AXELROD CONTEMPORARY BALLET THEATER PRESENTS SPECIAL EVENING, “ARCHITECTS OF DANCE,” AT BELL WORKS IN HOLMDEL, MAY 18, 2023

 

ARCHITECTS OF DANCE WHEN: Thursday, May 18, 2023, at 7:30 PM.; pre-performance reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by a private VIP tour of Bell Works led by Lead Designer and Creative Designer Paola Zamudio beginning at 6:30 p.m. WHERE: Atrium at Bell Works Studio in Holmdel, New Jersey. TICKETS: $25 general admission or $75 for the VIP experience, including the performance, tour and reception. Tickets are available at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center Box Office. Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater (AXCBT), the Jersey Shore's professional ballet company, will present a one-night-only special event, featuring the Company in choreography by some of the greatest modern dancers of our time who will also perform on the program.  Inspired by the Bauhaus architectural movement, AXCBT Artistic Director Gabriel Chajnik conceived of “Architects of Dance” to illustrate how choreography and architecture can influence each other. The program will feature works by Andrea Weber, formerly of Merce Cunningham Dance Company; Blakely White-McGuire, formerly of Martha Graham Dance Company; Daniel Fetecua, formerly of Jose Limon Dance Company; Michael Trusnovec, formerly of Paul Taylor Dance Company; and Mr. Chajnik, formerly of American Repertory Ballet. “Choreographers move bodies on stage with a determined purpose,” said Mr. Chajnik, “the way architects lead people through their creations. ‘Architects of Dance’ will engage the senses through imagery and mesmerizing choreography. These artists have collaborated to create a new and groundbreaking movement platform, crossing disciplines and experiences, and sharing practices. The tour of the Bell Works grounds is a crucial part of this dance experience. Walking through the vast building is a sensorial process – a dance in itself – that will fill audience members with energy and inspiration.” "As the Creative Director and Lead Designer of Bell Works, my vision is to bring art and culture through design to this architectural masterpiece. Working with Gabriel Chajnik and his talented team at AXCBT has been a magical experience, especially when collaborating on the "Architects of Dance" performance series,” said Zamudio. "Architects of Dance" is a celebration of the Bauhaus style and overall movement, which has been the root of my creative direction here at Bell Works. What better place to host this event than at the former Bell Labs building, designed by the iconic Eero Saarinen? We can't wait for the community to experience it all at Bell Works."

Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater (AXCBT) strives to cultivate an environment rooted in diversity, inspiration, encouragement, and equality where all are welcome and heard. Listening and learning are at the heart of our commitments to change policies, attitudes, and habits that do not align with our core values. Gabriel Chajnik has assembled a community of skilled artists, each unique and necessary to the growth of AXCBT and its audience. AXCBT prides itself on its perseverance through the challenges of the COVID pandemic and the company’s continuation of dance education. Mr. Chajnik and his dancers aim to expand creativity and appreciation for the arts throughout New Jersey, inviting patrons, students, and artists to join them on this gratifying endeavor.

AXCBT Artistic Director Gabriel Chajnik received undergraduate dance training at The Juilliard School, studying under legendary instructor, mentor, and Juilliard faculty emeritus Maestro Héctor Zaraspe. Mr. Chajnik’s work has been featured at the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., Alice Tully Hall, the Clark Theatre at Lincoln Center, the Manhattan Movement, and Arts Center, and the Lambs Theatre. As an educator, he has taught various dance technique classes to notable dance schools such as Brooklyn Music School (NY), Princeton Ballet School (NJ), the Academy of Dance Arts (NJ), and Gotta Dance (NJ). Mr. Chajnik merged his two passions of choreography and education by establishing the Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theatre (AXCBT), the first professional dance company in the Monmouth County area, and the Axelrod Performing Arts Academy (APAA), both with the help of Axelrod Performing Arts Center’s President Elise Feldman. Mr. Chajnik has been honored by the Jewish Federation of Somerset, Hunterdon, & Warren Counties. In September 2021, Monmouth Arts honored Gabriel for his work in the community during the pandemic.

Originally designed in 1962 by world-renowned modernist architect Eero Saarinen, Bell Works is revered for its role in spurring the development of some of the world’s foremost inventions and research concepts.

Today, the Bell Works “metroburb”— a metropolis in suburbia— encapsulates the liveliness of a city amidst the tranquility of the suburbs. Offering a variety of workspace options, Bell Works office community is home to a diverse array of businesses that include Fortune 500 companies and early-stage startups alike.

In addition to its robust office community, the Bell Works’ indoor pedestrian street, a quarter-mile long atrium known as ‘The Block at Bell Works’, offers a truly vibrant and publicly accessible destination featuring a variety of shops, restaurants, healthcare and community services, entertainment and more. The building has also become a bustling hub for both private events and public activations of all kinds, including networking events and corporate gatherings; fitness classes on the roof deck; a weekly farmers market; lively happy hours with live music; year-round community fundraisers; 5k marathons; and more.

For more information visit Bell Works at www.Bell.Works. Follow Bell Works’ social media pages on Facebook at www.Facebook/BellWorks and @BellWorks on Instagram and @BellWorksNJ on Twitter. For retail leasing, contact Sabre Real Estate Group at (201) 509-4026 or korinis@sabre.life. Or, for office leasing inquiries, contact The Garibaldi Group at (973) 507-0369 or Keating@garibaldi.com.