In a series of episodes, Sweet Baby, Baby Suite, by choreographer Jan Bartoszek, conveys the overwhelming joys and fears of early motherhood. Performed by four principal dancers and a chorus of six dancers, the dance is full of surprises with baby dolls falling from the sky and an intimate night scene between mother and child framed by a moving window. Christy Munch’s whimsical set and costumes, along with Ken Bowen’s stunning light design, underscore maternal intimacy.
For my daughter, Sophia
Choreographer: Jan Bartoszek
Music Design: Don McGlashan
Costume Design: Christy Munch
Lighting Design: Ken Bowen
Principal dancers: Amy Alt, Ann Boyd, Laurie Kammin, Rebecca Rossen
Chorus: Christy Bennett, Jenna Hunt, Jenny M. Kobylarz, Marquita Levy, Cynthia Reid, Emily Stein
Dances of Innocence and Desire
June 3-5,1993
Dance Center of Columbia College
Chicago
A Field Gathering
April 21-23, 1994
Dance Center of Columbia College
Chicago
Dancing By Heart
March 5-21, 1999
Athenaeum Theater
Chicago
“‘Sweet Baby, Baby Suite,’ which premiered in this program, was a knockout.”
-Carmela Rago, Chicago Tribune
“Savvy, funny and sometimes downright silly, ‘Sweet Baby’ with just about everyone’s inner baby”
-Lynn Voedisch, Chicago Sun-Times
“[Sweet Baby, Baby Suite] conjures up the gentle, delightful and sometimes fearful feelings that come with early motherhood.”
-Maura Troester, Chicago Reader
PRODUCTION PARTNERS
This Dance Center program is supported in part by grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, the Chicago Community Trust, the Sara Lee Foundation, and the Forest Fund.
FUNDERS
Jan Bartoszek/Hedwig Dances is supported, in part, by grants from the Chicago Tribune Foundation; The Forest Fund; The Joyce Foundation; the Sara Lee Foundation; the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, with additional funding provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and many individual donors. Hedwig Dances is a participant in ARTS BRIDGE, the nation’s first business incubator for the arts.