THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Taimy Ramos creates A Flor de Piel ( Skin-deep ), a dance that merges her choreography with her visual art constructions. The work explores how feelings which are hidden below the skin can materialize on stage, and how art can be used as a filter for healing. Rigoberto Saura presents Flowers and Machine ( a working title ), a dance that explores relationships between a fragile surface and a solid object.

About the Choreographers

Taimy Ramos was raised in Pinar de Rio, Cuba. She graduated from the National School of Dance in Havana and became a member of the Havana-based dance theater company DanzAbierta, led by choreographer Susana Pous; and, performed with Berlin-based choreographer Norbert Servos in his seminal work 'Made in Havana.' She taught and danced in several international tours with DanzAbierta in major dance festivals around Europe and America. Since 2016, she has danced with Hedwig Dances and Concert Dance Inc. Her choreographic experience includes creating dances for contests and graduations, for student productions at the National School of Art ( ENA ) and the Spanish International School, where she taught and choreographed for a group of more than 50 students. In Chicago, she has presented her choreography at Ruth Page Center for the Arts, and as part of J e l l o 2017 at Links Hall.

Rigoberto Saura graduated from the National School of Dance ( ENA ) and the Instituto Superior de Arte ( ISA ) in Havana, Cuba with a degree in dance. He danced as a soloist with Danza Contemporanea de Cuba ( 2008-2012 ) and served as a professor of dance at ENA. While in Cuba, he participated in multiple choreography competitions and festivals, including Impulses, a meeting of young choreographers organized by the Havana-based dance company, Retazos; and, the VI Ibero-American Choreography Competition ( CIC ). In 2013, he moved to Ecuador and became Assistant Choreographer for Pepe Hevia Dance Company. He had the opportunity to choreograph for the Metropolitan School of Dance in Quito for three consecutive years, taught professional workshops in dance composition at different cultural institutions in Ecuador, and was the choreographer of the Urban Ballet House. After moving to Chicago in 2017, he began to perform with Hedwig Dances and has shown his choreography at Ruth Page Center For The Arts and participated in J e l l o Performance Series at Links Hall in 2018.

About Hedwig Dances

Hedwig Dances is a contemporary dance theater ensemble celebrating 33 years under the artistic direction of its Founder, Jan Bartoszek. In-Residence at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, Hedwig Dances' bold, interdisciplinary collaborations combine poetic choreography, projected images and haunting original music. The Company is named in honor of Ms. Bartoszek's grandmother. The critically acclaimed and award-winning dance ensemble has presented over 1,500 performances at prestigious national and international venues. The Company has twice performed in exclusive performances at Joyce SoHo in New York City. Additional engagements include Teatro Nacional De Cuba Sala Avellaneda in Havana, Cuba; Teatro Diana in Guadalajara, Mexico; Grace Street Theater in Richmond, Virginia; Margaret H'Doubler Performance Space in Madison, Wisconsin; Lee Theater for the Spring to Dance Festival in St. Louis, Missouri; among myriad other performance residencies and outreach programs spanning the past three decades. Hedwig Dances and its associated artists have been honored with two Ruth Page Awards and a Chicago Dance Award. For 20 years ( 1992 — 2011 ), Hedwig Dances served as the Dance Company-In-Residence at the Chicago Cultural Center under the visionary leadership and invitation of the late Lois Weisberg ( Commissioner, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, 1989-2011 ).

—From a press release