This April, the Chicago-based contemporary ballet company PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, debuts the world premiere of the company’s first ever ballet, “MUJERES” choreographed by company founder and artistic director Stephany Martinez at the Reva & David Logan Center for the Arts, located at 915 E. 60th St., on the campus of University of Chicago. Performances include a Community Preview at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 17 and a Premiere Benefit performance at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 18.
“A shifting terrain of myth, memory, and reflection, ‘MUJERES’ (‘Women’) will invite the audience to meet the many versions of Chilean poet and Nobel Laureate Gabriela Mistral’s ‘Locas Mujeres,'” says Martinez.
Photo of Founding P/M ensemble member Alicia Delgadillo by Cheryl Mann
The development of “MUJERES” began with an exploratory residency at Ragdale in Lake Forest in 2023. This early phase focused on source research, choreographic inquiry and thematic framing, setting the foundation for the expanded development that followed. That next step, a three-week developmental residency this past October featured 10 dancers and an expanded creative team and culminated in an invitation-only work-in-process showing on Oct. 10 at the Auditorium Theatre’s Katten/Landau Studio. This phase focused on choreographic expansion, dramaturgical structure, and ensemble cohesion, with support from DCASE, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and NEFA.
Says Martinez, “It’s almost like 'Mistral vs. Mistral.' Her women, her letters, herself. Through evocative movement and an expansive visual landscape, I strove to create an unforgettable work embodying our eternal search for identity, resilience, longing, and belonging, as an act of remembrance and renewal to resonate beyond this moment and endure across generations.”
Led by production designers casaboyce, collaborators include Branimira Ivanova, Kaili Story, and Antonia Contro. Original compositions from Georgia (Gigi) Dahill-Fuchel.
Dancers performing will include Christopher Bloom, Julienne Buenaventura, Kyle Halford, James La Russa, Laura Morton La Russa, Cori Lewis, Marcel Mejia, Gabrielle Sprauve, and Taylor Yocum.
These performances are made possible in community partnership with the David & Reva Logan Center and with support of the Morrison Shearer Foundation, 3Arts, DCASE, Illinois Arts Council Agency, New England Foundation for the Arts, and the Jackson Legacy Foundation.
Tickets
PARA.MAR Dance Theatre presents the world premiere of the full-length ballet “MUJERES” at the Reva & David Logan Center for the Arts, located at 915 E. 60th St., on the campus of the University of Chicago. There will be a Community Preview performance at 7 p.m. Friday, April 17 and a Premiere Benefit performance at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 18.
For the 7 p.m. April 17 Community Preview performance, the company maintains their commitment to access to art by continuing to offer pay-what-you-can ticketing. Suggested donation for the April 17 performance: $10-$30. For more information visit paramardance.com/up-next.
For the 7 p.m. April 18 Premiere Benefit performance, tickets begin at $100. VIP Packages include pre-show reception and post-show DJ afterparty Sponsorships are available. For tickets and more information, visit: paramardance.com/up-next.
About PARA.MAR Dance Theatre
PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, now wrapping up its sixth season, is a Chicago-based contemporary ballet repertory company, founded in 2020 and directed by award-winning choreographer, Stephanie Martinez.
Meaning “together, with, and for,” the Spanish word “PARA” represents the vision, purpose, and commitment to celebrating identity and creating community through contemporary ballet. Together, with the belief that inclusion leads to innovation, and that dance is an essential mode of human expression, PARA.MAR’s mission is to empower and elevate diverse voices in contemporary ballet by providing performances and programming rooted in artistic excellence, radical accessibility, and reflective of the unique identities of the communities it serves. For updates and more information, visit paramardance.com.
Biographies
Gabriela Mistral (born Lucila Godoy Alcayaga) (1889–1957)
Alcayaga, better known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral, was a Chilean poet-diplomat, journalist and educator. She was the first Latin American author to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature (1945). Some central themes in her poems are nature, betrayal, love, a mother's love, sorrow and recovery, travel, and Latin American identity as formed from a mixture of Native American and European influences.
Stephanie Martinez, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre company founder and artistic director.
Over 15 years of award-winning works, Chicago-based choreographer Martinez has moved her audiences along a journey guided by the physicality of her movement and honest storytelling. With original creations for Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Hispánico, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Charlotte Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Eugene Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Kansas City Ballet, and National Choreographers Initiative, among others, her work reflects a versatility that continues to push the boundaries of contemporary ballet movement.
Her work also extends across interdisciplinary and theatrical platforms, with collaborations and presentations at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, including choreographic contributions to Carmen at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Most recently, she collaborated with Trinity Irish Dance Company on "The Sash," which premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and has since toured to Jacob’s Pillow and The Joyce Theater in New York City.
Martinez has created over 60 ballets for companies and collegiate programs across the country. In 2015, she was awarded Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works commission, the Chicago 3Arts Award, and later an NEA grant for her premiere "Bliss!" at Joffrey Ballet.
Designated “a chameleon” of choreography by the Chicago Tribune, Martinez’s psychologically revelatory works challenge the viewer’s notion of what’s possible.