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Ucross and Houston Ballet Announce Inaugural Recipient
On March 19, Ucross and Houston Ballet announced the inaugural recipient of the Lauren Anderson Dance Residency at Ucross: Jack Wolff of Houston, Texas.
Wolff, a choreographer and dancer in company at Houston Ballet, will experience two weeks of uninterrupted time and space at Ucross, the acclaimed artist residency program on a 20,000-acre ranch in northern Wyoming in July. Wolff will be joined by fellow Houston Ballet dancers Aoi Fujiwara of Osaka, Japan, and Eric Best of Indianapolis, Indiana, with whom he will collaborate on his choreographic project.
During his Ucross residency, Wolff hopes to “create and explore movement inspired by events from my own life: modern-day issues within family dynamics, such as infidelity and divorce,” he said. “I will be using Rachmaninoff Piano Suites, which have such drama and have augmented my inspiration for the work. I will be working with one male dancer and one female dancer, who will be asked to explore classical ballet language, gritty contemporary movement and more.
“I’m excited to find the relationship between the dancers, the music and ideas of familial issues,” Wolff continued. “These modern conflicts have become more common in society, and I find it important to bring representation of such events to the ballet stage.”
Wolff joined Houston Ballet as an apprentice in 2018 and is currently a demi soloist after his promotion in winter 2022. Wolff started his training at Precision Dance Academy, Houston METtoos and Houston Ballet Summer Intensives. In 2015, he moved to New York City to train at American Ballet Theatre’s JKO School on full scholarship. While living in New York, Wolff was awarded Young Arts winner in Tap, represented the JKO School at ABT at Prix de Lausanne, and at 16 years old made his professional debut in Bulgaria as a guest artist with iMEE, a company under the direction of Spencer Gavin Hering and Andrea Dawn Shelley.
Since being in the company at Houston Ballet, Wolff has worked with respected choreographers such as Arthur Pita, Justin Peck, Azure Barton, Disha Zhang and Trey McIntyre. In 2022, Wolff performed in McIntyre’s world premiere of “Pretty Things” and had his principal role debut as Peter in McIntyre’s “Peter Pan.” Wolff has also been invited to choreograph for both Houston Ballet II and the Houston Ballet main company. He had his choreographic premiere with his piece “PIEL” in May 2022.
“We look forward to welcoming Jack Wolff, as well as participating dancers Aoi Fujiwara and Eric Best, for the first Lauren Anderson Dance Residency at Ucross,” said Ucross President William Belcher. “It has been an honor to work with Lauren Anderson and the Houston Ballet to organize this partnership, which nurtures choreographers and performers by giving them time, free of distractions, in our stunning new dance studio and performance space.”
Awarded annually, the fellowship includes exclusive access to the Lauren Anderson Dance Studio in the Koehler Performing Arts Center, which opened in December 2022 as part of Ucross’s 40th Anniversary. The state-of-the-art studio features large accordion-style doors that open onto a concrete patio, allowing artists to cross between the sprung-floor dance studio and the open air. A green room and second-story observation room are also part of the 2,200 square-foot performing arts center.
In addition to the private studio space, the fellowship includes living accommodations for the recipient and all collaborators, meals by a professional chef, staff support, a stipend and the unparalleled experience of the High Plains on Ucross’s ranch.
The fellowship and dance studio are named for Lauren Anderson, the first Black principal ballerina at Houston Ballet. Anderson performed leading roles across the world to great critical acclaim from 1983 to 2006. Today, she conducts master classes and gives lectures for Houston Ballet’s Education and Community Engagement program. Anderson will continue to help select recipients of the residency named in her honor.
“Excited doesn’t begin to describe it: I am thrilled to announce Jack Wolff as the first fellow in residence at Ucross,” Anderson said. “His creativity and commitment to having art reflect life promises an inspiring fusion of movement and emotion. This residency marks a significant milestone in fostering artistic expression and collaboration between Ucross and Houston Ballet, and I am honored to have my name on this residency.”
The Lauren Anderson Dance Residency at Ucross is fully funded, thanks to a generous donation by Deborah and Edward Koehler and the Raymond Plank Philanthropy Fund (RPPF). That endowed fund gift provides funding for an annual Houston Ballet residency at Ucross in perpetuity, strengthening the bond between Ucross, Wyoming, and Houston, Texas, by connecting Ucross to one of the largest and most influential ballet companies in the United States. To elevate the Ucross experience for dancers, choreographers, performers, and collaborative groups, Deborah Koehler, executive director of the RPPF and former Ucross Foundation trustee, also provided a leadership gift to support the construction of the studio and performing arts space in 2022.
About Ucross – Located in northeast Wyoming in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, Ucross fosters the creative spirit of deeply committed artists and groups by providing uninterrupted time, studio space, living accommodations, and the experience of the majestic High Plains, while serving as a responsible steward of its 20,000-acre ranch. Residencies are awarded to 115 artists each year. Ten artists are in residence at one time, typically a mix of visual artists, writers, composers, and choreographers.
Since the residency program began in 1983, Ucross has supported more than 2,700 artists, including such distinguished fellows as Annie Proulx, Terry Tempest Williams, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ann Patchett, Ricky Ian Gordon, Bill Morrison, Theaster Gates, Anthony Hernandez, and Tayari Jones. National Book Award winners Susan Choi, Sigrid Nunez, and Sarah M. Broom have been residents, as have Academy Award and Tony winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Emmy Award winner Billy Porter, Pulitzer Prize winners Michael R. Jackson and Colson Whitehead, and three-term United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.
Ucross participates in more than a dozen creative partnerships with national organizations that enhance its ability to support outstanding individual artists with residencies. National partners include Sundance Institute, PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction, The Ford Family Foundation, Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, Alley Theatre, UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, Yale University, Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Houston Ballet and Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.
About Houston Ballet – With more than 50 years of rich history, Houston Ballet returns to its home stage at the Wortham Theater Center for its 2021-2022 season with a company of 59 dancers. With a budget of $33.9 million and an endowment of $79.2 million (as of June 2019), it is America’s fifth largest ballet company. Its $46.6 million state-of-the-art performance space, Houston Ballet Center for Dance, opened in April 2011. Houston Ballet’s reach is global, touring in renowned theaters in Dubai, London, Paris, Moscow, Spain, Montréal, Ottawa, Melbourne, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and more.
Houston Ballet attracts prestigious leaders in dance. Australian choreographer Stanton Welch AM has served as Artistic Director of Houston Ballet since 2003, raising the level of the company’s classical technique and commissioning works from dance legends such as Julia Adam, George Balanchine, Aszure Barton, Christopher Bruce, Alexander Ekman, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Edwaard Liang, Trey McIntyre and Justin Peck. Executive Director James Nelson serves as the administrative leader of the organization, a position he assumed in February 2012 after serving as the Company’s General Manager for more than a decade.
Beyond its stage presence, Houston Ballet maintains a strong foothold in continuing to foster a love for dance in future generations. Its Education and Community Engagement program reaches more than 70,000 individuals in the Houston area annually. Houston Ballet Academy trains more than 1,000 students every year, producing more than 64 percent of the elite athletes that comprise Houston Ballet’s current Company.
Contacts:
Ucross Director of External Relations Caitlin Addlesperger
caddlesperger@ucross.org | 307.752.7091
Houston Ballet Public Relations Manager Elizabeth Sosa Bailey
ebailey@houstonballet.org | 713.535.3225
