THE NEW YORK CHOREOGRAPHY PROJECT OCTOBER 2017
DATES
Saturday, October 28th, 2017 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, October 29th, 2017 at 4 p.m. – a talkback with the choreographers follows the Sunday performance
LOCATION
Salvatore Capezio Theatre at Peridance
126 E. 13th Street
New York, New York 10003
www.peridance.com
Photo: Jan La Salle
Artistic Directors
Marian Hyun
Marian Hyun has studied jazz and ballet in New York with Luigi, Bob Audy, Ed Kresley, Shirley Bassat, Julia Dubno, and wonderful teachers in Paris, France, Susan Sparks and Frédéric Lazzarelli. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she was a freelance writer and a writing instructor at the New School before enrolling in the Dance Education Lab (DEL) at 92nd Street Y. Since then she has taught dance to people of all ages, from two-year-old pre-ballerinas to senior citizen jazz buffs in various New York studios and community centers. She has choreographed for the New York Jazz Choreography Project, Choreographer’s Canvas, the Fridays at Noon Marathon at 92nd Street Y, and the Comedy in Dance Festival at Triskelion Arts. In May 2007 at New Dance Group, Marian produced the first performance of the New York Jazz Choreography Project, a showcase devoted to jazz dance. It sold out. Subsequent performances of the Jazz Project have been produced semiannually by Jazz Choreography Enterprises, Inc., a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization established in 2007 to promote the creation of original jazz choreography. Marian is the president and co-artistic director of Jazz Choreography Enterprises.
Merete Muenter
Merete Muenter is a founding member and Co-Artistic Director of Jazz Choreography Enterprises. Choreography: Off-Broadway – Fiddler on the Roof - In Yiddish (Assistant Choreographer – Director, Joel Grey), Amerike – The Golden Land (The National Yiddish Theater - Folksbiene), The Golden Bride (Chita Rivera Award Nomination / The National Yiddish Theater - Folksbiene), Eddie and the Palaceades (Midtown International Theatre Festival “MITF”), The King of Second Avenue (New Repertory Theatre). Director/choreographer:Fiddler on the Roof - In Yiddish (Assistant Director, Australian Company, Director, Joel Grey), The Bridges of Madison County, (American Theater Group), Chicago, The Who’s Tommy, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Woodstock Playhouse), They Walk Among Us (MITF / Award - Best Choreography), Roar of the Greasepaint (Lancaster Opera House).
Featured Choreographers
Robert Audy (Alan Spaulding, Reconstructeur)
Robert Audy has worked in every aspect of show business as director-choreographer for Broadway, television, movies, and summer theatres across the country. He has coached or taught numerous stars, including Shirley MacLaine, John Travolta, Cybill Sheppard, Joel Grey, and Ben Vereen, and has trained several generations of international tap dancers. He wrote two best sellers published by Random House, Teach Yourself How to Tap and Jazz Dancing, and has taught for every major dance organization in the United States, as well as in Paris, France, and Helsinki, Finland. Robert was delighted to accept the Dance Masters of America President’s Award for 2001. He was honored for his contributions to tap dance at Tap City 2003. In 2007, the New York Committee to Celebrate National Tap Dance Day presented him with the Flo-Bert Life Achievement Award. In May 2009, Jazz Choreography Enterprises honored Robert for his contributions to the art of jazz dance as a distinguished teacher and choreographer. And in November 2009, Robert will be presented with the Tradition In Tap Award for “Outstanding Achievements & Significant Contribution To The Tradition And Art Of Tap Dance.”
Alan Spaulding, Reconstructeur
Bob Boross
A musical theatre performer in West Side Story, Godspell, Zorba, and The Pirates of Penzance (Pirate King), Bob made his Broadway debut in the 1981 revival of Can-Can, choreographed by Roland Petit. Since then he has choreographed Equity and Non-Equity productions of Annie Get Your Gun, Guys and Dolls, Victor/Victoria, Blood Brothers, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Bob has also been invited to teach and choreograph at the 3rd International Jazz Dance Forum in Paris, France; Boris Eifman Dance Academy in St Petersburg, Russia; Just Jazz Dance Company of Finland; Millennium Dance 2000 in London, England; Pro Danza Italia and La Bella Vita Arts in Italy; and the University of Dance and Circus in Sweden. Most recently his work has been seen in the NY Jazz Choreography Project, the Choreographer’s Canvas (NYC), and VelocityDC Dance Festival in Washington DC. In Los Angeles Bob presented his work in Jazz Dance LA, Spectrum Dance in LA, and at the Gypsy Dance Awards Show at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. His evening length dance theatre piece Empty Sky…The Rising, set to twelve songs by Bruce Springsteen, debuted in 2005 at the Two River Theatre in NJ. Bob holds the M.A. in Individualized Study (Jazz Dance) from the Gallatin School of New York University. He has held professorships at Shenandoah University, the University of California, Irvine, and is currently an adjunct professor of jazz dance at Marymount Manhattan College.
Bob Fosse (Lloyd Culbreath, Reconstructeur)
Robert Louis Fosse was born on June 23 rd , 1927. Growing up in Chicago, young Bobby was obsessed with Fred Astaire, the king of Hollywood’s movie musicals. As a boy Fosse would watch his famous films and try to imitate Astaire’s tapping feet and debonair style At age twenty-five, Fosse landed his own contract with MGM studios as a dancer in movies like Kiss Me, Kate, Give A Girl A Break, and The Affairs of Dobie Gillis. But Bob Fosse certainly didn’t always stand in the shadows of Fred Astaire; he went on to revolutionize American theatre dance. His blend of sensuality, humor, cinematic insight, popular references, and a hint of cynicism made musical theatre contemporary, consumable, and controversial. Fosse was one of the greatest dance visionaries of the 20 th century. He directed and choreographed over twenty-three films and Broadway musicals and won four Oscars and eight Tony Awards (more than any other choreographer). Additionally, Fosse is the only person ever to have won the “Triple Crown:” a Tony for Pippin, an Oscar for Cabaret, and an Emmy for Liza Minnelli’s television concert, Liza with a ‘Z’—all in 1973. Today, the signature style of bowler hats, turned-in toes, and stooped shoulders is universally recognized simply as “Fosse.” His innovative, internalized, character-driven style helped define a new vernacular in American Musical Theatre, making “Fosse” a renowned genre of dance all its own. Bob Fosse’s legacy lives on upon the stage, in pop culture, and through Fosse Master Classes produced by The Verdon Fosse Legacy LLC.
Lloyd Culbreath, Reconstructeur
Jeff Davis
Jeff Davis is a NYC based Dancer, Choreographer and Visual Artist. He is the Founder and Director of Jeff Davis Dance, fusing art, musical theater, contemporary and jazz dance to tell unique stories. His background in dance, theater, opera and puppetry have led to multifaceted, thought provoking and highly entertaining performance pieces. He recently choreographed Caravantasy for the Spring JCE Jazz Dance Project. His work French Trio premiered at the 2019 Fresh Fruit Festival, winning outstanding dance. His collaborations with Glitter Kitty Theater include Director and Choreographer of the Gunfighter Meets his Match for the New York Musical Festival (NYMF) and One for the Ages! at Theater for the New City. He is a former Co-Artistic Director of the Hudson Vagabond Puppets, touring and staging large scale puppetry. He is also co-creator of The Dick & Anita Holiday Hour! and The Lovely WILDS with composer Elliot Roth. As a performer, he has been featured with Labyrinth Dance Theater, NYC Children’s Theater, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, Josh Prince’s Broadway Dance Lab, PCLO and Pittsburgh Opera; international tours with Attack Theatre and Zullo/Raw Movement; national tour of the hit musical FOSSE.
Kavin T. Grant
Kavin T. Grant (1981-2019), a native of Jacksonville, Florida, was an Associate Professor of Dance at Alabama State University. He received his MFA in Dance with a concentration in Choreography and Performance from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Mr. Grant trained with Kariamu and Company: Traditions, and was a member for three years; Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet; Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Florida Community College at Jacksonville; and Jacksonville University, where he earned a BFA in Dance with departmental honors and a minor in Sociology. He was a guest instructor at Tri-Cities High School, Booker T. Washington Magnet High School, Temple University, Penn State University, The University of the Arts, The University of Akron, Rowan University, Muhlenberg College, Tallahassee Community College and Jacksonville University. He was also the founder/CEO of Kavin Grant Productions and Entertainment, LLC. Three of his choreographic works were adjudicated and selected for the Gala program at various Regions of the American College Dance Festival, and one chosen for the National American College Dance Festival. He specialized in classical ballet (Vaganova), contemporary ballet, contemporary modern, hip-hop, jazz, African (Umfundalai), musical theater and step dance. On March 31, 2019, Kavin T. Grant died in a car accident. JCE is presenting his work for the fifth time since 2015 and is dedicating these performances to him. A talented choreographer and much loved teacher, he is greatly missed by the dance community.
Richard J. Hinds
Richard’s Broadway & Tour credits include Come From Away (Associate Chor.), Disney’s Newsies (Associate Dir.), Jekyll & Hyde (Associate Dir./Chor.), Il Divo: A Musical Affair (Assistant Dir.), 9 to 5 (Associate Dir.) and Disney’s High School Musical (Associate Chor.). Richard worked on the Off-Broadway and West End productions of Here Lies Love (Associate Dir./Chor.). His Regional Theatre credits include La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, Paper Mill Playhouse, Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, Gateway Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre and Seattle 5th Ave. Theatre. His Television credits include Bring It, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, America’s Got Talent and The Bethenny Show. Richard is on faculty at Broadway Dance Center and represented by bloc Talent Agency.
Cat Manturuk
Cat Manturuk is the founder and artistic director of DANCE CAT-ALYST, a soul-driven contemporary dance company. A native of Detroit, MI, she holds a BFA in Dance and BS in Exercise Science from Western Michigan University. After graduating, Cat was a scholarship student at Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Center in Chicago, later moving to LA, where she performed with LA Modern and Ballet Company, Blue13 Dance, Regina Klenjosky Dance Company, and Collage Dance Theatre. Upon her arrival in New York, she joined Dance 2XS and became rehearsal director to Decadancetheatre. Her music video credits lie with BET and MTVIndia, and she has been featured in Dance Spirit, Shape, and Elle magazine.
DANCE CAT-ALYST outreach programs and performances: Nanjing, China; the NY Jazz Choreography Project; Battery Downtown Dance Festival; Brooklyn Dance Festival; Detroit Dance City Festival; Wellspring Cori Terry & Dancers; NYC’S Chelsea Piers Sports Center and Sky Rink; and Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. Cat is a recipient of the ACDF Excellence in Performance and Choreography Award, a Harkness Scholarship, a National Dance Association Outstanding Scholarship, and Presidential Award. Her choreography has been noted as “creating heat…” by the LA Times and teaching role as “crisply alive…” by the NY Times.
Merete Muenter
Merete Muenter is a choreographer and director, as well as the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Jazz Choreography Enterprises. Choreography: Off-Broadway – Fiddler on the Roof – In Yiddish (Assistant Choreographer – Director, Joel Grey), Amerike – The Golden Land (The National Yiddish Theater – Folksbiene), The Golden Bride (Chita Rivera Award Nomination / The National Yiddish Theater – Folksbiene), South Pacific and Man of La Mancha (Plaza Theatricals), The King of Second Avenue (New Repertory Theatre). Director/choreographer:Fiddler on the Roof – In Yiddish (Associate Director, Off-Broadway / New World Stages – Director, Joel Grey), The Bridges of Madison County, (American Theater Group), Chicago, Tommy, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Woodstock Playhouse), They Walk Among Us (MITF / Award – Best Choreography). Short Film: Through the Ages (Director/Choreographer/Producer) Multiple Film Festival Awards. Originally from Buffalo, New York. SUNY Geneseo Graduate.
Liz Piccoli
Liz Piccoli (AEA/AGMA/SDC Associate Director/Choreographer). Choreo: Assist. Director/Choreographer-Tricia Brouk, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” (Central Coast Theater), Assist. Choreographer “Central Ave. Breakdown” at NYMF (Deagu Award,) Assist. Choreographer- “Ionescopades” (York Theater/Lucille Lortel Nomination,) SDC Observer-Dan Knechtges (Lysistrata Jones, Off-Broadway,) Assist. Choreo.-TVLand Awards starring Liza Minnelli and Choreographer of “Now the Cats with Jewelled Claws” Off-Broadway at La Mama with Jonathan Warman. She was the choreographer for a musical in workshop based on Pink’s album “Misunderstood,” at EAT and is very happy to be a part of the NY Jazz Choreography Project at Alvin Ailey. Liz most recently was the Co-Director and Choreographer of “Spandex, the Musical” Off-Broadway as well as the choreographer of “Footloose” and “Hairspray” with the Ohana Arts Project in Oahu, HI.
Ashley Rich
Ashley Rich started her technical training at a young age, fell in love with dance, and completely immersed herself in her dance education. Some of her achievements include being a finalist on the 8th Season of “So You Think You Can Dance” and attending the prestigious Ailey School in NYC, home of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She has been featured in music videos, has performed nationally, and most recently choreographed a lyric video for Sony recording artists Lecrae and Tori Kelly. Ashley is currently a master teacher for “Turn it up Dance challenge” and teaches at Downtown Dance Factory in New York City. She is the Head of the Contemporary/Lyrical program at Downtown Dance Factory and Choreographer for their Junior/Senior Lyrical performing companies. During the summer she is the Director of the dance program at the SOCAPA, a dance intensive for teens located in Los Angeles. With her primary focus being on choreography and dance education, she decided to start Rich Dance Project in 2014. Rich Dance Project is a NYC based dance company for teens from all over the Tri-State area. RDP has performed throughout NYC in shows such as the New York Jazz Choreography Project, Brooklyn Dance Festival Youth Ensemble show, Brooklyn Summer Stage, and were featured performers in Tracie Stanfield’s SynthesisToo Apprentice show. Ashley’s mission is to teach dancers how to explore the purpose of their talent, develop their ability in a supportive space, and to inspire change through dance.
Sue Samuels
Sue Samuels — performer, master jazz teacher, choreographer — has an established reputation as one of the leaders within the performing arts community. She was the co-founder/owner of Jo Jo’s Dance Factory in New York City, which later became Broadway Dance Center. Sue has been on the faculty of Broadway Dance Center since 1986 and is also on the faculty of Peridance Capezio Center NYC. Students have included numerous stage, film, and television stars such as Melba Moore, Brooke Shields, Dominique Dawes and Irene Cara. As a performer and choreographer, Sue has over 40 years of extensive credits in film, television, and theatrical productions on Broadway and around the world. In 2009, Sue founded Jazz Roots Dance, a professional company dedicated to the preservation of the classic jazz dance form while aiming to excite and educate all generations about its roots. In Spring 2013 she self-produced and presented a successful season for Jazz Roots Dance, and in Fall 2013 the company completed its first tour to L.A. to perform in the TriArt Festival in San Pedro. Sue is a 2015 recipient of the Flo Bert Award for her dedication to the Jazz Dance art form. Critics agree that this company is “a new force to be reckoned with.”
Ellenore Scott
Ellenore Scott is a New York City based choreographer, master teacher and performer. Scott was a finalist (Season 6) and All-Star (Season 8) on the hit television show “So You Think You Can Dance?” and most recently was the Assistant Choreographer for the Broadway Revivals of “Cats” and “Falsettos.“ She has choreographed for national commercials (AVON and Chase), numerous music videos and internationally for Glow Dance Company (Norway). This season she had the pleasure to choreograph for Kate Hamill’s “Pride and Prejudice” at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, which will go Off-Broadway in Fall 2017. Scott is also the Artistic Director of New York City based contemporary-fusion dance company, ELSCO Dance.
Jaime Shannon
Jaime Shannon began her dance training at the age of four at the Lee Lund Studio of Dance in Milford, CT. In 2006 she received her B.A. in dance from Hofstra University where she studied with Lance Westergard, Stormy Brandenberger, Robin Becker, Carla Wolfangle, Rachel List, and Amy Marshall. Since then, Jaime has performed professionally with Azul Dance Theatre, Dance Cat-Alyst, Soluq Dance Theater, Lauren Hale Dance, and Kelley Donovan and Dancers. In 2010 Jaime met Tony Fraser and together, they quickly became a dynamic partnership in the swing dance community. Together they have performed and taught various styles of swing dance throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. In 2014 Jaime formed Kilowatt Dance Theater (KDT), a dance company specializing in the roots of early jazz dance, swing, lindy hop, and blues in combination with modern and contemporary dance. KDT has had the honor of performing at such noted venues as Jacob’s Pillow, The Battery Dance Festival, Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night’s Swing, and Jazz Choreography Enterprises.
Alan Spaulding
Alan Spaulding has taught dance to youths and adults since 1994. He currently teaches ballet, tap, and jazz dance in his neighborhood of Inwood in Upper Manhattan at The Pied Piper Children’s Theatre, where he has also choreographed several musicals including “The Pajama Game,” “Kiss Me, Kate,” “Anything Goes,” and most recently, “Singin’ in the Rain.” He has been involved as a dancer and choreographer for JCE since its inaugural production, and he is very happy to be revisiting these two numbers from past shows, especially re-staging “I Met a Girl,” which was originally choreographed by his teacher, mentor, and dear friend, Bob Audy.
Who Inspires our Choreographers?
We thought you might enjoy finding out who influenced and inspired some of our choreographers in this edition of the New York Jazz Choreography Project.
Bob Boross
LIFE is a piece I created in 2012 after hearing a music track titled “The Snare” by Zero dB. This jazz fusion music style was popular in the 1990s and the genre is known as Broken Beat Jazz. What appealed to me was the insistent drum cadence (which to me suggested a relentless pressure), the harsher electronic sounds, and the overall orchestration of how the track develops. These qualities reminded me of the relentless pressure we are under in daily life, the expectation to compete and be superlative, and the weariness that underlies our forced determination.
Jaime Shannon
A lot of the movement in this piece is inspired by Dean Collins. Dean Collins was an American lindy hop dancer/choreographer and innovator of swing dance. He worked on 38 films throughout the 1930’s and 40’s in LA. Collins developed a specific smooth style of lindy hop that is featured in a majority of his films. His signature style is often still referred to today as “Hollywood style Lindy Hop.” When Tony and I were developing the content for our piece, we played a lot with the smooth, stretchy, counterbalanced technique that defined Dean Collin’s style.
Alan Spaulding
During my time in college I performed in a concert choir and a small jazz choir which helped (unknowingly at the time) to inform my sensibilities of musicality and timing. We particularly were influenced by the vocalese style of jazz singing which was then popularized by The Manhattan Transfer. Our director told us to investigate earlier groups such as the Ames and Mills Brothers, and I have enjoyed listening to this music ever since. The first time I heard “My Walkin’ Stick,” I knew I wanted to dance or at least choreograph a dance to it. A couple years later I was teaching a very small jazz class with a boy and a girl and this music seemed a perfect fit for their personalities. It was great fun to redo this piece for JCE a few years ago and add another level of partnering with some lifts. Now it seems even more fun to sit back and let someone else dance!
Liz Piccoli
I grew up listening to big band music with my grandfather…some of his favorites were Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. The music just became integral to my sensibilities, and for this piece I wanted to try to embody the soul of the instruments. Dance inspiration is definitely Ann Miller in “Too Darn Hot” (I love her flirty energy and fierce command of the room) and of course Cyd Charisse, especially in “Meet Me in Las Vegas” – I’m inspired by the comedic approach, story-telling and partnering fluidity in this one.
Ellenore Scott
My mentor, Christian Von Howard, was my first jazz teacher in New York. He bridges jazz with modern dance beautifully with his company, The Von Howard Project.
Bob Fosse
This is what The Verdon Fosse Legacy LLC told us about Bob Fosse’s inspiration for “I Wanna Be a Dancin’ Man”:
Bob Fosse choreographed “I Wanna Be A Dancin’ Man” as a tribute to his own personal dance icon, Fred Astaire. As the Act II opener from 1978’s musical revue, DANCIN,’ “Dancin’ Man” honors the charm and elegance of Astaire and celebrates the golden age of the Hollywood musical. But the ensemble production number also highlights a poignant, universal sentiment that lies at the heart of every dancer—despite all of the sacrifices (physical, emotional, professional), the dancer loves to dance and, while both the art form and the career are ephemeral, that passion is everlasting.
Ashley Rich
Two songs by Lauryn Hill really resonated with me. The first song, “I Gotta Find Peace of Mind,” really inspired me because at the time, I was feeling overwhelmed with things going on in my life. I was trying to find peace in knowing that everything would work out and that God was in control. The song really mirrored my thoughts, so I felt it would be a therapeutic experience to create a piece to it. Shortly after hearing the first song, I heard another song of Hill’s called “Water,” which is about feeling cleansed and at peace with your life. Although I didn’t feel at peace at the time, I knew I wanted to come to a place where I could relate to the words of the song and get through my current situation. Now looking back at the creative process that I had with this piece, I know I was really vulnerable and honest about how I was feeling when I created it. I think that is the purpose of dance: using movement to express our innermost thoughts, which could help others. As I explained the meaning of this piece to my dancers, it gave me a chance to let them connect their lives to the piece and to be vulnerable, and I think it brought us closer. Now that I’ve come to a place where I feel renewed and that I am doing my best, even if I don’t have it all together, I can truly relate to “Water.” Life is not about being perfect, it’s about trying to be the best you that God made you to be.
I have always been fascinated by the use of artwork for communication. These cave paintings inspired me to create this communication in a three-dimensional way by moving dancers in space and creating the images with their bodies.
All of JCE’s programs are made possible in part by support from our sponsor, Salon Ishi.
