Miami’s Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre will present New York premiere of DINING ALONE April 18-19 at BAC (photo by Adam Reign)
Baryshnikov Arts Center, Howard Gilman Performance Space
450 West 37th St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Thursday, April 18, 7:30 & 9:30, and Friday, April 19, 7:30, $20
866-811-4111
www.bacnyc.org
www.rosieherrera.com
Miami-based Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre made its New York debut in January at the Joyce, performing its 2009 piece, Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret, appearing with such popular troupes as Doug Varone & Dancers, Brian Brooks Moving Company, John Jasperse, Stephen Petronio Company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Jodi Melnick, and Eiko & Koma. Herrera, who incorporates gesture, drama, humor, and playful props into her creations, is back in the city quickly, presenting the New York premiere of her American Dance Festival / Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County commission Dining Alone at the Baryshnikov Arts Center April 18-19. Inspired by her father, a restaurant owner, Dining Alone is about the experience of eating solo, especially as one ages and outlives spouses and friends. “I come from a culture where you never eat alone, particularly if you’re older,” Herrera, who is also a classically trained lyric coloratura soprano who sings with the Performers Music Institute Opera Ensemble, told ADF at the work’s world premiere in June 2011, adding, “We revere our citizens in Cuban culture.” In a statement, BAC artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov noted, “Ms. Herrera is a woman of ideas who draws from cultures, experiences, and training not necessarily commonly represented in New York. Miami is so rich culturally, yet we see little contemporary dance emerging from that region. The performances at BAC will provide an opportunity for New Yorkers to connect with a young and adventurous artist from that part of the country.” The fifty-minute Dining Alone will be performed April 18 at 7:30 and 9:30 and April 19 at 7:30 by Octavio Campos, Ivonne Batanero, Leah Verier Dunn, Liony Garcia, Fernando Landeros, Katie Stirman, Raymond Storms, and Melissa Toogood, with lighting by David Ferri.