New Dances for Goethe Institut

FREE ENTRY, RSVP HERE: https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/sta/bos/ver.cfm?event_id=22660186

BDT founder and co-artistic director Jessie Jeanne Stinnett collaborates with Artistic Director of Sound Icon Ensemble Jeffrey Means to create the new work, accompanied by live music. Music selections are from famous German composers spanning Germany’s musical history.

The work was originally commissioned by the Goethe-Institut Boston in 2019 to coincide with the reopening of 170 Beacon St. following extensive renovations, but was further delayed due to COVID-19. The piece will be performed live by BDT and Sound Icon at Goethe-Institut’s newly restored Back Bay building on April 1 and 2, 2022.

This commission both responds to, and draws the audience’s attention to, the obvious and understated elements of the historical building’s architecture through the techniques of improvisation, Dance Theater, and contemporary choreography. The work was made to inspire audiences to wander through the building and discover the building’s various spaces in a new way, through the illumination of live performance. The curated live music reflects the Goethe-Institut Boston’s mission to foster international cultural dialogue between Germany and New England offering platforms for exchange and connection.

New Dances for Goethe Institut

Choreography: Jessie Jeanne Stinnett with the dancers

Music curated by Jeffrey Means & performed live by Sound Icon

Composers: Hildegard of Bingen, Isabela Mundry, Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, Michael Praetorius, J.S. Bach, Karlheinz Stockhausen

Costume design & realization: Zane Kealey

Duration: 45 minutes

Performers: Isvel Bello, Cara Burke (Saturday only), Olivia Coombs, Khris Henry, Carley Lund, Henoch Spinola, Sarah Takash, Anelise Tatum (Friday only), Wesley Urbanczyk, Liz Walker

Commissioned by the Goethe-Institut Boston

CHOREOGRAPHER

JESSIE JEANNE STINNETT is a dance teacher, choreographer, and co-artistic director of Boston Dance Theater with veteran Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili. She received a BFA in Dance Performance from The Boston Conservatory and an MFA in Creative Practice: Dance Professional Pathway from Trinity Laban Conservatoire, in conjunction with Independent Dance/Siobhan Davies Dance. Most notably Jessie has performed for the Metropolitan Opera, Tate Britain (UK), Prometheus Dance, Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (Vienna), The Boston Baroque Opera, and Bard College’s SummerScape Festival. Her choreographic work has been described by Hannah Chanatry of WBUR as “conceptually driven performance that unpacks the complexities of being female, and pushes the academic boundaries of choreography” and has been sustained in part by grants from The Boston Foundation with support from The Barr Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, Assets4Artists at MASS MoCA, and Fidelity Charitable. Some of Jessie’s recent teaching and choreography credits include: Boston Ballet School, Dean College, Keene State University, Providence College, Endicott College, Goethe Institut Boston, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, and Emmanuel Music. She is the recipient of the 2020 Boston Dancemakers Residency grant award and was the 2020 Choreographer in Residence at Boston Center for the Arts and Boston Dance Alliance.

MUSIC

SOUND ICON is committed to performing the most significant progressive works of the past few decades. As a sinfonietta, Sound Icon offers the color palette of a full orchestra with the precision and flexibility of a chamber ensemble. Through ambitious programming performed to the highest standards, Sound Icon engages audiences in dialogues about what progressive music is and can be: music that redefines rules, experiences, and expectations. Led by conductor and artistic director Jeffrey Means, Sound Icon has quickly become established as a leading artistic force in Boston, performing challenging, cutting-edge contemporary repertoire for sinfonietta that is rarely heard live in Boston and the United States. Founded in spring 2011, Sound Icon has since established relationships with local cultural institutions such as the Boston University Center for New Music, the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, and Northeastern University, creating cross-institutional collaborations that support truly exciting events. In addition to live concert events, Sound Icon frequently holds workshops with young composers and instrumentalists as part of collaborative academic residencies.

COSTUME DESIGNER

ZANE KEALEY is a Boston based costume designer with an MFA from Boston University. Her thesis work involved structuring a vocabulary to describe and explore costuming for contemporary dance. She has designed for Wheelock Family Theater and Joan & Edgar Booth Theater in Boston, The Theater Lab in DC, interned with Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in the Berkshires, and is a draper and costume designer for Boston Dance Theater.

DANCERS

Bios available at: https://www.bostondancetheater.com/dancers.

GOETHE-INSTITUT BOSTON

GIB, established in Boston in 1967 as the first Goethe-Institut in the United States, is located in the historic Back Bay/Beacon Hill area and has been promoting an ongoing dialogue and exchange between Germany and New England for over 50 years. The institute organizes a broad range of events and supports projects in the fields of film and new media, arts, theatre, dance, music, literature, architecture and more. It is the home of the open space project Studio 170 which invites creatives from New England to experiment with new ideas. Its historic residence at 170 Beacon Street reopened its doors to the public in Fall 2019 after extended renovations.

VIDEOGRAPHER

ERNESTO GALAN is a highly respected filmmaker, producer, and editor with many years of extensive accomplishments in the motion picture industry. From conception to completion, he has proven his ability to make media an awe-inspiring expedition through his lens. Ernesto is most recognized for a number of music videos, documentaries, and independent films that have caught the attention of filmmakers, media, and film fans alike. He is a dynamic leader who consistently achieves outstanding results in challenging environments while building and maintaining strong, loyal relationships with both clients and colleagues. Ernesto’s clients include Boston Ballet, Institute of Contemporary Art, Global Arts Live, Commonwealth Shakespeare, Brigham and Women’s Hospital.