Hubbard Street Dance Chicago to launch new programs for artist training

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the leadership of Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton and Executive Director Jason D. Palmquist, has initiated a new program to address the organization’s approach to training for dance artists. A new Professional Training Program (PTP) will be launched throughout 2017 in two phases.

The PTP Pilot will run for two five-week sessions: Session I, April 3 through May 5, 2017; and Session II, May 8 through June 9, 2017. The PTP Inaugural will launch the Professional Program at scale, beginning in fall 2017 and running approximately 34 weeks through late spring 2018. The PTP program will provide a new development in Hubbard Street’s long standing commitment to artist training.

“Change is a core component of Hubbard Street’s identity,” says Hubbard Street Executive Director Jason D. Palmquist. “Ever since we began offering public dance classes on Hubbard Street in 1974 this organization has remained in a near-constant state of evolution. We have seen dramatic and rapid shifts in the world of contemporary dance. Our approach to dancer training and development must continue to serve, and prove their relevance to, the next generation of dance professionals, who progress today toward a broader spectrum of careers and possibilities than ever before. Over the coming months, we look forward to sharing more details about the ways in which Hubbard Street will continue cultivating the skills and talents of young professionals and helping them prepare for success.”

As part of these changes, Hubbard Street plans to suspend the operations of its second company, HS2 as of December 11, 2016. HS2’s December 10 performance of Mariko’s Magical Mix, created by choreographer Robin Mineko Williams and Manual Cinema, at Lincoln Center in New York, NY will complete the 19^th season since the founding of HS2 as Hubbard Street’s premiere professional artist training program in 1997. Currently nine dancers who are alumni of HS2 are members of Hubbard Street’s main company and companies around the world including TLT/ TANZ LUZERNER THEATRE (Lucerne, Switzerland), DanceWorks Chicago (Chicago, IL), Batsheva Dance Company (Israel), Aspen Santa Fe Ballet (Aspen, CO), Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (Dayton, OH), Ballet Jazz de Montreal (Montreal, Canada), and Trisha Brown Dance Company (New York, NY), among others. HS2’s repertoire includes works created by an extensive list of choreographers, including some of the most highly regarded dance artists including Robert Battle, Aszure Barton, Peter Chu, Alice Klock, and many others. “In an environment with limited resources, we found it necessary to suspend HS2 and reassess our artist training offerings,” says Hubbard Street Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton.

Former Hubbard Street dancer and current artistic associate Meredith Dincolo has spent more than two years assessing the needs of post-secondary dancers seeking professional training and evaluating Hubbard Street’s existing practices. Ms. Dincolo has researched the available programs in the Chicago area and on a national scale to differentiate Hubbard Street’s PTP from available alternatives. Hubbard Street’s repertoire stands out as a unique foundational preparation for a dancer seeking a professional career.

“Each winter, we visit a dozen cities from coast to coast, meeting hundreds of young dancers who come to audition for our Summer Intensive programs,” says Hubbard Street Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton. “Many of these dancers join us for periods of two to four weeks in Chicago and, as of this past summer, in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. The Summer Intensives are an enormously productive time for all of us, dancers and faculty members alike. I am excited to continue and expand these programs, shaped from key parts of the Summer Intensive experience, through which students can grow year-round. I will get to better know their work as dancers and as individuals as they become a more integral part of the Hubbard Street community. Right now, we are deeply involved in the important work of connecting with our colleagues externally, and the expert faculty within our facility, to determine what each day at Hubbard Street should include for these students. This spring is designated to pilot this program such that, by fall 2017, we have a full-fledged, Professional Training Program in place for our main company’s 40th anniversary season.”

Dancers invited to take part in the PTP Pilot may choose one or both five-week spring sessions; each will offer a unique experience utilizing the many resources available at the Hubbard Street Dance Center. In line with the focused experiences offered through Hubbard Street’s Week-Long Intensives and Studio Series, class sizes will be kept small to facilitate guided, mentored instruction and individual coaching. Areas of focus will include advanced technique practice in ballet, contemporary, improvisation, Modern and partnering; learning and refining Hubbard Street’s repertoire; engaging in the creation of new works by faculty members as well as by participants themselves. Supplemental physical practices such as Pilates and yoga, as well as classes in acting and music will round out the curriculum. Additional gatherings and lectures throughout will provide space for conversation and reflection.

The two-year PTP Inaugural program offers expanded opportunities and experiences for those who participated in one or both PTP Pilot sessions, with a progressive curriculum designed for two consecutive years of enrollment. Dancers attending PTP Pilot sessions are automatically eligible and welcome to register for the PTP Inaugural, provided they are ready for a post-secondary experience.

Dancers interested in participating in Hubbard Street’s new Professional Training Program may attend one of eleven Summer Intensive Audition Tour dates for further consideration and more information about both programs. Dancers may attend the February 26, 2017 Summer Intensive audition in Chicago to be considered for both PTP Pilot and Inaugural programs or the dedicated PTP Inaugural audition on April 30, 2017 in Chicago to be considered for the full Inaugural program, or schedule an in-person audition. Visit hubbardstreetdance.com/summerintensive for dates and locations for Summer Intensive auditions in January and February 2017, being held in Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, and Tampa. Dancers attending Summer Intensive auditions nationally will receive additional information about PTP, but a separate audition for the program may be necessary. For guidelines and more information about auditioning in-person email ptp@hubbardstreetdance.com.