South Florida’s leading contemporary dance ensemble, Dance NOW! Miami, entering its 19th year, is expanding its footprint with its New Voices initiative by commissioning a work from Jamaica-born and Miami-raised emerging choreographer Christopher Rudd. The world premiere of his work, sponsored by Miami Salon Group and Citizens Interested in Arts, will be featured in the company’s first major program of the season, on Saturday, December 1, at 8:30 pm at Miami Beach’s Colony Theatre, with an encore presentation on Sunday, December 9, at 4:00 pm at the Alper JCC in Kendall. The program also includes a revival of Dance NOW Artistic Directors Diego Salterini and Hannah Baumgarten’s Random Patterns of Falling Leaves, Salterini’s Melody in Four Parts: Just Traveling, and the world premiere of Baumgarten’s, Grace.
“Chris is a perfect fit for Dance Now’s Florida-rooted but international-in-scope approach to today’s dance world,” says Baumgarten. “We are excited about his work, which melds multicultural influences with his own signature style, created specifically for our company’s dancers.” Mr. Rudd’s choreography draws on contemporary ballet, modern dance, and aerial approaches. He trained at the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet and is a graduate of Miami’s own New World School of the Arts. He has gone on to perform with and choreographed for many leading groups, including Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, the Elizabeth Streb company, and Cirque du Soleil, and is the director his New York-based ensemble, RudduR Dance.
Daniel Lewis, founding Dean of Dance at New World School of the Arts, is a mentor to Rudd and an advisor to Salterini and Baumgarten, and will be an ongoing collaborator during the creative process. “Danny will be in the studio daily with Chris and the dancers, sharing his insights, and providing guidance as only he can,” says Salterini. “We are honored and thrilled to have him be part of this project.”
Random Patterns of Falling Leaves is Salterini and Baumgarten’s critically acclaimed homage to autumn, its revival timed for the ending of fall with its early December dates. Salterini’s Melody in Four Parts: Just Traveling is a metaphysical journey from birth to death and the beyond, created after the passing of his mother, with an original score by Ohio composer Jenny Bernard Merkowitz and text from Seattle-based poet Janée Baugher. The world premiere Grace, choreographed by Baumgarten, will tell the story of her Biblical namesake Hannah, bringing a Jewish and female perspective to the performance.
In addition to the performances, Christopher Rudd will be in residence in advance with Dance NOW! Miami from October 22 through November 2, creating his new work with the company, and offering master classes for the public on October 22, 24 and 26 at 9:30 am, at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, 212 NE 59th Street Terrace, Miami. Cost is $15 per class and registrations can be made online at www.dancenowmiami.org or in-person, cash or check only, at the workshops, pending space.
Tickets for the Saturday, December 1 Colony Theatre evening are $35 general admission, and $15 students and seniors 65 and over with ID (at the box office in-person only). Regular price tickets can be purchased in advance online atat www.colonymb.org/dance-now-miami, by phone at (800) 211-1414 and in-person for all tickets at the Colony box office, 1040 Lincoln Road, in Miami Beach. Tickets for the Sunday, December 9 Alper JCC encore afternoon are $25 general admission, and $20 JCC members and $15 students (at the box office in-person only). Regular price tickets can be purchased in advance online at tickit.alperjcc.org/Attractions and in-person for all tickets at the JCC box office, 11155 SW 112th Ave, in Kendall. Both venues are fully wheelchair accessible, with nearby parking. For group sales of ten or more, and for more information, and to request materials in accessible format, or any disability accommodation, visit www.dancenowmiami.org or contact Dance NOW! at (305) 975-8489 and info@dancenowmiami.org.
Other Dance NOW! 2018/19 season events include: January 24, The Space Between: Dance Duets Exposed, The Light Box, Wynwood; February 23, Dance Por la Paz, Miami-Dade County Auditorium; March 17, Ekphrasis in the Garden, Miami Beach Botanical Garden; March 24, Ekphrasis in Miami Shores, Miami Shores Sculpture Park; March 30, Contemporanea 2019 featuring Terra Mia, Aventura Arts & Cultural Center; April 5, Terra Mia Encore, Miami Theatre Center; April 26, Compositum Musicae Novae presents Dance NOW!, Coral Gables Museum; May 10, Ekphrasis at the Norton, Norton Museum of Art; May 17, Bridges NOT Walls, Broward Center for the Performing Arts; and June 10-21, World Dance Summer Intensive, Little Haiti Cultural Complex.
Dance NOW! Miami, the leading contemporary dance company in Florida was founded in 2000 by Artistic Directors Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini. Following its mission, the company presents original work from the Artistic Directors, created individually and collaboratively each season, called Contemporanea. Another annual project, Masterpiece in Motion, is a series which honors the rich legacy of dance through the reconstruction of historic works of ballet and modern dance from the 20th and 21st Century, and has included works from Doris Humphrey and José Limón to Gerald Arpino/Joffrey Ballet. Dance NOW!’s collaborations have included over 100 artists and organizations and its initiatives include the Daniel Lewis Miami Dance Sampler, presenting Miami’s established companies, as well as Miami Open Stage/New Voices, presenting and mentoring emerging choreographers. Dance NOW! has also designed and branded an immersive, site-specific avant-garde performance that takes place in museums, galleries and architectural sites called the Ekphrasis Project. The company has been presented in 15 states and on three continents, and its comprehensive educational programming has reached over 25,000 children in South Florida alone through its in-school residencies, the World Dance Summer Intensive, and performances from its home at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex.
Specific support for the New Voices program is provided by Citizens Interested in Arts and Miami Salon Group. Additional support for Dance NOW! Miami is provided in part by the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners; the City of Miami Beach Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; Foundation for New Education Initiatives; Florida Dance Education Organization; Miami Dance Futures; New World School of the Arts; Miami ArtZine; the Betsy Hotel; the Samara Fund; KCC Productions; Akerman Law firm; Northern Trust Bank; Florida Memorial Sports Medicine Center; the City of Miami and the Little Haiti Cultural Complex; and other donors. Dance NOW! is also funded by The Children’s Trust. The Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.
