Live, Life, Love – A Celebration of American Music and Dance

Dancers from Philadelphia Ballet: Yuka Iseda (Principal Dancer), Oksana Maslova (Principal Dancer), Yuval Cohen (Soloist), Nicholas Patterson (Soloist), Federico D’Ortenzi (Demi Soloist), Charlotte Erickson, Jorge Garcia Alonso, Siobhan Howley, Kyleigh Johnson, Sophie Savas-Carstens

Choreographer: Charles Askegard

Musicians: Jenny Chen (Piano), Tess Varley (Violin)

Music: Florence Price, William Grant Still

Charles Askegard is a world renowned dancer, teacher and choreographer. Growing up in Minnesota gave him the opportunity to study with Loyce Houlton, the choreographer and founder of the Minnesota Dance Theatre. His training there enabled him to attend many ballet summer intensives with the San Francisco Ballet, School of American Ballet, and the American Ballet Theatre. At age sixteen he moved to New York to further his studies where he trained with famed teacher Maggie Black.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, who was then directing the American Ballet Theatre, hired Askegard when he was eighteen years old as a member of the corps de ballet. He performed with the ABT for ten years rising to the rank of soloist and performing many lead roles in both full length and repertory ballets. He was appreciated for both his technical prowess, as well as his dramatic and artistic skills starring in ballets by Agnes de Mille, Glen Tetley, Twyla Tharp, Antony Tudor, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Natalia Makarova and more. He left ABT to join the New York City Ballet as a soloist, and the following year was promoted to Principal Dancer. There he worked with Jerome Robbins on several of his ballets, created roles in ballets by Peter Martins, Christopher Wheeldon, along with other emerging choreographers, and also performed a large part of the Balanchine repertory, dancing many of the most demanding male roles.

When he retired from the stage, he co-founded his own company “Ballet Next,” which had successful seasons at the Joyce Theatre, BAM Fishman in NYC, and toured to the British Virgin Islands, Syracuse University, and the Lensic Theatre in New Mexico. During this time, Askegard was sought after as a guest dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Choreography was always a passion, and he has continued to pursue that aspect of his artistry for many years, commissioned for work by the Columbia Ballet Collective, the Minnesota Dance Theatre, Philadelphia Ballet II, and the main company of Philadelphia Ballet.

DanceVisions began in 2017 with the aim of developing more seasoned work from the selected choreographers by having the time, space, and support for thoughtful and mentored creation.

The Performance Garage provides the DanceVisions Resident Artist with mentorship, marketing, publicity, box office, and a $10,000 stipend. Included in their support is video documentation, photography, and light design for their three-performance season when they premiere their new residency choreography.

https://www.performancegarage.org/dancevisions

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Performance Garage