Intangible Influences

Philadelphia’s favorite dance company, PHILADANCO!, returns with their thrilling new show “Intangible Influences.” This not-to-be missed weekend features the revival of a neoclassical ballet by the legendary Gene Hill Sagan; a new work by acclaimed choreographer Christopher L. Huggins; a work by Nijawwon Matthews, a PHILADANCO! alumni; and the premiere of a newly commissioned piece by Christopher Rudd that blends contemporary ballet and contemporary circus. Don’t miss your chance to see this electrifying season opener that exhibits classical ballet technique alongside contemporary movement.

Often described as “a brilliant mix of miracle of skill, energy and artistry,” “fascinating and thrilling,” and displaying “virtuoso physicality,” PHILADANCO!  dancers are among the best in the world.  PHILADANCO!  is recognized for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers and electrifying performances.

MEET THE CHOREOGRAPHERS:

Christopher Huggins

Christopher L. Huggins is a former member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and works in Europe, Japan, the Caribbean, and throughout the U.S. as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer.  Born in Boston, Huggins trained under Andrea Herbert-Major, Danny Sloan, and Martha Gray.  He attended SUNY Purchase and The Juilliard School and was a scholarship student at The Ailey School.  Mr. Huggins is a 2002 and 2008 recipient of the Alvin Ailey Award for Best Choreography from the Black Theater Alliance in Chicago for Enemy Behind the Gatesand Pyrokinesis, respectively, and has also worked on several projects for Disney in Orlando, Florida.  He was a silver medalist for the 4th International Contemporary Dance Competition in Seoul, Korea.  In addition to commissions for Ailey II and The Ailey School, he has also set works on universities and high schools throughout the U.S.  Anointed is Mr. Huggins’ first ballet for the Company.

 Nijawwon Mathews

Nijawwon Matthews is an internationally acclaimed director, choreographer, educator and dancer.  He finds inspiration through collaborations and continued work with people from around the world.

Recently Nijawwon performed as a dance soloist in “Transformation: Personal Stories of Change, Acceptance, and Evolution” created by actress Glenn Close and musician Ted Nash for Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center. Nijawwon was selected as The Director’s Choice  for the 2019 Dallas Black Dance Theatre season in Dallas Texas and commissioned to choreograph a new work for the company.  Mr Matthews is a master teacher and who’s appeal was featured in Dance Teacher magazine. He was invited to restage his work ‘Cycles’ for The Alvin Ailey/Fordham University B.F.A. Program and is setting a new commissioned work on Marymount Manhattan  College that will premiere in the Spring 2022 alongside CDT ARTS of Jamaica.

Utilizing his national and international experience as a dance educator and choreographer, Mr. Matthews is founding artistic director of the XY Dance Project. The XY Dance Project is a pre-professional company. Nijawwon has been invited to instruct master classes and choreograph new work for a host of universities and academic entities that include recent work with Yale University, Ohio State University, and Alabama State University.

Nijawwon continued desire to make good dance has extended opportunities to instruct and create for professional companies and dance institutions in the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, China, Curaçao, Finland, Germany, Italy, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, and Switzerland. Additionally, Matthews has shared his skills in theatrical performances for productions of Chicago, Footloose, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Oklahoma, while also having shared his insight with after school programs like the Partnership For Results, a community-wide after-school development program for vulnerable youth under the direction of Susan Muldoon.

As a commercial personality, Nijawwon performed in the films “In The Heights,” “Black Nativity,” and on television performing a beautiful role in works by Cirque Du Soleil for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and on the PBS/Time Warner TV Special “Black Bones.” In his concert career, highlights would include legacy work by learning and performing for choreographers such as the late Donald McKayle, George Faison, Otis Sallid, Milton Myers, Kevin Iega Jeff, Gary Abbott, Christopher Huggins, and companies that include Philadanco!, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Cecilia Marta Dance Company, and several others.

Presently, Nijawwon Matthews is on faculty and a choreographer at Broadway Dance Center and the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City.

Gene Hill Sagan

Eugene Sagan, born Arthur Eugene Hill, was born on September 28, 1931 in Emporia, VA and grew up in Philadelphia, PA. He trained under the direction of Michel Panaieff and Nina Vyroubova and at the Ballet Theatre. Sagan made his debut in 1959 with the New York Negro Ballet and continued to perform with other artists such as Louis Johnson, Carmen de Lavallade, and Geoffrey Holder and with companies in Copenhagen; Stockholm; Paris; and Cologne, Germany.

Mr. Sagan choreographed his first dance in 1963 for his own group based in Munich. He later choreographed for the Philadelphia Dance Company, Pennsylvania Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the Batsheva and Bat D’or companies of Israel (where he became a resident and worked for 15 years). He was Philadanco’s resident choreographer for 15 years as well, starting in 1976. His piece Transposed Images for the Israel Classical Ballet was praised as the “most interesting choreography” of one of their 1977 shows by the San Antonio Express, though Newport’s Daily Press called his Sweet Agony a “total waste of time.”

His work was influenced by ballet, modern, and jazz dance with emphasis on slightly obscure themes and sensuous, swirling movements that suited the dancers.

Sagan died March 1, 1991 at the Albert Einstein Medical Center of respiratory failure at age 60. His ashes were buried in Israel.

Christopher Rudd

Christopher Rudd is a Jamaican-born Guggenheim Choreography Fellow, the inaugural New Victory LabWorks Launch Artist, and the creator of the groundbreaking TOUCHÉ and LIFTED for American Ballet Theatre. In hopes of bettering the world through dance, his works blend contemporary dance, contemporary circus, and theatricality to speak to relevant issues. As founder of RudduR Dance, he is a two-time Exchange Alumni through the US State Department, having presented his works in the United States, Canada, France, Trinidad and Tobago, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, and Italy. He credits the Armour Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem’s Summer Intensives, and New World School of the Arts for his professional career, which includes Carolina Ballet, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens de Montréal, and Cirque Du Soleil. Rudd has created works for the Alvin Ailey School, Duke University, and UNC School of the Arts and received residencies from CUNY Dance Initiative, Vendetta Mathea’s La Manufacture, Tofte Lake Center, Kaatsbaan, and STREB.