Whim W'Him

Whim W'Him is a Seattle-based contemporary dance company founded in 2009. Led by former Pacific Northwest Ballet Principal dancer and choreographer Olivier Wevers, the company is committed to innovation, collaboration, and high caliber relevant art that engages and challenges audiences. The company is known for presenting new contemporary dance creations, inviting talented choreographers from around the globe, and presenting works that explore a diversity of subject matter. While the company is young, it is growing rapidly. For the 2014-2015 season, the company moved away from its beginnings as a project based company to a full-time company with seven dedicated dancers.[1] Whim W'Him has premiered more than 20 new creations since its founding. Mr. Wevers was awarded the grand prize at the Palm Desert Choreography Competition for an unprecedented two years in a row, named by Dance Magazine as one of 25 to watch in 2011, and received the 2011 Princess Grace Award for Choreography. Whim W'Him was voted 2011 Best Arts Organization by Seattle Weekly readers and received a 2012 Seattle Mayor’s Arts Awards. The company’s name reflects Wevers’ love of spontaneity, experimentation, and artistic collaboration.

Company history

Whim W'Him was granted 501(c)3 status in the autumn of 2009. The inaugural performances were held January 15–17, 2010, at On the Boards in Seattle.[2] The stated 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."[3]

For the 2014-2015 season, Whim W'Him hired the following dynamic dancers:

The company's original nine dancers were chosen primarily from the rosters of Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) and Spectrum Dance Theater, both Seattle-based. They continued to dance for their respective companies as well. The original roster was:

Olivier Wevers

Founder, artistic director, and choreographer Olivier Wevers, born in Brussels, Belgium, and is dedicated to creating works of artistic innovation and collaboration. Brussels-born Olivier founded Whim W’Him in 2009. Before establishing the company, he was a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Olivier’s versatility as a dancer and actor informs his own choreography. In 2012, he received the City of Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award and in 2011 a Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship. In both 2011 and 2010, his work took home the grand prize award at the annual Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival in California. In 2012, he was named by Dance Magazine as one of their 25 to watch. He was chosen to participate in the 2009 National Choreographers Initiative, received the Artist Trust/ Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Award in 2008, and participated in the prestigious New York Choreographic Institute in 2006.

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.[4]

Between 2002 and 2010, Wevers choreographed 20 pieces; the first of these, in 2002, was “DAL-LY-ING” for a PNB School Performance. He 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

  1. ↑ "Whim W’Him takes step toward being full-time dance company". Seattle Times.
  2. ↑ Olivier Wevers | Whim W'Him 3Seasons, On the Boards website. Accessed online 2014-02-02.
  3. ↑ Whim W'Him, Seattle Foundation. Accessed online 2014-02-02.
  4. ↑ Olivier Wevers, PNB Principal Dancer at the Wayback Machine (archived October 8, 2009), originally on the site of Pacific Northwest Ballet. Accessed 2014-02-02.

References

External links

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