1
Jun/15

CEDAR LAKE CONTEMPORARY BALLET FAREWELL PERFORMANCES

1
Jun/15

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, Peter Jay Sharp Building
230 Lafayette Ave.
June 3-6, $20-$55
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
cedarlakedance.com

For a dozen years, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet has been one of the most innovative and entertaining American dance companies, an immensely talented troupe collaborating with an impressive collection of international choreographers. So it will be more than a little bittersweet when Cedar Lake comes to BAM this week for its final farewell performances, as it was announced earlier this year that the Chelsea-based group was closing its doors for good when its primary donor, Walmart heiress Nancy Laurie, decided to pull the plug on her contributions. Under the leadership of artistic director Alexandra Damiani, Cedar Lake will be at the Howard Gilman Opera House June 3-6, presenting two programs of company favorites and new works. Program A (June 3 & 5) consists of 2008’s Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue, choreographed by Crystal Pite, with costumes by Junghyun Georgia Lee and music from Cliff Martinez’s soundtrack for Steven Soderbergh’s remake of Solaris; the New York premiere of Rain Dogs, with choreography, sets, and costumes by Johan Inger and music by Tom Waits; and the world premiere of My Generation, choreographed by Richard Siegal, with costumes by Bernhard Willhelm and music by Atom™. Program B (June 4 & 6) includes Ten Duets as well, in addition to 2013’s Indigo Rose, with choreography and décor by Jiří Kylián, costumes by Joke Vissar, and music by Robert Ashley, François Couperin, John Cage, and J. S. Bach, and 2012’s Necessity, Again, choreographed by Jo Strømgren, with costumes by Lee, music by Charles Aznavour, text by Jacques Derrida, and additional music by Bergmund Skaslien. It’s worth mentioning each member of this versatile, virtuosic company, several of whom have been with Cedar Lake for quite some time: Jon Bond, Nickemil Concepcion, Navarra Novy-Williams, Matthew Rich, Joaquim de Santana, Vânia Doutel Vaz, Ebony Williams, Rachelle Scott, Ida Saki, Jin Young Won, Joseph Kudra, Guillaume Quéau, Madeline Wong, Raymond Pinto, and apprentices Daphne Fernberger and Patrick Coker.