ENCORE 2022

Greetings! Welcome and thank you for joining us tonight at Northrop’s inaugural ENCORE Gala. Northrop’s mission is rooted in the belief that the arts are essentialto the human experience. The arts help us find commonalities, celebrate differences, and inspire us to make the world a better place. At Northrop, we are committed to bringing inspirational performances and experiences to Minnesota that connect us together as a community, now and for generations to come.

This evening, we are celebrating new works that have been created over the past three years and we are supporting Northrop’s Centennial Commissions program to provide funding for future commissioning projects. Through this aspirational program we are elevating dance as an art form across the country, while working collaboratively with companies and artists to amplify their work.

The inception of the program began in 2019, when Northrop commissioned Caleb Teischer to create a new piece that would open our fall 2020 dance series. When Northrop performances were postponed and canceled due to COVID-19, commissioning became a way to support artists and connect with audiences during a time of prolonged isolation and uncertainty. Over the past two years, through the commissioning that has been supported by Northrop donors and patrons, artists were able to create, rehearse, and perform extraordinary new works for audiences hungry for the beauty and meaning that the arts bring to our lives.

Now it’s time to look forward. Through Northrop’s Centennial Commissions program, we are committed to commissioning a new work each year leading up to 2029 when we’ll celebrate our centennial anniversary. I believe that tonight offers a unique opportunity for us all to be part of this great vision for the future. 

I invite you to support the creation of new work through the Northrop Centennial Commissions program by giving generously tonight—contributing to a bright and bountiful future for us all.

Gratefully,

Kari Schloner

6:30-7:00
Registration at the East Side Box Office

7:00-8:00
Cocktails, social hour, and silent auction in the Lobby. The auction* closes at 8:00 pm.

8:00-9:00
Program and performances—general admission seating on the Carlson Family Stage

• Northrop Film
• Rachel Croson, Vice President and Provost, University of Minnesota
• Kristen Brogdon, Director of Programming
• Andrea Miller, Artistic Director and Choreographer, GALLIM
  • Performance: Island, by GALLIM
• Northrop Centennial Commissions, video produced by Jack McTigue
• Dante Puleio, Artistic Director, Limón Dance Company
  • Performance: Chaconne, by Limón Dance Company
• Jeff Bieganek, Northrop Advisory Board Chair
• Robert Bruininks, Northrop Advisory Board Chair, President and Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota

Support the Northrop Centennial Commissions: Text "encore" to 56651 to donate.

9:00-9:20
VIP Artist reception in the Hubbard Rehearsal Studio

9:00-10:30
Live music and dancing with the Bluewater Water Kings Band in the Lobby

*Please pick up your auction items between 9:00-10:00 pm in the Conference Room, located on the east side of the lobby.

GALLIM, Artistic Director, Andrea Miller

Island from Andrea Miller’s To Create a World

At once textural and psychological, Andrea Miller’s Island harnesses the uncompromising virtuosity and raw vulnerability in a provocative study of the human body and its instinct to survive.

Dancers: Haley Sung and Nouhoum Koita

Premiere: Feb 12-17, 2019, The Joyce Theater

Choreography: Andrea Miller, in collaboration with the GALLIM dancers

Lighting Design: Burke Brown

Original Score and Sound Design: Will Epstein

Costume Design: Jose Solis, in collaboration with Andrea Miller

Limón Dance Company, Artistic Director, Dante Puleio

Chaconne

The Chaconne as a dance form originated in Mexico during the Spanish occupation. Bach employed the strict musical form of the Chaconne but enriched it with powerful emotional implications. Limón has tried to capture in his dance both the formal austerity and the profound feeling of the music.

Choreography: José Limón (1942)
Staging and Direction: Logan Frances Kruger
Music: J.S. Bach, Chaconne from Partita #2 in D Minor for Unaccompanied Violin
Original Lighting Design: Steve Woods
2022 Lighting Design: Al Crawford
Dancer: Frances Lorraine Samson

First performed December 27, 1942 at the Humphrey-Weidman Studio Theater,
New York City, by José Limón.

Northrop Centennial Commissions

In this decade leading up to Northrop’s 100-year anniversary in 2029, the Northrop Centennial Commissions project helps create new dance works to ensure that there will be amazing performances far into the future. The Northrop Centennial Commissions (2019-2023) include: SW!NG OUT, Martha Graham Dance Company (Canticle for Innocent Comedians), Paul Taylor Dance Company (A Call for Softer Landings), Joffrey Ballet (Of Mice and Men), GALLIM (film, BOAT), Ragamala Dance Company (Fires of Varanasi), The State Ballet of Georgia (dance film), Limón Dance Company (work by Raúl Tamez), and Dance Theatre of Harlem (Higher Ground).

“During the first year of the pandemic, our Centennial Commissions program provided eight companies—whose performances were either canceled or postponed—with residencies and financial support to create new work while simultaneously offering our communities opportunities to engage with the artists throughout the process. This transformational program will continue to support at least one company each year, acting as a runway to Northrop’s centennial anniversary in 2029 and leaving a legacy of new work to be appreciated for generations to come.” —Kari Schloner, Director of Northrop.

Northrop Advisory Board

The Northrop Advisory Board and the ENCORE Annual Gala Event Committee is committed to the growth and awareness of Northrop’s mission, vision, and presenting world-class programming. With an expanded focus on accessibility, NAB members serve as ambassadors for Northrop.

Jeff Bieganek, Chair
Robert Bruininks
John Conlin
Susan DeNuccio
Karen Hanson
Jill Hauwiller
Katheryn Menaged
Gary Reetz
Robyne Robinson
Toni Pierce-Sands
Donald Williams