- Whim W'Him
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Whim W'Him is a Seattle dance company founded by Olivier Wevers in January 2009. The company’s name reflects Wevers’ love of spontaneity, experimentation, and artistic collaboration. Whim W'Him was granted 501(c)3 status in the fall of 2009. The inaugural performances were held January 15–17, 2010, at On the Boards in Seattle.[1]
Contents
Company mission
The mission of Whim W’Him is to provide a platform, centered around choreography and dance, for artists to explore their craft though innovation and collaboration. The organization strives to foster an artistic community by encouraging original projects through an alliance of artists from varied disciplines dedicated to a creative journey in order to reach the community at large.
Founding members of the company
The company's original nine dancers were chosen primarily from the rosters of Pacific Northwest Ballet and Spectrum Dance Theater. They continued to dance for their respective companies as well. Here is a list of the company's original nine dancers:
- Ty Alexander Cheng
- Chalnessa Eames
- Jim Kent
- Hannah Lagerway
- Kylie Lewallen
- Vincent Lopez
- Kaori Nakamura
- Jonathan Porretta
- Lucien Postlewaite
Artistic director
Olivier Wevers is a principal dancer at Pacific Northwest Ballet. He was born in Brussels, Belgium, and trained at the Karys Dance Center. Before joining Pacific Northwest Ballet, he was a member of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. He has been a guest artist with Ballet Jorgen, Columbia City Ballet, Reiko Yamamoto Ballet Company, Le Gala des Étoiles, Dancers for Life, The Millennium Gala, Aoyama Ballet Festival, Evelyn Hart, New York City Ballet’s Balanchine Centennial, and Peter Boal and Company. Wevers received an Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Award.[2]
Wevers has choreographed 20 pieces since 2002, when he created “DAL-LY-ING” for a PNB School Performance. He has participated in the New York Choreographic Institute and the National Choreographers Initiative. He has been commissioned to create works for Spectrum Dance Theater, PNB’s Laugh Out Loud festival, Seattle Dance Project, Cornish College of the Arts, and Reiko Yamamoto Ballet Company.
Footnotes
- ^ http://www.ontheboards.org/index.php?page=nws_detail&perfID=238 On the Boards website
- ^ http://www.pnb.org/Artists/Principals/OlivierWevers.aspx Pacific Northwest Ballet Website
References
- Encore, Seattle, November 2010
- Queen Anne View, Seattle, October 7th, 2009
- Seattle Weekly, January 2010
- Financial Times, January 2010
- Seattle Times, January 2010
- City Arts Magazine, January 2010
- The Sunbreak, January 2010
- Art Dish, January 2010
- Seattlest, January 2010
- Subterfuge Seattle, January 2010
- Vala Dancewear, January 2010
External links
Categories:- Dance companies in the United States
- Culture of Seattle, Washington
- Organizations established in 2009
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
