Laboratory II: Emerging Choreographer Program
Ballet Co.Laboratory believes in the development of the whole dancer and works to invest in artists' professional growth. One way Ballet Co.Laboratory aids professional dance makers in evolving their artistry is through our Laboratory II: Emerging Choreographer Program. Each season, one choreographer is hired through this program to create a new, full-length, staged ballet production which is performed by the upper-level students at The School of Ballet Co.Laboratory (ages 11 - 20).
Ballet Co.Laboratory knows how difficult it can be to find paid work as an emerging choreographer. Some organizations offer free space and artists to perform their work, but many do not compensate emerging artists for their creation/rehearsal time, and even fewer cover production costs such as costumes, sets, stage management, etc. The choreographer selected through the Laboratory II: Emerging Choreographer Program are not only compensated for their work and the materials/staff to create their production, but will simultaneously receive mentorship from Ballet Co.Laboratory staff in production design and arts administration to get a complete picture of what it is like to create, market, and fundraise for a new work.
Level 3 student performing in Genevieve Waterbury’s Lunar Lullaby: An Ode to Goodnight Moon.
APPLY TO BE BALLET CO.LABORATORY'S 2025 EMERGING CHOREOGRAPHER
The story that Ballet Co.Laboratory will be asking the 2025 emerging choreographer to draw inspiration from is the children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon inspired by Harold going to the State Fair. Applicants who apply can choose to present this narrative as a classical or contemporary ballet. The selected choreographer will work alongside the Ballet Co.Laboratory artistic team in selecting the music, designing scenic elements, creating costumes, and casting roles.
Choreographers applying to this program are encouraged to think critically about how ballet can continue to evolve in becoming more inclusive and forward-thinking. Rather than create a piece that is simply based on movement, artists are asked to create a production with a storyline that sparks the imagination and challenges the audiences' perception of what ballet is.
All applicants must live in Minnesota, have had formal ballet training, and consider themselves to be an emerging choreographer.
Literature about Harold and the Purple Crayon:
The Application will close on May 20, 2024.
PROGRAM DEADLINES
May 20, 2024 | Choreographer Applications due
June 1, 2024 | Applicants moving on to the next round (in-person interviews) will be notified and asked for an Artist Interview
June 15, 2024 | 2024 Laboratory II Emerging Choreographer announced with 2023/24 Season
June 2024 | Preliminary meeting with BCL Team
October 2024 | Selected choreographer meets with BCL Artistic Director, Managing Director, and Communications Manager to discuss the concept of work for and PR/marketing
November 2024 | Selected choreographer meets with BCL Costume Manager to design costuming for work
December 2024 | Selected choreographer host audition with The School of Ballet Co.Laboratory upper-level students
January, February & March 2025 | Selected choreographer leads rehearsals with dancers weekly
January 2025 | Selected choreographer meets with BCL Artistic Director and Production Stage Manager to discuss staging and lighting of work
February 2025 | Press coverage and interviews for production
Early March 2025 | Tech and performance week
March 2025 | Post-production meeting with BCL Artistic Director, Managing Director, School Manager, Production Stage Manager, Costume Manager, and Set Designer
PAST LABORATORY II: EMERGING CHOREOGRAPHERS
2023 | Anna Betz (she/her)
Puss in Boots
Music: Various
Performed by: Levels 3, 4, 5, 6, & Trainees
2023 | Hannah MacKenzie-Margulies (she/her)
The Wild Rumpus
Music: Various
Performed by: Levels 3, 4, 5, 6, & Trainees
2022 | Genevieve Waterbury (she/her)
Lunar Lullaby: An Ode to Goodnight Moon
Music: Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy, Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller, Stairway to the Stars by Ella Fitzgerald and more
Performed by: Levels 3, 4, 5, 6, & Trainees
2021 | A Virtual Emerging Choreography Festival
Choreographers:
Da’Rius Malone (he/him)
Aimer le Fou
Music: Excerpts from Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi, New History Warfare by Colin Stetson, and “Claire de Lune” by Claude Debussy, arr. Laura Silberberg
Performed by: Level 5
Nieya Amezquita (she/her)
Movement of the Masses
Music: Soundscape to Ardor by Shiro Sagisu and Rayden and Keikaku Kaigi by Masaru Yokoyama
Performed by: Level 4
Rachel Seeholzer (she/her)
A Summer in Waiting
Music: “Summer” (from the film Kikujiro) by Joe Hisaishi
Performed by: Level 3
Jake Lewis (he/him)
Obsidian Stare
Music: Endalaus II by Ólafur Arnalds and Requiem: II. Dies Irae by Karl Jenkins
Performed by: The Company and Trainees of Ballet Co.Laboratory
2019 | Laboratory II Female Emerging Choreographers
Choreographers
Brittany Pate (she/her)
Navigate
Music: Ye Who Enter Here & Eros by Nichola Britell from the movie soundtrack If Beale Street Could Talk
Performed by: Level 5
Michelle Ludwig (she/her)
Steam
Music: Wild Swans Suite: Eliza Aria by Daniel Hope and Jacques Ammon
Performed by: Level 4 & 5
Wesleigh Dichter (she/her)
Serenity
Music: Winter 3 Vivaldi the Four Seasons, recomposed by Max Richter
Performed by: Level 4
Anna Roehr (she/her)
Crescendo
Music: Rain, in Your Black Eyes by Ezio Bosso
Performed by: Trainees
Ekaterina Hofrenning (she/her)
Permute
Music: Tempelhof by Yann Tiersen
Dancers: Level 4 & 5
Rosa Prigan (she/her)
Little Echos
Music: Two Handsful of Sound by Manu Delago
Performed by: Levels 3 & 4