Guest Ensemble Hedwig Dances Marks 25th Season with Concert

EVANSTON, Ill. --- In celebration of its 25th season, Chicago-based contemporary dance theatre ensemble Hedwig Dances will present a concert of original works by world-renowned artists on Northwestern University's Evanston campus.

The dances blend choreography with sculptural artifacts, ephemeral images and haunting music, and feature Fellini-esque characters on a journey from circus tent to dream-like realm.

Hedwig Dances will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 5, in the Marjorie Ward Marshall Dance Center's Ballroom Theater, 10 Arts Circle Drive. The concert is open to the public and is sponsored by the School of Communication's Dance Program.

Among the featured works are "Moi Aussi," a duet exploring the delicate balance between dependence and independence. Choreographed by company member Michel Rodriguez, former principal dancer with Havana-based Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, it will be danced by Rodriguez and Jessie Gutierrez.

"Dust," a duet about mortality and the fragility of life, is choreographed by Andrea Miller, former Ensemble Batsheva of Israel dancer and the director of Gallim Dance in New York. It will be performed by company members Justin Deschamps and Rodriguez.

The evening concludes with "Sawdust Palace Suite" by MacArthur and Guggenheim fellow and New York-based choreographer Susan Marshall. Incorporating elements of burlesque, cabaret and vaudeville, the outrageous and touching piece draws from the travails and serendipitous moments of everyday life.

Hedwig Dances, the dance company in residence at the Chicago Cultural Center, has performed more than 1,500 times at venues throughout Chicago, including the Ravinia Festival, the Dance Center of Columbia College and the Athenaeum Theater.

Founder and artistic director Jan Bartoszek has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. She has served as an adjunct faculty member of Northwestern's Dance Program.

Tickets are $20 for the general public; and $10 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty, staff and students with IDs. Tickets can be purchased online through Brown Paper Tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/112816. Tickets also will be sold at the door prior to the performance. Seating is limited.