Choreographers Kyle Abraham, Jessica Lang & Reggie Wilson Receive City Center Fellowships

Choreographers Kyle Abraham, Jessica Lang and Reggie Wilson have been awarded New York City Center's 2015 Choreography Fellowships. The Fellowship supports choreographers at critical stages in their careers and reflects City Center's long history of nurturing dance makers, from George Balanchine to Christopher Wheeldon.

"We're thrilled to be giving Kyle, Jessica and Reggie these opportunities for creative exploration at City Center," said Arlene Shuler, President & CEO of New York City Center. "They will be among a growing list of important dance artists who call City Center their artistic home-from Wendy Whelan, our first Artistic Associate, to David Hallberg, who recently joined our Board of Directors. Part of what makes this year's Fellowship announcement so exciting is that all three Fellows have had their work shown at Fall for Dance in the past. Our belief in their artistry has therefore been ongoing. We've loved watching them grow and evolve as choreographers, and are happy to welcome them back to the building." Shuler added, "City Center is proud to serve as a vital resource for the artistic community."

Visit www.nycitycenter.org/2015Fellows to read interviews with the 2015 Fellows and watch excerpts from their work.

Since 2011, the Choreography Fellowship has provided choreographers with a creative home at City Center for one year. The Fellows receive a generous stipend in addition to rehearsal space in the City Center studios and consideration for a performance opportunity at City Center. Technical and administrative assistance is also available to the recipients, who have full access to the City Center staff's expertise in fundraising, finance, technology and marketing.

The past recipients of City Center's Choreography Fellowship have been Brian Brooks, Camille A. Brown, Beth Gill, Gabrielle Lamb, Emery LeCrone, Pontus Lidberg, Andrea Miller, Rashaun Mitchell, Silas Riener and Shen Wei.

New York City Center gratefully acknowledges support for the Choreography Fellowship program from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Kyle Abraham was selected as one of Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch in 2009; the next year, Abraham received a Princess Grace Award in Choreography and his breakout work The Radio Show won a Bessie Award. Abraham performs and develops new works for his company Abraham.In.Motion, whose goal is to delve into identity in relation to personal histories, grounded in his artistic upbringing in 1970s hip-hop, classical cello, piano, and the visual arts. In 2011, OUT magazine labeled Abraham as the "best and brightest creative talent to emerge in New York City in the age of Obama." He has created commissioned works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and most recently Wendy Whelan as part of her Restless Creature production. Abraham received a 2012 USA Fellowship from United States Artists and the 2012 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award; he served as New York Live Arts Resident Commissioned Artist from 2012-2014 and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2013. http://abrahaminmotion.com

Jessica Lang is a choreographer and the artistic director of Jessica Lang Dance. Hailed as "a master of visual composition" by Dance Magazine, Lang has created more than 85 works on numerous companies including Birmingham Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Japan and Joffrey Ballet. American Ballet Theatre has presented her work on multiple occasions at the Metropolitan Opera House. She has received commissions from the Dallas Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum for its Works and Process series and made her directorial debut in Pergolesi's Stabat Mater at the 2013 Glimmerglass Opera Festival. In 2011 she launched her own company, Jessica Lang Dance, which has been presented at venues including BAM, Jacob's Pillow, the Kennedy Center and the Joyce Theater. She recently developed her own methodology called LANGuage, a unique curriculum that cultivates the habit of creative thinking. Lang, the recipient of a 2014 Bessie Award, is a graduate of The Juilliard School and former member of Twyla Tharp's company, THARP! www.jessicalangdance.com

Reggie Wilson is choreographer, performer and artistic director of Fist & Heel Performance Group, which he founded in 1989. He draws from the cultures of Africans in the Americas and combines them with post-modern elements and his own personal movement style to create what he calls "post-African/Neo-HooDoo Modern dances." His work has been presented nationally and internationally at venues such as BAM, New York Live Arts, Jacob's Pillow, the Walker Art Center, UCLA Live and Redcat. A graduate of NYU-Tisch, Wilson performed and toured with Ohad Naharin before forming Fist & Heel. He has served as visiting faculty at several universities, including Yale, Princeton and Wesleyan. He has received a Bessie Award, the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Herb Alpert Award in Dance, and was named a 2009 United States Artists Prudential Fellow and a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. In 2013 his work Moses(es) had its New York premiere at BAM's Next Wave Festival and is currently touring. www.fistandheelperformancegroup.org

New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city since 1943. It was Manhattan's first performing arts center, dedicated by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia with a mission to make the best in music, theater and dance accessible to all audiences. Today, City Center is home to many distinguished companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, City Center's Principal Dance Company, as well as Manhattan Theatre Club; a roster of renowned national and international visiting artists; and its own critically acclaimed and popular programs. The Tony-honored Encores! musical theater series has been hailed as "one of the very best reasons to be alive in New York." In summer 2013, City Center launched Encores! Off-Center, a new series featuring landmark musicals filtered through the lens of today's most innovative artists. Dance has been integral to the theater's mission from the start, and dance programs, including the annual Fall for Dance Festival, remain central to City Center's identity. Vital partnerships with arts organizations including Jazz at Lincoln Center and London's Sadler's Wells Theatre enhance City Center's programmatic offerings. City Center is dedicated to providing educational opportunities to New York City students and teachers with programs such as Encores! In Schools and the Young People's Dance Series. Special workshops cater to families, seniors and other groups, while events such as the Fall for Dance DanceTalk series offer learning opportunities to the general public. In October 2011, City Center completed an extensive renovation project to revitalize and modernize its historic theater. www.NewYorkCityCenter.org

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