After two years, Dance with Bach is back (photo courtesy the Sebastians / Christopher Caines Dance)
Who: The Sebastians, Christopher Caines Dance
What: Music and dance celebrating Johann Sebastian Bach
Where: Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church, 152 West Sixty-Sixth St. between Amsterdam & Columbus Aves.
When: Friday, May 20, and Saturday, May 21, $20 virtual, $30-$50 in-person and virtual
Why: In 2014, the Sebastians, a chamber ensemble named after Johann Sebastian Bach, joined forces with Christopher Caines Dance to present Henry Purcell’s 1692 opera, The Fairy Queen, an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, merging baroque music with modern dance. Following a two-year delay because of the pandemic, the two companies are back together for Dance with Bach, a trio of Bach suites choreographed by Christopher Caines, taking place May 20-21 at the Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church by Lincoln Center as well as streaming online, photographed by multiple cameras. The program begins with Jean-Marie Leclair’s Ouverture from Deuxième récréation de musique d’une execution facile, Op. 8, followed by Bach’s Cello Suite No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012, performed on viola da spalla; English Suite No. 5 in E minor, BWV 810 for harpsichord; and Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067 for flute, strings, and continuo.
“We are thrilled to finally bring Dance with Bach to fruition,” Sebastians artistic director Jeffrey Grossman said in a statement. “Christopher and the dancers had put in countless hours of rehearsal when we were forced to cancel our May 2020 performances. We discussed ways of producing the project virtually, with recorded music and dancers wearing masks, but decided there would be too many compromises. After such a long journey, the experience of being back in the same room with the dancers, to feel their energy and respond musically to their physicality, is incredible.” Caines added, “I am one lucky choreographer to have had this band really throw down the gauntlet by asking me to choreograph three iconic masterpieces by their namesake master composer. What a challenge! And my dancers could not be more thrilled at the prospect of taking the stage backed up by one of the finest baroque ensembles anywhere.”
The works will be danced by CCD members Michael Bishop, Elisa Toro Franky, Genaro Freire, Jeremy Kyle, Michelle Vargo, and Leigh Schanfein in addition to student dancers from New York Theatre Ballet School (Charlotte Anub, Audrey Cen, Josephine Ernst, Madeline Goodwin, Clara Rodrigues-Cheung, Emely Leon Rivas, Eva Sgorbati). The ensemble consists of David Ross on flute, Nicholas DiEugenio on violin, Daniel Lee on viola da spalla and violin, Jessica Troy on viola, Ezra Seltzer on cello, Nathaniel Chase on violone, and Grossman on harpsichord.