REPERTORY DANCE THEATRE
Park City, UT
December 3, 2022
Executive/Artistic Director: Linda C. Smith
Artistic Associates: Nicholas Cendese, Lynne Larson
Lighting: Pilar I.
RDT Dancers: Lauren Curley, Caleb Daly, Trung “Daniel” Do, Lindsey Faber, Elle Johansen, Jonathan Kim, Jacob Lewis, Megan O’Brien, Ursula Perry
Program
NORTH STAR (Premiere 1978)
Choreography: Lar Lubovitch
Music: Phillip Glass (North Star)
By arrangement with DUNVAGEN MUSIC PUBLISHERS
Costumes: Clovis Ruffin
Lighting: Pilar I.
Restaging: Katarzyna Skarpetowska
Cast: Lauren Curley, Caleb Daly, Trung “Daniel” Do, Lindsey Faber, Elle Johansen, Jacob Lewis, Jonathan Kim, Megan O’Brien, Ursula Perry.
North Star “Copyright © 1978 Lar Lubovitch”
MAZURKAS
First performed August 15, 1958, at the American Dance Festival, New London Connecticut by the José Limón Dance Company
Choreography: José Limón
Music: Frédéric Chopin
Reconstruction and Direction: Nina Watt
Costumes: Eugene Tachini
Lighting: Pilar I
Cast:
Quartet (Opus 56, No. 1): Lauren Curley, Elle Johansen, Lindsey Faber, Ursula Perry
Solo (Opus 41, No. 3): Jonathan Kim
Duet (Opus 41, No. 1) : Elle Johansen, Trung “Daniel“ Do
Solo (Opus 30, No. 2): Ursula Perry
Trio (Opus 33, No. 2): Jacob Lewis, Trung “Daniel” Do
Solo (Posthumous A Minor): Lauren Curley
Finale (Opus 30, No. 3): Ensemble
The Mazurkas (or as they were first titled Dances in Honor of Poznan, Wroclaw, Katowiez and Warszawa) was created in honor of these cities and their people in Poland. During a trip to Europe after World War II, the choreographer was deeply moved by the courage of the Polish people and created the work as a tribute to their heroic spirit. Mazurkas also stands as a remarkable example of how to translate national and character dance to the stage.
(C) 1996, José Limón Dance Foundation, Inc. This performance of MAZURKAS, a Limón Dance, is presented by arrangement with The José Limón Dance Foundation, Inc. and has been produced in accordance with the Limón Style and Limón Technique service standards established by The José Limón Dance Foundation, Inc. (All rights reserved)
These performances are part of the José Limón Foundation’s 75th Anniversary Celebration
- INTERMISSION -
CRIPPLED UP BLUES AND OTHER TALES OF DESERET
Dedicated with love to the memory of my brother Mike Evans (1952-2015)
Choreography: Bill Evans
Music: written and recorded in 2015 by the 3hattrio, Hal Cannon, Greg Istock and Eli Wrankle
Lighting: Pilar I
Costumes: Eugene Tachinni
Cast: Lauren Curley, Caleb Daly, Trung “Daniel” Do, Lindsey Faber, Elle Johansen, Jonathan Kim, Jacob Lewis, Ursula Perry
Note: This piece was commissioned by RDT to help celebrate its 50th anniversary. It was inspired by the delightfully infectious music and by tales of the pioneer settlement of the Intermountain region as told to me by my grandparents. September 30 marks the seventh anniversary of the passing of my brother Michael Scott Evans, who passionately loved Utah history and the natural wonder of Intermountain wilderness areas.
OUTDOORS (from Shutdown, 2018)
Choreography: Noa Zuk & Ohad Fishof
Music: Ohad Fishof
Costumes: Noa Zuk, Kima Zuk Fishoff, Ohad Fishoff
Cast: Lauren Curley, Caleb Daly, Trung “Daniel” Do, Lindsey Faber, Elle Johansen, Jonathan Kim, Jacob Lewis, Megan O’Brien, Ursula Perry.
Note:Outdoors is a contemporary, tribalistic, pattern-piece filled with quirky invention and laced with rhythmic humor. Choreographers Noa Zuk and Ohad Fishof are collaborative artists based in Tel Aviv, Israel whose work is inventive and unique. Together, the artists have been commissioned to set choreographic works and participate in artistic residencies in Europe, Israel, Russia, the United States, and Singapore in professional and academic settings. They are both certified instructors of Ohad Naharin’s innovative training method, the Gaga movement language, which has recently gained worldwide recognition as a practice for both dancers and those without previous dance experience.
Theater
The Eccles Center is the largest theater in Park City, Utah with 1,269 seats. It is home to Park City Institute's Main Stage Season from October through April each year, presenting a broad range of world-class performing arts from international dance companies to Broadway icons to beloved author/humorists to virtuosos in a host of musical styles from Chamber Music to rock'n'roll.
Health and Safety
The Park City Institute and the Park City School District have taken measures to assure the health and safety of our patrons, staff, and performers. We are constantly adjusting our COVID protocols based on the recommendations of the CDC, and directives of local and state health departments. Permanent changes include, updated HVAC, touch-less restroom faucets, electronic ticketing, electronic programs, enhanced cleaning, and all volunteers and staff to be fully vaccinated.
We recognize that being fully vaccinated and wearing a mask are the best ways to prevent the spread of the virus. If you don’t feel well or have a cough or a fever we ask that you remain home.
Park City Institute
Presents
REPERTORY DANCE THEATRE
Artistic / Executive Director Linda C. Smith
Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT), founded in 1966 in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a professional modern dance repertory company dedicated to the creation, performance, perpetuation, and appreciation of modern dance. For over 54 years, RDT has pushed the boundaries of modern dance, while preserving and celebrating its legacy.
Known worldwide for its collection of dance treasures, RDT is both a museum and contemporary gallery representing the scope and diversity of modern dance, past and present. From the early pioneers of the art form to today’s cutting edge choreographers, the company maintains one of the largest collections of modern dance classics in the world. As a repository for this rich heritage, RDT is a resource center and laboratory for contemporary dancers, choreographers, visual artists, writers and composers.
In addition to public performances, RDT produces a variety of community-based programs and has a long-standing commitment to arts-in-education. Outreach activities include lectures, informal performances, teachers’ workshops, open rehearsals, annual summer workshops and year-round classes which all serve to train and ignite the creative voice in people of all ages. At its home in the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, the company contributes to the cultural, social, and economic vitality of the community. RDT remains committed to building bridges of understanding that de-mystify the art of dance, making it a meaningful part of the cultural environment regionally, nationally and internationally.
Repertory Dance Theatre
PO Box 510427 | Salt Lake City, UT 84151-0427
801-534-1000 | www.rdtutah.org
Artist Bios
LAR LUBOVITCH is one of America’s most versatile, popular, and widely seen choreographers. Based in New York City, Lubovitch’s company has performed throughout the world, and his dances have also been performed by many other major companies, including American Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and many others. His dances are renowned for their musicality, rhapsodic style and sophisticated formal structures. His radiant, highly technical choreography and deeply humanistic voice have been acclaimed worldwide.
NOA ZUK is a choreographer and a dancer. She was born and raised in Kibutz Sh’ar Ha’amakim in the north of Israel. She began dancing at the age of four, doing folk, modern, ballet, jazz, and improvisation as well as martial arts (she holds a black belt in Shotokan Karate). At the age of eighteen she began her professional life as a dancer with choreographers Inbal Pinto and Yuval Pick and with the Young Kibbutz Dance Company. A year later she joined The Batsheva Ensemble, Batsheva Dance Company’s junior company, where she danced for three years, performing up to 120 shows a year, in Israel and abroad.
In the year 2000 she joined Batsheva Dance Company (BDC), where she danced for nine years. As a company member under the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin, Noa danced in all of his creations for the company during those years. Noa left the company in 2009 to concentrate on her work as a choreographer. Noa is also a renowned teacher. She has been teaching composition, technique, and repertory workshops (both of her own work and of Naharin’s choreographies) worldwide, and is a Gaga teacher since 2007.
OHAD FISHOF is an interdisciplinary artist, working in a diverse range of fields including dance, sound, performance, video and installation. He began his artistic career as lead singer and writer with the pioneering Israeli art-pop band Nosei Hamigbaat. He later moved to compose music for dance, performance and art installations while at the same time, expanding his artistic endeavors to other media. In 1997 he received an MA in Dance from Laban Center London. He spent the following years creating dance and performance pieces as well as sound and video installations in London, where he was then based.
Over the last twenty years, Fishof has been consistently expanding his ever-growing body of work – a difficult-to-categorize continuum of idiosyncratic time-based art, ranging from live music to site-specific performance work, video, installations and dance pieces. His short film Abduction won first prize for Best Experimental Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival 2011.
Around 2011 Fishof began making work in collaboration with his life partner, choreographer and dancer Noa Zuk. Their first work together, the dance video One More Song, was presented in many exhibitions and screenings worldwide. They went on to create numerous works for the screen and for the stage.
Bill Evans is a Utah native who was a dancer and prolific choreographer with RDT from 1967 through 1974. He has enjoyed an ongoing relationship with the company for which he has created 20 works (one of them an evening-length work). He has returned often as a teacher and guest performer and serves on the RDT national advisory board.
Since 1974, Bill has become an internationally-known choreographer, performer, teacher, administrator, author, movement analyst, adjudicator and speaker. His work has taken him to all 50 states and to 27 different countries. More than 300 of Evans’ works have been performed by professional and pre-professional ballet, modern dance, and tap companies, including his own Bill Evans Dance Company (founded in 1975), RDT, Ballet West, Ririe-Woodbury, Ruth Page Chicago Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, Chicago Tap Theatre, CODACO of Puebla Mexico and many others.
His major pursuits at this stage of his career include the Bill Evans Summer Institute of Dance, now in its 53rd year, and the associated Somatic Dance Conference and Performance Festival, now in its ninth year. 2023 sessions of both will be held at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, WA, July 20-29. (Visit billevansdance.org after November 1, 2022 for more information,) He celebrated his 82nd birthday with four performances in April and June.
JOSÉ LIMÓN - Modern dance pioneer José Limón was born on January 12, 1908, in Culiacán, Mexico. His family immigrated to the United States when he was a boy, and he grew up in Los Angeles, California. A move to New York in 1928 brought Limón into contact with the modern dance world. He trained as a dancer and became a major performer and choreographer, eventually founding his own dance company in 1947. Internationally celebrated for his powerful and influential style, Limón died in New Jersey in 1972.
The Company
Linda C. Smith (Artistic Director), a native of Utah, began her career in dance at the age of three with Virginia Tanner’s Children’s Dance Theatre. In 1966 she became a founding member of Repertory Dance Theatre where she fulfilled her dream of becoming a performer, teacher, choreographer, writer, producer and eventually, in 1983, the Artistic Director for the company. Evidence of her commitment to dance preservation is seen in RDT’s collection of historic dance re-constructions that includes choreography by 100 of America’s most revered choreographers. Linda has dedicated her life to finding ways to make the arts relevant and to communicating the value of dance in the life of a community. Her pursuits have led to the development of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, to the establishment of the RDT Community School, to providing commissions for established and emerging choreographers, and to the creation of multi-disciplinary activities that focus attention on the environment, social issues, multi-ethnic history, sustainability and community. Linda’s performing experience spans over 90 works. She has taught in over 1000 schools bringing the magic of dance to students and teachers with her unique demonstrations, lectures, classes and professional development workshops. She is most at home encouraging audiences of all ages to imagine, create and communicate with the language of movement. Linda is a graduate and an Adjunct Associate Professor of dance at the University of Utah and is a certified Movement Specialist in the Utah Artists-in-Education Program. She has received numerous honors including “Honors in the Arts” awards from the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, the “Outstanding Achievement Award in Art” from the YWCA, “Community Builders” Award from Utah Women’s Alliance for Building Community, and recognition by Utah Business Magazine as “A Woman to Watch, one of 30 Utah Visionaries.”
NICHOLAS CENDESE (Artistic Associate) was born and raised in Salt Lake City. He graduated from the University of Utah’s department of modern dance with a BFA in the spring of 2004. Nicholas danced with Children’s Dance Theater until graduation from high school, after which he received the Elizabeth R. Hayes dance scholarship. He was also chosen as the Outstanding Senior in the College of Fine Arts. He performed as a guest for RDT in the Olympic Arts Festival production of With My Red Fires. In 2004, Nicholas started RawMoves with the amazing Natosha Washington, which won a SLAMMY in 2005. He is the owner and director of South Valley Creative Dance. Nicholas danced with RDT for 11 years before transitioning to Artistic Associate in 2013.
LAUREN CURLEY began her training in Lowell, Massachusetts at Walker’s Dance. She was a scholarship recipient at the University of Hartford’s The Hartt School, graduating Summa Cum Laude with her BFA in Dance Performance. In her time at Hartt, Lauren furthered her training at the Jose Limon Dance Foundation, Martha Graham School, Paul Taylor’s American Modern Dance, and Henny Jurrien Stichting (NL). Upon graduation she was offered a contract with Repertory Dance Theatre, where she has performed works by world-renowned choreographers such as Jose Limon, Elisa Monte, Molissa Fenley, Danielle Agami, and Zvi Gotheiner. Lauren is a faculty member at Creative Arts Academy and South Valley Creative Dance and teaches master classes at studios and University programs throughout the country. She has been a member of the Company since 2014.
CALEB DALY, originally from Cheyenne, WY, began his dance training at the age of eight at En Avant Dance Studio. In his earlier years of dancing he was exposed to a wide variety of dance styles and techniques. After graduating in 2018, he attended the University of Wyoming where he will be receiving his BFA in Dance Performance, spring 2022. Throughout his time in college, Caleb has studied with faculty such as Jen Deckert, Juliana Freude, Cat Kamrath. Marsha Knight, André Megerdichian, and Margaret Wilson. Throughout his studies, he trained in techniques including José Limón, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Lester Horton and Laban/Barteneiff Fundamentals. He has performed repertory by José Limón and Paul Taylor and original works by world-renowned artists. Caleb is very enthusiastic about joining Repertory Dance Theatre in 2022 and continuing to develop his artistry with the company.
TRUNG “DANIEL” DO was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and received his BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah. During his time there he has had the pleasure to perform works by choreographers including Shaun Boyle, Juan Carlos Claudio, Katie Faulkner, Molly Heller, Satu Hummasti, Stephen Koester, Sharee Lane, Stephen Petronio, and Lesley Telford. While in college, he was selected as a supplemental dancer for Repertory Dance Theatre and Ririe Woodbury Dance Company for various works. He has performed at various festivals such as ACDA, Breaking Ground: Dance and Film Festival, Fringe Festival, RAW Artists, and Women in Dance Leadership Conference. He is also a member of Cat + Fish Dances based in Salt Lake City. Most recently, he relocated to Oregon where he collaborated and performed with Polaris Dance Theatre, Shaun Keylock Company and presented his choreography at the Fertile Ground Festival of New Work. Additionally, he was selected as a guest dancer with Ririe Woodbury Dance Company for their Alwin Nikolais France tour.
LINDSEY FABER was born and raised in Salt Lake City and started dancing at the age of two with Mary Anne Lee and Joni Wilson at Tanner Dance at the University of Utah. She followed her passion for dance and continued her training at Salt Lake School for The Performing Arts under the direction of Bethany Hansen until 2016. Lindsey then went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee with a BFA in contemporary dance performance in the spring of 2020. During her time at The Conservatory Lindsey trained under professionals such as Joy Davis, Marcus Schulkind, Mario Alberto Zambrano, Kurt Douglas, and other esteemed faculty. Also in her time at The Conservatory she performed in works by José Limón, Juel D. Lane, Yuri Yanowsky, and experienced repertory from many world-renowned artists. Lindsey also has had the opportunity to attend intensives and workshops with artists and companies such as Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, The Henny Jurriëns Studio, Repertory Dance Theatre, Yin Yue, and The Graham School. She has a deep interest in choreography and showcased two works at The Conservatory, Persona and My House Blew Into The Ocean. This is Lindsey’s second season with RDT and she is so excited to be a part of this incredible community.
ELLE JOHANSEN, originally from Salt Lake City Utah, began her dance training at the age of 9 with the Janet Gray School in Salt Lake City Utah. There she was disciplined in Ballet, Modern, and Jazz. Elle received her BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah in 2015 where she was awarded both “The Outstanding Senior Award” and “The Student Service Award.” Elle has always had a passion for dance education and initially began her career with RDT as a teacher in their Arts in Education Program. She currently has her teaching certification in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) and in 2021 she was a participant in Anne Green Gilbers’ Brain-Compatible Dance Education (BCDE) workshop. She continues to teach master classes and workshops throughout the Salt Lake Valley. Elle was initially a guest dancer with RDT in 2015 and officially joined the company in 2017. Since joining the company she performed works of renowned choreographers such as José Limón, Doris Humphrey, Daniel Nagrin, Lar Lubovitch, and Elizabeth Waters. When not working with RDT, Elle is a dedicated Realtor® and loves to help people, “dance their way into a new home.”
JONATHAN KIM graduated in 2017 from California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor’s in Dance. He performed “august,” a piece by Colin Connor and Debra Noble, at the 2016 American College Dance Association National Festival and the inaugural Jacob’s Pillow American College Dance Association Gala Highlights at the 2016 Inside/Out Festival. He worked with Lineage Dance Company, SJDanceCo, Kelly Alvarez and Artists, Embark Dance Theatre, and most recently performed with SALT Contemporary Dance for their 6th season while directing the SALT Pro Training Program. He performed works by Doris Humphrey, Donald McKayle, Gustavo Ramirez-Sansano, Brendan Duggan, Penny Saunders, Nicholas Palmquist, Hilary Thomas, and Joni McDonald. After guesting in Repertory Dance Theatre’s 2018 fall concert SPIRIT, he became a company member in 2019.
JACOB LEWIS is a native of St. Louis, Missouri and received his dance training at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) led by Lee Nolting. In 2010, he was inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts and was a finalist for the NDEO Artistic Merit, Leadership and Artistic Award. He attended the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program and during his time in school performed in Alvin Ailey’s “Memoria” during the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s NY City Center Season. Upon graduation, he joined Ailey II where he performed both classical and contemporary works, both nationally and internationally. In 2017 he joined TU Dance and participated in the collaboration with Bon Iver’s ‘Come Through,’ which was performed at the Palace Theater (St. Paul, MN,) Hollywood Bowl and The Kennedy Center. As of 2021, Lewis has been dancing with the historic ballet company, Minnesota Dance Theater in Minneapolis where he has performed works by both Loyce and Lise Holton.
MEGAN MARY O’BRIEN is a dancer/artist from Salt Lake City, Utah. At a young age, she fell in love with dancing and performing when she began to create impromptu shows to classic rock songs for her mom and dad. For 15 years she trained at The Winner School extensively in ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap, contemporary, modern, and ballroom, as well as competing at National and International competitions. She continued her training at the University of Utah School of Dance with a scholarship and in Spring 2017 she graduated with a BFA in Modern Dance. Throughout her training Megan has had the privilege to learn from and work with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Company 605 (Vancouver), Danielle Agami, and the Staatliche Ballettschule School located in Berlin, Germany. She has performed in works by artists LajaMartin, Lesley Telford, Stephen Koester, Nick Blaylock, Sharee Lane, Pamela Handman and Lar Lubovitch. She is compelled to share her art and passion with the community by nurturing the growth of young artists by teaching at local elementary schools and dance studios The Winner School and South Valley Creative Dance, as well as the Education Associate alongside RDT’s Education Director, Lynne Larson.
URSULA PERRY was born in Houston, Texas where she began her training at the Houston Ballet Academy. Since then she has studied under various schools including those at the Boston Ballet, Joffery Ballet, Alvin Ailey, and the Edge Performing Arts Center. She then made the journey to Utah and attended the University of Utah’s Ballet Department. Since graduation, she has performed with Bodiography Contemporary Ballet, Prism Dance Theatre, and River North. Since her return to Salt Lake she is proud to have performed with RawMoves, Movement Forum, and Influx Dance. Ursula joined RDT in 2013.
The 2022-23 Main Stage Series is made possible with the generous support from the following individuals and organizations:
Katherine Bergmann
Beano Solomon
Allison and Benjy Boxer, Bob Shallenberg, Eileen & Pete Kintner, Holly Etlin, Jan Manning, Jodi & Doug Berman, Joy & Bruce Soll, Mark Gottung, Michael & Erin Ruzek, Patricia Lebow, Robin Hauser, Randi & Brian Schwartz, Mindy & Randy Wolpert, St. Regis Deer Valley, The Park City Community Foundation, The Promontory Foundation, The Doubletree Hotel, Summit County Cultural RAP Tax, WESTAF, Park City Chamber of Commerce, and the Utah Division of Arts & Museums