From the Director:

Welcome to the National Choreographers Initiative!

A group of community leaders, the Advisory

Committee, instigated this project to develop new

dance works and to support the creative process.

The Advisory Committee and I have partnered

with Irvine Barclay Theatre, presenter of the pro-

gram, and UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the

Arts – Dance Department, which has hosted the

rehearsal time in its studios. Both organizations

have graciously provided their state-of-the-art facil-

ities for these choreographers to have a nurturing

environment in which to create their work. It is vital

for the health and advancement of the dance com-

munity for choreographers to have opportunities to

create new dances. This Initiative brings together

four outstanding choreographers, each develop-

ing a new work, and fifteen talented dancers from

around the country. Over the last three weeks

of rehearsal, each choreographer brought forth

their ideas and concepts, music, dance styles,

and developed with the dancers a new piece to

be shown this evening. The audience becomes

a part of the creative process as you view these

works and respond to what the artists have cre-

ated. This is a unique opportunity to engage these

outstanding artists in the creative process and

promote the development of professional dance.

I hope that you enjoy the evening and participate

in the creative process through the showing and

discussion.

Thank you for supporting dance!

NCI AdvisoryCommittee

Anne Nutt, chair

Sophie Cripe

Janet Eggers

Helen Holland

Joanne Keith

Lois Osborne

Barbara Roberts

Sally Anne Sheridan

Pam Shue

Elizabeth Stahr

Barbara Kenady Tingley

Molly LynchNCI Director

“Yield”Choreography by Graham Lustig

Music

Philip Glass’ “Saxophone Concerto” .... Hector Castillo & Eduardo Lopez

“River Run” ........................................................................... Philip Glass

“Aria From Act III of Satyahr” ................................................ Philip Glass

“Saxophone Concerto” ....................................................... Brian Bender

“Etoile Polar (North Star)” ..................................................... Philip Glass

Dancers

Brittany Fridenstine Stayce Camparo

Cory Bufkin Elizabeth Chasteler

Eddie Mikrut Nicolas Lincoln Dallas Blagg

Lighting Design

Monique L’Heureux

Graham Lustig received his dance training at the Royal Ballet School, and in 1980, joined the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet. During his time there, he created four works for the company’s repertoire. He has choreographed for numerous companies including the Scottish Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, Singapore Dance Theatre, American Ballet Theatre, Chautauqua Dance Festival, Hong Kong Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, and the Sacramento Ballet. In 1993, he was chosen as Choreographer-in-Residence at Washington Ballet. During this three-year tenure, his works were performed at the Joyce Theatre in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and on tour. In 1999, he was appointed the artistic director of American Repertory Ballet and in 2003 was named a charter member of the Artists Council for Americans for the Arts in Washington D.C. He has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, 2003 & 2005 Dance Grants and Policy Panels and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Choo-San Goh and H. Robert Magee Foundation.

Gina Patterson started her dance career as an apprentice with Pittsburgh Ballet. She has danced with Ballet Florida and is currently a principal dancer with Ballet Austin. She has performed a diverse repertoire including works by Vicente Nebrada, Ben Stevenson, Peter Martins, Val Caniparoli, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Daniel Ezralow, Sean Lavery, and Trey McIntyre. Her choreography has been commissioned by a variety of companies including Ballet Austin, Dayton Ballet, Ballet East, Montana Ballet, and Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Dallas. Three of her works were presented at the Ballet Builder’s Showcase in New York. She was awarded the Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography in 2002, the B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Choreographer by Austin Circle of Theaters, and won the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago 2 National Choreography Competition in 2005.

“Broken”Choreography by Gina Patterson

Music

“Talk to Her” soundtrack .................................................. Alberto Iglesias film by Pedro Almodóvar

Dancers

Gina McFaddenFrancisco Gella

Valerie Tellmann Lauren Fagone Robert Gosnell Geoffrey Kropp

Catherine RussellKristopher Wojtera

Lighting Design

Monique L’Heureux

followed by anINTERMISSION

Charles Moulton has created and set works on Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Project, The Joffrey Ballet, The Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, The Ohio Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theater, and many other companies in the U.S. and abroad. A 1983 Guggenheim Award winner, he is the recipient of the first Dorothy B. Chandler Performing Arts Award in 1989, three Jerome Foundation awards and three Meet the Composer/Choreographer awards. He has received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Arts Council, and The Zellerbach Family Fund. Moulton has choreographed and directed numerous works for television and film. His collaboration with John Sanborn and Mary Perillo, Visual Shuffle/Fractured Variations, won the 1987 Los Angeles Film Festival Blue Ribbon. One of his most widely-seen choreographies included over 1000 dancers for the film The Matrix Reloaded. He began his career in New York, dancing with the Merce Cunningham Company from 1973 to ‘76. He is a co-founding director of Performance Space 122, in lower Manhattan, and currently resides in northern California.

“A Rope into the Water”

Choreography by Charles Moulton

Music

Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas ........................Johann Sebastian Bach played by Itzhak Perlman

Dancers

Lauren Fagone Valerie Tellmann

Catherine RussellStayce CamparoGeoffrey Kropp Eddie Mikrut

Robert Gosnell

Lighting Design

Monique L’Heureux

Ron De Jesus was a member of Hubbard Street

Dance Chicago for 17 years. After leaving the com-

pany in 2002, he joined the original cast of Twyla

Tharp and Billy Joel’s Broadway musical Movin’ Out.

His choreographic works have been presented by

numerous dance organizations, including HSDC and

HSDC2, Gus Giordano’s Jazz Dance Theater, Mo-

menta Dance Company, and Luna Negra Dance The-

ater. He has received numerous awards including the

Chicago Dance Festival 2004 “Best Choreographer”

and the Chicago Music and Dance Alliance Award

2004. He has worked with many well-known choreog-

raphers including Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Lou Conte,

Nacho Duato, Bob Fosse, Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin,

and Alonzo King. He has also performed in and been

involved with numerous television and film projects.

“No Fixed Points”Choreography by Ron De Jesus

Music

“Shadow-Play - Cheating, Lying, Stealing” .... Owen Belton, David Lang

Dancers

Gina McFadden Brittany Fridenstine Cory Bufkin Elizabeth Chasteler

Francisco Gella Dallas Blagg Kristopher Wojtera Nicolas Lincoln

Lighting Design

Monique L’Heureux

Dancer Biographies

Dallas Blagg was born in Dallas, Texas. He began his ballet training at the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet and continued at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC. After spending a year in the dance program at UC Irvine, he accepted an apprenticeship with the National Ballet of Canada. Since then, he has performed in ballets by such cho-reographers as James Kudelka, Eliot Feld, George Balanchine, and Matjash Mrozewski. This is his third summer with the National Choreographers Initiative, and he will be returning to Canada again this year for his 2nd year as a member of the corps.

Cory Bufkin was born in Modesto, California. She began her dance training at Central West Ballet under the direction of Coleen Patterson. Cory has received training from the Joffrey Ballet School, Contra Costa Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Inland Pacific Ballet. She graduated with a B.F.A. in dance from University of California, Irvine in June 2006.

Stayce Camparo grew up in Redondo Beach, California and started dance training in Santa Monica with the Westside Academy of Dance. She received a full scholarship to train with Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Professional Division Program from 2001 to 2003. In 2003 she joined the Kansas City Ballet, and has since enjoyed dancing roles by such choreographers as George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Val Caniparolli, William Whitener, and Robert Hill.

Elizabeth Chasteler was born in Santa Ana, California. She is currently attending the University of California, Irvine, majoring in dance and mathematics. She is on full dance scholarship funded by Mr. William Gillespie. Elizabeth has trained with Salwa Rizkalla since 1989 and has been a principal dancer with Festival Ballet Theatre since 2000. She has had the opportunity to perform works by William Forsythe, George Balanchine, David Allan, Douglas Becker, and Jodie Gates.

Lauren Fagone, originally from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, trained at the School of American Ballet, Chautauqua Ballet, and the Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet. After apprenticing with North Carolina Dance Theatre in Charlotte, NC, she attended Indiana University for two years, where she studied with Leslie Peck and Violette Verdy. Lauren joined Richmond Ballet as an apprentice in 2001, and will return for her fourth season as a company member this fall.

Brittany Fridenstine was born in Boise, Idaho, and raised in Seattle, Washington. She trained in the professional division pro-gram at Pacific Northwest Ballet. Currently a member of the James Sewell Ballet in Minneapolis, MN, she has previously danced with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet Memphis, and Minnesota Dance Theatre. She has performed work by George Balanchine, Lila York, Trey McIntyre, Mark Godden, and Paul Taylor. Brittany origi-nated roles in ballets by Mark Godden, James Sewell, Kent Stowell, Val Caniparoli, Christian Burns, and Luca Veggetti.

Francisco Gella was born in Bacolod City, Philippines. He began dancing in college and graduated with a B.A. in dance from the University of Washington. He studied ballet with Hannah Wiley and Adriano Welch and modern techniques with Jim Lepore, Patricia Thomas, and Milton Myers. He has worked with many prominent ballet and modern cho-reographers, including David Parson, Shaun Hounsell, Bill Evans, Barak Marshall, Bebe Miller, Milton Myers, Ronald K. Brown, and Dominic Walsh. Francisco has danced for the Philadelphia Dance Company/Philadanco; Repertory Dance Theater of Salt Lake City, UT; Spectrum Dance Theater of Seattle, WA; the Chamber Dance Company; Leaving Ground/Dance; California Ballet; and Ballet Pacifica. He danced at the Closing Ceremonies in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics in Japan. This is his second year participating in NCI.

Robert Gosnell was born in Lexington, North Carolina. He began his training with the High Point Ballet and went on to study at the North Carolina School of the Arts, School of American Ballet, The Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Atlanta Ballet. He joined Nashville Ballet as an apprentice in 1999 and has been featured in ballets by David Allan, Sir Frederick Ashton, and Paul Vasterling. He is also the Youth Cast Rehearsal Master for The Nutcracker. In the winters of 2002 and 2004, Mr. Gosnell was invited to teach at the North Carolina School of the Arts for the annual North Carolina Dance Festival. In spring 2004, he taught at the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association. This is his third year with the National Choreographers Initiative..

Geoffrey Kropp was born in Bakersfield, California. He trained for two years at Pacific Northwest Ballet School and is current-ly dancing with Kansas City Ballet, where he has performed in The Nutcracker (Todd Bolender), Stravinsky Violin Concerto (George Balanchine), and Sentinel (David Berke), among others.

Nicolas Lincoln is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has attended the Interlochen Arts Academy. Nicolas studied on scholarship

with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and has attended summer dance programs of the Joffrey Ballet and the Boston Ballet. He performed corps and soloist roles as a member of the Grand Rapids Ballet, Dayton Ballet, and Cleveland San Jose Ballet. He has also performed as a guest artist with Malaika Kuzumi Ballet Theatre Frankfurt, Graz Ballet, and Madrid’s La Compania de Juan Carlos Santa Maria. He is currently dancing for James Sewell Ballet in Minneapolis and is very excited to be a part of the National Choreographers Initiative.

Gina McFadden was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was a student of Prima Ballerina Sherry Moray, at the Academy of Dance Arts, near Chicago. She went on to dance with The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, and has performed works by Robert Joffrey, Gerald Arpino, John Cranko, and Leonide Massine. She danced with Ballet Pacifica for three seasons and had the privilege of performing in pieces by Choo-San Goh, George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Molly Lynch, and Jodie Gates. Performing with State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara, Ms. McFadden danced roles created by William Soleau and Robert Sund. The choreograph-ic projects organized by Molly Lynch have always been a favorite for Ms. McFadden to participate in; she is delighted to share in this year’s National Choreographers Initiative.

Edward Mikrut was born in Fountain Valley, California. He returns for his seventh season with Nashville Ballet. Mr. Mikrut has been featured as John Bell in Ann Marie DeAngelo’s The Bell Witch, Prince Desire in Sleeping Beauty, and Mercutio in Paul Vasterling’s Romeo and Juliet, as well as performing leading roles in Raymonda Variations and The Nutcracker. He has also danced leading roles in Paul Vasterling’s Dracula and Robin Hood, and Albrecht in Giselle. Mr. Mikrut received his B.A. from the University of California, Irvine. His film and television credits include Austin Powers, Mrs. Santa Claus with Angela Lansbury, Fame L.A., and numerous television commercials. This is his third year with the National Choreographers Initiative.

Catherine Russell was born on an Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. She received bal-let training at the Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet, often performing with the company. At 17 she moved on to Ballet Workshop of New England and the Massachusetts Youth Ballet outside Boston, where she performed Balanchine works under Sandra Jennings. Catherine has just finished her sixth season with the Kansas City Ballet, dancing a vari-ety of works, including La Fille Mal Gardee (Lisette), Nine Sinatra Songs (Somethin’ Stupid), The Catherine Wheel Suite, Paquita, Cunningham’s Duets, Square Dance, Agon, The Stillpoint, Napoli, Stepping Stones, and Lamberena, among many others.

Valerie Tellmann, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, began her dance training with the Tulsa Ballet, Lexington Ballet, and the Richmond Ballet before joining Richmond Ballet’s professional company in 2000. She thrives on the opportu-nity to perform and to be exposed to a variety of dance styles. Some of her notable neo-clas-sical roles have included Mauricio Wainrot’s Now and Then, Colin Connor’s Street and Legends, and Val Caniparoli’s Djangology. Her favorite classical roles range from George Balanchine’s Who Cares and Serenade to John Butler’s Carmina Burana. Her favorite full-length ballet roles have been Myrtha in Giselle and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker.

Kristopher Wojtera, a native of Poland, graduated from the National Ballet School of Gdansk, Poland. He has danced for the National Theatre of Warsaw, Poland; was a soloist in the Columbia City Ballet, South Carolina; and is currently a first soloist with the Louisville Ballet in Kentucky. Kristopher has performed the works of George Balanchine (Serenade, Theme and Variations, Who Cares), Choo-San Goh (Variations Serieuses), Robert North (Troy Game), and Antony Tudor (Echoing of Trumpets), among others.

Monique L’Heureux (Lighting Designer) is delighted to be a part of NCI, her sixth col-laboration with Molly Lynch. Monique has designed for a variety of companies including Ballet Pacifica, Jazz Spectrum, Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, Loretta Livingston and Dancers, Rhapsody in Taps, Tongue, Anjani Ambegaokar, Danza Floricanto, and O.C. Regional Ballet, among others. She has creat-ed lighting for dance festivals, including Dance Kaleidoscope, Regional Dance America, a special performance at the International Ballet Competition, and the SOLA Contemporary Dance Festival. Her work has been seen at the Hollywood Bowl, the Pasadena Playhouse, the Mark Taper Forum, the Laguna Playhouse, and the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Monique is also a working artist and photogra-pher and a member of United Scenic Artists.

Producer ($25,000)

Mr. and Mrs. William Roberts

Director ($10,000)

Frank W. Lynch

Choreographer ($5,000)

Bobbi CoxWilliam Gillespie

Anne B. NuttMr and Mrs John Stahr

Dancer ($2,500)Mr and Mrs Henry Eggers

Mrs. Richard Steele

Designer ($1,000)

Mrs. Alan V. AndrewsAlan Andrews and Molly Lynch

Fran Bass and Mark Ishimaru M.D.Paul Blank and Francois LeclairJane and Charlie Birmingham

Mr. and Mrs. Kris ElftmannDennis and Joanne Keith

Ed Moen and Janek SchergenMr. & Mrs. J. Matthew Osborne

Mr. Andrew RoseGeorge H. Russell

Sally Anne and Don SheridanMr. and Mrs. Nick A. Shubin

Ms. Diana Sunshine

Dance Contributor ($500 and less)

Beverly and David CarmichaelMr. and Mrs. Larry Cripe

Mr. and Mrs. Robert EhrlichColonel James Hinkle

Mr. and Mrs. Van HollandKathryn Lynch and Robert McDonnell

Mr. and Mrs. Steve McDowellChristina Sumpter

Ms. Barbara Kenady TingleyPaula Tomei and David Emmes

Gretchen Valentine

Partner ($250 and below)

Diane and Dennis BakerVictoria BarrettStacie Brandt

Bronny Daniels

Dawidoff FamilyDouglas Dowell

Paul and Kay FarandaCliff Faulkner and Shigeru Yaji

Gillian Finley and Roert LabareeMary Franklin

Judi Gorski amd Rod HarronGlenn Highland

James and Carol HollasChris Johnson

Chuck JohnstonPeg Jordan

Dr. Burton KarsonLorenzo and Karen Knapp

Maurice MandelDebra Maxwell

Christopher MillerMrs. Michael McNalleyMargi and John Murray

Marshall ParkerSuzy and Jack Peltason

James PenrodRobert Petel

Jane and Pat PhelanJody and Jack Pike

Janice Gudde PlastinoDolly Platt

Marjorie RedayLouise Ringwalt

Cyndi ad David RunstromBruce and Jan Scherer

Mr. and Mrs. William ShueRichard Sneed

Mr. and Mrs. Keith SwayneGary and Karen Thorne

John Warndahl

Special Thanks

David AllanDiane DiefenderferDonald McKayleJanek SchergenAlan Terricciano

Dr. Jack GiangiulioUCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts

- Dance DepartmentIrvine Barclay Theatre – Board of Directors

Theodore Robbins FordEnterprise Car Rental

The National Choreographers Initiative would like to thank the following individuals for their support:

Irvine Barclay TheatreBoard of Directors

Kenneth S. Rohl, Chairman

Donna BrownellArlene ChengMark CoyleRosemary CummingTony EllisMorgan EvansRobert FarnsworthNohema FernándezMary Ann GaidoSam GoldsteinKurt HagelSkip JohnsonSean JoyceJerry MandelPatricia L. MurphyRick PaikoffWilliam H. ParkerLeason PomeroyRyan RiechesMickie L. ShapiroRobert E. TarltonCheryl TroskyLisa Bhathal VogelJudy White

Ex OfficioBeth KromMayor, City of Irvine

Michael V. Drake, M.D.Chancellor, UCI

AdministrationDouglas C. Rankin, President

Domenick Ietto, Vice President

Christopher Burrill, General Manager

Karen Drews Hanlon, Director of Communications

Gary Payne, Director of Finance

Beth Bradley, Advancement Specialist

Luanne Bauer, Box Office Manager

Helena Danovich, Marketing Assistant

Ginny Hayward, Assistant to the President

Jim Laird, Production Manager

Peggy Magee, Patron Services Manager

Jeff Stamper, Assistant Production Manager

Kathy Vickers, Development Assistant

David Walker, Assistant Box Office Manager

2005 NC

I photos by Robert S

alas

Richard Alston DanceMixed RepertoryJanuary 22, 2007

Intensely musical, a Richard Alston piece is said to unfold, with as much abandon, at first, as structure. Each movement builds upon the last, until the dancers move as one body and the dance motifs converge into a single, splendid force. The style of his movement and look of his productions are described as lush, soft and melodic – without dulling the edge essential to this form of dance.

Joe Goode Performance GroupStay Together and Deeply ThereFebruary 16, 2007

Stay Together is a dance-theatre collabora-tion between choreographer Joe Goode and composer Michael Tilson Thomas, celebrated conductor of the San Francisco Symphony. Characteristic of Joe Goode’s body of work, Stay Together is a fusion of text, song, move-ment and media in a poetic exploration of the challenges imposed by personal relationships. The evening conclude’s with Joe’s Bessie Award-winning solo Deeply There.

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Ohad Naharin’s Minus OneApril 13, 2007

French Canada’s leading ballet company will perform Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin’s epic Minus One for the first time in California. Free-wheeling in all respects – movement, music and emotional impact – this work requires a company of the scale and sophis-tication of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens to achieve all of Minus One’s humor, pathos and exhilaration.

Nacho Duato’sCompania Nacional de Danza 2Mixed RepertoryMay 12, 2007

One of the world’s most in-demand choreog-raphers will have his work performed here by his own superb dancers. Known as CND2, this is the international touring company drawn from Nacho Duato’s Madrid-based Compania Nacional de Danza. Duato has transformed Spain’s national dance company into a prestigious international institution – changing the face of ballet and giving it a distinctly modern and Mediterranean look.

(949) 854-4646 | thebarclay.org

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