Parting Friends - A Story of American Music & Dance
Director & Choreographer
John Heginbotham
Composer & Pianist
Timo Andres
Music
Timo Andres, Duke Ellington, Robin Holcomb, Scott Joplin, Frederic Rzewski
Costume & Set Design
Maile Okamura
Performers
5 dancers, 1 pianist
Run Time
60-75 minutes
Top Photos: Jason Marck; Bud Lammers
Bottom Photo: Mikki Schaffner, Provided by Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Dance Heginbotham is developing a new evening-length work, Parting Friends, a collaboration between Choreographer and Artistic Director John Heginbotham and Tony Award-nominated composer and pianist Timo Andres. Timo will be joined on stage by five dancers as the work explores the path of American music over the past two and a half centuries leading up to the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the United States in 2026.
Expanding the format of the traditional solo piano recital, this dance and music experience understands that America is complicated and complex: dissonant, cacophonous, and melodic. A newly commissioned score by Timo will weave the evening together alongside music by Duke Ellington, Scott Joplin, Robin Holcomb, Frederic Rzewski, and more, crafting moments that range from the rough and dark to the light-hearted and tender, at times even comedic. The resulting juxtaposition offers a rich reflection of America’s diverse musical landscape.
John Heginbotham will shape the movement vocabulary, drawing on uniquely American folk traditions such as jazz, alongside modern and postmodern forms, to articulate the intertwined conversations between American music and dance from the 19th century to the present. Through solos, duets, trios, quartets, and quintets, the dancers will engage with the music in dynamic ways—heightening, contrasting, mimicking, and illuminating its themes, creating a delicate interplay between the rhythms and impulses of the music. As in any shared dance, there will be moments where the lead is unclear—mirroring how American music both reflects and influences the culture, with some forces pushing forward, while others resist and retract.
The goal of Parting Friends is to be a mirror – to invite folks to think about what is “contemporary” about America now, while reflecting on the path that we traveled to get to this moment in time, and what are the many possibilities that the path forward may take.
Dance Heginbotham plans to premiere Parting Friends in the 2025/26 Season in New York City and then add the work to our ongoing repertory for national touring.
To learn more about Parting Friends and how you can bring this project to your community, please download our one-sheet HERE.
Parting Friends is being developed with the support of a commissioning grant from the O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation. Additional support provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
