New York Live Arts Presents the U.S. Premiere of Alain Buffard's BARON SAMEDI Tonight

New York Live Arts presents the U.S. premiere of Alain Buffard's Baron Samedi, tonight, May 1 - 3 at 7:30pm in the New York Live Arts Theater. Featuring a stellar international cast including Nadia Beugré, Will Rawls and David Thomson, among others, Baron Samedi pays tribute to the eponymous legendary and unsettling Carnival figure and voodoo master of ceremonies.

First performed in April 2012 at the Théâtre de Nîmes in France, Baron Samedi is Buffard's "choreographed opera," amalgamated with the live accompaniment of Kurt Weill's music and poetry. The work creates a disruption and unmasking of social persona, pretense, ceremony and hierarchy. In addition to Beugré, Rawls and Thomson, the cast of performers includes Hlengiwe Lushaba, Dorothée Munyaneza, Olivier Normand and musicians Sarah Murcia and Seb Martel.

"I am a deep admirer of the late, singular French choreographer Alain Buffard," said Carla Peterson, Artistic Director of New York Live Arts. "Alain, who earned a reputation for being an artist's artist, was a provocative and intellectually stimulating creator who's over 15 choreographic and visual works over the past 15 plus years are, each one, worlds unto themselves. As with Baron Samedi, his latest work, he often wrestled thematically with the underbelly of darkness that, in his hands, carried truths. He also was a gifted theater artist who loved music and visual arts, and could bring into the work a level of smart entertainment via his always exceptional performers, lightening but not obscuring the message. Baron Samedi is like that. I was proud to present his dark and riveting Les inconsolés at Dance Theater Workshop in 2010 and equally proud to bring this last work of his to our New York Live Arts audience."

The presentation of Baron Samedi is part of DANSE: A French-American Festival of Performance and Ideas, in New York City, May 1- 18, 2014, organized by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the USA, with additional support from Institut français and Région Languedoc-Roussillon.

About Alain Buffard:

Alain Buffard (1960-2013) trained at the Centre National de Danse Contemporaine in Angers with Alwin Nikolaïs, and interpreted for choreographers such as Daniel Larrieu, Régine Chopinot and Philippe Decouflé. In 1996 he worked with Yvonne Rainer, as well as with Anna Halprin with whom he also made a film, My lunch with Anna. In 1998 Buffard created a radical solo piece, Good Boy, followed by a succession of choreographic works exploring the body as a political place. In June 2007 he created (Not) a Love Songwith Miguel Gutierrez, Vera Mantero, Claudia Triozzi and Vincent Ségal, and in 2008 presented his first theater exhibition,umstellung/Umwandlung, at Tanzquartier, Vienna. A trio, Les inconsolés was presented at Dance Theater Workshop in 2010.

Performances will take place in New York Live Arts' Theater. Come Early Conversations and Stay Late Discussions will also be featured with two shows (see complete schedule below). Tickets are $20 and may be purchased online at newyorklivearts.org/season, by phone at 212-924-0077 and in person at the box office. Box Office hours are Monday to Friday from 1 to 9pm, and Saturday andSunday from 12 to 8pm.

ABOUT NEW YORK LIVE ARTS

New York Live Arts is an internationally recognized destination for innovative movement-based artistry offering audiences access to art and artists notable for their conceptual rigor, formal experimentation and active engagement with the social, political and cultural currents of our times. At the center of this identity is Bill T. Jones, Executive Artistic Director, a world-renowned choreographer, dancer, theater director and writer.

We commission, produce and present performances in our 20,000 square foot home, which includes a 184-seat theater and two 1,200 square foot studios that can be combined into one large studio. New York Live Arts serves as home base for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, provides an extensive range of participatory programs for adults and young people and supports the continuing professional development of artists. Our influence extends beyond NYC through our international cultural exchange program that currently places artists in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Funding Support for New York Live Arts

Major support for New York Live Arts is provided by: The Brownstone Foundation; The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; Con Edison; The Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art; The Ford Foundation; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; Florence Gould Foundation; Japan Foundation; Jerome Foundation; Lambent Foundation; MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts; Robert Rauschenberg Foundation; The Rockefeller Foundation NYC Cultural Innovation Fund; The Jerome Robbins Foundation; The Scherman Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. New York Live Arts is supported by public funds administered by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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