COMPLEXIONS
Contemporary Ballet

Loose Change a solo for Desmond Richardson
Choreographed by film and television star TAYE DIGGS
Dwight Rhoden's Chapters
A dance/theater work to the music of Marvin Gaye.

April 11-13, 2008

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

COMPLEXIONS Contemporary Ballet, headed by co-artistic directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, continues Dance at the Music Center’s 2007-2008 season April 11-13, with the Southern California Premiere of Loose Change by actor Taye Diggs and the West Coast Premiere of Chapters a new work by Dwight Rhoden set to the music of Marvin Gaye. The company last performed at the Music Center in 2001.

The acclaimed COMPLEXIONS Contemporary Ballet (Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, co-Artistic Directors), will bring 2 new works to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion April 11-13 with the Southern California Premiere of Loose Change, a solo for Desmond Richardson choreographed by film and television star Taye Diggs and the West Coast Premiere of Dwight Rhoden's Chapters, a dance/theater work to the music of Marvin Gaye. A preview of a full-evening work scheduled for premiere in 2008-09, Chapters centers around a group of ambitious friends living in New York, and the day-to-day challenges of their lives in the Big City.

Co-founder and co-artistic director of COMPLEXIONS, Dwight Rhoden has created more than sixty works for COMPLEXIONS since its debut in 1994. Rhoden has also created works for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where he was a principal dancer, the Joffrey Ballet, New York City Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Rhoden was described in The New York Times as "a master of invention," whose choreography was like "hot molten lava, flowing with undeniable power."

Loose Change is a solo created for Desmond Richardson by actor Taye Diggs with original music by David Ryan Harris. Described by the New York Times as “a charmer,” the solo dance is an emotional journey that travels from quiet and reflective to longing and energetic.

Diggs began his dance training in his native Rochester with Garth Fagan and Timothy Draper, and his relationship with Rhoden/Richardson goes back a dozen years, when he was a frequent student in their class at STEPS. The actor/singer/dancer is currently co-artistic director, with Andrew Palermo, of dre.dance, which is in residence at Tribeca P.A. Center. Diggs' performing credits include roles on and Off Broadway in Chicago, Wicked, and Rent, to name a few. His numerous film appearances include Chicago, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and on TV he has been seen in the Allie McBeal shows and the ABC series “Daybreak.” Loose Change was created by Diggs for Desmond Richardson, hailed as "one of the greatest modern dancers of our time" by The New York Times.

The West Coast premiere of Dwight Rhoden’s Chapters is set to the music of Marvin Gaye, and through songs such as “What’s Going On” and “Mercy, Mercy, Me” tells the story of a group of lifelong friends in New York City, and the challenges they encounter.

Conceived by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, two former stars of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, COMPLEXIONS Contemporary Ballet aims to bring together artists of diverse artistic and cultural backgrounds, using their interaction as a springboard for cutting-edge creativity. “We pushed the envelope from the very beginning, giving artists who never would have had a chance to dance together an opportunity to do so,” says co-Artistic Director, Desmond Richardson. “Pointe shoes, flats, high heels – from ‘pointe’ to ‘pop,’ our goal is to explore each dancer’s individuality and to come up with something completely new and extraordinary.”

Rhoden adds, “as a diverse company, we reflect the fabric of America – a melting pot of differences, a huge bouquet of distinctly separate parts that together amount to an amazing, awe-inspiring whole. We are experimental – we have dancers of all ages, we do pointe work that is informed by the emotional sensibility of modern dance, we work with theatrical concepts, we use texts, we do site-specific works. Our company also carries a strong social and cultural message – if you use dance to bring people together, and the audience sees all these different colors, qualities and textures together on one stage, it sends a very important message of unity, which is, ultimately, what our company is all about.”

Following their sold-out debut performances at Symphony Space in 1994, COMPLEXIONS went on to tour extensively throughout the United States and abroad, including U.S. performances at The Joyce Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Lincoln Center in New York; the Mahalia Jackson Performance Arts Center in New Orleans; The Paramount Theater in Seattle; the Music Hall in Detroit; and the Los Angeles Music Center, among many others. International tours have included Italy’s Festival of Dance; Isle de Dance Festival in Paris, France; Holland Dance Festival; Steps international Dance Festival in Switzerland; the Dance Festival of Canary Islands, Spain; Festival des Arts de St. Saveur in Canada; and recent tours to Russia, Korea, Greece, and Australia

THE ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

Desmond Richardson (Co-Artistic Director) received his early dance training at New York High School for the Performing Arts, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, and the International Academie des Tanz in Koln, Germany. In 1986, he received a Presidential Scholar Award for the Arts. Richardson has performed as a principal dancer with many companies around the world, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, the American Ballet Theater and Ballett Frankfurt. He has also performed as a guest artist with such companies as the Swedish Opera Ballet, Teatro La Scala, and the San Francisco Ballet. Richardson received a 1999 Tony Award Nomination for his performance in the Broadway musical, Fosse, and appeared in the Oscar-winning film of Chicago, as well as in Patrick Swayze's film, Without a Word. Richardson co-founded COMPLEXIONS with Dwight Rhoden in 1994.

Dwight Rhoden (Co-Artistic Director, choreographer) has been choreographing for over 22 years. He has created over 60 ballets for COMPLEXIONS, as well as for numerous other companies, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, New York City Ballet/Diamond Project, Dance Theater of Harlem, Philadanco, Washington Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Arizona Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company, Oakland Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Phoenix Dance Company in England, and many others. He has also choreographed for film, including Patrick Swayze’s feature, Without a Word. Rhoden is a recipient of the 1998 New York Foundation for the Arts Award and the 2001 Choo San Goh Award for Choreography. He has performed with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater before co-founding COMPLEXIONS with Desmond Richardson in 1994.