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Richmond Ballet Announces Choreographers for the 2009 New Works Festival

9/2/2009

RICHMOND - Richmond Ballet has invited four new choreographers to participate in its second New Works Festival September 29 - October 4. Each choreographer has two weeks to create a new 10 to 15 minute work for the professional company, which may be a complete work unto itself or a part of a larger piece envisioned by the artist. The four works will be presented in the Studio Theatre at the Richmond Ballet building on Canal Street. The participating choreographers--Jacqulyn Buglisi, Ma Cong, James Frazier and Julie Job Smithson - bring impressive and varied backgrounds to the event, providing an evening of excitement for Ballet patrons.

Launched in April 2008, the New Works Festival furthers the Ballet’s goal to “foster new works” and also allows Richmond Ballet the opportunity to introduce the work of several new choreographers in a workshop setting. “The entire building on Canal Street was bursting with energy as the new works came to life during our first New Works Festival in the Spring of 2008,” said Artistic Director Stoner Winslett. “We are already beginning to see the creative sparks and intensity from the 2009 New Works Festival artists. It is an exciting time at Richmond Ballet.”

According to Winslett, the goal of the Festival is to allow choreographers the opportunity to investigate something new - a new group of dancers, a new idea, a new movement style - or something that will be valuable in their artistic growth. It is also a chance for the Richmond Ballet audience to see beginning stages of future works and to witness the dancers in a wide array of movement styles all in one evening. The Festival may also lead to future collaborations between the Ballet and participating choreographers. Two of the 2008 New Works Festival participants, Gina Patterson and Todd Rosenlieb, were invited to return to the Ballet to create fully-produced works for the 2008-09 Season.

More about the choreographers…

Jacqulyn Buglisi is currently the director of Buglisi Dance Theatre, chair of the modern dance department at the Alvin Ailey School in New York. Prior to forming her own company, Ms. Buglisi performed as a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company for thirteen years. She developed and taught her unique Techniques of Performance class at the Interlochen Academy, the Alvin Ailey School, the Shankar Performing Arts Center in India and the Shanghai Ensemble in China. She also participated in numerous educational residencies and collaborations with Purchase College Conservatory of Dance. Ms. Buglisi serves on the faculties of the Juilliard School and the Martha Graham School.

Ma Cong is a principal dancer and resident choreographer at Tulsa Ballet. Previously he danced with the National Ballet of China, after graduating with honors from the Beijing Dance Academy. He was awarded the Silver Medal at the All China Dance Competition in 1994 and was a finalist at the prestigious Paris International Dance Competition in 1998. Cong has worked with choreographers and directors from Royal Ballet, Kirov Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet and San Francisco Ballet; and has performed leading roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Don Quixote, Le Corsaire and Romeo & Juliet, among others. In January 2006, Cong was named one of the “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine for both his dancing and choreography. Cong has created many works for Tulsa Ballet including a brand new Carmina Burana for Tulsa Ballet’s 50th Anniversary celebration. In 2008, he was chosen to be one of four choreographers for the National Choreographer Initiative.

James Frazier is currently the chairperson of the VCU Department of Dance and Choreography. In addition to performing with Kokuma Dance Theatre Company (Birmingham, England), Dallas Black Dance Theatre (Texas) and Edgeworks Dance Theatre (Washington, D.C.), Frazier earned an M.F.A. in Dance from Florida State University and a Doctorate in Dance Education from Temple University. He has created dance works for a number of companies across the U.S. and his work has been presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In addition to teaching and choreographing at VCU, Frazier has worked with Chris Burnside and Dancers, Starr Foster Dance Project and Ground Zero Dance. He also teaches for the School of Richmond Ballet.

Julie Job Smithson began her ballet training at the Flint Institute of Music and graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts. She has performed with several U.S. companies, including Ballet Met, Washington Ballet, Cleveland Ballet and Minnesota Dance Theatre. She also toured with the Scottish Ballet. A School of Richmond Ballet Faculty member for ten years, Smithson has taught in Europe, Asia and the United States. She received the Presidential Citation for Outstanding Educator by the Governor’s School for Humanities and Visual Performing Arts held at the University of Richmond.

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Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia, is dedicated to the education, promotion, preservation and continuing evolution of the art form of ballet. Richmond Ballet strives to keep meaningful works of dance alive and to produce and foster new works that remain true to these values. Entering the 26th professional season, Richmond Ballet's mission is to “awaken and uplift the human spirit, both for audiences and artists.”

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