A new choreography by the Boston Dance Theater
Commissioned by the Goethe-Institut Boston, Boston Dance Theater created a new choreography which translates themes of division, polarization, reunification and coming together into the language of contemporary dance. The work plays hommage to three decades of German reunification and at the same time reflects the current state of American society. The pandemic lends the theme additional timeliness.
Choreographer and BDT co-director Jessie Jeanne Stinnett conceived the final product as a dance video, which you can watch here:
Together Apart - Streaming Link
BOSTON DANCE THEATER
Under the co-artistic direction of Jessie Jeanne Stinnett and award winning, Dutch-Israeli, choreographer Itzik Galili, Boston Dance Theater (BDT) is Boston’s first contemporary dance repertory company with international ties at the leadership level. With a commitment to presenting works of socio-political relevance, BDT matches the talents of Boston-based dancers with those of acclaimed global choreographers, broadening the scope of contemporary dance practice and performance in our city. BDT is a registered 501(c)3 tax-exempt charity as of 2019.
CHOREOGRAPHER
JESSIE JEANNE STINNETT 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. She has performed for the Metropolitan Opera, Tate Britain, Prometheus Dance, Anna Myer and Dancers, Rebecca Rice, The Boston Baroque Opera, and Bard College’s SummerScape Festival. Jessie’s 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.” Her work has been sustained in part by grants from The Boston Foundation with support from The Barr Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, and Fidelity Charitable.
DANCERS
GABRIELA M. AMY-MORENO began her serious dance training at the Boston Arts Academy in Boston, MA. She graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2019, where she earned her BFA in Contemporary Dance. Gabriela has performed works by Dylan Crossman, Natalie Desch, Stephanie Batten-Bland, Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, Ming Lung-Yang, Aszure Barton, Jose Limon, Ohad Naharin, Juel D. Lane, Trish Casey and more. After dancing as an Apprentice with BDT for 1.5 years, Gabi has been promoted to Core Member this season.
OLIVIA COOMBS began her training in ballet under the direction of Jessica Wilson at Ballet Workshop of New England. Olivia then studied at the Alonzo King Lines Ballet Training Program for two years where she performed in works by Alonzo King, Maurya Kerr, Sidra Bell, Iratxe Ansa, Gregory Dawson, Kara Davis, and Erik Wagner. Olivia apprenticed with Dawson Wallace Dance Project in Denver for one season. She has also performed work by Ismael Ivo as part of a special research project at ImpulsTanz in Vienna, Austria and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
KHRIS HENRY is a native of Boston and is a BFA graduate of the University of Hartford at the Hartt School. He began his training at the Origination Cultural Arts Center and Boston Arts Academy. While a student, Khris has had experience with choreographers Nathan Trice, Catherine Young, Desmond Richardson, Dwight Rhoden, Norbert De La Cruz, Brain Arias, and Yoshito Sakuraba. After guesting with BDT in 2019 and early 2020, Khris joins BDT this season as a Core Member.
ISVEL BELLO RODRIGUEZ received his Bachelor’s Degree in Contemporary Dance from University of Arts (ISA) and is a graduate from The National School of Modern and Afro Cuban Folklore (ENA), both located in Havana, Cuba. Isvel was a former dancer at Compañía Danza Espiral and MalPaso Dance Company from Cuba among other independent and experimental projects. His solo performance “Tokonoma” has been awarded with the Critic's Award in the National Competition of Solamente Solos and with the Ramiro Guerra Award, in Cuba. He has worked with choreographers such as Liliam Padrón, Osnel Delgado Relinde Moors, Trey McItyre, Ronal K. Brown, Rosi Herrera and has performed at several dance festivals in Netherlands, Mexico, Ecuador, France, Venezuela, Martinique, Canada, USA, as well as The Joyce Theater (NYC) and Ted Shawn Theater at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (Massachusetts).
HENOCH SPINOLA, a native of Cabo Verde Islands, began his classical training with Jose Mateo’s Ballet Theatre in Cambridge, MA, graduating from the Young Dancers Program in 2006 to become a full company member 2007. After leaving JMBT, Henoch began working with Prometheus Dance from 2011–2012, along with other dance companies local to Boston. He then moved to New York City to dance in a work by Itzik Galili at the Metropolitan Opera from 2013-2014. He recently completed the Master of Fine Arts program within the Creative Practice: Dance Professional Practice Pathway at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.
VIDEOGRAPHER
ERNESTO GALAN is a highly sought after Boston-based videographer and filmmaker. He is a regular collaborator with Boston Ballet and Boston Center for the Arts.
COSTUME & SET DESIGNER
ZANE KEALEY is a Boston based costume designer currently pursuing an MFA at Boston University. Her thesis work involves structuring the vocabulary used to describe fabric in motion. She has interned with Jacob’s Pillow and has upcoming work at Wheelock Family Theater in Boston and at The Theater Lab in DC.
COMPOSER
GRANT STINNETT is a pioneer of electronic, symphonic, singer-songwriter, and organically sampled music styles. His music transcends genre to create completely new and revolutionary sounds and aural landscapes. Grant's most recent work has been described as "vocally driven electro-symphonic journeys" as well as a "combination of Sting's vocal style with Hans Zimmer's orchestral grandeur, smashed together with Skrillex's aggressive cutting edge sound design, and a dash of Slap Bass to spark the fire"
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