Harvard Club of Chicago

Given the current situation with the COVID-19 virus, HBSCC is cancelling this event.
We hope to bring you another event with ABT in the future.
 

An Evening with American Ballet Theatre

HBSCC Invites HCC to an Event with Kara Medoff Barnett, Executive Director of the American Ballet Theatre and
Vershawn Sanders-Ward, CEO & Creative Director of the Red Clay Dance Company

A Two Part Evening

EVENT DETAILS:
Date: Friday, March 20, 2020
Time: 5:00 - 9:30 pm

The event will be in two parts:  
Part One will be a discussion with Kara Medoff Barnett, executive director of the American Ballet Theatre, some ABT dancers, and Vershawn Sanders-Ward, CEO & Creative Director of the Red Clay Dance Company (RCDC) .  
Part Two will be attendance at the performance of the ABT.  
While it would be great to attend both parts you may attend one or the other.
Click here to register online at HBSCC
 

Part One Presentation:
The focus of the discussion will be on the leadership of two unique and very important non-profit institutions. Kara has lead the ABT for four years and is the protagonist in a HBS case study published last April. Vershawn is the Founder of RCDC and has lead it for 11 years.
ABT faces many strategic challenges and needs to navigate a rapidly changing environment in terms of dancers, audience and donors. The ABT does not have its own venue so it is a travelling company. Also it does not have the same level of financial support as its peer group which have larger endowments and are government supported. Kara is an impressive leader facing a wide array of strategic and operational challenges. The RCDC is a local community based organization with many similar challenges.

Kara Medoff Barnett is an MBA ‘07 graduate from HBS and leads one of the most important cultural organizations in the United States. The ABT was founded in 1939 with the mission “to create, to present, to preserve and to extend the great repertoire of classical dancing, through exciting performances and educational programming of the highest quality, presented to the widest possible audience.” ABT peer institutions include the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, Mariinsky Ballet in Saint Petersburg, Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet in London and the Joffrey Ballet here in Chicago.

Vershawn Sanders-Ward founded Red Clay Dance Company and has built the organization to have an impact in the marginalized communities on the South Side of Chicago. RCDC is rooted in the Africa Diaspora movement practices and serves as a platform for Artivism (art+activism)

A native of Chicago, Ms. Sanders-Ward holds an MFA in Dance from NYU and is the first recipient of a BFA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago as a Gates Millennium Scholar.  In 2019 she attended a Harvard course as a Harvard Business School Club of Chicago Scholar.  Her work has been presented in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Martha’s Vineyard, Toronto, Dakar, and Kampala.  

Red Clay Dance Company is supported by the HBSCC Community Impact Committee and HBS Club member Ann Carter is a member of the RCDC board.
 

Part Two: La Bayadère - the Ballet
Set in the Royal India of the past, La Bayadère is a story of eternal love, mystery, fate, vengeance, and justice.  The ballet relates the drama of a temple dancer (bayadère), Nikiya, who is loved by Solor, a noble warrior.  She is also loved by the High Brahmin, but does not love him in return, as she does Solor.
Click here to read more about La Bayadère - the Ballet

.

EVENT DETAILS:
Date: Friday, March 20, 2020
Time: 5:00 - 9:30 pm
Part One: Registration - 5:00-5:30 pm.
Presentation by Kara Medoff Barnett - 5:30-6:30 pm
Part Two: Ballet - 7:30 pm
Location:
Part One: The Chicago Club, 81 E. Van Buren Street, Chicago, 60605
Part Two: American Ballet Theatre, Auditorium Theatre, 50 East Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago, IL 60605
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED.

Cost:
Part One:

Cost:
Part Two: