American Repertory Ensemble

Choreographers 2009 Summer Season

LAR LUBOVITCH
One of America's most versatile, popular and highly acclaimed choreographers, Lubovitch founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company 40 years ago and has choreographed more than 100 dances for his New York-based company, which has performed in nearly all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 foreign countries.

Lar's dances are renowned for their musicality, rhapsodic style and sophisticated formal structures. His radiant, highly technical choreography and deeply humanistic voice have been acclaimed throughout the world. Lar Lubovitch has been hailed by The New York Times as "one of the ten best choreographers in the world," and the company has been called a "national treasure" by Variety.

Lubovitch was educated at the University of Iowa and the Juilliard School in New York. His teachers at Juilliard included Antony Tudor, Jose Limon, Anna Sokolow and Martha Graham. He danced in numerous modern, ballet, jazz and ethnic companies before forming the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968.

His works have been performed by select companies throughout the world, including the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project and Netherlands Dance Theater.

Lubovitch made his Broadway debut in 1987 and received the 1993-94 Astaire Award from the Theater Development Fund. In 2004 he was honored with the Elan Award for his outstanding choreography.

In addition to his work for stage, screen and television, Lubovitch has also made a significant contribution to the advancement of choreography in the field of ice-dancing. He has created dances for Olympic gold medalists. In 2007 he founded the Chicago Dancing Company and the Chicago Dancing Festival (CDF). For his visionary risk-taking in establishing the Festival, Lubovitch was named a "2007 Chicagoan of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune.One of America's most versatile, popular and highly acclaimed choreographers, Lubovitch founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company 40 years ago and has choreographed more than 100 dances for his New York-based company, which has performed in nearly all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 foreign countries.

Lubovitch made his Broadway debut in 1987 and received the 1993-94 Astaire Award from the Theater Development Fund. In 2004 he was honored with the Elan Award for his outstanding choreography.

In addition to his work for stage, screen and television, Lubovitch has also made a significant contribution to the advancement of choreography in the field of ice-dancing. He has created dances for Olympic gold medalists. In 2007 he founded the Chicago Dancing Company and the Chicago Dancing Festival (CDF). For his visionary risk-taking in establishing the Festival, Lubovitch was named a "2007 Chicagoan of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune.

BRUCE MARKS
Bruce Marks, is a native of New York City, Marks received his performing arts training at the New York High School of Performing Arts, Brandeis University and The Juilliard School. At 14, he began his performing career when he created the role of the young boy in Pearl Lang’s Rites. He continued his ballet training at the Metropolitan Opera School, joined the corps de ballet in 1956 becoming premier danseur in 1958.

Marks joined American Ballet Theatre in 1961 and soon became one of the most respected and versatile of ABT’s male contingent, excelling in both modern and classical ballets. Shortly after his arrival, he was promoted to principal dancer, creating a leading role in the American premiere of Harald Lander’s Etudes, and Prince Siegfried in ABT’s first full-length Swan Lake. During his ten years with ABT, Marks appeared as guest artist with the Royal Swedish Ballet and the London Festival Ballet, and became the first American principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet, where he mastered the 19th century works of August Bournonville. Marks has partnered some of the world’s greatest ballerinas, including Toni Lander, whom he married in 1966.

In 1976, Marks became Co-Artistic Director of Ballet West and in 1978, was named Artistic Director. In 1985, Marks became Artistic Director of Boston Ballet. Under his dynamic leadership, the company achieved international acclaim and built a reputation for performing authentic versions of the classics, for encouraging daring modern works, and for encouraging young choreographers. Marks has been a pioneer in innovative Dance education and outreach programs. In July of 1997 Marks stepped down from his post at Boston Ballet and became Artistic Director Emeritus.
Marks was a founding member of Dance/USA and currently serves numerous international competitions and advisory panels both as chairman and as an adjudicator. In 1997 Marks was appointed to the US-USSR Commission on Theatre and Dance Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies, and to the Theatre Union of the USSR for 1988-89, a commission set up to foster Soviet/American cooperation in the fields of dance history, theory, criticism and practice. Marks received the
1995 Capezio Dance Award for achievement in dance and contributions toward public awareness of dance in America and the 1997 Dance Magazine Award. He was awarded the Dance/USA honors in 1998 and holds honorary degrees from Northeastern University, Franklin Pierce College, the University of Massachusetts, Wheaton College, and Juilliard.
In 1998 Marks created ArtsVenture, Inc., a consulting firm dedicated to passing along the vast knowledge and insights he has accumulated over the years to others in the field and has created a landmark program for the training of Artistic Directors. Marks is currently at work on an autobiography. He has three children by his late wife Toni Lander - Erik, Adam and Kenneth.

Choreographers

VAL CANIPAROLI
Val Caniparoli’s versatility has made him one of the most sought after American choreographers in the United States and abroad. He joined San Francisco Ballet in 1973, and is most closely associated with that company, where he was Resident Choreographer during the 1980s. He continues to choreograph for the Company under Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson. Caniparoli has contributed to the repertories of more than thirty-five dance companies, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Ballet West (Resident Choreographer 1993-97), Washington Ballet, Israel Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, State Theatre Ballet of South Africa and Tulsa Ballet, where he has been Resident Choreographer since 2001.

Caniparoli has created a body of work that is rooted in classicism but influenced by all forms of movement: modern dance, ethnic dance, social dancing, even ice skating. One of his most performed works, Lambarena is danced to a score that fuses Johann Sebastian Bach with traditional African, and has become an international sensation.

Caniparoli has choreographed three full-length ballets: Lady of the Camellias (1994), The Nutcracker (2001) and Val Caniparoli’s A Cinderella Story, danced to themes by Richard Rodgers (2004). He has also choreographed productions for opera, theatre and the concert hall.

DAVID JUSTIN

Choreographer-in-Residence
David is steadily revealing himself as a dynamic producer and curator of exceptional dance. Possessing an eclectic contemporary taste founded in classicism, David successfully draws the people and elements together from dance, music, scenic and lighting design to create a beautiful, meaningful experience for audiences. Whether it is his own choreography or the work of a great master, David’s attention to detail within the broad artistic stroke is perfectly balanced.
With a choreographic career over fifteen years and a performance career over thirty years, David has amassed a wealth of knowledge and contacts. He has created works on dancers from around the world including New York City Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Ballet de Monte Carlo, Atlanta Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Configurations, Dance Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Ensemble and others. David travels regularly as a guest teacher to work with ballet companies and schools around the world. These have included Boston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Royal Ballet School of London, and Salzburg International Ballet Academy.
Formerly a Principal Dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB), a Soloist with San Francisco Ballet (SFB) and Boston Ballet, David has toured extensively across the globe performing at Lincoln Center, NY, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, Paris Opera, Paris as well as major houses in Italy, Japan, Hong Kong and South Africa. His repertoire is vast, spanning many eras and genres of dance. He has performed principal roles from many of the classics; Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Copellia, La Fille Mal Garde, Le Corsaire, Don Quixote and others; to the Champion Roper in Agnes DeMille's Rodeo, and the Husband in Robins' The Concert, Pulcinella in Caniparoli's Pulcinella, King Arthur in Bintley's Arthur, and Gaveston in Edward II. David has also been privileged to dance Principal roles in many 20th century choreographers' masterpieces including the works of Balanchine, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Val Caniparoli, Stanton Welsh, Jiri Kylian, James Kudelka, Hans Van Manen, Kenneth MacMillan, Paul Taylor and William Forsythe among many more. David’s dancing has been described as ‘alluring and mercurial’, ‘polished’, ‘brilliant’, and ‘fearless’.
Most recently, David’s critically acclaimed Solemn Opus: The Journey of Lost and Found has been performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, in Greece at the 20th World Congress on Dance, UNESCO, and at the Ballet Builders Choreographic Showcase in New York City.
David holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom and serves as the Director of BFA and BA Programs in Dance Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an Assistant Professor of Dance at UT, and Co-Producer of the University Co-op presents the Cohen New Works Festival, the largest festival of performance related student generated art in the country. As Artistic Director and Choreographer in Residence of American Repertory Ensemble, David combines his experiences to present a community organization founded on excellence in the pursuit of communication through art.

JAMES KUDELKA
James Kudelka became Resident Choreographer of The National Ballet of Canada in 2005, following nine years as artistic director. He brings to the role an international reputation as one of the most imaginative and vitally important figures in contemporary ballet. His many works, which encompass a wide variety of forms, from original full length story ballets and re-interpretations of the classical canon to more intimate chamber and solo pieces, exemplify a tireless intelligence, probing and exploring the emotional and psychological avenues of the human condition with a vision at once forthright yet deeply compassionate. A remarkably prolific artist, his more than seventy ballets have been staged by dance companies throughout the world.

Lubovitch made his Broadway debut in 1987 and received the 1993-94 Astaire Award from the Theater Development Fund. In 2004 he was honored with the Elan Award for his outstanding choreography.

In addition to his work for stage, screen and television, Lubovitch has also made a significant contribution to the advancement of choreography in the field of ice-dancing. He has created dances for Olympic gold medalists. In 2007 he founded the Chicago Dancing Company and the Chicago Dancing Festival (CDF). For his visionary risk-taking in establishing the Festival, Lubovitch was named a "2007 Chicagoan of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune.

BRUCE MARKS
Bruce Marks, is a native of New York City, Marks received his performing arts training at the New York High School of Performing Arts, Brandeis University and The Juilliard School. At 14, he began his performing career when he created the role of the young boy in Pearl Lang’s Rites. He continued his ballet training at the Metropolitan Opera School, joined the corps de ballet in 1956 becoming premier danseur in 1958.

HARRISON McELDOWNEY
Harrison McEldowney is known for his witty choreography filled with intricate partnering and a theatrical dance vocabulary developed from his time working within several theatrical venues. His work can be seen in a number of large scale productions including the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Closing Ceremonies and Carnegie Hall's Celebration of 125 Years of Musical Theater. McEldowney has also contributed work to Collection Rouge for the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS.

CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
Christopher Wheeldon is being called a wunderkind in the ballet world for his choreography, recently making his triumphant operatic debut, drawing critical acclaim for his project with the Bolshoi Ballet and creating his dynamic, new company named Morphoses.

The New York Times praised his piece for the Metropolitan Opera as “dazzingly glamorous and sophisticated as it is pretty.” The resident choreographer for New York City Ballet, Mr. Wheeldon was nominated last fall for an Olivier Award for DGV (Danse à Grande Vitesse) with The Royal Ballet in London. The demand for his artistic brilliance has taken him to Moscow, San Francisco, Oslo, Boston, Spain, Seattle, and Miami in the last year, with other performances soon in Australia, Houston, and Washington, D.C.

YURI ZHUKOV
Yuri Zhukov is choreographer and theater designer whose work builds upon his career as a dancer of both classical and contemporary ballet works. Mr. Zhukov’s modernist sensibilities embrace the future of dance, while invoking the richness represented by his personal stage experience.

Mr. Zhukov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and received his training at the famed Vaganova Ballet Academy. In 1982, Zhukov joined The Kirov Ballet where he danced for seven years in many classical roles, achieving the rank of Soloist. In 1989, Mr. Zhukov joined San Francisco Ballet, where he performed principal roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, The Nutcracker to name a few. His Balanchine repertoire includes principal roles in Scotch Symphony, Agon, Seranade, Symphony in C, and Four Temperaments. In 1995, Mr. Zhukov joined The Birmingham Royal Ballet.

The choreographers for whom Mr. Zhukov created new roles include Tomasson, Bintley, Kudelka, Caniparoli, McKayle, and Welch.

As choreographer and designer, Mr. Zhukov has created new works for 59 North - Touring Group of the Royal Swedish Ballet Soloists, The Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, English Dance Youth Company, City Youth Ballet and others. A multi-talented artist, Zhukov recently provided the set design for San Francisco Ballet’s production of The Firebird, which received its debut performance to sold-out houses during the 2007 Repertory Season. The other design works include Firebird and La Valse for Oregon Dance Theater and numerous productions for The City Youth Ballet in San Francisco.