“no ideas but in things”* Part Two – April 5-7, 2024

Announcing our ambitious spring concert “no ideas but in things” – PART TWO, featuring premieres by Emmy Award-winning choreographer Natasha Adorlee, Hedwig company member Paula Sousa, and Chicago-based choreographer Anna Sapozhnikov.

A sequel to Hedwig’s fall concert, “no ideas but in things” – PART TWO iterates anew on the prompt to merge movement with a visual environment. Each work furthers Hedwig’s signature dance and design aesthetic in unexpected ways, creating powerful imagery that transforms the performance space.

The concert will be staged in the theater at the Ruth Page Center, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago, IL. A reception with the artists will follow the opening night show, for an additional $25 per person. After Saturday’s performance an on-stage discussion with the choreographers will take place; there is no charge for this discussion. Ticket prices range from $20 to $55.

THREE PREMIERES

Guest choreographer Natasha Adorlee’s premiere Kindred Spirits unfolds within a timeless purgatorial room. Here, a family of mysterious characters, each containing hidden depths, navigates their existence as past and present blur. The characters are confronted with fragments of their lives, reliving pivotal moments filled with unresolved desires. Drawing inspiration from the enigmatic atmospheres of David Lynch’s works and spiritualism, Kindred Spirits is a surreal journey where personal stories unfold against a backdrop of metaphysical exploration.

Company member Paula Sousa’s premiere Under My Thumbs explores the intersection of humanity and AI. Paula collaborates with ChatGPT 3.5 to describe the work: “In Under My Thumbs the dancers seamlessly transform into the embodiment of artificial intelligence, taking on the calculated precision of machines, exploring the intricate interplay between human expression and the emotionless characteristics traditionally associated with AI. As the piece unfolds, witness the dissolution of boundaries between human and artificial, challenging conventional perceptions and inviting the audience to contemplate the nuanced synergy between humanity and technology. This piece explores the essence of movement, connection, and the evolving landscape of creativity, with the dancers embodying the role of AI.”

The concert will also feature the Chicago premiere of guest choreographer Anna Sapozhnikov’s Svad’ba, as reimagined for Hedwig Dances. Inspired by Bronislava Nijinska’s Les Noces (1923), Svad’ba takes a deep look into the traditional Russian and Ukrainian family structures within the 21st century. Dancers dressed in crimson are surrounded by a façade of crumbling concrete with projections by media designer, John Boesche, with music by composer Boris Sichon.

ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHERS

Natasha Adorlee is an Emmy Award-winning choreographer, filmmaker, composer, and educator in San Francisco, CA. A first-generation Asian American woman, she is currently the Artistic Fellow with Amy Sewiert’s Imagery. Natasha began choreographing in 2014 while maintaining an award-winning dance career with ODC/Dance, Kate Weare and Co., and The San Francisco Symphony. After winning over ten international awards for her acclaimed short film “Take Your Time” in 2018, she has been a sought-after filmmaker, choreographer, and composer ever since. Her unique blend of skills in these mediums, with her diverse dance training in classical Western forms and multiple forms of martial arts and street dance (vernacular dance), make her a complete and fully-encompassed artistic force. After attending SUNY Purchase and graduating from UC Berkeley, Natasha was invited to join ODC/Dance. As a performer, Natasha has danced a vast repertoire of works and contributed original choreography, sound design, and art direction to over 20+ ODC/Dance repertory works. In addition, Natasha has created over 20 original dance-based works- spanning stage, film, and immersive performance mediums. Most recently, she was commissioned to create for Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works, Ceprodac (Mexico), Kawaguchi Ballet (Japan), Ballare Carmel, Ballet22, Jacob’s Pillow, and Imagery. In addition to working for dance companies, Natasha has created original work for Pixar Animation Studios, Occulus, National Geographic, and New Yorker Magazine. Natasha founded Concept o4 to create multimedia dance-based experiences advocating for more accessibility to the arts. Awarded an NEA Grant, Dresher Fellowship, and Jacob’s Pillow Choreographic Fellowship in 2023 and a BalletX commission in 2024, Natasha is pursuing a prolific creation period while sharing her deep knowledge of movement and film with the greater community through Dance on Camera workshops. She is also an Artistic Advisor for Ballet22.

Anna Sapozhnikov is a teacher, choreographer, and performer with roots based in Chicagoland. As an educator, Anna is proud to have started the dance program at York High School in Elmhurst, Illinois, where she taught from 2008 to 2019. Her teaching credits also include serving as dance faculty in various institutions such as the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Youth Performing Arts High School in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as the Louisville Ballet School. Anna received her BFA and MFA in dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she is currently the Assistant Head of Program Administration & Engagement and Lecturer. She holds her K-12 teaching certification from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.

Anna is the founder and artistic director of MOYAMO DANCE as well as co-director of the duet collective she shares with Erika Randall, Sweetie Pie Productions. Her choreography has been produced in various venues throughout New York, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Wisconsin, Colorado, and West Virginia. Over the last twenty years, she has enjoyed being a frequent collaborator and performer in the works of Sara Hook and David Parker. She is also the recipient of numerous grants from the Illinois Arts Council, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, the District 205 Foundation (Thiems Grant), and a Chicago Dancemakers Forum DanceChance awardee.

Paula Sousa (she/her) is a Brazilian dance artist with an interest in cultural production and the performing arts. She holds degrees from Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD) in Austria and the Bolshoi School in Brazil. Paula has collaborated extensively with artists in Europe and South America, such as Francesca Harper (USA), Ko Murobush (Japan), Jozef Frucek (Slovakia), Linda Kapetanea (Greece), Jelka Milic (Slovenia), Renan Martins (Brazil), Roberto Olivan (Spain), Martin Kilvady (Slovakia), Quan Bui Ngoc (Vietnam), Davis Freeman (USA/Belgium), Carlos Matos (Portugal), Jorge Garcia (Brazil), Luiz Fernando Bongiovanni (Brazil), among others.

Before moving to Chicago, she danced for five years with Balé do Teatro Guaíra in Curitiba, Brazil. Paula is a former collaborative artist with Projeto Mov_oLA (director: Alex Soares) and Plataforma Shop Sui (director: Fernando Martins), both in Sao Paulo. In 2012, she worked at the Arsenalle della Danza, a part of La Biennale di Venezia, under the direction of Ismael Ivo. Paula has been a member of Hedwig Dances since January 2023, where she worked with Mike Tyus, Jenna Pollack, Rigo Saura, Noelle Keyser, and Jan Bartoszek.

In Chicago, Paula also collaborated with Jessi Stegall for the performance “Figments (A)” at the Arrive Festival 2023 and is a collaborative artist for the project “Arriving at Dawn” by Chih-Jou Cheng. In addition to her work as a dancer, Paula is a choreographer, videographer, and movement director. She also holds a degree in Public Policy and Administration and works in cultural production. Her work can be seen on her website, https://paulasousa.art/.

*The concert’s title quotes a line by poet William Carlos Williams.

Image: “K@02” by Rigo Saura as performed November 2023. Photo by Peter Hinsdale.