top of page
JCG1.png
CMCILogoSeasonal26-27.png

IN MY ART - TICKET SALES COMING SOON

ABOUT CMCI

The Joffrey Concert Group and the Joffrey Ballet Center present, Creative Movers Choreographic Initiative (CMCI) 2027.

The Creative Movers Choreographic Initiative is a search for the dance makers of the future. The initiative provides innovative and emerging dancemakers the opportunity to develop their creative voices. Two New York and Tristate-area choreographers will be awarded the creative time and space to produce a new work between 12-17 minutes for the 14-member Joffrey Concert Group.

Choreographers in contemporary, modern, or contemporary ballet styles, are encouraged to apply. Recipients will receive a $2500 stipend for a 40-hour rehearsal process, over four weeks.

Commissioned works will be fully produced and presented for a New York City Theater during the “In My Art” performance in February 2027

2027 CMCI CHOREOGRAPHERS 

Bradley-CMCI.png

Bradley Shelver

Artistic Director & Resident Choreographer

Bradley Shelver received his training at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg and The Ailey School in New York. A prolific leader in the dance community, he currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Joffrey Concert Group and The Artistic Director of Contemporary Ballet Studies and the Pre- Professional Contemporary Summer Program and the Contemporary Ballet Winter Workshops at the Joffrey Ballet School. He is also the Director of Professional Career Development at Joffrey. From 2024-2026 he served as the Acting Artistic Director of the Joffrey Jazz and Contemporary Trainee Concentration. He currently sits on the Artistic Advisory Board of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. He is also the Director of Dance for the annual Gunnison Orchestra and Vocal Academy summer program in Colorado.Now in his 17th season as a principal dancer with The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Mr. Shelver has enjoyed an illustrious performing career. He has danced with Ailey II, Elisa Monte Dance, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Ballet Hispánico, The Francesca Harper Project, and the Limón Dance Company. His international credits include Phoenix Dance Theater (UK) and projects with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co., Lar Lubovitch Dance, The Universal Ballet, Radio City Music Hall, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. Between 2013 and 2016, he also served as the Artistic Director of the STEPS Repertory Ensemble and the Production Director for Steps on Broadway, following his six-year tenure as co-producer and curator for the REVERBdance Festival.As a choreographer, Mr. Shelver has created works for an array of prestigious companies and institutions, including vildwerk, Contemporary West Dance Theater, Richmond Ballet, Ailey II, Ballet Austin, Graham 2, the St Louis Dance Theater, Royal Danish and Royal Swedish Ballet Schools, Boston Conservatory, The Ailey School, Cedar Lake 2 and The Cape Town Dance Company, His teaching expertise is recognized worldwide; he has served as a company teacher for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Matthew Bourne’s Adventures in Motion Pictures, and The Lion King on Broadway.Mr. Shelver has served on the faculty of the ABT/JKO School, The Ailey School, and LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Montclair State University. He is a certified teacher of the ABT® National Training Curriculum and an international adjudicator for competitions such as the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition, Hit The Floor Canada and Global Dance Open and Universal Ballet Competition. A former contributing writer for Dance Spirit magazine, he is the author of the book Performance Through the Dance Technique of Lester Horton, which is available worldwide.

Christian-CMCI27.png

CHRISTIAN DENICE

CMCI 27' Choreographer

Christian Denice is a Los Angeles–born dancer, choreographer, and educator whose career bridges classical ballet and contemporary dance with a distinctly human-centered voice. As a performer, he has danced with an array of internationally recognized companies including Odyssey Dance Theatre, River North Dance Chicago, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, and Andonis Foniadakis Dance Company in Athens, Greece. His artistry has been widely recognized: he was named one of Time Out Chicago’s Top Ten Male Dancers and was honored as a Chicago Tribune Notable Dancer in 2010. As a choreographer, Christian has built an extensive body of work for professional dance companies across the United States and abroad. His choreographic credits include Cincinnati Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theatre, BalletX, Chamber Dance Project, Ballet22, DanceWorks Chicago, Marigny Opera Ballet, Odyssey Dance Theatre, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, MADCO, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Kit Modus, Dance Lab New York, and Wylliams Henry Contemporary Dance Company, among many others. His work has also been commissioned by universities and training programs nationwide, and he continues to teach, create, and stage choreography internationally. Christian’s choreographic voice is rooted in an exploration of the complexities of the human experience. His work often balances physical rigor with emotional accessibility, using movement as a vehicle for reflection, sensation, and connection. He is the recipient of the 2015 University of South Florida Echo Choreographic Competition award and was selected as a choreographer for the Joffrey Academy’s Winning Works program in 2016. He also served as a Choreographic Fellow with BalletX, where he premiered a new work featuring an original score by composer Philip Daniel. Most recently, Christian created his first full-length, original narrative ballet for Marigny Opera Ballet, which premiered in December. His residencies include Kennesaw State University, Keshet Center for the Arts, Georgetown University, the University of Missouri–Kansas City, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Interlochen, and Western Michigan University. In addition to his choreographic career, Christian continues to perform as a dancer with acclaimed Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis and frequently stages Foniadakis’s work throughout the United States and Europe. He has also served as a répétiteur and rehearsal director for ISHIDA Dance.

Duncan-CMCI27.png

DUNCAN LYLE

CMCI 27' Choreographer

Duncan Lyle was born in Melbourne, Australia, and began his ballet training at Camberwell District Ballet. In 2007, he was accepted into The Royal Ballet School, where he graduated in 2010 before joining Boston Ballet later that same year.In 2012, Duncan joined American Ballet Theatre, where his repertoire has included roles such as Tybalt in Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, Kaschei in Alexei Ratmansky’s Firebird, a Stepsister in Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, and Gamache in Don Quixote, among others. In 2018, Duncan founded Duncan Lyle Dance, a Manhattan-based dance company focused on classical ballet technique and musical excellence. The company presented its first performances at the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance. In addition to creating works for Duncan Lyle Dance, Duncan has choreographed for the American Ballet Theatre Incubator, New York Theatre Ballet, CoLab Dance, Intermezzo Dance Company, The Royal Ballet School, and Columbia Ballet Collaborative. GCDANCEVENTS proudly represents Duncan worldwide, promoting his choreographic works and artistic creations.

SHOO7928-2.png

IN MY ART

February 19–20, 2027

Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater in New York City

Ticket Sales - Coming Soon

bottom of page