‘Vision, Faith & Desire’ collaboration

Vision, Faith & Desire in ChicagoWinifred Haun & Dancers and the Leopold Group, two powerhouse Chicago modern dance companies, have teamed up to collaborate and explore a shared choreographic lineage through a curated evening of dance named Vision, Faith & Desire: dancemakers inspired by Martha Graham.

 

Featuring new works by Winifred Haun, Lizzie Leopold, Ayako Kato, Lisa Thurrell and Peter Sparling, the performances will also present a re-imagining of Martha Graham’s 1930 masterpiece Lamentation, as part of the Martha Graham Dance Company’s ongoing “Lamentation Variations” project. Through these diverse presentations, Vision, Faith & Desire will be both a retrospective survey and a forward-thinking launching pad.

 

The evening will also speak to an ongoing project between choreographers Winifred Haun and Lizzie Leopold to situate their respective choreographic voices within the rich historical lineage of modern dance. In the more than 80 years since Lamentation’s premiere, it would be nearly impossible to find a dancemaker untouched by Graham’s ground-breaking innovations in modernist aesthetics.

 

The Vision, Faith & Desire performances will offer audiences a rare opportunity to revisit dance history and simultaneously encounter its present. For both the audience and the artists, this event will work to highlight the ephemeral connectivity of a modern dance family tree.

 

Vision, Faith & Desire will premiere at Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago on Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit www.ruthpage.org.

 

In addition, a Martha Graham technique master class will be offered preceding the Saturday night performance by former Martha Graham Dance Company member Lisa Thurrell. Set for 5 p.m., tickets are available online through Brown Paper Tickets. The students who attend this master class will receive free admission to the show.

 

Another special event will also be hosted featuring former Martha Graham Dance Company soloist Peter Sparling. On Sunday, September 29 at noon, Sparling will premiere a new video work and lecture on his choreography for the camera. Admission is free.

 

For detailed program descriptions and registration information for special events, visit www.winifredhaun.org.

 

Photo courtesy of the Ruth Page Center for the Arts.