Trade Winds by Jan Bartoszek and Aires de Cambio (Air of Change) by DanzAbierta’s resident choreographer Susana Pous are two interlocking but separately choreographed pieces. The dance explores the relationship of cyclical time in two different cultures: north and south, temperate and tropical. Trade Winds/Aires de Cambio unfolds in a series of intersecting episodes. Following the course of the seasons, starting with fall and ending with summer, the structure becomes a call and response between the two companies. Composer Eme Alfonso created an original music score with additional sound design by Erica Ricketts. Cinematographer Daniel Kullman of Bitter Jester Creative, and filmmaker Nadia Oussenko from Chicago, and Claudio Pairot of Puntilla Films from Havana, created video landscapes that reflect the two cities and their respective seasonal changes.
Trade Winds/Aires de Cambio is the culmination of a multi-year collaboration between Hedwig Dances and DanzAbierta, considered Cuba’s preeminent contemporary dance company, under the artistic direction of Guido Gali.
TRADE WINDS (Hedwig Dances)
Choreography by Jan Bartoszek
Shelton
Costume Design Megan Turner
Lighting Design Jacob Snodgrass
Sound Design Erica Ricketts
Composer Eme Alfonso
Video Design Daniel Kullman & Nadia Oussenko
AIRES DE CAMBIO (DanzAbierta)
Choreography by Susana Pous
Costume Concept Susana Pous
Lighting Design Guido Gali
Composer Eme Alfonso
Video Design Claudio Pairot of Puntilla Films
Chicago premiere:
(Hedwig Dances)
Victor Alexander, Odbayar Batsuuri, Edson Cabrera, Jessie Gutierrez, Maray Gutierrez, Kirsten Shelton
(DanzAbierta)
Abel Berenguer, Mailyn Castillo, Yoan Matos, Gabriel Mendez, Taymi Ramos, Abel Rojo
Havana premiere:
(Hedwig Dances)
Victor Alexander, Edson Cabrera, Jessie Gutierrez, Maray Gutierrez, Jules Joseph,
Kirsten Shelton
(DanzAbierta)
Mailyn Castillo, Alberto Gonzalez, Yoan Matos, Gabriel Mendez, Taymi Ramos, Abel Rojo
Trade Winds/Aires de Cambio
October 9-11, 2014
The Dance Center of Columbia College
Chicago
Havana, Cuba
Teatro Nacional de Cuba Sala Avellaneda
January 31, 2015
“Part travelogue, part joint storytelling, part archetypal treatment of the seasons… ambitious, expertly performed…”
-Laura Molzahn, Chicago Tribune
October 10, 2014
This multi-year collaboration has been made possible by a generous grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation International Connections Fund. Trade Winds is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund Project co-commissioned by Links Hall in partnership with DanzAbierta, COCA , Kate Corby & Dancers and NPN. The Creation Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency).
For more information: www.npnweb.org.
Hedwig Dances acknowledges the assistance of McDermott, Will & Emery LLP and the contributions of Copperbridge Foundation, Art Encounter, Instituto Cervantes, and the Arts & Business Council.
Photos by William Frederking