Dance of the Ages (1938)
Choreography by Ted Shawn
Creative Reconstruction by Adam Weinert
Opening Film Loop:
1. Dance of the Ages (1938) excerpt
Performed by Ted Shawn And His Men Dancers on Miami Beach in 1938
Narration by Ted Shawn
* Film clip courtesy of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library
2. Prometheus Bound (1929)
Choreographed and Performed by Ted Shawn
Narration by Ted Shawn
* Film clip courtesy of the Jacob’s Pillow Archives
3. Pierrot in the Dead City (1935)
Choreographed by Ted Shawn
Staged by Barton Mumaw
Performed by Barton Mumaw
Narration by Ted Shawn
* Film clip courtesy of the Jacob’s Pillow Archives
4. Four Dances Based on American Folk Music (1931)
Choreographed and Performed by Ted Shawn
Narration by Ted Shawn
* Film clip courtesy of the Jacob’s Pillow Archives
Performance Part 1
Pierrot in the Dead City (1935)
Choreographed by Ted Shawn
Archival Performance by Barton Mumaw
Live Performance by Adam Weinert
Narration by Ted Shawn
* Film clip courtesy of the Jacob’s Pillow Archives
Performance Part 2
Earth Section
Dance of the Ages: Earth (1938)
Choreographed by Ted Shawn
Archival performance by Barton Mumaw
Live performance by Alex McBride with Chase Buntrock, Jesse Obremski, Brett Perry, JM Tate, Genevieve Waller-Whelan, Noah Wang, Adam Weinert, and Brandon Washington
Music by Jess Meeker
* Film by Nel Shelby courtesy of Jacob’s Pillow.
Performance Part 3
Water Section
Dance of the Ages: Water (1938)
Choreographed by Ted Shawn
Narration by Ted Shawn
Performed by Nicolas Bruder, Ross Katen, Cynthia Koppe, Logan Frances Kruger, Emma Sandall, Joshua Shutkind, Adam Weinert
Filmed by Jason Marlow
Film Screening
MONUMENT
Directed by Zia Anger, Tobin Del Cuore and Adam Weinert
Music by Christopher Garneau
Performed by Eric Jackson Bradley, Nicholas Bruder, Quinn Czejkowski, Christopher Garneau, Ross Katen, Logan Frances Kruger, Davon Rainey, and Adam Weinert
Dramaturgy by Michelle Mola
Lighting Design by JAX Messenger
Production Management by Dan Stermer
CREDITS
Choreography: Ted Shawn
Reconstruction: Adam Weinert
Projection Design: Brad Peterson
Costumes: Quinn Czejkowski
Repertory Advisors: Norton Owen and Logan Kruger
Production Coordinator: Matt Steinberg
Stage Manager: Victor Jeffreys II
Health and Safety Consultant: Adria Lee B.S.N., R.N., P.H.N.
Performers: Alex McBride with Chase Buntrock, Jesse Obremski, Brett Perry, JM Tate, Genevieve Waller-Whelan,
Noah Wang, Adam Weinert, and Brandon Washington
ARTIST BIOS
Chase Buntrock (performer) is from Chicago, Illinois. He was a gymnast for ten years, but took up dance seeking a more artistic outlet. After attending Chicago Academy for the Arts, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Juilliard School. Following graduation, Chase was a dancer with Ballet BC under the direction of Emily Molnar in Vancouver, BC. He has performed works around the world by choreographers Crystal Pite, Sharon Eyal, Merce Cunningham, Roy Assaf, and more.
Logan Kruger (Repertory Advisor) hails from Atlanta, Georgia, where she trained with Annette Lewis and Pamala Jones-Malavé, and received a BFA in dance from The Juilliard School. Logan has performed across five continents, worked with many artists including Jonah Bokaer and Shen Wei Dance Arts, and performed as part of Damian Woetzel’s DEMO. Logan first appeared with the Limón Dance Company as a guest in 2006 and then as a Company member from 2009-2018, where she performed principal roles in works by José Limón, Jiří Kylián, Rodrigo Pederneiras, and Kate Weare, among others. Logan now serves as Rehearsal Director for the Limón Dance Company. Additionally, Logan has been a close collaborator with Adam H. Weinert since 2008, most notably performing in the two-person, five-person, and full cast productions of MONUMENT, as well as the film. Logan has taught ballet and Limón technique to students of all ages and levels across North and South America, Europe and Africa, and has restaged Limón works for various institutions including the Vail International Dance Festival.
Alex McBrideAlex McBride is a dance artist from Lafayette, Louisiana. He received his BFA from The University of Arizona in Tucson and is currently an MFA candidate at Hollins University. Alex has danced and trained with San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, River North Dance Chicago, 10 Hairy Legs (NYC), The Limón Dance Company (NYC), and Basin Dance Collective (Lafayette). He has performed, taught, and toured across North and Central America, and Europe, performing works by Jose Limón, Ted Shawn, Kate Weare, Adam Weinert, Adam Barruch, Clare Cook, and Colin Conner. Most recently, he performed in Adam Weinerts reconstruction, MONUMENTS: Echoes in the Dance Archives, which was staged at the New York Public Library and was also a Bessie Award honoree (2020). Alongside performing, Alex has begun choreographing original work. Now based in Louisiana; McBride is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and the Associate Artistic Director of Basin Dance Collective.
Jesse Obremski (performer) (he/him), a native New Yorker, Japanese-American, graduated from LaGuardia High School and The Juilliard School with additional development at The School at Jacob’s Pillow with multiple years at The Ailey School, Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, and Springboard Danse Montréal. Obremski, an Eagle Scout Rank recipient, Asian American Arts Alliance Jadin Wong Dance Awardee (2016), Interview En Lair’s “Dancer to Watch” (2017), and Dance Magazine’s (March 2019) Dancer “On The Rise” has performed with Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, Brian Brooks Moving Company, Kate Weare Company, Gallim Dance, as a company member with Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, WHITE WAVE, The Limón Dance Company (soloist and principal), and currently is an Artistic Associate with GIBNEY Company. Obremski has taught and has his award-winning choreography presented nationally and internationally. Obremski has assisted in the staging of José Limón’s “Missa Brevis” at The Juilliard School from 2015-2018 and has staged Limón’s solo “Chaconne” on MOVE|NYC| in 2018 and The University of Wyoming in 2019. Obremski is the Founder and Artistic Director of Obremski/Works, which notably had its debut at Lincoln Center through The Dance Films Associations presented by HBO. Obremski served on the Executive Committee of the Junior Committee for Dance/NYC and, after four years of being on the Board, now serves as Associate Executive Director of Earl Mosley's Diversity of Dance. Obremski was selected by Jacob’s Pillow and Adam Weinert for the restaging of Ted Shawn’s “Dance of the Ages” in 2018. Website: www.jesseobremski.com Instagram: @Jesse_Obremski
A graduate of The Juilliard School, Brett Perry (performer) has performed works by acclaimed choreographers Lar Lubovitch, Ohad Naharin, Cystal Pite, Robert Battle, Medhi Walerski, Eliot Feld, Jose Limon & Sharon Eyal. Brett begin his professional career in Boise, Idaho as a founding member of the celebrated Trey McIntyre Project. With TMP he toured to 18 nations, serving as a United States Cultural Ambassador. He has danced with Ballet British Columbia, Aszure Barton & Artists, LED, Ballet Idaho and Adam Weinert. Perry was a 2010 recipient of the Princess Grace Award for Dance and is the inaugural 2020 Alexa Rose Foundation Fellow. When he is not in the studio or onstage Brett is cultivating the land at Meadowlark Farm in Nampa, Idaho under the tutelage of food activist, Janie Burns.
Sydney Skybetter (Lecturer) is a choreographer. Hailed by Dance Magazine as “One of the most influential people in dance today,” his work has been performed around the country at such venues as The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Boston Center for the Arts, Jacob’s Pillow and The Joyce Theater. A sought-after speaker, he lectures on everything from dance history to cultural futurism, most recently at Harvard University, South by Southwest Interactive, TEDx, Saatchi and Saatchi, Dance/USA, and Oculus Research. He has consulted for Sotheby’s, The National Ballet of Canada, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Hasbro, New York University and The University of Southern California, among others, and is a Public Humanities Fellow and Lecturer at Brown University where he researches the choreographics of human computer interfaces and mixed reality systems. He is the founder of the Conference for Research on Choreographic Interfaces (CRCI), which convenes ethnographers, anthropologists, speculative designers and performing artists to discuss the choreography of the Internet of Things. He produces shows at Joe’s Pub, SteelStacks and OBERON with DanceNOW[NYC], has served as a Grant Panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts, is a Curatorial Advisor for Fractured Atlas’ Exponential Creativity Fund, and is the winner of a RISCA Fellowship in Choreography from the State of Rhode Island. He received his MFA in Choreography from New York University. www.skybetter.org
JM Tate (Performer), born in Lowell, Massachusetts. Studied at the University of Chicago and Cooper Union. Works in the cross-sections of performance, agriculture, visual art, and botany.
Noah Wang (performer) hails from San Francisco, CA, where he received training at the San Francisco Ballet School and Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (SOTA). In 2020, he received his BFA in dance from The Juilliard School. He has performed in both new and classic works at Juilliard by John Higgenbotham, Peter Chu, Martha Graham, Stephen Petronio, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and Jose Limon. Since graduation, he has worked as a guest artist with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, ODC Theater, Buglisi Dance Theatre and the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center in San Francisco. Noah is currently a company member with Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, based in New York City.
Brandon Washington (performer) is a dancer, model, performance artist, and body worker currently living in Brooklyn. He received his BFA in Dance from the University of Florida and is an adjunct professor teaching movement at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. This is Brandon’s second Ted Shawn piece he has performed with Adam and is so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this edition of Dance of the Ages. Past collaborations include Ryan McNamara, Adidas, JW Anderson, Faye Driscoll Dance Group, Moses Sumney, Sean Donovan, Radiohead, Orange Grove Dance, Mark Dendy, Hermès, and Jane Comfort among others. He has enjoyed travelling and performing internationally in festivals all over the world and can't wait to do so again. @branwashed
Adam H Weinert (Director, Performer) Called “impressive, strange, a puzzle you want to solve” by the New York Times, Adam Weinert is a choreographer, researcher and gardener based in Hudson NY. He produced and choreographed two award-winning dance films screened nationally and abroad, and his performance works have toured to four continents including a number of non-traditional dance venues such as the Museum of Modern Art, The Tate Britain Museum, and The Tate Modern Museum. Adam studied at Vassar College, The Juilliard School, and New York University, where he earned a Master’s Degree under the tutelage of André Lepecki. He danced with The Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company, The Mark Morris Dance Group, and Shen Wei Dance Arts. In addition to his performance work, Adam has been published in The New York Times, PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art and the Juilliard Journal. He was named a "Dance Renegade” by Dance Magazine, awarded the Léo Bronstein Award from New York University, and the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Outstanding Choreography from The Juilliard School.
In 2020 Adam was named a Bessie Honoree for his work reconstructing and interrogating the choreographic legacy of Modern Dance pioneer Ted Shawn. That same year, he launched Jacob’s Garden, a working farm, living archive and participatory piece of choreography on the campus of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. His ongoing research includes teasing out the sensual connectivity between performance, agriculture, nourishment and community. For more information, please visit www.jacobsgarden.org.
Ted Shawn (Originating Artist) was born Edwin Myers Shawn in 1891 in Kansas City, Missouri, later moving to Denver. It was there that he took up dancing as a remedy for paralysis that had resulted from a bout of diphtheria and, within three years, he had started a school and touring company based in Los Angeles. He met the pioneering dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis in 1914 and became her partner both onstage and off, co-founding their Denishawn company and school in 1915 and spawning the next generation of dance icons including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, and Jack Cole. He founded Jacob’s Pillow in 1933 as a home for his company of Men Dancers, creating works here each summer and touring them to more than 750 cities across the U.S., Canada, Cuba, and England. After disbanding the Men Dancers in 1940, Shawn continued at the helm of Jacob’s Pillow until his death in 1972.
Jess Meeker (composer) was the accompanist and composer for Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers from the company’s inception until its final performances in 1940. He was born in Arkansas City, Kansas, in 1911, and Shawn knew of him through a Denishawn dancer who was also from Arkansas City. After joining Shawn’s new venture at Jacob’s Pillow in 1933, he composed nearly 20 scores for the company, including several full-length works such as Dance of the Ages. Meeker’s music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, on Broadway, and in the most prominent concert halls and theaters across the U.S. Up until his death in 1997, he remained on the staff of Jacob’s Pillow, accompanying classes and occasional performances.
Dance of the Ages was described by Ted Shawn in his autobiography as “the summit of his achievement as choreographer, dancer, and educator of Dancing America.” It was also the first dance in symphonic framework to be presented as a full evening’s program. After its formal premiere in Montreal on October 22, 1938, Dance of the Ages was performed widely until its final live performance in May 1940 at Symphony Hall in Boston. It was recorded on black-and-white silent film in the late 1930s, and Jess Meeker then reconstructed his original score and synchronized it with the movement in 1988. This film documentation along with the Special
Thanks to Hal Philipps, Cameron Basden and Alberto Ibargüen
Major support for "ICA Performs: Dance of the Ages" is provided by an anonymous donor. Additional support is provided by Ray Ellen and Allan Yarkin.
Support for Culture Club is provided by Merrill Lynch. Dance of the Ages (1938) is an inaugural commission by ICA Miami’s Culture Club membership group supporting LGBTQIA+ representation in the arts and a 2021 Knight Arts Challenge Winner. This creative reconstruction was also made possible by generous support from the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, The Lake Placid Center for the Arts, The Hudson Opera House, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Archival photography is provided courtesy of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Archives. Film clips courtesy of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library.