2013 winner Ma Cong’s “Impulse Within”
The three winners of the Joffrey Ballet’s third annual Choreographers of Color Award–Justin Allen, Norbert De La Cruz III and Stefanie Batten Bland–premiered the work they set on the Joffrey Academy of Dance trainees on March 1, at Millenium Park’s Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago. The Choreographers of Color Award was initiated to offer up-and-coming minority dancemakers the chance to create and produce diverse, innovative works. Each choreographer received a $2,500 stipend, at least 30 hours to rehearse with the Joffrey Academy trainees and the rare opportunity to work with Joffrey Academy artistic directors Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik.
Here’s some fun rehearsal footage from Allen’s Interconnect:
Photo by Herbert Migdoli, courtesy of the Joffrey Ballet