SEPTEMBER 2014 / Issue No. 3

Steven McMahon and Crystal Brothers in the River Project premiere of

Devil’s Fruit, October 2013

S T E V E N M C M A H O N N A M E D A R T I S T I C A S S O C I AT E

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Congratulations are in order for Steven McMahon, our new Artistic Associate. As Artistic Associate, he will work directly with Artistic Director Dorothy Gunther Pugh to guide the Company’s creative vision and presentation. Steven is certainly no stranger to Ballet Memphis audiences; he’s been a Company dancer since 2004 and was named the choreographic associate in 2007. For Ballet Memphis, he’s created some of the most memorable ballets in our current repertory including Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, and the much-lauded Peter Pan. A strong, versatile dancer, Steven will be seen onstage in several productions this season, both in Memphis and on tour.

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C O M PA N Y G R O W S I N I T S 28T H S E A S O NN E W D A N C E R S B R I N G VA R I E T Y O F E X P E R I E N C E TO B A L L E T M E M P H I S

“Recruiting new dancers to Ballet Memphis is about more than proper training and having a great audition,” according to Ballet Master James Ady, “we also look for people with big hearts and the right spirit for the Company.”

Ballet Memphis welcomes four new dancers and three trainees to the Company, and we’re excited to introduce them throughout the season.

Jared Brunson performed in last season’s Peter Pan as a guest artist and joins now as a full company member. Jared most recently was with BalletX in Philadelphia, Pa. John Deming be-gan his training in Rochester, New York, before

going on to train with Boston Ballet and dancing professionally at Carolina Ballet. Olivia Powell comes to Ballet Memphis from Alabama Ballet in Birmingham. Lauren Pschirrer most recently was with the Milwaukee Ballet. Three trainees also join the Company: Karina Eimon, who most recently danced with Peninsula Youth Ballet in California; Natalie Kischuk who is a recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma; and Valerie Walker who is currently a senior at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.

We’re also pleased to announce that Alexis Hedge has been promoted to full Company member after two years with the Company as a trainee. Alexis trained at Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy and has been featured in several Ballet Memphis productions including last season’s hits Politics and Peter Pan.

“I believe that you can see great dance and beautifully trained dancers on many stages and in many companies,” said Dorothy Gunther Pugh, “but I think it’s our dancers’ generosity of spirit that truly speaks to and connects with audiences.”

Lauren Pschirrer

John DemingOlivia Powell Karina Eimon

Valerie Walker Jared BrunsonNatalie Kischuk

“It’s a new adventure for me,” Lauren Pschirrer said. “I love gaining new perspective in my dance, and meeting and working with new people. I’m originally from Peoria, Illinois and my former artistic director at Peoria Ballet (Eric Yetter) used to dance with Ballet Memphis so it’s exciting for me to dance where most of his professional career took place.”“Naturally, we look for dancers who are

beautifully trained and able to interpret and execute the art form,” James said. “But we also want dancers who can connect to the community.”

B A L L E T M E M P H I S F I N I S H E S J O U R N E Y W I T H R I V E R P R O J E C T 3: M O V I N G C U R R E N T S

Artistic Director Dorothy Gunther Pugh always envisioned the River Project series to be just that: a project with a beginning and an end to its narrative. The first two installments brought audiences along on the Company’s journey as it explored culture, nature, and human migration; this last chapter shows how the river inspires all movement, natural and manmade. River Project: Moving Currents also gives the entire organiza-tion a chance to stretch its wings, so to speak, and show how the River Project will help define further the Company’s creative legacy.

River Project: Moving Currents will premiere two works created on the Company by Matthew Neenan and Steven McMahon as well as a work

by Petr Zahradníček. River Project: Moving Currents will run at Playhouse on the Square October 18-26, 2014.

Night and Day in FedEx City is an airy piece that shows the movement of commerce. Petr visited the FedEx hub during a night shift to see the near-ballet performed by the world’s packages and parcels as they make their way through the Memphis-based organization’s headquarters.

Philadelphia-based Matthew Neenan, whose other River Project contribution, Party of the Year, is currently being toured by the Company, is looking at the movement of boats and barges along the river as his touchstone, according to Dorothy.

“River commerce still is so vital today,” Dorothy said. “I like working with Matthew because he’s not afraid to take chances and he understands how to create movement; he’s truly accomplished in his craft.”

Steven McMahon is basing his new work on the migratory birds along the Mississippi Flyway. He is collaborating with Erin Harmon, a Memphis-based painter and chair of the art and art history department at Rhodes College, to create the sets for the piece.

Erin typically works in bright, exuberant colors, and the set pieces will be equally exciting. “I have some ideas about how the dancers and the set may interact together,” she said. “It’s challenging in the best of ways and refreshing to work with ‘living objects’ after three or four years of paint-ing landscapes devoid of any living creatures.”

Above: Artist Erin Harmon’s collages and paintings are bright, exuberant and often whimsi-cal depictions of nature. Left: Dancers Brandon Ramey, Hideko Karasawa and Travis Bradley spread their wings in Night and Day in FedEx City.

“Petr is able to make beautiful ballets out of seemingly ordinary experiences,” Dorothy said.

Beyond the professional stage, the River Project has created inlets to the overall community through student workshops, events and family days. We are delighted that the Ballet Memphis Junior Company, our pre-professional program for students ages 12-17, will perform at Playhouse on the Square during the second week of the River Project run.

The Junior Company is led by Janet Parke, principal of Ballet Memphis School.

“We’ve talked in past seasons about the River Project works and we’ve had choreographers speak with the Junior Company on their process and creating dance,” Janet said, “so this year, we decided to make our fall showcase also based on an overall theme of the river.”

She currently has six Junior Company members working on original works. “It’s incredibly exciting for these students to create their own ballets and perform on a professional stage.”

B A L L E T M E M P H I S J U N I O R C O M PA N Y TO TA K E T H E S TA G E W I T H J U N I O R R I V E R P R O J E C T

First-time choreographer Lawren Camper works through her piece, Pavati (which translates to clear waters), with dancer Kelly O’Daniel.

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combines them with post-modern elements and his own personal movement style to create what he calls “post-African/Neo-HooDoo Modern dances.” His lauded works have been presented nationally and internationally to much acclaim, and have been described as “technically stunning and emotionally raw” by the New York Times.

Gabrielle Lamb, who most recently restaged her prize-winning work Manifold on Ballet Memphis for World Wonders, is basing her new work on the role of women in dance and in the larger world.

Her piece will explore the role of women in ballet and seek to form an analogy with women’s struggle for voice in society. The archetypal ballerina is the perfect example of the roles women play every day, contrasting the attributes of strength and passivity,

precision and force. Gabrielle was awarded a fellowship from the prestigious Princess Grace Foundation to create and present this important work.

Artistic Associate and Company dancer Steven McMahon’s work I Am will reflect on all of the emotions and characteristics of the first three works, showing that we are all people, sharing the same world, its dilemmas, its challenges, and its victories.

“If art is connected with the voice of the human spirit, then it’s our responsibility to use our art form to ensure every voice is heard, that everyone matters,” added Dorothy. “That is the purpose of I Am.”

N OTA B L E C H O R E O G R A P H E R S B R I N G P O W E R F U L W O R K S TO T H E S TA G E I N I A MF O U R N E W B A L L E T S I N S P I R E D B Y C I V I L R I G H T S S T R E N G T H S A N D S T R U G G L E S

Cornelia Parker’s 2005 sculpture “Anti-Mass” seems to defy gravity. On permanent display in San Francisco’s de Young Museum, “Anti-Mass” is constructed of charcoal fragments and wire, seemingly suspended in time and space.

“It’s an incredibly arresting sculpture,” according to Dorothy Gunther Pugh. “And even more so when you read that the fragments are from the

remains of an African-American Southern Baptist church that was destroyed by arsonists.”

With that powerful image in her mind, Dorothy reached out to San Francisco-based choreog-rapher Julia Adam to create a new ballet for I Am, opening in February 2015 at Playhouse on the Square. I Am is inspired by civil rights and struggles, and will feature four new works by Reggie Wilson (I Am A Man), Gabrielle Lamb (I Am A Woman), Steven McMahon (I Am) as well as Julia’s piece, I Am A Child.

Reggie Wilson, Artistic Director of Brooklyn- based dance company Fist and Heel Performance Group, draws from the blues, slave and spiritual cultures of Africans in the Americas and

“I’m inspired by Dorothy’s innovative programming and how she conceives ballets that are beautiful but also relevant to the concerns of society,” Gabrielle said.

Julia Adam works with Ballet Memphis during a previous River Project premiere.Photo by Marci Lambert.

Reggie WilsonPhoto by Antoine Tempé.

Gabrielle Lamb, low right, works with dancers at the National Choreographers Initiative. Photo by Ty Parmenter.

7950 TRINIT Y RDMEMPHIS, TN 38018

UPCOMING EVENTSspark Crosstown Arts9/18 6:30pScreening of the local indie fave Mud by Jeff Nichols spark jr.Amurica in Crosstown9/26 6:30 pOur first spark just for the younger ones. Join the dancers for an exploration of how things move, from bicycles to animals to the river! STOTT PILATES® 10/13 fall mat session begins,various level classes and times throughout the week, classes run 10 weeks, ongoing Ballet Barre Classes as well. Call 901-753-4177 to register or visit balletmemphis.org/pilates for more infoRiver Project: Moving CurrentsPlayhouse on the Square 10/18-26 Free Family Day for River Project: Moving Currents10/25 2pReservations required at 901-737-7322spark Stax Museum11/13 6:30pOur first spark event in collaboration with the Stax Museum of American Soul explores greater access to the arts in Memphis.Nutcracker Tea The Peabody11/30 2pNutcracker The Orpheum12/12-14

I Am Playhouse on the Square2/20-22

Community Day at I Am2/21 2pPay-what-you-can event

Visit balletmemphis.org or call 901-737-7322 for tickets and more information.

And do we ever need them! Last season our dancers went through more than 400 pairs of shoes to the tune of more than $30,000 in our annual budget. This season we have 24 dancers in the Company, with more joining for our fantastic Swan Lake in the spring. That’s why we need your help in sponsoring a pair (or two) of shoes today. Your gift of $100 buys one pair of handmade pointe shoes or $25 for one pair of men’s shoes. It’s a fun way to own your own piece of the productions you’ll see on stage this season. Two clicks is all it takes—

NEW SEASON MEANS NEW SHOES

Visit BALLETMEMPHIS.ORG/GIVE