I don’t recall how and exactly when I first met Randal Packer, an enthusiastic young composer who was just about to graduate from the Manhattan School of Music. We quickly recognized that we had a very similar dream – to create an evening of dance, choreographed to original music. Randal introduced me to several young composers from his school, all as enthusiastic and eager to create. And I brought to the mix a group of very professional and highly artistic dancers, with whom I worked at Dennis Wayne’s Dancers. After 3 months of rehearsals, scrambling for studio space and juggling schedules, chromatic Motions was premiered at the Borden Auditorium / Manhattan School of Music – my very first full evening creation!
Composers: Randal Packer, Rand Steiger, Chris De Balsio, Edward Bilous, David Baldwin, Rick Baits.
Dancers : James Dunne, Jeanne Solan, Nancy Thuesen, Steven Cook, Steven Bradley, Ellen Kogan, Alexandra Wells, Sandy Whitaker, Natan Gardah
Selections from Chromatic Motions (Excerpts):
Passages
Echoes
Ossian
Solitude
1. Flyer announcing Chromatic Motions (drawn by me) | 2. Press Release | 3-13. Rehearsals | 14-17. In Performance rehearsal photos: Barbra Edwards performance photos: Laura Boccaletti
Igal Perry, Founder and Artistic Director of Peridance Center and Peridance Contemporary Dance Company in New York, is a world-renowned choreographer, ballet master, and dance educator.
Born in Israel, Igal Perry began his professional dancing career with Karmon, a folk dance company. He later joined Bat Dor Dance Company, where he worked with leading teachers and choreographers including Inesse Alexandrov, Richard Gibson, Alvin Ailey, Benjamin Harkarvy, John Butler, Rudi Van Dantzig, Paul Sanasardo, and Lar Lubovitch. Upon arriving in the United States, Perry joined Dennis Wayne’s Dancers as ballet master and choreographer. During that period, he staged John Butler’s work for the NYC Opera, the Opera of Munich, Caracas Ballet, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where he also directed the world premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki’s opera Paradise Lost. From 1981-1982, Perry headed the ballet department at Jacob’s Pillow. In 1983, he established his dance school, Peridance Center, now one of New York City’s leading dance institutions. A year later he founded Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, for which he has choreographed over 70 works, with performances at BAM, The Joyce Theater, City Center, and Peridance’s own KnJ Theater.
As part of his affiliations with schools and dance companies nationally, Perry has served as guest faculty / choreo grapher at Juilliard, Jacob's Pillow, The Ailey School, Marymount Manhattan College and Juilliard, where he staged his Intimate Voices and Mourning Song. His international engagements include Batsheva and Bat Dor dance companies (Israel), Scapino Ballet and Het National Ballet (Holland), Laterna Magica and the National Ballet (Prague), Architanz (Tokyo), The Royal Ballet of Sweden and BalletMakademien (Sweden), the National Ballet of China, and Kwang-Ju City Ballet Company (Korea).
Mr. Perry's elegant choreography, often in collaboration with contemporary composers, has been described as "blessedly inventive" (Jennifer Dunning, NYTimes). His works have been set on prestigious companies and performed at renowned festivals including Florence Dance Festival and Invito Alla Danza (Italy), Tel Aviv Dance and Karmiel Dance Festival (Israel), Ailey II, Milwaukee Ballet, San Jose Ballet and Complexions Contemporary Ballet (USA), Companhia de Danca de Lisboa (Portugal), Alberta Ballet (Canada) and more.
In 2007, Perry was inducted into the Dance Library of Israel Hall of Fame.
