ONLINE: New Choreography

media release: Madison Ballet is collaborating with three up-and-coming dancemakers for a New Choreography workshop series that gives local dancers the chance to be a part of building a new ballet from the ground up. With no clear return to live theater performances in the coming months, Madison Ballet is using this limitation as an opportunity to create the company’s first-ever new digital works intended to be released online in spring 2021. As a prelude to the production, the company is offering a virtual workshop series featuring three Madison-based dancer/choreographers: Darwin Black (January 23), Jacob Ashley (January 30) and Rachelle Fochs (February 6).

In these 2-hour workshops, each choreographer will use dancers as both a medium and muse, exploring the interplay of themes, music, and steps to create a “sketch” of a new work. While the spring production lineup is yet to be announced, these workshops will help inform and inspire this exciting new facet of Madison Ballet’s popular repertoire series.

Offered in addition to regular School of Madison Ballet classes, each workshop includes a short warm-up class and concludes with all new choreography online via Zoom. Dancers age 9+ with previous ballet experience welcome. Registration for each class is $20 and can be purchased online at madisonballet.org/nutcracker-master-class-series or by calling (608) 278-7990.

Darwin Black | January 23rd, 12pm - 2pm

Darwin Black of Newark, New Jersey, started his dancing at the age of 16. In 2006, he graduated from Newark Arts High School under the direction of Ronnie D. Carney and Kim Richardson. After a year of training at Alvin Ailey American Dance as a Fellowship Student under the Oprah Winfrey Scholarship, he began his professional career with the Miami Contemporary Dance Company, and later joined The Sacramento Ballet. Mr. Black danced as a freelance artist for Alaska Dance Theatre, Lustig Dance Theatre, Montgomery Ballet, Nimbus Dance Works, and Momix. Later he joined TU Dance under the leadership of Tony-Pierce Sands & Uri Sands for four seasons. Mr. Black began spreading his wings into choreography with his first original work, "OFF THE BASE" premiered at The Cowles Center March of 2017.