THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER
Beginning tomorrow, June 24, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s (HSDC) Season 43: A Virtual Homecoming will conclude with the world premiere of Greener Grass, a full-company work choreographed and directed by former HSDC company dancer Jie-Hung Connie Shiau and featuring original music and composition by Jerome Begin and videography and editing by Kevin Michael Briggs.
Hubbard Street Dancers Elliot Hammans and Craig D. Black Jr. in Greener Grass.
Hubbard Street Dancer Abdiel Figueroa Reyes in Greener Grass.
For this final presentation of Season 43, there are two options to view the film. Watch the film in real time at the world premiere livestream event on Thursday, June 24 at 7:30 pm CT and then stay for the live Q&A discussion with the film’s creative team immediately following the screening.
Hubbard Street Dancers Abdiel Figueroa Reyes, Alyssa Allen, and Adam McGaw in Greener Grass.
In addition to the livestream event, the film will be released for a 48-hour viewing period to watch the film at a time of your choosing, beginning Saturday, June 26 and ending Sunday, June 27. A recording of the world premiere Q&A discussion will be included.
Andrew Murdock, Alysia Johnson, David Schultz, and Jacqueline Burnett in Greener Grass.
Admission is free, find out more and register at hubbardstreetdance.com.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in Greener Grass by Jie-Hung Connie Shiau.
Shiau sites the seed of this work as witnessing the establishment of…”re-education camps,” referred to by some as concentration camps, to forcibly contain Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other traditionally Muslim minority groups in China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Zone. From her perspective, the insufficient effort and failure by world leaders to recognize and condemn this violent act leads to the necessity of the piece. Her hope for this work is to raise awareness of this humanitarian crisis.
Hubbard Street Dancer Jacqueline Burnett in Greener Grass.
“As a Taiwanese woman who grew up seeing her own country constantly dismissed and silenced on the international stage due to pressure from the Chinese government, I am inspired to speak out against the Chinese government’s current efforts to silence and erase the Uyghur and Kazakh Muslims’ cultural identity,” says Shiau. “Of course, I will never be able to fully understand the pain of the Uyghurs and Kazakhs, but I’d like to use my voice as an artist to draw attention to these issues and encourage people to take action.”
Jacqueline Burnett, Alyssa Allen, and Alysia Johnson in Greener Grass.
Film stills courtesy of Kevin Michael Briggs.
Hubbard Street Dancer Jacqueline Burnett in Greener Grass.