BAC Announces Its Spring 2012 Season

The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) ihas announced the spring 2012 performance season, which runs January 12 to June 17 and features a dynamic roster of International Artists from the worlds of theater, dance, music, and film. The program includes several New York, U.S., and World Premieres, works developed in residence at BAC, and presentations made especially to be performed on BAC's stages. 

January 2012 brings BAC's first collaboration with Performance Space 122, featuring Young Jean Lee's Theater Company's New York Premiere of UNTITLED FEMINIST SHOW (Jan 12-28), presented as part of PS 122's COIL 2012 festival of contemporary performance. In this work, conceived and directed by the adventurous playwright/director Young Jean Lee, a group of charismatic performers from the worlds of cabaret, burlesque, dance, and downtown theater incorporate music and dance in a nearly wordless performance about human transformation and fluidity of gender categories. Winner of the 2011 Spalding Gray Award, UNTITLED FEMINIST SHOW is performed by Becca Blackwell, World Famous *BOB*, Hilary Clark, Katy Pyle, Regina Rocke, and Amelia Zirin-Brown (aka Lady Rizo). Choreography is by Faye Driscoll, Morgan Gould, and Young Jean Lee, in collaboration with the performers.

Twohighlights of the spring season are projects that were created to be performed at BAC. The first is a two-part program by internationally-renowned Russian pianist Alexei Lubimov, whose extraordinary breadth of musical expertise ranges from modern scores to early works. The March 22-24 program features Lubimov playing John Cage's Four Walls, which has been set to a new staging of Merce Cunningham's 1993 Doubletoss. 4Walls / Doubletoss Interludes, arranged by Robert Swinston, will be performed by former Cunningham dancers. For Lubimov's second program (Mar 27-28), he will perform works by Schubert, Glinka, and Beethoven, playing on a copy of an 1820's Viennese fortepiano.

Also made for BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater is On the Beach, a project curated by theater artist Robert Wilson (April 5-7). Five teams of artists, whohave participated in Wilson's residency program at The Watermill Center, will interpret five different sections of the seminal opera Einstein on the Beach. This special project coincides with the much-anticipated re-staging of the 20th century masterpiece, which will be presented throughout 2012-13 in major cities around the world.

Dance offerings this season include works created in residence at BAC by Jerome Robbins NEWFellows John Heginbotham (of Mark Morris Dance Group) and Stefanie Batten Bland (formerly of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company). The choreographers will each give the World Premiere of a new work in a shared program on May 10. Heginbotham then follows the shared evening with his ownprogram on May 11 and 12, featuring his untitled World Premiere and the NewYork Premiere of Closing Bell (2010). Bland will have her own program on May 17-18, featuring her World Premiere, A Place of Sun (2012), and the New York Premiere of Terra Firma (2010).

BAC's dance line-up continues with Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite's Germany-based company, Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM, performing the New York Premiere of The You Show (2010), a series of four short works set to an original score by composer Owen Belton (Feb 23-24). New York-based choreographer Nelly van Bommel, who was named one of Dance Magazine's "Top 25 to Watch" in 2010 and whose company performed at BAC's gala last September, will perform the New York Premiere of Pinguli, Pinguli (2011), a work set to music by celebrated Greek singer Savina Yannatou (April 18-19). Choreographer Julia Koch and director Daniel Zippi will bring por instantes-a new collective of Barcelona-based artists led by Koch and Zippi-to BAC for the U.S. Premiere of La Travesia (2011), a dance theater piece about cultural crossroads, featuring an original electronic sound score based on recordings taken from the streets of Spain (June 14-17).

BAC will hold three screenings as part of the popular film and discussion series, BAC Flicks. First is Labyrinth Within, a dance film by Swedish choreographer and dancer Pontus Lidberg, which stars NYCB principal Wendy Whelan and features a commissioned score by David Lang, with solo cello by Maya Beiser (Feb 21). As part of a celebration of the life and works of Carmen de Lavallade, to be presented this spring by 651 ARTS, BAC will screen Carmen & Geoffrey by filmmakers Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob-an intimate portrait of the American dance legend and her husband, Geoffrey Holder (April 24). Last is Wild Combination (May30), filmmaker Matt Wolf's critically acclaimed feature documentary about the avant-garde cellist and disco producer Arthur Russell.

Rounding out BAC's spring season is a concert by singer, composer, and guitarist Meklit Hadero, whose unique sound encompasses a variety of influences: jazz, soul, hip-hop, art-rock, and folk traditions from her American and Ethiopian heritage (Feb 9).

Tickets to all BAC events are on sale now and may be purchased via BACNYC.ORG or 866-811-4111.