Medal of Art winner Chong's dance piece to premier at U of I

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - A National Medal of Art winner's dance piece about violence in America and police killings premiers this weekend at the University of Illinois.

The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1KSBOVn ) that New York choreographer Ping Chong was an artist-in-residence this past month, teaching U of I dance students. His interdisciplinary piece "Baldwin/NOW" will be part of the dance department's February Dance program.

Chong won the highest honor given artists in the U.S. in 2014 - along with Stephen King, Sally Field, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ann Hamilton and Meredith Monk.

The 70-year-old Chong created "Baldwin/NOW" in response to the killing of Trayvon Martin and other black men in the U.S. It features theater artist Latrelle Bright speaking from a 1968 speech by James Baldwin.

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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com