The Chrysalis Project
Project Lead:
Hannah Schneider (St John's College)
Collaborators:
About the project:
CHRYSALIS was a series of videos, spanning six countries, that explored the idea that a particular kind of metamorphosis, transformation and hope was only possible in a place of darkness. Each video was a fusion of classical music, dance and film, featuring original choreography set to new compositions recorded by the Oxford Alternative Orchestra (OAO).
Under the artistic direction of conductor Hannah Schneider, the project brought together award-winning choreographers from Burkina Faso, the U.S., Russia, New Zealand, Korea and the UK. Through the medium of film, each choreographer explored different interpretations of hope that had been illuminated, and even enhanced, by the darkness of the global pandemic.
CHRYSALIS: Americas took an allegorical approach to the theme of ‘chrysalis’, drawing on Aztec rituals of birth and death to explore the idea of emerging from a dark place into something grander and more complete.
Contact:
Hannah Schneider: hannah.schneider@sjc.ox.ac.uk
Videos:
First video from CHRYSALIS project released
https://www.youtube.com/embed/D2EZPqKAKUk
CHRYSALIS: Korea
CHRYSALIS: New Zealand
CHRYSALIS: America
Project Lead / Music Director
Initiator of the Chrysalis Project, conductor Hannah Schneider is passionate about finding new avenues for classical music to thrive in the 21st century. As such, she founded Oxford Alternative Orchestra, an ensemble dedicated to the intersection of classical music, social outreach, and innovative performance practices. The lockdown caused by COVID-19 prompted her to re-imagine what collaborations across borders and mediums could look like. Chrysalis was the result. In addition to her non-conventional work, Schneider regularly guest conducts in the UK, USA, Russian, and Ukraine, and works as an assistant conductor of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, as well holding upcoming engagements at The Grange Festival and the Royal Opera House. She is also a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where she is finishing her PhD on Soviet opera.
Jerome Robbins awardee Stefanie Batten Bland is an interdisciplinary global artist who interrogates contemporary and historical culture in dance-theatre and film. Based in New York City, she founded Company SBB in France in 2008 and is a 2020 Baryshnikov Arts Center and Duke Performances commissioned artist. During the pandemic, she has worked on the EU Day for the European Union at the United Nations, socially distanced films for Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, and Works & Process at the Guggenheim. Her recent live credits include being a featured artist at the FIAF Crossing The Line Festival, working on the Directorial Team for “Life & Trust” by Emursive Productions, and choreographing for American Ballet Theatre’s inaugural Women's Movement Initiative. Sheis an assistant professor at Montclair State University for Theatre & Dance, received her MFA in interdisciplinary arts from Goddard College and lives in SoHo with her family, where she grew up as the daughter of artists.
Erika Vega is an award-winning composer currently studying a PhD at the University of Oxford. She has received prizes from the Eighth Annual Jurgenson Competition for Young Composers at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the TACTUS 2017 Young Composers Forum in Belgium, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2017 National Composers Intensive and The Henfrey Prize for Composition 2019 at the University of Oxford, among others. She completed an artistic residency at Royaumont (2018-2019), writing music for dance, a collaborative relationship between composer and choreographer.
Four Eyes Productions is an emerging independent film, theatre, and opera company led by producer Emilia Clark. With Four Eyes, Emilia is committed to creating innovative work that breaks new ground, while giving cast and crew an opportunity to develop their skills on productions that re-define ‘low-budget’ film- and theatre-making. She is particularly passionate about revitalising media which are less frequently explored, particularly by younger generations; having worked with Hannah on critically-acclaimed, sell-out productions of Birtwistle’s The Corridor and Mozart’s Don Giovanni, two projects which sought to make the medium of opera more accessible, she is excited to continue this with a melding of classical music, dance, and film on CHRYSALIS.
