Baryshnikov Arts Announces Fall 2024 Season
Baryshnikov Arts will present a fall season of dance, music, and digital performances beginning September 20 with the encore of MERCE / MISHA / MORE.
By: A.A. Cristi Aug. 09, 2024
Baryshnikov Arts will present a fall season of dance, music, and digital performances beginning September 20 with the encore of MERCE / MISHA / MORE, a film celebrating decades of friendship, mutual admiration, and collaboration between Mikhail Baryshnikov and Merce Cunningham.
On October 21, the annual Fall Fête benefit will present the world premiere of Woolgathering. Directed and composed by Oliver Tompkins Ray and choreographed by John Heginbotham, the piece will feature Patti Smith with Cornelius Dufallo (violin), Connor Gallaher (pedal steel/guitar), and Oliver Tompkins Ray (guitar and electronics), as well as dancers Gerald Casel and Mykel Marai Nairne of Dance Heginbotham. After the Fall Fête, Woolgathering will run October 23 and 24 in the Jerome Robbins Theater at Baryshnikov Arts Center.
The Fall Fête will honor dance luminary Yvonne Rainer and include a pre-performance cocktail reception at 6 PM, performance at 7 PM, and seated fundraising dinner at 8 PM. To reserve a ticket or table, please email gala@baryshnikovarts.org. Baryshnikov Arts gratefully acknowledges Hudson Yards as Lead Sponsor of the 2024 Fall Fête.
Additional highlights include jakob & imani by dancer Imani Gaudin and visual artist Jakob Vitale (commissioned by Baryshnikov Arts and the Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance), a world premiere by dance/music/beatboxing collective PRISMA (commissioned by Baryshnikov Arts), and the world premiere of STAGED, a digital dance piece by vAL.
PERFORMANCES
MERCE / MISHA / MORE
Featuring Cunningham, Baryshnikov, Jacquelin Harris, Chalvar Monteiro and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Dance/Film
September 20 at 7 PM
Jerome Robbins Theater
Tickets: $35 ($31 + $4 fee)
Baryshnikov Arts presents the encore of MERCE / MISHA / MORE, a film celebrating decades of friendship, mutual admiration, and collaboration between Mikhail Baryshnikov and Merce Cunningham. Back by popular demand after its spring 2024 premiere, the production includes interviews with Mikhail Baryshnikov, rarely seen rehearsal footage from 1967 and 1994, the duet from Cunningham’s Landrover, featuring Jacquelin Harris and Chalvar Monteiro, and Daniel Madoff’s film Event at REDCAT, performed in 2010 by Mikhail Baryshnikov with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and produced by Nancy Dalva.
This program celebrates the 60th anniversary of Merce Cunningham’s first Event, and the 50th anniversary of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s arrival in the West.
jakob & imani
Imani Gaudin and Jakob Vitale
Dance/Visual Art
October 3 at 12 PM
Commissioned by Baryshnikov Arts and the Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance
Bella Abzug Park
FREE
With support from the Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance, Baryshnikov Arts will premiere jakob & imani, a performance art piece created by choreographer Imani Gaudin and visual artist Jakob Vitale. Exploring the symbiotic relationship between graffiti and contemporary dance, this site-specific work will investigate how movement shapes the perceived meaning of graffiti art, and conversely, how the visual elements of graffiti influence the dancer’s physical expression. Through improvisation and audience interaction, jakob & imani will use the large open space of Bella Abzug Park as the location for exploration around a central graffiti mural. This performance will take place throughout the day of October 3, 2024, and will be presented free of charge.
Woolgathering (Commission, World Premiere)
Directed and composed by Oliver Tompkins Ray
Choreography by John Heginbotham
Featuring Patti Smith
Dance/Music/Spoken Word
October 23, 24 at 7 PM
Jerome Robbins Theater
Tickets:
Balcony: $39 ($35 + $4 fee)
Orchestra: $69 ($65 + $4 fee)
October 21 Annual Fall Fête benefit performance and dinner honoring Yvonne Rainer. For more information, please email gala@baryshnikovarts.org
Baryshnikov Arts commissions the world premiere of Woolgathering, an evening-length spoken word opera directed and composed by Oliver Tompkins Ray, based upon singer-songwriter and author Patti Smith’s book, Woolgathering. As a longtime artistic collaborator of Smith’s, Ray is joined by John Heginbotham, who will develop a choreographic vision and language that inspirit the natural and supernatural worlds of Woolgathering, a meditation on memory, childhood, and imagination. Smith’s words will enliven and amplify the setting, music, and dance. The work will feature Patti Smith (voice), Cornelius Dufallo (violin), Connor Gallaher (pedal steel/guitar), and Oliver Tompkins Ray (guitar and electronics), as well as Gerald Casel and Mykel Marai Nairne of Dance Heginbotham. The production includes lighting design by Thomas Dunn, sound design by Chris Mclaughlin, and costumes by Maile Okamura.
PRISMA
ARKAI, Chris Celiz, Gene Shinozaki, Quinn Wharton
World premiere of a new work commissioned by Baryshnikov Arts
Dance/Music/Beatboxing
November 14, 15, 16 at 7 PM
Jerome Robbins Theater
Tickets: $39 ($35 + $4 fee)
Built around the ideas of origins and personal mythology, the work will explore genesis moments. Each of the artists involved has a particular and impactful moment where they started pursuing One Direction in their life, and their world was changed by a singular moment. Using this frame, they will explore the ideas storytelling has around the personal human journey and growth. The show will be a 50- to 60-minute performance using live music and choreography to express the ineffable experiences we have on these journeys. The audience will experience the hybrid musical form of beatboxing mixed with classical strings as well as dance in the form of contemporary, partnering, and hip hop.
STAGED (Digital, World Premiere)
vAL
Dance/Film
Begins November 1
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What happens to an “American Gothic” under the weight of a curtain that never falls?
What is at stake if we decide to play the wrong role?
What is your cue to enter the scene?
STAGED is a short film by vAL featuring Corey Scott-Gilbert and Roderick George in an endless loop of false starts where two nihilistic characters rally through self-reflection to interrogate their roles inside of a theatrical conundrum. In this virtual commission from Baryshnikov Arts, STAGED employs the theater itself as a reflective pool, mirroring life’s absurdities in search of a glint of horizon. Accompanied by the voice of Gus Solomons, Jr., STAGED unpacks a world of exuberant exile where rules are meant to be broken and caricatures confronted.
Perhaps hope is only elsewhere; perhaps elsewhere is already here…
Charles Overton Group
Music
December 5, 6, 7 at 7 PM
Howard Gilman Performance Space
Tickets: $39 ($35 + $4 fee)
Harpist Charles Overton presents a program of original compositions and arrangements of jazz standards in his first run of shows as a band leader in New York City. Having strong foundations in classical music, Overton explores finding his own identity as a creative musician through the reimagining of existing work and the exploration of new sounds. This production will take place salon-style.
SEASON TICKETING
Tickets are available at baryshnikovarts.org.
MEMBERSHIP
Join Baryshnikov Arts’ membership program! Become a Fan, Friend, Patron, Advocate, Benefactor, or Leader to get access to exclusive perks throughout the 2024 fall season. Details: https://ci.ovationtix.com/31295/store/donations/50788
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
November 4–9, 11–16
Dance
November 11–16, 18–23
Music/Theater/Opera
September 16–21
Dance/Theater
October 28–November 2, 4–9
Dance
September 9–14, 16–21
Dance/Theater
November 11–17, 18–24
Performance Art
Baryshnikov Arts Fellowship
at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park
November 18–23
Interdisciplinary
November 4–9, 11–16
Musical Theater
September 9–14
Dance/Theater
September 16–21
Music/Visual Arts
September 23–28
Dance/Theater
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