Kaatsbaan Cultural Park Announces Spring Programming

Kaatsbaan Cultural Park has curated a dynamic program of leading artists from the worlds of dance, music, poetry, sculpture, and the culinary arts for its inaugural Spring Festival. Taking place during the last two weekends in May throughout Kaatsbaan's lush 153-acre campus in the Hudson Valley, the festival will feature 16 presentations on two outdoor stages.

Founded in 1990, Kaatsbaan has been an incubator for creativity and presenter of world-class dance for three decades. Under new leadership in recent years, this programming has been expanded to include artists across genres, making Kaatsbaan a true cultural park. Through its state-of-the-art dance studios, accommodations, indoor theater, and outdoor stages, the organization gives artists the time and space to explore, innovate, and create.

"Following the success of our 2020 Summer Festival, which was a direct response to the challenges facing our industry at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are thrilled to present this inaugural Spring Festival. During the nine-week Summer Festival, Kaatsbaan was able to support over 100 New York based artists. This spring, the greatly expanded program will not only support artists in dance but also across music, poetry, visual and culinary arts, as well as the invaluable individuals who work behind the scenes to make a festival come to life. Kaatsbaan is also committed to the health and vibrancy of our local economy, with the Spring Festival providing opportunities for local economic growth that includes exciting new partnerships." said Sonja Kostich, executive director.

"The name Kaatsbaan, derived from the Dutch language for 'a playing field,' will embody our Spring Festival in every way. We have always been a haven away from the constraints of city life where artists can realize their most ambitious projects. In May, the public will have the opportunity to see this in action, as we create immersive experiences across our fields where they can safely encounter an unparalleled range of artists and styles." said Stella Abrera, artistic director.

SPRING FESTIVAL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

DANCE

Performances from America's foremost companies and dancers

• American Ballet Theatre: new works by Helen Pickett and James Whiteside as well as pas de deux from the company's repertoire
• Dorrance Dance: Programming to be announced
• Mark Morris Dance Group: Three Preludes and a selection from Words, both signature Morris works
• Martha Graham Dance Company: classic Graham pieces, Conversation of Lovers and Immediate Tragedy
• Yannick Lebrun: a member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater since 2008, Lebrun will premiere a self-choreographed duet
• Maria Kowroski, Ask la Cour, and Gonzalo Garcia: principal dancers all celebrating their final season with New York City Ballet, present After the Rain by Christopher Wheeldon, Pavane by George Balanchine, and A Suite of Dances by Jerome Robbins.

AMERICAN LYRIC

A Kaatsbaan site-specific commission

• American Lyric is a collaboration between Hunter Noack's IN A LANDSCAPE: Classical Music in the Wild™ and GarenMedia, a dance-based production company founded by Garen Scribner. The work will be created during a Kaatsbaan residency made possible in part by the Howard Gilman Foundation and have its world premiere at the Spring Festival. As part of the IN A LANDSCAPE experience, audience members will each receive a set of wireless headphones allowing them to experience both music and dance while wandering - safely distanced - through meadows that surround Kaatsbaan's old-growth forests.
• Hunter Noack, acclaimed concert pianist, (Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, Oregon Ballet Theatre, the coLABorate Award, London) will perform both classical repertoire and new music, composed for the project, with Native American flutist, James Edmund Greeley (Native American Music Award winner 2017).
• Garen Scribner (Nederlands Dans Theater 1, San Francisco Ballet, An American in Paris on Broadway) has brought together a diverse group of dancers who, with himself, will each create solo performances in response to Noack's music. Scribner will be joined by Coral Dolphin (Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, Ballet Hispanico, Madonna world tour, Oklahoma on Broadway), Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber (Batsheva Dance Company, subjects of the Netflix documentary Bobbi Jene), ShanDien "Sonwai" LaRance (Native American Hoop Dancer, Cirque de Soleil's Totem)and Taylor Stanley (Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet). The residency will include production of a film centered on American Lyric, directed by Jeremy Jacob.

MUSIC AND POETRY

Kaatsbaan's inaugural program, curated by Oliver Ray

• Patti Smith and Tony Shanahan (longtime Patti Smith band member) will pay tribute to Bob Dylan's upcoming 80th birthday through original songs and poetry as well as works by Dylan.

SCULPTURE

Supporting local artists

• Hilary Greene and Jen Dragon of Cross Contemporary Partners will curate works by Hudson Valley artists placed throughout the Kaatsbaan campus. Artists will includes Emil Alzamora, Stuart Farmery, Tristan Fitch, Jared Handelsman, Kenichi Hiratsuka, Portia Munson, E.M. Power, Gregory Steel, Kurt Steger, Christina Tenaglia,and Millicent Young. All pieces will be on view for the duration of the festival and available for purchase.

CULINARY ARTS

Roundtable discussions with culinary artists

• Jeff Gordinier, author of Hungry: Eating, Road-Tripping, and Risking It All with the Greatest Chef in the World, and frequent contributor to numerous publications including The New York Times and Esquire, has curated two roundtables that he will moderate on how our growing obsession with what we eat is changing the culture.
• A River Runs Through It: A Conversation about the Booming Hudson Valley Food Scene features two Hudson Valley chefs whose acclaimed restaurants recently appeared in Esquire's "Best New Restaurants 2020" list: Dale Talde of Goosefeather in Tarrytown (from Bravo's Emmy Award-winning culinary show, Top Chef) and Gabe McMackin, Michelin star chefof Troutbeck in Amenia (formerly the chef and owner of the Finch in Brooklyn as well as chef at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Gramercy Tavern, and Roberta's.) Joining them is Hudson Valley farmer and good-meat advocate Celine Kagan, whose organization builds pathways to responsible meat production and consumption, and Naima Penniman of Soul Fire Farm, an Afro-Indigenous centered community farm committed to uprooting racism and seeding sovereignty in the food system.
• Into the Wild: How Foraging Can Change Your Life - And Your Diet features Maria Pinto an award-winning Black writer and poet with a passion for mushrooms and foraging, J. Mae Barizo Filipinoprize-winning poet, critic and performer, and New York-based chef Will Horowitz, co-author of Salt Smoke Time: Homesteading and Heritage Techniques for the Modern Kitchen and the Executive Chef and Owner of New York City's highly acclaimed Ducks Eatery and Harry & Ida's.
• Featured authors' books will be made available for on-site book signing at the Festival. Purchases can be made in advance at Kaatsbaan.org, in partnership with Oblong Books & Music.

Pre-sale tickets are now available to Kaatsbaan members and will be open to the general public on March 8 at Kaatsbaan.org. With proper I.D., essential workers, veterans, seniors, and students will receive a 10% discount at ticket checkout. Limited tickets are being sold as Kaatsbaan will operate at less than 3% capacity to promote safety. All events will follow CDC and NYS guidelines regarding COVID-19, including mandatory masks, socially distanced seating, and timed arrivals. Full protocols and procedures will be available on our website and communicated to ticket purchasers.

Digital streaming tickets will also be made available on May 1 for those who would like to enjoy the performances virtually.

Digital recordings of all performances will be filmed by local Hudson Valley crew who are trained and referred by Stockade Works. Stockade Works, a nonprofit that runs training programs in film & TV production for local residents, was founded by

Mary Stuart Masterson and is led by Executive Director Marie Nachsin. Kaatsbaan is proud to partner with Stockade Works on this event.