, Abraham.In.Motion, and his duet, The Serpent and the Smoke is the next offering on the program.

Brian Brooks and Wendy Whelan. Photo by Christopher Duggan.
Brian Brooks and Wendy Whelan. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

Brooks

The final pairing for Restless Creature was created by Brian Brooks, and is titled First Fall. He is the choreographer at Brian Brooks Moving Company.

The program runs approximately 55 minutes and is only here for one night. It should be a thrilling one.


For more information about upcoming tour dates, visit Wendy Whelan’s website.

*4dancers originally had the name of this piece incorrect and it has been updated.

Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: alejandro cerrudo, brian brooks, chicago dance, choreography, harris theater, joshua beamish, kyle abraham, restless creature, wendy whelan

Finding Balance: Transitions In A Dance Career

January 5, 2014 by 4dancers

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by Emily Kate Long

A career in dance is full of transitions of all kinds…the exhilarating first leap from student to professional, the lapse between seasons, and the final (or in some cases, not so final) move from dance to another career. Some of these emotional transitions happen smoothly and with grace, some are rocky and uncertain.

Hearing my older friends’ stories of professional life when I was still a student put stars in my eyes, but it also made me wonder if I would be tough enough to handle a professional career. Since landing a job, I’ve seen friends transition from the stage to take on other pursuits. I’ve also been lucky enough to see some of my students enter the field and give it everything they’ve got. All that inspires me to make the most of every moment I’m given to dance. In this first Finding Balance post of 2014, change is the focus: in life, in habits, in attitude. Happy New Year!

Let’s start with a big one: landing that first job. The amazing thing about an occupation that flies by so quickly is that there’s no reason not to get the most out of every single second of it. That’s an incredible opportunity, and a huge challenge. Every moment wasted is a moment that you—or someone else—could be getting closer to the job or role you want. Five short years into my career, I sometimes catch myself forgetting that competitive hunger. It’s one thing that helped get me from wanting a job to having one, and I never want that to change about my dancing. What has changed now that I’m out of the scramble of trainee-ships and endless auditions is the extent to which the responsibility to stay eager falls on the individual. The more experience and freedom I gain, the more I realize there is to explore inside myself as an artist, and in movement and performance in the broader sense, if I’m willing to go for it.

Another thing the past five years have taught me is how and when to back off, something that’s hard for most dancers to do. Work—especially work that feels like play—is easy to get lost in. Both in my professional dance life and here on 4dancers, I’ve had the privilege to do work I love. I’ve also had to make the tough choice to put on the brakes sometimes, whether it’s staying out of the studio and resting my body, or posting less frequently to give my ideas time to take shape. Bodies don’t last forever, but I hope not to wear mine out for a long time yet.

Wendy Whelan, Photo by Christopher Duggan
Wendy Whelan, Photo by Christopher Duggan

The expenditure of one’s body, emotions, and nerves, or simply the decision to change one’s focus in life, are all reasons dancers choose to retire. It seems such a personal and difficult choice, whether a dancer stops at age twenty-five or age forty-five. Some dancers retire from full-time work but still perform occasionally; some leave the field altogether; still others bring up the next generation of artists as directors, teachers, or coaches. Wendy Whelan is one great example of an older dancer continuing to explore performance in ways other than classical ballet.

This article on Career Transition for Dancers makes an interesting point about second careers: they may not—in fact, probably won’t—provide the same degree of fulfillment as dancing, and that’s ok. That’s why dance was the first choice.

“And here, in essence, was the pill that many retiring dancers find hardest to swallow, and that Career Transition is nearly alone in dispensing: the sober recognition that, at least momentarily, a dancer might need to stop expecting a new line of work to match the deep fulfillment of professional dance.”

This line captures the feeling that hits me big time whenever I’m on a break from rehearsals and performance. There is just nothing that gets me going like dancing does, so it’s hard to take a rest even though I know it’s good for me. I guess some things really don’t change over the course of a dancer’s career, even after retirement!

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Emily Kate Long, Photo by Avory Pierce

Assistant Editor Emily Kate Long began her dance education in South Bend, Indiana, with Kimmary Williams and Jacob Rice, and graduated in 2007 from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s Schenley Program. She has spent summers studying at Ballet Chicago, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Miami City Ballet, and Saratoga Summer Dance Intensive/Vail Valley Dance Intensive, where she served as Program Assistant. Ms Long attended Milwaukee Ballet School’s Summer Intensive on scholarship before being invited to join Milwaukee Ballet II in 2007.

Ms Long has been a member of Ballet Quad Cities since 2009. She has danced featured roles in Deanna Carter’s Ash to Glass and Dracula, participated in the company’s 2010 tour to New York City, and most recently performed principal roles in Courtney Lyon’s Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Cinderella. She is also on the faculty of Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance, where she teaches ballet, pointe, and repertoire classes.

Filed Under: Career, Finding Balance Tagged With: career transition for dancers, dance career, dance transitions, finding balance, wendy whelan

Finis: Brian Brooks And Run Don’t Run

October 31, 2013 by 4dancers

by Christopher Duggan
I’ve known Brian Brooks for a few years now, and we’ve become closer and closer friends through filming with Nel Shelby Productions for Wendy Whelan’s Restless Creature, photographing his work at The Joyce, Dance From the Heart by Dancers Responding to AIDS and his company’s performances at Jacob’s Pillow…
It’s always exciting to see what he has in store for his dancers, and I was looking forward to photographing his dress rehearsal for the premiere of Run Don’t Run for weeks.
Brian Brooks Moving Company performed Run Don’t Run at BAM Fisher in Brooklyn. It’s a great new theater and the dance’s set design was an exciting feature to photograph. Philip Trevino designed the set. He’s a good fiend of ours. We’ve worked with him MANY times.
Another good friend Jo-anne Lee has danced with the Brian Brooks Moving Company for 11 years. This was her last performance with the company, so it was really special to photograph her in Run Don’t Run.

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Contributor Christopher Duggan is a wedding and dance photographer in New York City, the Berkshires and beyond. 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 photographs dancers in the studio and in performance, for promotional materials, portraits and press, and he often collaborates with his wife, Nel Shelby, and her Manhattan-based dance film and video editing company Nel Shelby Productions (nelshelby.com). Together, they have documented dance at performances from New York City to Vail International Dance Festival.

Christopher Duggan Photography also covers the finest wedding venues in the Metropolitan and Tri-State areas, in Massachusetts and the Berkshires, and frequently travels to destination weddings.

His photographs appear in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Knot, Destination I Do, Photo District News, Boston Globe, Financial Times, Dance Magazine, and Munaluchi Bridal, among other esteemed publications and popular dance and wedding blogs. One of his images of Bruce Springsteen was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and his dance photography has been exhibited at The National Museum of Dance and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

His Natural Light Studio (http://www.christopherduggan.com/portfolio/natural-light-studio-jacobs-pillow-photography/) at Jacob’s Pillow is his most ambitious photography project to date – check out his blog to see more portraits of dance artists in his pop-up photo studio on the Pillow grounds.

Filed Under: Dance Photography, Finis Tagged With: brian brooks, brian brooks moving company, christopher duggan, dance photography, jacob's pillow, nel shelby, restless creature, run don't run, wendy whelan

Wendy Whelan – A National Treasure

September 3, 2013 by 4dancers

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by Christopher Duggan

There’s just something about Wendy.

I never really had such all-access permission to follow such a star here on campus at Jacob’s Pillow. Wendy let me in her dressing room and while warming up in the Bakalar Studio, allowed me to photograph her performance from backstage…and always with a smile. She’s easy to work with and really trusted me. I was grateful for the whole experience.

Ella Baff introduced her before every performance as a National Treasure, and that’s the perfect description. There’s a reason she’s a superstar. She is just captivating.
My wife Nel was featured in a PillowTalk titled “The Art of Promotion,” focused on using film to promote dance. Wendy made a cameo appearance at the talk, and you can see the affinity they have for one another. They have tremendous respect for each other and it has been a wonderful collaboration.
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It was a fun week for me, and I wanted to make these images as a gift for Wendy – to commemorate such a momentous and important engagement for her.

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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.

Christopher Duggan, Photo by Julia Newman
Christopher Duggan, Photo by Julia Newman

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.

Filed Under: Dance Photography, Finis Tagged With: Ballet, christopher duggan, dance photography, ella baff, jacob's pillow, restless creature, wendy whelan

My Life As A Pillow Person

June 21, 2013 by 4dancers

by Ashley David

After a long seven-hour car ride from Maryland, I was tired, nervous and excited all at once, not knowing exactly what to expect from my new press/editorial internship position at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts. As I got off of the highway onto Jacob’s Ladder Road, a scenic byway in Western Massachusetts, my heart skipped a beat. Between trees, rolling hills and a beautiful lake, everything I saw out of my car window was green or blue. Having lived in only metropolitan-suburban areas outside of Baltimore, MD or Washington, D.C., the abundance of nature both intrigued and frightened me. As I continued driving on this gorgeous byway, now only 15 minutes away from my destination, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach fluttering around. It wasn’t until I saw this famous sign directing me to turn off the road that it finally felt real—I was in for the summer of a lifetime at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival!

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As I missed the turn for the parking lot to check in (smooth, I know), I happily stumbled upon a view that I had only seen in pictures or videos, the Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Stage. IMG_1621

At this point, I could not contain my excitement any longer. I let out a squeal and performed my own little happy dance before heading back towards check in because at that moment, I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be.

As a dance and communication-public relations student at the University of Maryland, College Park, arts administration is something that has always been a driving career goal. While it is not necessarily a path that is offered directly, I have found my own way into that world. I love performing and teaching dance as well, but am most focused on finding the intersection between my passion for dance and skill set in public relations. Here at Jacob’s Pillow, I know the tools and resources are endless for me to explore and learn. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: jacob's pillow, wendy whelan

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