Baryshnikov Arts Center Opens Fall 2012 Season Tonight, 9/20

The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) announces the fall 2012 performance season, which runs tonight, September 20 to December 15 and features the World, U.S., and New York Premieres of works by international theater, dance, and music artists.

This season, BAC welcomes to the stage of the Jerome Robbins Theater acclaimed French actress Dominique Blanc in the U.S. Premiere of La Douleur (Oct 2-6), written by Marguerite Duras. Staged by renowned director Patrice Chereau, in collaboration with choreographer Thierry Thieu Niang, this theater work is based on diaries Duras kept at the end of World War II as she awaited the improbable return of her husband, a prisoner in a concentration camp. Chereau, a prominent French director of theater, opera and film, has directed several productions starring Blanc, the winner of four Cesar Awards and recipient of the Moliere Award for Best Actress for her performance in La Douleur. Together, they deliver a powerful interpretation of Duras’s poignant text.

The writings of another literary great, Leo Tolstoy, will come to life onstage in October when the Bolshoi Puppet Theatre makes its U.S. debut with Kholstomer: The Story of a Horse (Oct 18-20). Made possible by a four-year grant from The AG Foundation in support of Russian cultural programming at BAC, this leading puppet theater company from St. Petersburg will perform a masterful adaptation of Tolstoy’s short story, a bittersweet satire on human existence told from the point of view of a horse.

Dance offerings this fall include works by critically acclaimed choreographer Doug Elkins, a 2012 Guggenheim Fellow. For his New York season at BAC (Dec 5-8), Elkins digs deep into his repertory, a body of work embracing an array of movement styles including hip hop and martial arts. His company will perform the New York Premiere of Mo(or)town Redux—a reworking of his original dance from 1990—based on Shakespeare’s Othello, and set to Motown music. The program also includes Scott, Queen of Marys, a work created in 1996 to showcase the talents of vogue and drag ball legend Willi Ninja.

The fall dance line-up also includes performances by International Artists presented by BAC in conjunction with two celebrated performing arts festivals: Crossing the Line and White Light Festival. October 10-12, performer, director, and choreographer Raimund Hoghe will give the U.S. Premiere of his climactic duet Pas de Deux with Japanese dancer Takashi Ueno—co-presented by French Institute Alliance Francoise (FIAF). The following month, acclaimed dancer/choreographer Malavika Sarukkai offers exquisite interpretations of Bharata Natyam, the classical dance of South India (Nov 1-3). The Spirit of the Body, accompanied by four musicians from Madras, India, is a co-presentation with Lincoln Center.

Rounding out the fall are three music concerts, including the season opener tonight, September 20 and tomorrow night, September 21, a program of works by Mozart and Ligeti performed by the illustrious St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble. This concert marks the second co-presentation with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, BAC’s neighbors within the performing arts complex at 450 W. 37th Street. The new music group International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) will also perform the World Premieres of evening-length works developed by the musicians of ICE with composers during weeklong residencies called ICElab at BAC. The first concert will feature a music and dance collaboration between composer Lisa Coons and choreographers Zack Winokur and Michelle Mola (Nov 2-3). Bringing BAC’s fall season to a close on December 15, ICE’s second concert will feature works by France-based composers Patricia Alessandrini and Juan Pablo Carreno.

Tickets to all BAC events go on sale Wednesday, August 1, 2012 and may be purchased via BACNYC.ORG or 866-811-4111. A complete schedule of BAC’s fall 2012 season follows.

BARYSHNIKOV ARTS CENTER: FALL 2012 SEASON

MUSIC

St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble Whirlwind
September 20-21 (Thursday – Friday at 8PM)
Jerome Robbins Theater
Tickets: $25
Mozart: Serenade K. 361 Gran Partita Ligeti: Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet

St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble performs virtuosic wind instrument compositions by two masters, ranging from the grand Viennese classical tradition to 20th century abstract miniatures. With set design by visual artist Anne Patterson and lighting design by Matt Frey.
Co-presented with Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

THEATER

La Douleur (The War: A Memoir)
U.S. Premiere
Written by Marguerite Duras
Performed by Dominique Blanc
Directed by Patrice Chereau + Thierry Thieu Niang
October 2-6 (Tuesday – Saturday at 8PM)
Jerome Robbins Theater
Tickets: $30

La Douleur is the poignant memoir of Marguerite Duras, written at the end of World War II, as she awaited with uncertainty her husband’s return from a concentration camp. Her intimate text, staged by theater director Patrice Chereau, in collaboration with choreographer Thierry Thieu Niang, is given a powerful interpretation by Dominque Blanc, who recreates Duras's alternating hope and despair with extraordinary intensity.

DANCE

Raimund Hoghe
Pas de Deux
U.S. Premiere
October 10-12 (Wednesday – Friday at 7:30PM)
Howard Gilman Performance Space
Tickets: $20

German-born choreographer Raimund Hoghe’s Pas de Deux with Japanese dancer Takashi Ueno offers a new, minimalist interpretation of the crowning moment of the 19th century virtuoso classical ballet—the pas de deux. Drawing from the art form’s array of gestures, the work explores duality in mirrored movements rooted in the backgrounds and cultures of both dancers. Moving together in isolation, they subtly reveal their worlds.

Co-presented with the French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF)’s Crossing the Line 2012. Generous support provided by Fondation d'entreprise Hermes and NRW Kultursekretariat Wuppertal.

THEATER

The Bolshoi Puppet Theatre
Kholstomer: The Story of a Horse
U.S. Premiere
October 18 –20 (Thursday – Saturday at 7:30PM)
Howard Gilman Performance Space
Tickets: $20

St. Petersburg’s leading puppet theater company, directed by Ruslan Kudashov, performs a masterful adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s short story, a bittersweet satire on human existence told from the point of view of a horse. In Russian with English titles.

DANCE

Malavika Sarukkai
The Spirit of the Body
November 1–3 (Thursday – Saturday at 8:30PM)
Jerome Robbins Theater
Tickets: $25

Classical Indian dancer Malavika Sarukkai’s choreography and performances personify the art of living: nature, beauty, pleasure, and sorrow. She transforms the human body into a vehicle for transcendence, taking others on a spiritual journey in which the body, mind, and soul coexist as one entity.

Co-presented with Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival. This presentation of The Spirit of the Body is made possible in part by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc. Tickets are on sale now: www.whitelightfestival.org.

MUSIC

International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)
ICElab: Echoi (2012)
World Premiere Music of Lisa Coons
Dance and Choreography by Zack Winokur and Michelle Mola
November 2 – 3 (Friday – Saturday at 7PM)
Howard Gilman Performance Space
Free Admission; Reservations Required

ICE and the contemporary dance company The Troupe perform a new evening-length work by composer Lisa Coons and choreographers Zack Winokur and Michelle Mola. Echoi creates an innovative framework for dance and music performance that alternates between structure and improvisation. With lighting design by Nicholas Houfek.

Echoi was created through the ICElab commissioning program and developed in residence at BAC.

DANCE

Doug Elkins Choreography, Etc. Scott, Queen of Marys (1996) Mo(or)town Redux (2011)
N.Y. Premiere
December 5-8 (Wednesday – Saturday at 7:30PM)
Howard Gilman Performance Space
Tickets: $20

Post-modern choreographer Doug Elkins digs deep into his hip hop-influenced repertory in Mo(or)town Redux, the tale of Shakespeare’s Othello set to Motown music, and Scott, Queen of Marys, a work created in 1996 to showcase the talents of vogue and drag ball legend Willi Ninja.

MUSIC

International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)
ICElab: Self Fictions Music of Patricia Alessandrini and Juan Pablo Carreno
World Premieres
December 15 (Saturday at 7PM)
Howard Gilman Performance Space
Free Admission; Reservations Required

ICE performs new works by two France-based composers. Patricia Alessandrini's Gurre-Klange puts a magnifying glass to Schoenberg's most outrageously large-scale work, ; and Juan Pablo Carreno's Self-Fiction series creates violent walls of sound that break down conventional rules of music performance. With video design by Ross Karre and lighting design by Nicholas Houfek.

Self Fictions was created through the ICElab commissioning program and developed in residence at BAC. The Baryshnikov Arts Center’s residency program provides artists with space and resources to research and develop new work. Fall 2012 resident artists include:
Lemon Andersen (Theater); Kyle deCamp (Multi-Media); Daniel Fish (Theater); International Contemporary Ensemble (Music); Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Theater); Dean Moss (Dance/Visual Art); Sally Silvers (Dance); Dusan Tynek (Dance); Jean-Guillaume Weis (Dance); and Netta Yerushalmy (Dance).

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) is the realization of a long-held vision by artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov, who sought to build an arts center in Manhattan that would serve as a gathering place for artists from all disciplines. BAC’s opening in 2005 heralded the launch of this mission, establishing a thriving creative laboratory and performance space for artists from around the world. BAC’s activities encompass a robust residency program augmented by a range of professional services, including commissions of new work, as well as the presentation of performances by artists at varying stages of their careers. In tandem with its commitment to supporting artists, BAC is dedicated to building audiences for the arts by presenting contemporary, innovative work at affordable ticket prices. For more information, visit www.bacnyc.org.

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