The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, presents four world premieres in the culmination of Joffrey’s national call for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American) artists to submit applications for the Joffrey Academy’s Winning Works Choreographic Competition. This year’s Competition winners—Audrey Baran, Joffrey Company Artist Edson Barbosa, Taylor Carrasco, and Derick McKoy, Jr.—each has choreographed an original work created on the Joffrey Academy Trainees and Studio Company. “Winning Works” returns to in-person performances for the first time since 2019 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Edlis Neeson Theater (220 E. Chicago Ave.) Friday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 19 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 20 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets for “Winning Works” are $30 and available for purchase at joffrey.org/winningworks.
“After the COVID-related cancellation in 2020 and a virtual presentation in 2021, it is especially meaningful that “Winning Works” will return in all its glory to the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2022,” said Ashley Wheater MBE, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet. “These young, emerging choreographers prove that there is no limit to the level of artistic expression one can possess.”
“It has been over a decade of exceptional work and brilliant artistry for Winning Works,” said Greg Cameron, President & CEO of The Joffrey Ballet. “I am in awe [that] the creativity presented during the past two difficult years has demonstrated an admirable tenacity among artists. May we celebrate this homecoming to the MCA as a new beginning.”
Joffrey’s Abbott Academy Director Raymond Rodriguez added: “There is nothing more gratifying than seeing the works of rising stars danced by our incredible Joffrey Academy Trainees and Studio Company. Much like our beautiful city of Chicago, the backgrounds of these choreographers and the works they’ll be premiering on stage are diverse, rich, and dynamic.”
About the Program
Audrey Baran Audrey Baran’s world premiere Porcelain is a contemporary piece that explores the stigmatization of Asian Americans as well as the objectification and fetishization of Asian American women.
Baran is a Filipino-American dance performer, maker, and educator based in Charlotte, North Carolina. She holds an MFA in Dance from Hollins University and a BA in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she is the Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance. She is the founder/artistic director of Baran Dance and apprentice company BD2 and on the faculty of Charlotte Ballet Academy. Baran has presented work through Sites in the City, FEMMEfest, the National Dance Educators Organization Conference, Bill Evans Somatic Dance Conference, the North Carolina Dance Festival, Tobacco Road Dance Productions, Triangle Dance Project, Ladyfest CLT, Charlotte Dance Festival, and numerous self-produced productions.
Edson Barbosa, Recipient of the Zach Lazar Winning Works Fellowship
Edson Barbosa’s world premiere On the Same Boat is a neo-classical piece inspired by the observations he has made of the relationships surrounding him, danced by seven women and seven men.
Barbosa has been a company artist with The Joffrey Ballet since 2014. He was raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and began his training in ballet, jazz, and tap at age 10 at Grupo Cultural de Dança, Ilha, with Patricia Marques. He was voted Best Male Dancer at the Festival de Danca de Joinville in 2012 — the largest dance competition by a number of dancers, as documented by Guinness World Records. He received a full scholarship to study at the Miami City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Washington Ballet, The Harid Conservatory, and Princess Grace Academy. He was also a Top 12 finalist at the Youth America Grand Prix in New York in 2010 and 2012, Top 6 finalist at the Beijing International Ballet Invitational for Dance Schools in China and performed at the Opening Ceremony as a guest artist at the Danzamerica in Argentina.
Taylor Carrasco
Taylor Carrasco’s contemporary piece Not Now, But Now explores the feelings of anxiety people have become accustomed to during this unprecedented time, and how running from and running toward, can often be one and the same.
“When I was three, my sister was six and in ballet-like every other little girl,” said Carrasco. “My parents would bring me to her classes, and I would try to dance with them from the hallway. They assumed I’d like it, enrolled me in class and I never stopped.” Carrasco trained with the School of American Ballet and New Mexico Ballet Company and has taken summer intensives with Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Ballet Chicago. He joined Cincinnati Ballet Second Company – CB2 in the 2014-2015 Season and was promoted to Apprentice for the 2015-2016 Season. He says that “sharing the stage with family is the best experience.”
Derick McKoy Jr.
Derick McKoy Jr.’s world premiere Road of Flames mixes ballet and contemporary movement to create a piece about pushing toward one’s North Star, and the flame that builds when people pursue their passions in love, careers, and families.
McKoy is a graduate Glorya Kaufman BFA Scholar of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in Dance. McKoy started his official training under Luctricia Welters and after a year, joined her dance company, Jubilee Dance Theater, as an apprentice. McKoy has performed with Nimbus Dance, directed by Samuel Pott, Jeremy McQueen’s The Black Iris Project, and on seasons 1 and 2 of the hit tv-show POSE on FX.
His choreographic work has been described as “authentic,” “dramatic,” and “important.”
He started McKoy Dance Project as a way to add his own contributions to the dance. MDP aims to be a strong, but sensitive new voice in the contemporary dance world. The company was founded with five pillars in mind: to create jobs, to inspire and touch, to give purpose, to create leaders, and to heal.
To date, the Joffrey has raised more than $150,000 to support ALAANA choreographers and the presentation of their work for the 2022 Winning Works competition. That number continues to grow, emphasizing Joffrey’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of dance. The Joffrey is proud of the fact that Winning Works provides complete financial assistance—housing, travel, and work stipend—to all winners. Additionally, Joffrey does not require an application fee for those interested in applying for the Winning Works competition.
Ticket Information Tickets for Winning Works at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s Edlis Neeson Theater are $30 and can be purchased at joffrey.org/winningworks. Performances take place on Friday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 19 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 20 at 2:00 p.m.
Elaine Hegwood Bowen, M.S.J., is the Entertainment Editor for the Chicago Crusader. She is a National Newspaper Publishers Association ‘Entertainment Writing’ award winner, a contributor to “Rust Belt Chicago” and the author of “Old School Adventures from Englewood: South Side of Chicago.” For info, Old School Adventures from Englewood—South Side of Chicago (lulu.com) or email: [email protected].
