BAM to Present Premiere of 'Les sept planches de la ruse'

In a nouveau cirque work poised at the intersection of physical theater, modern dance, and waking dreams, France's Compagnie 111 makes its BAM debut in Les sept planches de la ruse (The Seven Boards of Skill) in a joint production with Scènes de la Terre. Conceived and directed by French director Aurélien Bory, this U.S. premiere is inspired by tangram-an ancient Chinese geometric puzzle composed of seven tiles that can be manipulated in a nearly infinite number of combinations. Developed in the industrial city of Dalian, China, where it premiered in 2007, Les sept planches de la ruse has toured across France and to Portugal. After the BAM engagement, the production will travel to additional cities in France, as well as to the UK and Hungary.

BAM will present three performances of Les sept planches de la ruse at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Avenue) on November 5, 7, and 8 at 7:30pm. Tickets, priced at $20, 35, 50, and 60, may be purchased by calling BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or online at BAM.org.

In Les sept planches de la ruse, a cast of fourteen Chinese dancers and acrobats formerly of the Peking Opera, ages eighteen to fifty-nine, separate and re-assemble seven larger-than-life interlocking shapes. Their activities and movements create abstract landscapes onstage which act as surprising and fluid metaphors for the human experience. Guided by Bory's playful imagination and precise direction, the shapes evolve in form and meaning and the overall effect-the play of scale against form, of human against object-is pure theatrical invention. Les Inrockuptibles (France) calls the work, "…beyond virtuosity …an amazing range of emotions come to life in this giant tangram."
 
About the artists
 
Born in 1972, Aurélien Bory lives and works in Toulouse, France. He is the artistic director of Compagnie 111 which he co-founded in 1999 with Olivier Alenda. His aesthetic combines live art (dance, theater, circus, and music) with visual arts. He conceived and still performs a trilogy about physical space-of which the last two episodes, Plan B (2003) and Plus ou moins l'infini (2005), were created in collaboration with theater director Phil Soltanoff. Erection (2003) and Arrêts de jeu (2006) are two recent collaborations with the dancer-choreographer Pierre Rigal. In 2006, he was invited to Zürich, Switzerland by Zimmermann-de Perrot to collaborate with the company on Gaff Aff, their most recent show. Les sept planches de la ruse is his seventh work and first piece to be created in China. Bory explains his aesthetic: "If people ask, 'Is this theater? Is this dance?' I am very pleased because it means the work borders on a dream."
 
Artist Talk with Aurélien Bory
 
BAM presents an Artist Talk with Aurélien Bory moderated by Wiley Hausam, Executive Director of The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, on Friday, November 7 at 6pm in the BAM Hillman Attic Studio (30 Lafayette Avenue). For tickets, priced at $8 ($4 for Friends of BAM), call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or visit BAM.org.
 
About the Next Wave Festival

BAM's Next Wave Festival, which enters its 26th season in 2008, has permanently changed the landscape of culture through breakout performances, landmark productions, daring experiments, and once-in-a-lifetime moments. The Festival originated as a fall series entitled "The Next Wave/New Masters." In November 1981, Philip Glass' new opera, Satyagraha, was presented as one of four productions under the Next Wave moniker. A more ambitious series followed in 1982, including a two-evening performance work by Laurie Anderson-United States: Parts I-IV.

From the seeds of these two rich years grew an idea for something bolder and riskier. The Next Wave Festival, dedicated to exciting new works and cross-disciplinary collaborations by promising young artists, was launched in October 1983. Pieces that previously had been presented in downtown lofts and small "black box" theaters were staged in the exquisite 2,100-seat BAM Opera House (later renamed the Howard Gilman Opera House), a renovated 1,000-seat playhouse (the Helen Carey Playhouse, now home to BAM Rose Cinemas), and a flexible 300-seat performance venue (the Lepercq Space). In 1987, with Peter Brook's Mahabharata, BAM opened another large stage-the 874-seat Majestic Theater-since renamed the Harvey Theater in honor of Harvey Lichtenstein (former president and executive producer). Since 1999, BAM has been led by President Karen Brooks Hopkins and by Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo, who curates the Next Wave Festival and served as the producer of the inaugural festival.

Credits
BAM 2008 Next Wave Festival is sponsored by Altria Group. Leadership support for the Next Wave Festival is provided by The Ford Foundation.

Major support for Les sept planches de la ruse is provided by The Grand Marnier Foundation with additional support from Etant donnés: The French-American Fund for the Performing Arts.

Leadership support for BAM Theater is provided by The Shubert Foundation, Inc. and The SHS Foundation.

BAM thanks its many donors and sponsors, including:  The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; New York City Council; Estate of Richard B. Fisher; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; The Starr Foundation; Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Time Warner Inc.; The Howard Gilman Foundation; The Skirball Foundation; The SHS Foundation; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; New York State Assembly Brooklyn Delegation; Friends of BAM and BAM Cinema Club.  Sovereign Bank is the BAM Marquee sponsor. Yamaha is the official piano for BAM. R/GA is the BAM.org sponsor. New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is the official hotel for BAM.

General Information
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafé, and Brownstone Books at BAM are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, is open for dining prior to Howard Gilman Opera House performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a special BAMcafé Live menu available starting at 8pm.

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.