Luna Negra Celebrates Latina Choreographers

Posted February 16, 2009 4:30 PM in Press Releases

CHICAGO –  Luna Negra Dance Theater’s 10th Anniversary celebration continues in 2009 by honoring women’s contributions to the art of dance. Aptly timed during National Women’s History Month, Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro stages a rare evening of works by four female choreographers. The evening features Nube Blanco (White Cloud), a World Premiere by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, inspired by the zapateado or footwork rhythms found in Flamenco with a contemporary twist. The bill also includes Eterno Despertar (Eternal Awakening), a beautifully haunting work by Maray Gutierrez that reveals the longing one has for the distant shores of home; audience favorite Sugar in the Raw (Azucar Cruda), a stunning piece created by choreographer Michelle Manzanales that explores the complexities and subtleties of identity; and Carmen Act I by Nancy Turano, a psychologically profound re-imagining of the famous Spanish gypsy. Luna Negra Dance Theater will stage its Spring Season at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Drive in Millennium Park, on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8:00 pm. The company will also perform its applauded family matinee Mi Familia, My Dance (My Family, My Dance) on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 3:00 pm.

About the Spring Season

In the process of building Luna Negra Dance Theater’s repertory, Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro had been frustrated by how few female choreographic voices were finding their way to national stages. In 2006, he launched the Latina Choreographers Project to address this situation. The 2009 Spring Season will present all the works commissioned so far, including a World Premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.

“I have become increasingly concerned about the lack of representation of the female voice in choreography,” says Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro. “In the dance community, the ratio of women choreographers who get noticed is unusually low for the number of female dancers and artists out there today, which is why it’s important for me to have a concert of entirely devoted to works by female choreographers. This is also an excellent way to celebrate Luna Negra’s tenth season, a milestone occasion for the Company that makes me tremendously joyful and appreciative of everything and everyone that has helped the Company come so far.”

The Spring Season will feature Nube Blanco (White Cloud), a World Premiere by Colombian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. A piece for 12 dancers, Ochoa will utilize the zapateado or footwork rhythms found in flamenco, the national dance of Spain. The work will be carried by the rhythms of life, such as the human breath and heart beat. Each zapateado transition will connect the duets, solos, trios and quartets that make up the piece. For this new creation, Ochoa will use the beautiful music of Maria Dolores Pradera, whose songs hold powerful memories for Ochoa from her childhood.

Eterno Despertar (Eternal Awakening), choreographed by Maray Gutierrez in 2006, is a breathtaking quartet set to hauntingly beautiful Portuguese fado music. Gutierrez explores the powerful emotions of longing, loss and hope, working with a movement vocabulary that is unceasing in its intensity and passion. By crafting two overlapping duets that use seamless and unpredictable partnering techniques, Gutierrez evokes an atmosphere of bittersweet yearning that any audience can relate to.

Sugar in the Raw (Azucar Cruda) by Luna Negra Rehearsal Director and choreographer Michelle Manzanales is the first work Manzanales choreographed for the company in 2007. Sugar in the Raw is an exploration of the complexities and subtleties of identity and a portrait of the beautiful imperfections of humanity. Based on Manzanales’ experiences as a second generation Mexican-American woman, Sugar in the Raw explores what it means to be Latino, but also addresses larger questions of what it means to be human regardless of ethnic or racial origins. This work brings to light who one is in the purest form – one’s raw beauty. Sugar in the Raw is set to the music of Argentinean composer Gustavo Santaolalla, who has written scores for movies such as Babel, The Motorcycle Diaries and Brokeback Mountain.

Rounding out the Spring Season will be a reprise of Nancy Turano’s Carmen Act I, one of the first works performed by Luna Negra Dance Theater. Carmen Act I is a psychologically profound take on the famous opera about a fiery Spanish gypsy. This work, which premiered in 1998 imagines three different faces of Carmen, each layered with smoldering intensity and technical virtuosity. The piece is set to Georges Bizet's applauded score and new music by Roland Marconi.

In 2009 Luna Negra Dance Theater will officially be presented with the Lester and Hope Abelson Award. Announced last fall by The Chicago Community Trust, the Lester and Hope Abelson Award is presented annually to two growing companies—this year one theater and one dance—that exemplify the innovation, creativity and inspiration demonstrated by Hope Abelson. Affectionately nicknamed “The Hopies,” an award of $25,000 will be presented to Luna Negra Dance Theater by The Lester and Hope Abelson Fund for the Performing Arts. The other recipient of the Abelson Award this year is Collaboraction Theatre Company. Established as a donor-advised fund at The Chicago Community Trust, the region’s largest community foundation, the Abelson Fund honors the legacy of arts icon Hope Abelson. For more than 50 years, Abelson exuded her extraordinary passion as a producer and patron of the arts in her home town of Chicago, as well as in New York and Canada.

Before the evening presentation of the Spring Season, Luna Negra will have an afternoon presentation of Mi Familia, My Dance (My Family, My Dance), a special matinee program for the whole family featuring an engaging and interactive introduction to dance staged by Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro and the Company. First held in the fall of 2007, Mi Familia, My Dance offers an accessible way for children age 6 and up to learn about dance and the process of creation while enjoying a spectacular performance. This season’s program will include interaction with the professional dancers and Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro, and will feature excerpts from the Spring Season and Luna Negra’s repertory of exciting and diverse works by Latino choreographers. Mi Familia, My Dance will take place at 3:00 pm.

Luna Negra will continue its 10th Anniversary celebration in the fall with two exceptional performances on October 9 and 10, 2009, at the Harris Theater. The program will feature the World Premiere of Eduardo Vilaro’s Danzón, an exceptional collaboration with Latin jazz legend Paquito D’Riviera and Turtle Island String Quartet, and selections from Luna Negra’s most applauded works.

Ticket Information

Chicago’s premiere Latino contemporary dance company, Luna Negra Dance Theater will perform the Spring Program at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Drive in Millennium Park, on Saturday, March 28 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are now on sale and range in price from $25-$55. Tickets for Mi Familia, My Dance on Saturday, March 28 at 3:00 pm are priced at $10. All tickets are available by calling The Harris Theater box office at 312-334-7777 or on-line at www.harristheaterchicago.org. For more information about Luna Negra Dance Theater please visit www.lunanegra.org.

Luna Negra Dance Theater’s 10th Anniversary season is proudly sponsored by Exelon Corporation, Hewitt Associates, and the Chicago Office of Tourism. Telemundo Chicago and the Chicago Latino Network are Luna Negra’s Media Partners. The Fairmont Chicago, Aria and My Spa are Luna Negra Dance Theater’s Official and Exclusive hotel, restaurant and spa.

In addition, Luna Negra Dance Theater's Spring Season is supported by Macy's with a grand window display at its flagship store, Macy's on State Street. From February 23 through March 26, a feature display window on Randolph Street will be devoted to Luna Negra's Spring Season performance with costumes and photos from Nancy Turano's Carmen Act I.