 the darkness of post World War II Paris and the presence first of Pascal's companion and (in the tremendous finale) the colors of the balloon cluster that comes to Pascal's rescue is also significant: as films serve as documents, Le Ballon Rouge is a “color-record” of the Belleville region of Paris before the phenomenon of urban renewal made its way through the neighborhood.
La Ballon Rouge is just one film that made a profound impression on Chicago Modern Orchestra Project founder and artistic director Renée Baker, who presents the 1926 Japanese avant-garde film A Page of Madness with live music score and chamber ensemble at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida on Saturday, July 28, 2018.
Heralded as “a dynamic force in the creative music scene in Chicago” by contemporary classical music magazine I Care if You Listen, Renée Baker is an incredibly multifaceted and prolific artist. In addition to her work as a founding member and principal violist of the Chicago Sinfonietta, Ms. Baker is a member of the internationally acclaimed Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Renee is also the founder of both the Mantra Blue FreeOrchestra and Chicago Modern Orchestra Project, both ensembles being dedicated to performing and recording works of living composers. An established visual artist, Ms. Baker's work has been exhibited in museums and art galleries across the world.
Renée Baker's interest in and exploration of early twentieth-century African-American silent film is profoundly mission-driven. Understanding that a lot of early twentieth-century African-American history has been captured in many films, Ms. Baker feels the important need for twenty-first century audiences to explore those films. “I am working to bring honor to the fact that there is world cinema in a historical context that needs to be seen again,” she said.
“After Body and Soul was premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Arts Chicago, I was asked close Ebertfest with the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project and the score, and in February 2018 I did a second film at Symphony Center called The Scar of Shame.” To date, there have been over thirty screenings of Body and Soul throughout the world, both with live orchestra and recorded score. In 2019, Ms. Baker will take Body and Soul to the Gateways Music Festival in Rochester, New York.
In addition to scoring both German and Japanese expressionist films and becoming a true filmmaker, Ms. Baker's foray into filmmaking includes a recent presentation of a new version of D. W. Griffith's controversial Birth of a Nation (1914/15). “Griffith's version of Birth of a Nation was the first feature film shown in the White House, and this exploration definitely put things into perspective. Many of Micheaux's films were made in response to Birth of a Nation, and he was not the only filmmaker who decided that the images presented in Griffith's film would not be the only images people saw of African-Americans.” This timely screening of Birth of a Nation was titled “The Conundrum Conversation” and featured both a dinner and an introduction from the American Civil Liberties Union (“The audience had a good time,” Renée said.).
When asked about the level of seriousness that she shows in all of her work, Renee said simply “I am simply a believer in my product and following my leanings.” “This matter-of-factness has been hallmark of Renée Baker's approach to all aspects of her career. “I am an abstract thinker on a journey, and what I do is honor that journey by doing my homework.” That sense of responsibility and curiosity has led to exploring the Black Center Film Archives at Indiana University (“They were so gracious in allowing me to visit and have full access to the available resources.”).
Renee Baker conducts an original music score to the 1926 avant-garde film A Page of Madness with chamber ensemble as a part of Magnetic Fields: Sonic Abstraction at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida on Saturday, July 28, 2018. An afternoon of abstract sonic work by female African-American composers, this event was curated to complement Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960s to Today.
Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960s to Today is the first U.S. Presentation dedicated to the formal and historical dialogue of abstraction by women artists of color. Organized by the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Magnetic Fields was also shown at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC.
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater (DRDT) conducts its 20th annual Summer Intensive, themed “Looking to the Youth,” for 80+ national and international students from ages seven to 70 June 25–July 21 at its home studio, 17 N. State Street in downtown Chicago, along with offerings at the Bartlett Center, 5841 S. Maryland Ave. on the University of Chicago campus, and Palmer Park, 201 E. 111th Street, Chicago, in partnership with the Chicago Park District. The Intensive culminates in performances July 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Reva and David Logan Center, 915 E. 60th Street in Hyde Park.
With the City of Chicago designating 2018 as the Year of Creative Youth, DRDT is emphasizing the expansion of the Intensive’s Youth program and the deepening of the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater Youth Ensemble (DRDT-YE). In addition to the Intensive’s July 20 and 21 final performances at the Logan Center, the DRDT-YE performs as part of Night Out in the Parks, a program of the Chicago Park District, July 26 and 27 at Hamilton Park, 513 W. 72nd Street, and August 1 at Palmer Park, 201 E. 111th Street.
915 E. 60th Street, Chicago. Tickets are $25–50.
Chicago Park District performances are free.
For information about the 2018 Summer Intensive programs, visit deeplyrooteddancetheater.org.
Hearing is believing! Portland's locally-grown orchestra returns for a landmark 95th season with an invigorating new lineup of performances in the historic Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Astonishing audiences since 1925, Portland Youth Philharmonic will soon be the first U.S. organization for young musicians to reach its 100th anniversary.
PYP will kick off Season 95 on Saturday, November 10, 2018, with The American Scene, showcasing distinguished composer William Grant Still's The Far West, a three-movement suite from his much larger work The American Scene, which explores American identity in different geographical regions of the country. Known as "the Dean" of African-American composers, Still captures in this suite themes depicting America's unique western soul.
CHICAGO – June 28, 2018 – The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, announces a national call for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American) artists to submit applications for The Joffrey Academy’s Ninth Annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition. The goal of the award is to recognize talented and emerging ALAANA choreographers whose unique perspective will ignite creativity in the form of original works of dance. The deadline for application is September 1, 2018.
The winning choreographers will be awarded a $5,000 stipend and given a minimum of 30 rehearsal hours. Choreographers will also be provided with travel and accommodations for the duration of their residency. The choreographic work must be original and developed by the applicant. The finished piece must be at least 10 minutes long (maximum of 12 minutes), and include a cast of at least 10 dancers. They will set their piece on the members of the Joffrey Studio Company and the Joffrey Academy Trainees, with the opportunity to seek guidance from Joffrey Artistic Director Ashley Wheater and Head of Studio Company and Trainee Program Raymond Rodriguez. The Joffrey Academy of Dance’s Winning Works program will be presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Joffrey’s hosting partner, at MCA’s Edlis Neeson Theater, 220 E. Chicago Avenue.
There is no submission fee. The online application form is available at joffrey.org/winningworks. Questions can be emailed to winningworks@joffrey.org.
The Joffrey Ballet will once again present its reimagined holiday classic The Nutcracker by Christopher Wheeldon. Set during Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair, Wheeldon’s turn-of-the-century tale opens as young Marie and her mother, a sculptress creating the Fair’s iconic Statue of the Republic, host a festive Christmas Eve celebration. After a surprise visit from the creator of the Chicago Columbian Exposition, the mysterious Grand Impresario, Marie embarks on a whirlwind of adventure and romance with the Nutcracker Prince through a dreamlike World’s Fair.
Created by visionary choreographer Yuri Possokhov, this world premiere collaboration between The Joffrey Ballet and The Australian Ballet brings Leo Tolstoy’s epic 19th century story of forbidden love, passion and self-destruction to life on the stage.
The Joffrey’s spring engagement, a mixed repertory program entitled Across the Pond, features the United Kingdom’s most influential artists, including a world premiere by London-based choreographer Andrea Walker, the Chicago Premiere of Kairos by Wayne McGregor and the Joffrey Premiere of Symphonic Variations by the iconic Sir Frederick Ashton.
A special appearance in 2019, The Joffrey Ballet makes its Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) debut in performances that feature a world premiere work (ch