Dance Heginbotham

Celebrated for its vibrant athleticism, humor, theatricality, and commitment to collaboration, Dance Heginbotham, led by Artistic Director John Heginbotham, celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 2022 having established itself as one of the most adventurous companies on the contemporary dance scene. Praised by The New York Times as having “a true theater artist’s instinct for commanding his audience,” Heginbotham is known for striking choreography that is perceptive, bright, and witty. A past recipient of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, he is most recently acclaimed for his choreography in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! The company performed an evening of work in collaboration with Ethan Iverson, the critically acclaimed jazz composer, pianist, and Blue Note Records recording artist. The program featured three works: a revival and two world premieres. Easy Win (2015) draws inspiration from the collaborators’ shared experiences within a formal ballet class. A delightful ode to the repetition, drama, and humor of a dance class, Easy Win dissects its rituals with equal amounts of humor and sincerity through dancers that are “keenly alive to the main pulses of Mr. Iverson’s music” (The New York Times). The world premiere of The Understudies performed by John Heginbotham and Amber Star Merkens. Finally, Dance Sonata, the program’s second world premiere, picked up where Easy Win left off. If Easy Win highlighted the rigors and training in the context of a ballet class, Dance Sonata was the finale for which the performers have been preparing. Dance Heginbotham was filmed live during Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2022. Video by Nel Shelby Productions.