The shutdown of Luna Negra Dance Theater in spring 2013, after nearly 15 years in operation, felt abrupt despite the rumblings that preceded its disappearance. Gustavo Ramirez Sansano had directed the company for only three years but had already put his distinctive stamp on its repertoire. Now, dance fans who never made it to a Luna Negra concert under Ramirez Sansano get a second chance to see his work. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago has commissioned a new piece, “I Am Mr. B,” to run in its spring series, March 12-15.
A former Hubbard Street and ballet dancer, Ramirez Sansano says that the musicality of George Balanchine’s “Theme and Variations,” set to the fourth movement of Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3 for Orchestra, inspired “I Am Mr. B,” set to the same score. But Ramirez Sansano’s antic sensibility and taste for fast-paced contemporary choreography makes it unlikely that “I Am Mr. B” will resemble Mr. B’s work.
The HSDC commission of “I Am Mr. B” is part of the company’s larger push to acquire original choreography. That process began in 2009, when dancer Alejandro Cerrudo became resident choreographer, continued with the cultivation of former performer Robyn Mineko Williams as a dance maker, and picked up speed this year with the repertory additions of Kyle Abraham’s “Counterpoint” and Hubbard Street’s adventurous Second City collaboration, “The Art of Falling.” But that’s just an overview of the big picture. Since fall 2010, when HSDC christened the Choreographic Development Initiative (which includes Hubbard Street 2’s International Commissioning Project), it has generated 78 new works for the main company and HS2. That critical infusion both attracts audiences and encourages a healthy creative environment for both troupes.