Visceral Dance Chicago Bring SPRINGFIVE to Harris Theater

Visceral Dance Chicago will continue its season with a presentation of SPRINGFIVE on April 7, 2018 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, the second mainstage Chicago performance of the company's fifth year. It will include Artistic Director, Nick Pupillo's two original works; Impetere (2013), which introduced the company's strong technique and athleticism and Senza Di Te (2013), a romantic pas des deux revived this time with live music by cellist, Desire Miller. The first half of the program will end with a signature piece, Changes (2014), Mónica Cervantes named by Dance Magazine as one of "25 to Watch" for 2013. Changes is an exploration of fast paced relationships in our modern day. It imbeds snapshots and vignettes from daily life within driving and abstract ensemble movement.

The second half of the program will contain two world premieres showing further evolution of the company; internationally acclaimed choreographer, Kevin O'Day joins us from Mannheim, Germany to create a new commission, The Fine Line, based on strength and vulnerability and the fine line in between and Nick Pupillo's world-premiere Soft Spoken, commissioned in part by Pamela Crutchfield explores the sensation of hesitating and holding back to what should be said in a series of relationships in different stages - beginning, middle and near end.

Nick Pupillo, Founder and Artistic Director of Visceral Dance Chicago, graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet. In 2001, Pupillo joined the acclaimed Giordano Dance Chicago where he toured nationally and internationally for three years. Pupillo decided in 2006 to train and mentor young talent by developing the prestigious Visceral Studio Company.

In 2007, he founded Visceral Dance Center to provide the Chicago community with a new venue for artistic and technical growth. This facility continues to be a Chicago dance landmark. TimeOut Chicago lists Visceral Dance Center as "A bustling, well-appointed facility...with instructors from top companies and in-demand guest teachers." Utilized by a number of Chicago-based companies, Visceral Dance Center is home to its resident company, Visceral Dance Chicago.

Pupillo founded Visceral Dance Chicago in the fall of 2013. This repertory company presents his daring vision to explore the infinite possibilities of contemporary movement. The dancers of Visceral demonstrate this choreographic invention and are recognized for their technique, passion, and athleticism. In less than five years, Pupillo has led the company in a forthright direction, establishing a repertoire described as "expertly devised and stylish as they come." (Laura Molzahn, Chicago Tribune) He created 8 signature works for the company; Impetere, Senza di te, My Realm, Sum Noir, She Three, Vital, Atlas and Synapse as well as three collaborations with the Chicago Philharmonic: La Revue De Cuisine, The Last Round and The Dream. He has also commissioned world premieres by choreographers such as Sidra Bell, Monica Cervantes, Marguerite Donlon and Danielle Agami as well as company premieres by Ohad Naharin, Fernando Melo and Mark Godden. Pupillo continues the company's bold vision this season, commissioning a work by Kevin O'Day.

Pupillo has received various awards for his choreography, including "The Dance Chicago Outstanding Choreography Award" in 2005 and 2012 and "The Cliff Dwellers 2013 Choreographer of the Year." His work has been described as "a stroke of choreographic genius...complex, tumbling changes...in this portrait of perpetual motion." (Laura Molzahn, Chicago Tribune) Pupillo is frequently invited to conduct master classes in the U.S. and around the world and has taught for the Jazz Dance World Congress, Chicago Dance Connection and Chicago National Association of Dance Masters. Pupillo is currently an artist in residence at Culver Academies.

GUEST ARTIST

The American Kevin O'Day was born in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2002 he was appointed artistic director of the Nationaltheater Mannheim Ballett, renamed Kevin O'Day Ballett NTM. From 2013 to 2016 he held the position of Ballett Intendant and Deputy Operating Manager.

As a choreographer, O'Day has produced more than sixty original ballets. He has been commissioned to create works for the New York City Ballet, Ballet British Columbia, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, Stuttgarter Ballett, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet, Ballet Argentino, The Royal Danish Ballet, ProArteDanza, BalletX, Ballett im Revier, and Ballett Augsburg, among others.

O'Day received his early dance training at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. After one year he joined the Joffrey II, and the following year, he became a member of the main company of the Joffrey Ballet. In the winter of 1984, O'Day began his long association with choreographer Twyla Tharp. From 1988 to 1991, he was a soloist with American Ballet Theatre, where he performed in a wide variety of featured roles both in the classical and contemporary repertoire.

In 1991 he joined William Forsythe's Frankfurt Ballet, and from 1992 until 1995 he was a member of Mikhail Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project. During that time he appeared frequently as a guest with the New York City Ballet. In 1994 Mikhail Baryshnikov invited O'Day to choreograph a new work for the White Oak Dance Project, marking his choreographic debut. In 1998 O'Day formed his own company, O'Day Dances, in collaboration with composer John King.

O'Day has been the recipient of numerous awards and nominations for his choreography. In 2000 he was nominated for an MTV video music award for best choreography in a video for So Pure by Alanis Morissette. Full Bloom, a piece choreographed by O'Day, Robert Glumbek and Luches Huddleston Jr., was nominated for the Canadian Dora Mavor Moore Award in 2010. In the same year O'Day was the first to be awarded the Koerner Award by the Canadian Banff Centre.

ABOUT VISCERAL DANCE CHICAGO

Founded in 2013 by Artistic Director Nick Pupillo, Visceral Dance Chicago is a contemporary dance company dedicated to a bold and progressive world of movement. In less than three years, the company has developed a diverse and respected repertoire. With works by distinguished choreographers Sidra Bell, Mónica Cervantes, Robyn Mineko Williams, Brian Enos, Banning Bouldin, Harrison McEldowney, Fernando Melo, Marguerite Donlon, Ohad Naharin, Mark Godden, Danielle Agami and Pupillo, Visceral Dance Chicago continues to challenge audiences' expectations. In January of 2015, Visceral Dance Chicago was named one of Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch, recognizing the company's accomplishments and potential in the national community. "Visceral Dance Chicago breathes life into the Chicago arts community with their ability to intertwine complex human emotions with the raw beauty of dance and physical movement." (Chicago Stage Standard)

Visceral Dance Chicago began their fifth season performing at Dance For Life, followed closely by a fall engagement at the Harris Theater presenting two new works, one by Princess Grace Choreographic Residency recipient Danielle Agami and a creation by Artistic Director Nick Pupillo commissioned the Harris Theater for Music and Dance with support from the Pamela Crutchfield Dance Fund through the Imagine Campaign. In the spring of their 2017-2018 season, the company will recreate its full-length collaboration with the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, entitled The Dream. Their SPRINGFIVE engagement at the Harris will include the work The Fine Line by choreographer Kevin O'Day as well as a new work by Pupillo entitled Soft Spoken, commissioned in part by Pam Crutchfield. Completing the season, Visceral Dance Chicago will return with the fifth edition of SOLUS, a signature evening of solos. In an "expertly devised and stylish" (Chicago Tribune) repertoire, Visceral Dance Chicago distinguishes its unique position in the Chicago, national, and international dance communities; "...the buzz about this troupe is more than justified" (Chicago Sun-Times).

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