Contemporary Ballet Choreographer Cherylyn Lavagnino To Present GENDER SHIFTS

Cherylyn Lavagnino, Artistic Director of Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, will present a new, combination choreographic work, "Gender Shifts," at 92Y's DIG DANCE Moving Forward: Women Ballet Choreographers East and West, on Friday, April 28 at 8pm, in the historic Buttenwieser Hall. Five female East/West choreographers will come together that evening to present a singular program of new dances and revivals.

Cherylyn Lavagnino will also present an excerpt of "Drive", her 2016 male/female double duet, for the "Fridays at Noon" series, at the same location. A discussion on the unique place women ballet choreographers' hold in the ballet, their future in the ballet, and a look at the recently formed Women Ballet Choreographers Institute at Djerassi will follow, hosted by author Wendy Oliver. Joining Cherylyn Lavagnino at "Fridays at Noon" are choreographers Gemma Bond, Lydia Johnson, Dalia Rawson and Kathryn Roszak.

Cherylyn Lavagnino's choreographic mission is to create movement that engages an audience by aligning the rigor of ballet with the humanistic performance values of contemporary dance. Her choreography uses pointe work as a platform to delve into the range of human interaction and emotion. The unconventional use of ballet expresses complex and honest portrayals through the choreography and the dancers. Music is paramount to her creative process, and its influence pushes and prods the imagery.

Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance Program

"Gender Shifts" at 92Y Dig Dance, April 28, 8pm:

· Duet (2017). Originally a male/female duet about the physical and emotional boundaries in a relationship, Cherylyn Lavagnino was interested in translating this material to suit a male-to-male interaction. This new, recent exploration is set to Martin Bresnick's, Strange Devotion.

· Veiled (2016), a work for a female cast of seven, Veiled explores the idea of preserving physical and internal grace in the face of oppression. While Martin Bresnick's, Josephine the Singer inspired the choreography, reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi, and The Art of Grace by Sarah L. Kaufman, provided the initial creative research. According to Cherylyn Lavagnino, "our daily process as dancers is centered around a quest for grace of movement and emotion." Musical accompaniment will be played live by violinist Derek Ratzenboeck.

92Y "Fridays at Noon" - April 28 at Noon:

· Drive (2016 Excerpt) a male/female double duet in which an angular, taut movement vocabulary explores the uncompromising aspects of ourselves that extend to our most personal relationships; the plaintive and dissonant original score composed by Scott Killian, will build on the dancers' unnerving sense of detachment. Ultimately, we recognize that the conflict will not be resolved, yet the isolation of this impasse is eerily harmonious.

CHERYLYN LAVAGNINO DANCE AT
92Y "FRIDAYS AT NOON" AND
"DIG DANCE: Moving Forward: Women Ballet Choreographers East and West"

FRIDAY, APRIL 28 AT NOON AND 8PM
92Y - Buttenwieser Hall
1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128

GENERAL 92Y INFORMATION: 212-415-5500

TICKETS:

FRIDAYS AT NOON: From $10
http://www.92y.org/Event/FAN-Women-Ballet-Choreographers#sthash.xtIDluK0.dpu

DIG DANCE - From $15
https://www.92y.org/Event/Moving-Forward.aspx

ABOUT CHERYLYN LAVAGNINO

Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance performed at Danspace Project's DANCE: Access series for seven seasons, as well as at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, Dance Now/NYC Festival, The Joyce Theater's Evening Stars series in Battery Park, Symphony Space's Dance Sampler, the Field's Uptown/Downtown workshop and performance series and three times at Inside/Out at Jacob's Pillow.

Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance has been supported by space grants from the Baryshnikov Arts Center, company residencies at The Yard, SILO and Catskill Mountain Foundation, and has continually received corporate matching support. The company has received funding from The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, American Music Center's Live Music for Dance grant and from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in support of its Salon Series. This series of informal showings integrate live music and visual art to create dialogues among enthusiasts of dance, music and visual art.