Jasmin Vardimon Company Presents American Premiere at Peak Performances, April 18-21

Pina Bausch has left her imprint both visibly and invisibly on many contemporary choreographers including Jasmin Vardimon, whose London-based troupe Jasmin Vardimon Company makes its American debut (if you don't count a blink-of-an-eye stint in Texas) at Peak Performances with "Freedom" (definitely an American premiere), April 18-21.

"Freedom," which received its world premiere at Sadler's Wells in London, where Vardimon is an associate artist, questions the notion of "freedom" itself. What does it mean? How does it relate to its opposite: imprisonment? The dance asks these questions through a series of enchanting tableaux that include dancing fireflies, wolves in yoga pants, plants that transform into snakes, a surfer who mistakes his girlfriend's body for a surf board, a ballerina who initially mistakes industrial tubing for wings and a swan with an attitude-and altitude-problem. It is surreal, whimsical, nightmarish, witty and fun. Vardimon also serves as the work's sound designer.

PERFORMANCE TIMES

Thursday, April 18 @ 7:30pm
Friday, April 19 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, April 20 @ 8pm
Sunday, April 21@ 3pm

WHERE TO GO

The Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University is located at 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, New Jersey 07043. Tickets are $15, and are available at the box office, www.peakperfs.org, or by calling 973-655-5112.

Charter bus service is provided from New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal - arcade on 41st Street between 8th and 9th Avenues - to the Alexander Kasser Theater ($10 per person, roundtrip) for all Saturday and Sunday performances. Bus reservations may be made by calling 973-655-5112 or by visiting www.peakperfs.org. For train service, available only on weekdays, go online to www.njtransit.com or call 973-275-5555.

For restaurants close to the Alexander Kasser Theater, visitwww.destinationmontclair.com.