CHAPTERS
December 16 - 18 at The Ailey Studios / Citigroup Theater

Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company (DGDC) will premiere CHAPTERS beginning December 16th at The Ailey Studios / Citigroup Theater. This evening-length chamber work for three dancers is choreographed by Daniel Gwirtzman and danced by Gwirtzman, Cary McWilliam and Jason Ignacio. The piece, which marks DGDC's first New York season in three years, features original music by Jeff Story, Andrew Waggoner, and British composer Jo Thomas.

As the title suggests, CHAPTERS is episodic and features recurring characters in different time periods of their lives. This virtual play-without-words follows the emotional trajectory of two individuals as they meet, fall in love, raise a child, and endure crises. The dance explores themes of independence, fidelity, addiction, childhood, innocence, abuse, betrayal, the meaning of "coming home," and sexual taboo. It is the manner in which this universal story develops that is unique; an unfolding drama, a succession of choreographed scenes moves the storyline forward and suggests the psychological interiors of the characters. Playing with time and point of view in a cinematic fashion, the dance is filled with flashbacks, flash forwards, cross fades, and jump cuts.

Chapter headings include Wonderland, a playful section in which we witness an infant’s physical development and his attempts to master gravity, from crawling to climbing to standing; Cub, a coming-of-age scenario in which a boy on a scouting trip meets an older man who begins to awaken his sexual identity; and Trip, a raw and vulnerable solo in which an embattled man leaves his family on a quest for meaning and recovery.

Daniel Gwirtzman’s choreography has been presented in New York since 1995, when he co-founded Artichoke Dance Company. Reviewing Artichoke, Elizabeth Zimmer of The Village Voice wrote, "It’s hard to believe that Daniel Gwirtzman is already headed in [Mark] Morris’s direction...moving dancers to music with acute sensitivity...capturing the unaffected, unassuming fluency we so admire in Morris." In 1998, he left the company to form Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company. Since the company’s debut in 1999, DGDC has steadily performed in a wide variety of venues and festivals, engaged in residencies, and developed a well-regarded education program. The company, contracted with the city’s Department of Education, enters its 7th year this fall, having providing educational services (classes, workshops, lecture-demonstrations and performances) for over 7000 students. Gwirtzman received a Fellowship from the Sacatar Foundation in 2003, and spent two months in Bahia, Brazil choreographing and performing. His work there sparked much of the new work that will be presented in CHAPTERS.

Daniel Gwirtzman has been a guest choreographer at NYU, Princeton University, Stephens College and SUNY Purchase. Has been on the faculty at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. He was a guest adjudicator for the American College Dance Festival Association and will be a guest artist at the North Carolina School of the Arts in spring 2006. He was a member of the writing committee for the Blueprint for Learning in the Arts in Dance, the city's new arts curriculum mandated by Mayor Bloomberg. Earlier this fall he was awarded a residency at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in California. For more information visit gwirtzmandance.org.

Cary McWilliam is an original member of Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company and has danced with Gwirtzman consistently for the last ten years. Many roles in the repertory have been created specifically for her. Cary has been a teaching artist with the company since 1999, and currently acts as an Assistant Program Director and Assistant to the Choreographer. Other dance credits include Anita Cheng and Dancers and Artichoke Dance Company.

Jason Ignacio was born in Manila, Philippines. He has performed and toured internationally since the age of 14. He has danced with DGDC since 2001. Jason has taught with the company since he joined, conducting residencies in the schools and on tour, and leading master classes. Other dance credits include: Cortez and Co., VERB Ballets, American Repertory Ballet, and numerous regional musical theater productions (Cats, Miss Saigon).

Jeff Story is a Philadelphia-based composer and pianist. Story has had his compositions performed in conjunction with The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Philadelphia Dance Co. (Philadanco), Temple University, and Bryn Mawr College. He has worked with DGDC since 2002.

Andrew Waggoner has been awarded the Lee Ettelson Composer’s Award from Composers Inc. in San Francisco, has been nominated for two prizes from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for 2005. His music has been commissioned and performed by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Denver Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and Buglisi-Foreman Dance. For more information visit andrewwaggoner.com.

Jo Thomas was born in Wales in 1972 and has a PhD in electroacoustic composition from City University, London. She has received commissions from INA-GRM in Paris, The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and Sonic Arts Network in the UK. She has also worked on projects for BBC Radio 3 and the Arts Council of England. For more information visit online here.

CHAPTERS runs December 16 & 17 at 8pm and December 18 at 3pm. The Ailey Studios / Citigroup Theater is located at 405 West 55th Street at Ninth Avenue. Tickets are $ 25, $15 for students/seniors/artists, available at smarttix.com or 212-868-4444.