Hubbard_Teacher_Guide_-_FINAL

ABOUTL O U C O N T E + H I SREPERTORY COMPANYAFTER A PERFORMING CAREER includingBroadway musicals, in 1974 Conteestablished the Lou Conte Dance Studioin Chicago. In 1977, he founded whatis now Hubbard Street Dance Chicagowith four dancers performing at seniorcitizens homes in Chicago. Originallythe company’s sole choreographer, hedeveloped relationships with emergingand world-renowned choreographersas the company began to grow, addingtheir work to the company’s repertoire.These relationships transformed HSDCinto the internationally acclaimed repertorycompany it is today (for dancers,these opportunities to collaborate witha wide variety of artists are one of thesignature joys of performing with HSDC).In the 1980s, Conte commissionedseveral works by Lynne Taylor-Corbett,Margo Sappington, and Daniel Ezralow.He continued to build HSDC’s repertoireby forging a key partnership with TwylaTharp in the 1990s, acquiring seven ofher works, including an original work forthe company. Conte further expandedthe company’s repertoire to include thework of Dutch choreographer Jirí Kylián,Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato,and Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin.These long-term relationships with choreographers,along with Conte’s participationin selecting Jim Vincent as the company’snew Artistic Director, have pavedthe way for HSDC’s future. ThroughoutConte’s 23 years as the company’s ArtisticDirector, he received numerous awards,including the Chicago Dance Coalition’sinaugural Ruth Page Artistic AchievementAward in 1986, the Sidney R. Yates ArtsAdvocacy Award in 1995, and the Chicagoanof the Year award from Chicagomagazine in 1999. In 2002, he was oneof six individuals named Laureates of TheLincoln Academy of Illinois, the highesthonor the state bestows upon Illinoisresidents. He has been credited by manyfor helping raise Chicago’s internationalcultural profile and for creating a climatefor dance in the city, where the art formnow thrives.12 UMS 09-10