Boston Conservatory contemporary dance students perform a vibrant lineup of stylistically diverse world premieres choreographed by renowned guest artists Hope Boykin, Christina Chan, Norbert De La Cruz III, and Andrew Skeels, and by Boston Conservatory faculty choreographers Junichi Fukuda and Daniel Pelzig.
Tommy Neblett, Artistic Director
This performance has been selected as part of Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s fall 2024 Center Stage collection.
Program InformationWelcome Note
On behalf of the entire Boston Conservatory at Berklee community, I am thrilled to welcome you to the Dance Division’s Fall Dance Concert: From the Ground Up, an evening of six commissioned world premieres by guest artists Hope Boykin, Christina Chan (BFA '10), Norbert De La Cruz III, and Andrew Skeels, and esteemed faculty members Junichi Fukuda and Daniel Pelzig.
Over the past several weeks, there has been an abundance of excitement and joy in our dance studios as all the Contemporary Dance BFA sophomores, juniors, and seniors were learning and rehearsing tonight’s pieces. I am honored and privileged to have such an amazing array of artists here working with our incredible students. And to you, our audience, thank you for returning to the Boston Conservatory Theater to see the ephemeral magic of dance and to celebrate the Dance Division’s 81st Anniversary.
Enjoy!
—Tommy Neblett, Dean of Dance and Artistic Director of From the Ground Up
Threadbare (world premiere)
Choreography: Andrew Skeels
Assistant Choreography: Jean-Sébastien Couture
Rehearsal Direction: Dean Vollick
Music: Marino Canal (“Curious Eyes”); Patrick de Oliveira, feat. Léna Rossetti (“De l’autre côté”)
Costume Design: Penney Pinette
Costume Design Assistance: Liv Curnen
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Mackenzie Campbell, Halley Campo, Kayenne Charles-Pierre, Campbell Colimore, Emily Crone, Gabrielle Honoré, Sonrisa Hubbard, Anna Keklak, Eliana LaBreche, Emersyn Novach, Ana Perez Yudin, Samarra Rodriguez, Brianna Sullivan, Morgan Thompson, Chloé Wasser, Yadi Zhang, Brooke Zide
Od･ys･sey (world premiere)
Choreography: Junichi Fukuda, BFA '02
Rehearsal Assistance: Kurt Douglas, BFA '01
Music: Carl Landa (“Od･ys･sey”); Georgy Sviridov (“3 Khora: No. 2, Lyubov Svyataya”)
Costume Design: Penney Pinette
Costume Design Assistance: Liv Curnen
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Sophia Cobo Ruiz, Matthew Crittenden, Sophia Davis, Kamryn DeAngelis, Lauren DeVaul, Caitlin Eswein, Kevin Higgins, Lilia Holladay, Naomi Hollis, Karina Jimenez, Tarra Liu, Noa Loewinger, Maia Madrigal Frid, Rubielle Nejaime, Abby Osterink, Ella Schroeder, Brianna Smith, McKinley Tolliver, Tracy Xu, Julia Zingler
Program Note
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
—Joseph Campbell, The Hero’s Journey
Capriccio (world premiere)
Choreography: Daniel Pelzig
Assistant Choreography: Leah Misano Abbott, BFA '21, Alexis Tsiramanes, BFA '24
Music: Graeme Koehne (“Capriccio for Piano and Strings”)
Costume Design: Chloe Moore
Costume Design Assistance: Liv Curnen
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Emily Adie, Yuniel Betancourt, Bella Brady, Madison Chase, Andy Claverie Ortiz, Angelina Curtin, Emma Daniels, Ava Gregg, Shiori Hamanaka, Sally Mai, Joelis Martínez-Santiago, Madi McAlister, Dimitris Michailidis, Madeleine Molinari, Logan Monaco, Electra Nearey, Kiley Nomura, Rachel Pizzurro, Angela Zhou, Rebecca Zigmond
—INTERMISSION—
All At Once (world premiere)
Choreography: Hope Boykin
Assistant Choreography: Amina Vargas
Rehearsal Direction: Brian McGinnis
Music: Bill Laurance (“Bloom”, “All At Once”) with spoken word written and performed by Hope Boykin
Costume Design: Penney Pinette
Costume Design Assistance: Liv Curnen
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Kanella Benavides, Hannah Bilodeau, Tamia Blackwell, Ana G. Delgado Cruz, Molly Jane Dunne, Amanda FitzGerald, Hailey Fleming, Alyssa Lucas, Swathi Maddi, Macy McCann, Dafna Melamoud, Hannah Morris, Mia Pereira Mendoza, Mar Rivero-Carretero, Bridget Suchar, Kimberly Vasileva, Giovanna Ward
Program Note
“... we should savor and soak up all of this, living and moving, and making moves together in now time, this time.”
Our Happening (world premiere)
Choreography: Christina Chan, BFA '10 in collaboration with the dancers
Rehearsal Direction: Russell Clarke
Music: Original sound score by Redwan Hamzah
Costume Design: Chloe Moore
Costume Design Assistance: Liv Curnen
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Nora Augenstein, Amanda Bacallao, Ellie Balzano, Michael Braun, Cheyenne Carrington-Greene, Grace Chaney, Nigel Clifford, Cammie Coleman, Lilly David, Angela Hamlin, Emma Hourigan, Derek Lee, Demi Mutz, Tess O’Riordan, Aidan Robbins, Esmé Stone, Kylah Walker, Makayla Williams, Emma Jane Zaher
Program Note
It has been a pleasure and honor to be part of the journeys of these 19 dancers. Special thanks to fellow Singaporean composer Redwan Hamzah, my rehearsal director Russell Clarke, and each and every one of the cast for this wonderful time together.
—Christina Chan
The Closest To The Sun (world premiere)
Choreography: Norbert De La Cruz III in collaboration with the dancers
Rehearsal Direction: Marissa Parmenter
Music: Robbie Robertson (“Remembrance”); Johann Johannsson (“The Stairs”); The Comet Is Coming (“The Universe Wakes Up”)
Costume Design: Penney Pinette
Costume Design Assistance: Liv Curnen
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Yazmine Akamine, Suriya Allain, Pandora Bassett, Samantha Blanton, Cara Breeding, Ali Cederholm, Ekko Greenbaum, Sarah Hughes, Hannah Laski, Amber Lew, Mia Nolte, Uma Roberts, Justine Schmaltz, Aja Simms, Madison Wagaman, Emily Winkelbauer
Artist Bios
Hope Boykin, choreographer, is a Bessie Award–winning educator, creator, mover, and motivator who has spent her 27-year career performing with Complexions, Philadanco, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Now director of HopeBoykinDance, she recently presented States of Hope at the Joyce Theater, blending her words and cadence, developing her movement-language. She is artistic advisor for dance education at the Kennedy Center, and firmly believes there are no limits.Christina Chan (BFA '10, dance), choreographer, was born in Singapore and has worked with international artists all over the world. Her career as a choreographer and dancer has taken her to Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. At home, she has created numerous repertory works for Singapore Ballet, Frontier Danceland, and Sigma Contemporary. Chan graduated summa cum laude from Boston Conservatory in 2010. Learn more about Chan. Norbert De La Cruz III, choreographer, is a New York City– and Los Angeles–based choreographer and movement director known for his classical and contemporary work. A Juilliard BFA and Hollins MFA graduate, he has created dances for numerous professional companies and universities nationwide. His work explores themes of identity, imperfection, queerness, and solitude, continually seeking meaningful collaborations. Learn more about De La Cruz.Junichi Fukuda (BFA '02, dance), choreographer, is a Japan native and a Boston Conservatory alum who has danced with companies such as Ballet Tech/NY, Smuin Contemporary Ballet, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, and Peridance Contemporary Dance Company. His own company, FUKUDANCE, has been recognized at festivals like MASDANZA, Mexico City’s FIDCDMX, Dance St. Louis, and the Bates Dance Festival. He holds an MFA in choreography from Jacksonville University. Learn more about Fukuda.Daniel Pelzig, choreographer, is an educator, director, and choreographer for opera, theater, and ballet. His Broadway credits include Tony-nominated productions of 33 Variations, starring Jane Fonda, and A Year with Frog and Toad, as well as the Kennedy Center Sondheim Festival production of Sweeney Todd, starring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Christine Baranski. His off-Broadway credits include Privates on Parade at the Roundabout Theatre, Newyorkers at Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Moon at City Center Encores!, and Valhalla at New York Theatre Workshop. Learn more about Pelzig.Andrew Skeels, choreographer, is a Montréal-based choreographer. He has created work for the Ballet of the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Nederlands Dans Theater 2, Bavarian State Opera Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, and Cirque du Soleil, among others. His production for the Théâtre de Suresnes, Finding Now, won the 2018 Grand Prix de la Critique in Paris. He is the winner of the 2015 Hannover Think Big Choreographic Residency Competition and received the 2013 Prix Coup de Cœur du Public from the Festival Quartiers Danses Montréal. Production Credits
PRODUCTION STAFF:
Director of Performance Services – Hanna Oravec
Assistant Director of Production – Rebecca Donald
Principal Stage Manager – Bethany Rachel
Mainstage Technical Director – Taylor Kaufman
Assistant Technical Director – Caleb D. Harris
Costume Shop Manager – Alison Pugh
Assistant Costume Shop Manager – Leah Foley
Stock Manager/Draper/Stitcher – Becca Jewett
Wardrobe Manager – Blue Barber
Wardrobe Assistant – Taz Meyers
Drapers/Stitchers – Sam Martin, Caroline Seeley
Stitchers – Blue Barber, Aryn Murphy
Lighting Supervisor – Jacob Inman
Production Electrician – Gabe Goldman
Sound Supervisor – Steve Deptula
A1/Sound Engineer – Maddy Poston
Properties Manager – Hannah Spangler
Fly Council Operator – Katie Smith
Performance Technology Technicians – Goran Daskalov, Sara Pagiaro
Assistant Director of Concert Services – Luis Herrera
Senior Ticket Operations and Patron Services Manager – Kelley Brennan
STUDENT PRODUCTION STAFF:
Assistant Stage Manager – Cortlandt Barrett
Substitute Assistant Stage Manager – Andrea Sanchez Romero
Run Crew – Venice Ella Mayor
Light Board Operator – Elena Valdovinos
Wardrobe Crew – Greta Cardoza, Colin SanGiacomi, Sofia Elisa Gomez
Costume Assistants – Mai Beasley, Amber Lew, Olivia Pike
Boston Conservatory thanks audience members for viewing this program information online. This paperless program saved 6,300 sheets of paper, 685 gallons of water, and 575 pounds of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.
