Shadows of Nesmin

The Man and the Echo

Speed

Song and Dance

A Twist of Fate

Unquiet Minds

Wolfgang Strategies

Super Friends

Shadows of Nes-min

Choreography: Hernando Cortez (2006)

Music: Klaus George Roy,

Christopher-Suite (Suite Francaise), op. 23 (1953), Overture, Passepied, Berceuse, Menuet I, Menuet II, Air Tendre, Air Vif, Gavotte, Air Tendre, Gigue

Pianist: Michael Schneider

Lighting Design: Trad A Burns
Costume Design: Suzy Campbell

6 women, 2 men

The Book of the Dead was a collection of prayers and spells believed to provide aid for the spirit of the deceased in the next life. In this vignette, Nes-min is led into the presence of Osiris and the gods who judge the dead by Ma'at, goddess of truth. His judgment is represented by the weighing of his heart against an ostrich feather, symbolizing truth and right-doing. If he did not pass this individual judgment, his heart would be fed to the monster crouching in readiness before Osiris.

Shadows of Nes-min was commissioned by Millie L. Carlson for The Cleveland Play House FusionFest, May 2006.

A Twist of Fate

Choreography: Hernando Cortez (1999, Company Premiere)

Music: Elena Kats-Chernin, Clocks and Zoom and Zip
- By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner.
Lighting: Chenault Spence
Costumes: Edward Sylvia

Full company

"In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself in a dark wood where the straight way was lost."
- Canto I, Dante's Inferno

Dedicated in loving memory of Isabelita Cortez.Clocks was recorded in 1996 by the Sydney Alpha Ensemble.

Zoom and Zip was recorded in 1998 by Australian Chamber Orchestra.

By arrangement with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Classics.Created and rehearsed with funds from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Philadelphia Dance Projects, Philadanco, Purchase College Conservatory of Dance and Harkness Space Grant.

Two Hours That Shook the World

Choreography: Hernando Cortez (2002)

Set Design and Camera: Edward Hillel
Editing: Henry Joost
Music: Ges-E and Usman, Niraj Chag, Buffalo Springfield*
Original Lighting by Chenault Spence

World Premiere: September 12, 2002
Cortez & Co. Contemporary/Ballet, Danspace Project
St. Mark’s Church, New York, New York

Full Company

Like every other part of the city, New York's dance community was profoundly affected by the tragic events of September 11. In the one year since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, there has been time for reflection and healing. Many artists have created memorials, both physical and presentational, in hopes of honoring those lost and uniting those who remain. I started to craft this "memorial" dance performance only weeks after the attacks -- though I didn't know it at the time. Like many New Yorkers, I had a personal connection to the tragedy: one of my dancers, Liz Flynn, lived only blocks from the WTC, and during the initial communication blackout we panicked for we weren't sure whether she was safe (she was). We were all so stunned at the time. If anything, I went out of my way to NOT do a September 11 piece. But as we went through our creative process, in the three first weeks of October, 2001, in our residency in Scranton, PA, it became clear that something rooted in an emotional connection to the event would evolve. How could it not? When not in the studio, we were glued to the newspapers and television to update us about our homes, our city! I feel strongly that while the work will definitely resonate with New York audiences now, it's not necessarily intrinsically tied to the WTC terrorist attacks. Two Hours That Shook The World is about how humanity handles a monumental catastrophe. It could be Pearl Harbor, or JFK's death -- or Martin Luther King's.
- Hernando Cortez*"Flute Song" and "Dah Din Beats," performed by Ges-E and Usman; "Redemption," performed by Niraj Chag; For What It's Worth," performed by Buffalo Springfield, written/composed by Stephen Stills, published by Cotillion Music Inc., Richie Furay Music, Springalo Toones and Ten East Music (BMI).Created with generous contributions from the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit 19, Archbald, PA, Ballet Theatre of Scranton, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, DANSKIN™, Equinox Health Club 91st St (NYC).
Special Thanks to Dr. Catherine Richmond-Cullen for making this work possible.

Unquiet Minds

Choreography: Hernando Cortez (2005)
Music: Francis Poulenc, excerpts from Concerto for Two Pianos,
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Works for Two Pianos
Lighting: Trad A Burns
Costumes: Christine LaPerna5 women, 3 men
Unquiet Minds was originally developed on American Ballet Theatre II, commissioned by ABT Artistic Director, Kevin McKenzie. Reworked and re-envisioned for Verb Ballets, “Unquiet Minds” brings to life “Commedia del Arte” characters in their tragic yet hopeful existence.

Wolfgang Strategies

Choreography: Hernando Cortez (2006)
Music: Wolfgang A. Mozart, Symphony No. 28 in C Major
Lighting Design: Trad A Burns
Costume Design: Janet Bolick5 women, 4 men

Super Friends
The Variety Show

Choreography: Hernando Cortez (2006)

Music: TV Tunes
Lighting: Trad Burns
Costumes: Ginna Dudik
Full Company
A zany multi-section salute to favorite comic book characters from classic to current.

Speed

Choreography: Hernando Cortez (2003)

Music: Alpha Team, DJ Keoki*

Original Lighting: Trad Burns
Costumes: Gino Ventura

World Premiere: May 30, 2003,

Cleveland Repertory Project
Playhouse Square, Cleveland, Ohio

Speed/Icarus: One Male

Wings/Trixie: Three Females

Commissioned by Dancing Wheels/Professional Flair

and Sabattino Verlazza for The Icarus Project.

Song and Dance

Choreography: Hernando Cortez (company premiere 2007)
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Don Black and Richard Maltby
Co-Directed by Scott Spence and Hernando Cortez
Musically Directed by Larry GoodpasterProduced through special arrangement with R & H Theatricals

*"Speed," performed by Alpha Team, written/composed by Dane Stewart Roewade and Craig Takaoko,

published by Insomniak Publishing (ASCAP), based on the theme song from "Speed Racer,"

written/composed by Nobuyoshi Koshibe and Yoshiyuki Yoshida,

published by Speed Classic Music (BMI), remixed by DJ Keoki as "Go Speed Go."