2007-2008 Choreographer Biographies

Frank Chaves, Artistic Director (Miami, FL) joined River North Chicago Dance Company in 1992 as a choreographer and, in 1994, became co-artistic director. In May 2001, Mr. Chaves assumed sole artistic directorship of River North Chicago.  An international choreographer and teacher, Mr. Chaves has created numerous works for River North Chicago and other companies including Spectrum Dance Theatre, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Point Park College for the Performing Arts, Barat Repertory Dance Company, Kaleidoscope Dancers, Pori Dance Company (Finland), and Ballet Pacifica’s Choreographer’s Workshop. Mr. Chaves’ theatrical commissions include work for Steppenwolf Theatre and the Cleveland Playhouse.  As a performer, Mr. Chaves has danced with Ballet Concerto of Miami, New York’s Ballet Hispanico, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, and six years with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In 2000, Mr. Chaves received a Ruth Page Dance Achievement Award for Mission, co-created with Sherry Zunker, Co-Artistic Director Emerita of River North Chicago, in honor of the Company’s 10th anniversary.  He is also an Adjunct Professor of Dance for Western Michigan University.

Robert Battle - originally from Miami, Florida, Robert Battle is a graduate of the New World School of the Arts where he studied under the direction of Ms. Gerri Houlihan. Mr. Battle holds a BFA in dance from the Juilliard School where he studied choreography with Bessie Schoenberg, Elizabeth Keen, and Doris Rudko. While at Juilliard he received the Princess Grace Dance Scholarship and the Martha Hill Prize.  As a member of the Parsons Dance Company (1994-2001), Mr. Battle began setting his work on the company in 1998.  After founding the Battleworks Dance Company in 2001, Mr. Battle's work has been presented in New York City at the Joyce Theater, St. Mark's Church, Evening Stars, The Juilliard Theater, Dancing in the Streets, Symphony Space, dancenOw/NYC, Joyce Soho, and Dance Theater Workshop.  Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Introdans, Dallas Black Dance Theater, Ruth Rosenberg Dance Ensemble, and PARADIGM have all commissioned Mr. Battle for both new works and re-stagings of Battleworks repertory. Recent commissions include Ballet Memphis, Ballet Idaho, Koresh Dance Company, another work for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the American Dance Festival.

Daniel Ezralow, a native of Los Angeles, has been called “and of the best young American dancer-choreographers now working on an international scale” (Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune).  He has danced with Lar Lubovitch, Paul Taylor, and Pilobolus, and was among the founding dancer-choreographers of MOMIX and ISO Dance.  He has choreographed original works for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Batsheva Dance Company (Israel), Paris Opera Ballet, London Contemporary Dance Company, and Helsinki City Theater Dance Company, plus for Julie Taymor’s Broadway production, “The Green Bird.”  Mr. Ezralow is an Emmy Award winner for the PBS Special Episodes and is the 1996 recipient of both the Bob Fosse Dance Award and the American Choreography Awards Innovator’s Award.  He also received an Emmy nomination for the 1998 Academy Awards telecast on ABC.  He has created choreography for recording artists Andrea Bocelli, U2, David Bowie, Sting, Pat Metheny, Ricky Martin and many more. Among the advertising campaigns that have sought out Mr. Ezralow’s creative collaboration are The GAP, Issey Miyake, Ermenegildo Zegna, Hugo Boss, Xerox-Fuji, Ilford Film, and Raymond Weil Watches.

Kevin Iega Jeff is an accomplished choreographer, director, teacher, and performer with over twenty years of artistic direction and management experience. In 1982, Iega founded the internationally acclaimed JUBILATION! Dance Company in New York. In 1994, he served as Artistic Director of Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater and presently is Co-Founder/Artistic Director of Deeply Rooted Productions in Chicago. A native New Yorker, Iega discovered the joy of dance and developed the spiritual foundation and professional commitment to his art at Bernice Johnson's School of Dance under Bernice Johnson and his mentor, Lee Aca Thompson. He then enhanced his artistic skills at the High School of Performing Arts, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Darvash School of Ballet, and the Juilliard School. Iega's choreography is part of the repertoires of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Ensemble, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Williams/Henry Dance Theater (Kansas), Dallas Black Dance Theater, SUNY Purchase and Howard University's Dance Programs and DC Contemporary Dance Theater in Washington. His intricate and explosive work Walls premiered during the 1996 Summer Olympics Festival in Atlanta.

Julia Rhoads is a choreographer and Artistic Director of Lucky Plush Productions.  She received a BA in History from Northwestern University and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute Chicago.  Rhoads has been a company member of the San Francisco Ballet and was a performer and artistic associate of XSIGHT! Performance Group from 1995-2000.  In 1999, Rhoads co-founded the dance theater company Lucky Plush Productions and has since created over 20 original works with the company including six evening-length interdisciplinary productions.  Her distinct integration of dance with theater and visual design has located Lucky Plush in a diverse range of venues including site-specific commissions for the Lurie Garden in Chicago’s Millennium Park and the Great Room in Chicago’s Union Station.  Rhoads’ independent work has been commissioned by Alaska Dance Theater, River North Chicago Dance Company, and Mordine & Company Dance Theater.  She has also directed and choreographed for projects with Redmoon Theater, Walkabout Theater, Ruffian Pictures, Hyperdelic, and the interdisciplinary collective M5.  Rhoads has received a Cliff Dwellers Foundation Award for Choreography, an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship for Choreography in 2000 and 2006, a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, and a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist Award. 

Ashley Roland is artistic director, along with husband Jamey Hampton, of Portland-based BodyVox. Ashley and Jamey have danced and soared through two decades together – formerly with Momix and later with ISO Dance, a world-touring troupe they co-founded. Their work has been seen frequently on stage and screen. Each has won an Emmy award, and they choreographed and performed together at the 1998 Academy Awards show. Musical artists such as David Bowie, Sting, U2, Pat Metheny, Soundgarden, and John Fogerty have asked Hampton and Roland to choreograph their music, and many dance companies have commissioned Hampton and Roland to create original works, including Ballet Pacifica, Trinity Irish Dance Company, the Lille (France) Opera, and the Geneva Opera Ballet.

Lauri Stallings - a fifth generation Floridian, Lauri Stallings is grateful to spend her time returning all of the gifts she received in this fine art.  Stallings graduated cum laude from Point Park University and has danced with Cleveland San Jose Ballet, BalletMet, Canada’s British Ballet Columbia, and, for five years, with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.  She now spends her time dancemaking.  A recipient of both the Ruth Page and Cliff Dweller Awards for choreography, Stallings has created numerous original works, including works for Atlanta Ballet, American Repertoire Ballet, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.  She recently completed work with choreographer Daniel Ezralow on the Julie Taymor film “Across the Universe.” 

Lynne Taylor-Corbett has established a reputation as an outstanding choreographer of works for dance companies, theater, and film. Her credits feature works for both ballet and modern dance companies alike, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, American Ballet Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, New York City Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadanco, and Carolina Ballet, where she is principal guest choreographer. Ms. Taylor-Corbett’s choreography can also be seen in the feature films Footloose and My Blue Heaven, in Disney's stage show “Aladdin” at the Hyperion Theatre in California, and in countless videos and commercials. As a director, Ms. Taylor-Corbett received two Tony nominations and a Drama Desk nomination for her direction and choreography of Broadway's “Swing!” in 2000, and received two American Theatre Wing “Star” nominations for its National Tour in 2001. She also choreographed two hit shows on Broadway, “Chess” and “Titanic.”

Sherry Zunker, Co-Artistic Director Emerita (Manitowoc, WI), joined River North Chicago Dance Company as artistic director in 1990. She choreographed several works for River North Chicago and commissioned the work of numerous choreographers to compile the Company’s diverse, engaging repertoire. Ms. Zunker has set her works on The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, and Aspen Ballet and has staged numbers for musical productions, commercials, music videos, live industrial shows, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line productions. Ms. Zunker danced with Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, was a principal dancer with Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, and performed as a soloist in Bob Fosse’s “Dancin'” and under Tony Award-winning choreographer Ann Reinking in the Goodman Theater’s production of “Pal Joey.” In 2000, Ms. Zunker received a Ruth Page Dance Achievement Award for Mission, co-created with Frank Chaves in honor of River North Chicago’s 10th anniversary. Ms. Zunker has served on the faculty of Giordano Dance Center, Lou Conte Dance Studio, River North Dance Studio, the Ruth Page Foundation School of Dance, and currently teaches master classes throughout the United States. From 1994-2001, Ms. Zunker served with Frank Chaves as co-artistic director of River North Chicago; this partnership shaped River North Chicago and its repertoire into the entertaining, engaging company that it is today. Ms. Zunker continues her work with the company through teaching and choreographing.