Chen Dance Center Presents NEWSTEPS: a Choreographers Series

Chen Dance Center presents newsteps: a Choreographers Series, its semi-annual emerging choreographer's series. Since 1994, The Theater has supported and presented hundreds of dancers and choreographers developing innovative and risk-taking works through space and production grants.

Six choreographers were selected through an open audition by a panel of dance leaders including H.T. Chen, Walter Rutledge, Elizabeth Keen and Lance Westergard. Selected to present works in December are Alice Halter, Caitlin Javech, Susanne McHugh, Jessica Alexander & Madison Doyle, Catherine Eng, and Amanda Spilinga.

Alice Halter's trio dives into the consequences of a memory system that seeks to legitimize self-improvement and distance failure;

In her duet, Caitlin Javech is driven by the ideas presented in the books "Bring me the rhinoceros" by John Tarrant and "you are here" by Thich Nhat Hanh;

Susanne McHugh's solo portrays the mourning of a past self that was unburdened by a mental illness diagnosis;

Jessica Alexander & Madison Doyle explore the way structure can organize chaos;

Through gender coding, Catherine Eng tries to unpack the toxic masculine personage that proliferates our media;

Amanda Spilinga's group work Bad Kingdom is a journey towards our life purpose.