Kristine Bendul & Abdiel Jacobsen, photo by Christopher Jones, Caravaglia Studio
Tickets
General Ticket: $25
Members: $22.50
Dance powerhouses Kristine Bendul & Abdiel are known for their work in Broadway and off-Broadway musical theatre productions, ballet and modern concert dance, and their gender-neutral approach to ballroom partnering, which equally exchanges roles of lead and follow, with both in heels! During a weeklong Works & Process residency at The Church in Sag Harbor, Ron De Jesús will choreograph a new piece for Kristine and Abdiel, blending Adagio partnering with contemporary movement. De Jesús, who had an extensive career with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Twlya Tharp, has been recognized for his work across concert dance and musical theatre. Set to “Black Cream” by The Harold Wheeler Consort (1975), this new duet reimagines classic Adagio patterns through a modern lens—honoring the form’s history while exploring new lifts, transitions, and expressive possibilities.
Join us for a “first look” at what they’ve created together during the residency, followed by a conversation with the artists.
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Kristine Bendul & Abdiel is a partnership between Abdiel, former Principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company, and Kristine, ballerina turned Broadway veteran with 13 production credits. They have performed their joint work at Carnegie Hall, Broadway’s Music Box theater for the Sono Osato Benefit, Canada Salsa and Bachata Congress, and Buglisi Dance Theater, to name a few. They became Disco America’s 1st place Champions with their Hustle choreography for the Professional Dance-Off Division. They made history by becoming America’s first professional ballroom duo to compete in DanceSport as gender-neutral, equally exchanging roles of lead and follow within all five American Rhythm dances. Abdiel and Kristine presented their first production, The Color Iz, at the iconic Stonewall Inn honoring the 50th year anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The Color Iz received a rave review on broadwayworld.com. In 2021, they received the NYFA City Artist Corp grant and a Bridge Street Theatre residency. In 2022, Works & Process chose them to develop an original project, “Do the Hustle” and performed their newest piece, “Dreamin” in the Guggenheim rotunda in 2023 for a Dance is Life special event presentation. Abdiel and Kristine are the lead subjects of the upcoming documentary “Follow Lead Love” by Emmy-nominee and award-winning director Brian Thomas.
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Ron De Jesús joined the Department of Musical Theatre as an Assistant Professor in 2012. A Chicago native, he has enjoyed a distinguished career as a performer, choreographer, and educator. De Jesús danced with Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Joseph Holmes Dance Theater, Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, and notably, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, where he was a leading dancer for 17 seasons. On Broadway, he originated a role in the Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel musical Movin’ Out, contributed to the creative team for Tharp’s Come Fly Away, and served as a repetiteur for Twyla Tharp Productions.
An award-winning choreographer, De Jesús has received the New York Musical Theater Festival Award for Excellence in Choreography and the Chicago Music & Dance Alliance Award for Best Choreographer. He has created works for theatre, film, television, and numerous dance companies nationwide, as well as for University of Michigan productions including American Idiot, Crazy for You, Cabaret, Bernarda Alba, and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. De Jesús is also the Artistic Ambassador of Northeastern Illinois University and Artistic Associate for StagePlays Theater Company in New York.
Throughout his career, De Jesús has been widely recognized for his mastery of partnering, noted for his sensitive, musical, and highly technical approach to adagio work across concert dance and musical theatre.
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A non-profit performing arts organization without walls, Works & Process champions performing artists and their creative process each step from studio to stage. Works & Process platforms artists from the world’s largest organizations and amplifies underrecognized performing arts cultures by providing rare, longitudinal, and fully-funded creative residencies, and commissioning support. Works & Process presents at the Guggenheim Museum, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, with the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Each summer Works & Process curates and presents free dance programs with Manhattan West and City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage and NYC Parks. Works & Process LaunchPAD “Process as Destination” provides artists multi-week residencies with 24/7 studio availability, on-site housing, health insurance enrollment access, industry-leading fees, and transportation to residency partners spanning Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont.
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