Winifred Haun & Dancers To Present FIRST DRAFT 2024 In March

Winifred Haun & Dancers will present the 2nd annual FIRST DRAFT: New Work by Chicago dancemakers from March 1 to 3, at Links Hall in Chicago. FIRST DRAFT 2024 will feature 3 programs over 3 evenings, with 13 new works by 13 Chicago area choreographers. Each program will feature 8-9 dancemakers.

The purpose of FIRST DRAFT is to give local choreographers and dancers the opportunity to see and present their latest works in a professionally produced context. The public presentation of a nearly completed dance work is an essential step for dancemakers as they develop high quality, new work.

Summary:

FIRST DRAFT: new works by Chicago dancemakers
Links Hall, 3111 N. Western Ave, Chicago
Tickets: $35
Ticket Link: https://winifredhaun.ticketleap.com/first-draft-new-works-by-chicago-area-dancemakers/

Friday, March 1 at 7:00pm
Artists
Group A: Robin Davis, Imani English, Simone Gadlin, and Julia Schaeffer
Group B: Ariel Dorsey Eona Carey, Adrean Maxwell, and Sarita Smith Childs

Saturday, March 2 at 7:00pm
Artists
Group B: Ariel Dorsey Eona Carey, Adrean Maxwell, and Sarita Smith Childs
Group C: Blu Rhythm Crew, Darryl Clark, Crystal Gurrola, Mandy Milligan, and
Winifred Haun

Sunday, March 3 at 3:00pm

Artists
Group C: Blu Rhythm Crew, Darryl Clark, Crystal Gurrola, Mandy Milligan, and
Winifred Haun
Group A: Robin Davis, Imani English, Simone Gadlin, and Julia Schaeffer

Details for FIRST DRAFT 2024 choreographers and works:
(Many works do not currently have a title.)

Blu Rhythm Crew, directed by choreographer and dancer Tanji Harper, will present a group work for 10 dancers that combines hip hop and contemporary dance to music by Alina Baraz.

Eona Carey is a trans artist and Company Dancer with Winifred Haun & Dancers. She will present a quintet to music by sound artist Jaye Aubree.

Sarita Smith Childs is creating a work for 6 dancers from WH&D's new 3rd Coast Contemporary Dance program. The work is an evocative reflection on the power of sisterhood and community.

Darryl Clark is a Chicago dancer and choreographer, and professor of dance at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. His work is a meditative solo in two parts featuring the music of Passacaglia.

Robin Davis will present a work for 5 dancers, The Tendency of Change, originally created during her Resource Residency with Khecari Dance. Robin is a Company Dancer with WH&D.

Ariel Dorsey, WH&D Rehearsal Director, has created a quartet for 4 women, Love Stories, to the music of Nina Simone, Ketty Lester, and Angela McCluskey.

Imani English will present a dynamic and moving quintet, The Fight to Be Found, created especially for WH&D's 3rd Coast Contemporary Dance Program dancers. Ms. English is an independent choreographer who regularly works with Deeply Rooted.

Simone Gadlin, a dance artist based in Chicago and Philadelphia, will present her latest work, a contemporary solo to music by Max Richter.

Crystal Gurrola's new work is an athletic quintet for five women that uses balance sequences, partnering, and circular designs to create a whirlwind of movement patterns. She is a WH&D Company Dancer and Assistant Choreographer.

Winifred Haun will present a new work for six dancers, currently titled Absent Moon. The work explores the nature of conflicts and features two benches and music by Michael Wall overlaid with recordings of melting Arctic ice.

Prince Adrean, currently a performer with Muntu Dance Theater, will present his latest dance, a trio that fuses contemporary dance with West African Dance.

Mandy Milligan, Company Dancer and Assistant Rehearsal Director for WH&D, will show her latest work for four women, Mirror You, which explores the meaning of masculine presenting traits.

Julia Schaeffer will present a duet that explores how someone with a stabilizing energy can ground another person who is in the midst of chaos. She is a Company Dancer and Assistant Choreographer for WH&D.

Background:

Winifred Haun & Dancers is an artist led dance organization that focuses on the creation of original, innovative dance works, both in, for, and about local, national and international communities. FIRST DRAFT continues the Company's mission to produce dance events that illuminate and elevate diverse artists, audiences, and global themes. This small, but scrappy dance company continues to expand its programming and community support by presenting relevant and timely dance projects.

More info can be found on the Company's website: www.WinifredHaun.org