Go into choreographer Jamar Robert's Works & Process bubble residency at Catskill Mountain Foundation.
"Commonly, when a choreographer tries to express a state of emergency though dance, the results are obvious, didactic, or maudlin. An ability to avoid those traps seems to be part of Mr. Roberts's gift." -The New York Times
In March 2020, just as the pandemic hit, Works & Process invited Jamar Roberts, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's first resident choreographer, to develop a piece for Works & Process Artists (WPA) Virtual Commissions. Roberts created Cooped, with music by David Watson, which was described by the New York Times as "one of the most powerful artistic responses yet to the COVID-19 crisis." In this Works & Process bubble residency, Roberts continued to choreograph a new work that was first developed in a summer 2020 Works & Process bubble residency.
Dancers include Patrick Coker, Ghrai DeVore-Stokes, Jacquelin Harris, Courtney Celeste Spears, and Brandon Michael Woolridge, with commissioned music by Watson. The work will premiere in the 2021-2022. To go into the bubble residency watch Works & Process at the Catskill Mountain Foundation's presentation of A Chronicle of a Pivot at a Point in Time, where Roberts discusses his creative process.
Since the pandemic began, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has driven efforts to bring the power of the arts to New Yorkers outdoors and digitally-from Love From Lincoln Center concerts for individual essential workers to works of art that elevate the voices and lived experiences of people of color in America, such as Carrie Mae Weems' installation Resist COVID/Take 6!, Davóne Tines' Vigil, and digital commissions like The Baptism by Carl Hancock Rux. Future international collaborations with the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center in Athens (SNFCC) will bring new approaches to cultural engagement in both cities. These are just the beginning of a reorientation towards prioritizing openness, access, and inclusive excellence - elevating talent from every corner of the globe and fostering a sense of radical welcome on the campus.
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