Hubbard Street 2, founded by Julie Nakagawa and Lou Conte in 1997, prepares early-career dancers in contemporary dance, and identifies next-generation choreographers. Originally known as the Hubbard Street Trainee Ensemble and the Trainee Program of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the name of the group was changed to Hubbard Street 2 in early 2000.

HS2’s dancers reach thousands annually with diverse programming that provides valuable outreach in schools, site-specific work in museums and cultural institutions, and evening-length repertoire performances. In addition to performing at festivals around the world, HS2 has appeared in Germany, Luxembourg, South Africa and Switzerland.

As part of its mission to identify and nurture young choreographers, HS2 initiated a National Choreographic Competition in 1999, now called the International Commissioning Project. Each year, the competition provides residencies allowing winners to create original works for HS2 dancers, and opportunities to conduct master classes.

Administrative records provide details of the founding and early development of HS2. Contact sheets list company members and related HSDC staff members.

Tours and presenter files document HS2’s performances and workshops, both nationally and internationally. Performances occurred at schools, universities, festivals, churches, theaters, social clubs, and other community organizations. Included are planning documents, correspondence, contracts, programs, repertory notes, venue and technical information, travel, and for school performances, evaluation and audience demographic reports. For additional publicity materials, see the Publicity series.

National Choreographic Competition materials have choreographer’s letters of intent, resumes, and correspondence with HS2. Dates listed indicate year of winning or submission, with some additional materials included by HS2. Submissions of choreographic reels and excerpts can be found in the Audiovisual series.

Repertory files include contracts with choreographers and musicians, correspondence, and technical lighting information. Some repertoire is shared between Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Hubbard Street 2. Much of the choreography performed by HS2 developed out of the National Choreographic Competition. Sound recordings of repertory music and videos of performance are located in the Audiovisual series.