BAM blog

Photo: Jan Versweyveld

In 1917, Czech composer Leoš Janáček became obsessed with a married woman 40 years his junior. In the throes of despair, he penned more than 700 love letters and a haunting 22-part song cycle called Diary of One Who Disappeared, about a village boy who falls in love with a Romany girl.

Director Ivo van Hove, in collaboration with Flemish opera company Muziektheater Transparant, brings his trademark physicality and stripped-down aesthetic to bear on Janáček’s masterpiece. Featuring bravura performances by tenor Andrew Dickinson and mezzo-soprano Marie Hamard and additional music by composer Annelies Van Parys, van Hove’s contemporary reimagining of Janáček’s singular work paints a deeply affecting portrait of identity, infatuation, and ultimately, alienation.

After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below, and on social media using #diaryofone.

Program Notes

Diary of One Who Disappeared (PDF)

Read

Article
The Demolition Artist: 3 Critics Debate Ivo van Hove (The New York Times)
In this edited conversation, Ben Brantley, co-chief theater critic for The Times, and the critics Elisabeth Vincentelli and Jason Zinoman discuss how van Hove became “the most important auteur on the international stage circuit.”

Article
Flesh and Fantasy (The Guardian)
A documentary filmmaker with a long involvement with Janácek’s opera examines how the composers's love for Kamila Stösslova inspired his late masterpieces, and whether audiences should trust his version of the relationship.

Article
The Reluctant Muse Who Inspired One of the 20th Century's Most Original Composers (BAM Blog)
Through his music, Janácek created distorted reflections of Stösslová as the woman he wanted her to be, and not as the woman she truly was.

Article
Ivo van Hove Unlocks a Rarely Staged ‘Diary’ (The New York Times)
Ivo van Hove and designer Jan Versweyveld explain how they brought van Hove’s signature theatrical style to the "poetic and surprising" song cycle.

Article
Stage Directions: Broadway’s Ivo van Hove Shares the Childhood Story of How He Became a Director (Playbill)
The director shares his philosophy on directing (“Be open. Be transparent. Be yourself.”) and tells the story of the first time he met David Bowie.

Watch & Listen

Video
Ivo van Hove on Diary of One Who Disappeared (Vimeo)
Ivo van Hove discusses how he brought Diary of One Who Disappeared to the stage and why he set the opera in a photographer’s studio.

Video
NYC-ARTS Profile: Ivo van Hove (PBS)
In this Paula Zahn interview with Ivo van Hove, the director discusses his origins, his methods, and his attraction to American playwrights.

Now your turn...

What did you think? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #diaryofone.

© 2019 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

By Susan Yung

Pepperland (coming to BAM May 8—11) found its musical inspiration in The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but rather than taking her cues from the iconic album’s cover, Elizabeth Kurtzman, the show’s costume designer, looked to an earlier era for its fashion. We asked her why you won’t find any feathers, satin, bellbottoms, or Nehru collars on the performers.

Photo: Gareth Jones

Why did you choose the style of everyday clothing, and did you consider using military uniform details along the way?
Mark wanted simple shapes, styles more reminiscent of the early 60s. We never set out to recreate the album cover, nor were we interested in being faithful to the styles of 1967. Military jackets were not even discussed. No feathers, no satin. The clothes were meant to create the spirit of an earlier time, and The Beatles in general.

The cuts are on the conservative side—no bellbottoms or Nehru collars. Can you talk about that?
I did lots of research on the early 60s. The cuts WERE more on the conservative side. Nehru collars and bellbottoms felt a little later to me. I was struck by all of the different suits the Beatles wore in A Hard Day’s Night, which I think I have watched at least 100 times. Everything is cut on the smaller side. They always looked great. Even their long hair is cut on the conservative side. The screaming girls all wore very trim skirts and coats, and flat shoes that they could run after the band in.

Photo: Stephanie Sleeper

How did you pick the palette?
Color in fashion went crazy at that time. I think it’s because of all the synthetic fabrics that were being developed, along with the desire to make a big splash. Specifically, I have always loved the images of the mural that was painted above the Lord John boutique on Carnaby Street in 1967. I pushed that palette around quite a lot, and came up with what you see on the dancers. Not quite neon, but happy and exciting.

Pepperland will be at BAM May 8—11.

Susan Yung is senior editorial manager at BAM.

By Susan Yung

On April 16, Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event marks what would have been Merce Cunningham’s 100th birthday. Concurrently at BAM, the Barbican in London, and UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, 81 dancers (25 per city, plus understudies) will perform 100 solos drawn from the choreographer’s body of work; the Event will be livestreamed. Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung (Reid & Harriet Design) designed the costumes. On top of that monumental task, Bartelme—who has danced professionally with numerous companies—will perform at BAM. Here’s what he had to say about this experience.

As costume designer, what was your inspiration for the costumes?
Harriet and I looked to the history of Cunningham costumes to inform our choices for this performance. We wanted to both honor the past and update certain tropes in order to reflect our own ideas about costuming dance today. The logistics of this huge event played a big part in our decision making. We needed to accommodate 81 dancers representing a broad range of dance backgrounds and spanning around 50 years in terms of age. To make sure everyone would feel comfortable in their costume we made a sort of menu of five silhouette options ranging from very tight and revealing to somewhat more spacious and pedestrian.

We also chose eight colors that would exist in different proportion within each cast and certain colors were chosen as indicators of the dancers' professional backgrounds.

You danced with several companies. How and when did you begin designing costumes as well? And how did you begin working with Harriet?
While I was dancing for Shen Wei Dance Arts I had already spent nearly a decade in dance companies and I started thinking about my life beyond a dance career. After some reflection on my own interests I perused a fashion design education. I attended the Fashion Institute of Technology while dancing for the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and it was there that I met Harriet Jung who was in the same women’s apparel design program. Friends and colleagues from the dance world started reaching out to me for costumes early on in my schooling and by the time school was over I made the decision to cultivate a dance costume practice and business as opposed to a fashion design job. Harriet and I started collaborating on jobs intermittently while we were in school. In the couple years following FIT we would work on some costume design jobs together while she was working as a designer at Jill Stuart. Eventually we made Reid & Harriet Design our primary focus.

Photo Credit: Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung

As a dancer, you trained in Cunningham’s technique, but were not in the company. How do you feel about performing in the Cunningham centennial event?
I was surprised and honored to be asked to dance in the centennial event. I’ve been taking Cunningham classes very sporadically for nearly 20 years. I know that sounds like a long time, but there have been huge breaks in my Cunningham practice. I feel connected to the Cunningham universe through my connections to the former company members and because of the time I spent training at Westbeth. I’ve never performed Cunningham repertoire, so it’s a totally exciting and foreign experience.

How has the coaching/rehearsal process been, and with whom did you work on your solo?
I learned my solos from Andrea Weber, Jean Freebury, and Patricia Lent. I also got to do a little coaching with Banu Ogan while I was in LA doing fittings. The learning process has been incredibly fun and positive and being in the studios with the former company members and other amazing cast members has been inspiring and humbling. Watching the cast members who come from such a broad array of backgrounds learn and approach the material so differently has been really eye opening.

Do you think that when you’re designing a costume, it helps to approach it from the perspective of a dancer?
When I’m designing costumes for dance, my experience as a dancer is constantly present. It’s not an intentionally deployed device that I draw on for dance design. It is inherent because of my life experience. Working with Harriet often challenges me to see beyond traditional notions of dance costuming. Her experience is not constrained by a lifetime of wearing clothes designed for dance functionality. Our two perspectives allow for problem solving that often yields better results than we could have arrived at alone.

Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event comes to BAM April 16 and will be livestreamed online here.

Susan Yung is senior editorial manager at BAM.

Over the span of his 70-year career, choreographer Merce Cunningham developed a repertoire of nuanced movement and effortless precision. Known for his experimentalism and dexterous use of both chance and control, he left behind a substantial oeuvre when he died in 2009. The Merce Cunningham Centennial commemorates what would be the 100th birthday of the esteemed choreographer in this one-night Event, staged concurrently at BAM, the Barbican in London, and UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance. With live music and special set design, 25 dancers on each stage perform 100 solos drawn from more than seven decades of Cunningham’s work. The selections range in length from 30 seconds to four minutes, and include more than a dozen of his own solos.

Reflecting Cunningham’s embrace of technology and the Merce Cunningham Trust’s commitment to accessibility, Night of 100 Solos will be streamed live online and available for the next few months at mercecunningham.org.

Program Notes

Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event (PDF)

Read

Article
Featured Collection: Merce Cunningham at BAM (Leon Levy BAM Digital Archive)
Dive into our Archives for a complete view of the legendary choreographer’s history at BAM: from dancing with Martha Graham and Dance Company in 1945 to The Legacy Tour in 2011, three years after his passing.

Blog
Dressing the 81 Dancers in Night Of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event (BAM Blog)
We spoke with Night of 100 Solos dancer Reid Bartelme, who is also one half of the design team responsible for the dancers’ costumes, on how he and Harriet Jung approached costuming such a monumental work.

Article
Four Events That Have Led to Large Discoveries (Merce Cunningham Trust)
Merce Cunningham Trust remains a valuable resource for dancers and aficionados looking to access to his work. It even includes his own writing, which provides precious insight into his journey as a dancer/choreographer.

Article
Making Dances in the Shadow of Merce Cunningham (The New York Times)
Four dancers reflect on what it was like to dance with Merce, his impact, and how they might differentiate their individual styles from the late choreographer’s.

Watch & Listen

Video
Merce Cunningham Trust (Various)
Get lost within this treasure trove of videos that feature performances, workshops detailing the Merce Cunningham technique, and documentaries including If the Dancer Dances (which screens at BAM April 15).

Video
Mondays With Merce #1: Technique (YouTube)
What was it like to learn from Merce Cunningham? Sit in at a rehearsal with Merce Cunningham Dance Company in the first installment of a series.

Video
Merce Cunningham Dance Company at BAM: Split Sides (Silas Riener solo) (YouTube)
Watch another memorable solo performed at the Howard Gilman House, this one from Merce Cunningham: The Legacy Tour, part of the 2011 Next Wave Festival.

Now your turn...

What did you think? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #100Solos.

© 2019 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

Photo: Ney Coelho

Brazilian cultural revolutionary Caetano Veloso has been a transformative international force since the 1960s, when he swirled bossa nova, art rock, and psychedelia into the world-shaking phenomenon known as Tropicália—a musical manifesto that wrapped anti-authoritarian political dissidence in a kaleidoscope of sound. In this special two-night engagement, the ever-evolving singer, composer, and activist is joined by his three sons—Moreno, Zeca, and Tom—for a family affair that zigzags across Veloso's restlessly innovative body of work: from swaying samba rhythms to pop experimentation and lyrics that swerve from the hallucinogenic to the subversive to the sublime.

After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #caetano.

Program Notes

Ofertório (PDF)

Read

Opinion
Caetano Veloso: Dark Times Are Coming for My Country (The New York Times)
Caetano Veloso penned this somber assessment of the rise of populist conservatism in Brazil shortly before the election of President Jair Bolsonaro.

Article
The Story of Tropicália in 20 Albums (Pitchfork)
Brazil’s musical revolution in the ‘60s, led by Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Tom Zé and Os Mutantes, explained through 20 of its most important albums (with audio).

Watch & Listen

Audio/Video
'Like father, like son,' is the case for the Velosos, Brazil's beloved musicians (PRI)
Moreno Veloso’s solo album Coisa Boa, his first after a 13-year break, celebrated Brazilian music from the 30s through the 70s and was an opportunity for the musician to create his own identity apart from his famous father.

Video
Caetano Veloso, Zeca Veloso, Tom Veloso – “O Seu Amor” ft. Moreno Veloso (YouTube)
A high-quality live video of the Velosos performing “O Seu Amor” from the album Ofertório.

Video
On Tropicália (YouTube)
We wanted to “shake the musical and cultural environment,” says Caetano Veloso of the movement he helped to found.

Now your turn...

What did you think? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #caetano.

© 2019 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

Photo: Beowulf Sheehan

By Susan Yung

Mark Morris Dance Group’s Pepperland, which has its evening-length New York premiere at the Howard Gilman Opera House May 8—11, takes as inspiration The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which debuted 51 years ago. An original score by jazz composer Ethan Iverson, performed live, riffs on the original album, with new sections written by Iverson and performed by the MMDG Music Ensemble. We spoke to Iverson about instrumentation, the singer’s presentation, and how he incorporated different classical forms into the score.
Can you talk about how you chose the instruments used?
I was Mark’s music director for five years. During that time I watched him make up dances to all sorts of unusual instrument combinations. The use of theremin and harpsichord connects to the swinging 60s. But in the end, I just chose the musicians I wanted to play with, and that became the ensemble.

Photo: Beowulf Sheehan

What was your process in the reworking (or rewriting completely) the songs that are not literal adaptations of The Beatles’ originals?
The original compositions are all based on classical forms. Some of Mark’s greatest work is to Purcell, Handel, and Mozart. I would take a fragment from The Beatles and tease out a formal structure for an Allegro, an Adagio, and a Scherzo. We also play a blues: another classical form!

Photo: Mat Hayward

The singer’s presentation is so straight forward—square—in contrast to the style The Beatles used. Why that choice?
Musical theater is an important reference for Pepperland. When you do things “straight,” it can lead to more complex emotions. In this case, a straight presentation of the melody can allow the accompaniment to be more chaotic.

Want to know more about the music? Here, Iverson discusses how the soundtrack came together, and Rolling Stone gives you the story behind every song on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Bandhere.

Pepperland will be at BAM May 8—11.

Susan Yung is senior editorial manager at BAM.

Photo: Rafael Berezinski

In Ofertório, coming to BAM April 12 & 13, Brazilian music legend Caetano Veloso is joined by his three sons, Moreno, Zeca, and Tom. “I have wanted to make music with my sons for a long time. When they were children, I always sang them to sleep,” says Caetano. “Moreno and Zeca liked it, while Tom used to ask me to stop. Although they took different paths, they each moved towards music at some point in their lives.”

Singer and songwriter Moreno Veloso has collaborated with renowned Brazilian musicians, among them Gilberto Gil in Gil’s recent show Refavela 40. At age nine, Moreno wrote his first composition with his father, "Um canto de afoxé para o bloco do Ilê," recorded by Caetano on “Cores, Nomes" (1982). Zeca Veloso, meanwhile, experimented with electronic music before writing on his own. Zeca, the middle son, had success with his song "Todo Homem," the theme of the Brazilian TV series “Onde Nascem os Fortes" (Rede Globo, 2018). The Ofertório tour is Zeca’s debut on stage with his family; they perform some of his compositions.

Tom Veloso, the youngest, is no longer asking his father to stop. He is a composer and guitarist in the band Dônica, recording its second album. He is named after the great musician Tom Jobim; born on the same date. In Ofertório, Tom presents his compositions/collaborations, including “Um Só Lugar," made famous by singer Roberta Sá.

Without further ado, the multi-talented Velosos:

Ofertório will be at BAM Apr 12 & 13.

Photo: James Klosty

By Susan Yung

On April 16, in performances staged concurrently at BAM, the Barbican in London, and UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, we will celebrate what would’ve been Merce Cunningham’s 100th birthday. Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event will feature 100 solos performed by 100 dancers—25 dancers on each stage—drawn from more than seven decades of Cunningham’s work. Cunningham has performed at BAM since 1952 and before that, he danced here with Martha Graham Dance Company. He forged his inventive modern style alongside his creative/life partner, composer John Cage, another radical innovator; they spent time at Black Mountain College, which fomented experimentation. The company struggled early on, yet one constant was performing at BAM with some regularity while gaining acknowledgment. With help from the Merce Cunningham Trust and our archivists, we remember the legendary choreographer by looking back at seven eras of Merce’s brilliant work at BAM.

Photo: Barbara Morgan

1945: First BAM Performance by Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham’s first appearance at BAM was in 1945 with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Though he was gaining popularity as a performer in her company, he would leave MGDC the following year—much to the disappointment of fans and critics—in order to focus on his own choreography and collaborations with John Cage.

Photo: Walter Strate

Apr 22, 1952: Cunningham/Cage’s First BAM Presentation
Merce Cunningham and John Cage’s first joint appearance at BAM was in a program called Theater for Dance. It was a shared evening with choreography by Cunningham, Jean Erdman, Erick Hawkins, and Donald McKayle. Cunningham’s contributions included the 1949 dance Two Step, as well as an excerpt from the evening-length Sixteen Dances for Soloist and Company of Three, which is the first dance Cunningham made using chance operations—the compositional method for creating work made famous by Cunningham and Cage.

Notes for Suite by Chance

1953—66: Early Lectures at BAM
Merce gave early lecture/demonstrations at BAM about the burgeoning form of modern dance. On April 15, 1953, just months before formally founding his company at Black Mountain College, Cunningham, along with five “specially chosen” dancers performed excerpts of his new work, Suite by Chance. On April 29, 1966: A private program was assembled for Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet called A Demonstration Program of Contemporary American Dance, intended to foster cross-cultural dialogue through the Iron Curtain. The choreographers selected to represent American modern dance were Merce Cunningham, James Waring, Anna Sokolow, and Paul Taylor. Many of the dancers would rise to prominence: Valda Setterfield and David Gordon (Waring), Dan Wagoner and Carolyn Adams (Taylor), and Martha Clarke and Jeff Duncan (Sokolow). The stage manager was 23-year-old Beverly Emmons, who became one of New York’s go-to lighting designers for dance, theater, and opera.

Photo: Robert Propper

The 50s and 60s
In the 50s and 60s, the Cunningham Company performed frequently at BAM, sometimes twice in one year. Many of Cunningham’s seminal works were presented, often as world premieres. His penchant for working with notable collaborators emerged; the list included such names as John Cage, David Tudor, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Christian Wolff, La Monte Young, and Remy Charlip.

Photo: James Klosty

May 15—26, 1968: First Long Run at BAM
The first major New York season given by what was then called “Merce Cunningham and Dance Company” offered eight distinct programs, each of which presented a range of works spanning 15 years of Cunningham’s choreography. The season included the New York premiere of two pieces which came to be regarded as classics: RainForest, with décor by Andy Warhol, and Walkaround Time, with a set by Jasper Johns which was inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s The Large Glass. Also notable were the musical guests for the Opening Night Benefit party: an on-the-rise band called The Velvet Underground.
The other dances on display were Winterbranch, Second Hand, How to Pass, Kick, Fall and Run, Place, Variations V, Nocturnes, Field Dances, Untitled Solo, Tread, Scramble, and Collage III.

Photo: Tom Brazil

Oct 7—12, 1986: Roaratorio
The 1986 Next Wave Festival included the US premiere of Cunningham’s Roaratorio. The music by John Cage, entitled “Roaratorio: an Irish Circus on Finnegans Wake” included a collage of sounds from around the world, plus five Irish musicians performing live, and the reading of mesostic poems by Cage based on lines from James Joyce’s text. The non-stop action performed by the dancers ebbs and flows over the course of the hour-long work, and at moments evokes Irish jigs, reels, and folk dances. Inlets 2, one of Cunningham’s nature studies, was performed as a sort of companion piece.

Photo: Elena Olivo

1997—2011: Late Work
Returning as a legendary American choreographer, Cunningham’s company performed several large-scale works at BAM between 1997 and 2011.

1997 - The world premiere of Scenario, with design by Rei Kawakubo of Comme Des Garçons.

2003 - A celebration of MCDC’s 50th anniversary with the world premiere of “Split Sides” with music by Sonic Youth and Radiohead.

2009 - The world premiere of Nearly Ninety with music by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Takehisa Kosugi, and Sonic Youth, which opened on Cunningham’s 90th birthday to a full house of adoring fans.

2011 - Two years after his death, the company’s final BAM season included some of Cunningham’s greatest hits: Roaratorio, Second Hand, BIPED, Pond Way, RainForest, and Split Sides.

Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event comes to BAM Apr 16; catch the livestream of all three performances here.

Susan Yung is senior editorial manager at BAM.

It is no secret that the cinema canon has historically skewed toward lionizing the white, male auteur. Beyond the Canon is a monthly series that seeks to question that history and broaden horizons by pairing one much-loved, highly regarded, canonized classic with a thematically or stylistically-related—and equally brilliant—work by a filmmaker traditionally excluded from that discussion. This month’s double feature pairs Charles Lane’s Sidewalk Stories (1989) with Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921).

By Jourdain Searles

Cinema informs our hearts, guiding our sympathies towards those who reflect ourselves and the people we want to be. This is largely why American cinema skews so often towards whiteness—showcasing white faces, bolstering the concept of white identity as the everyman, the default, and ultimately the most sympathetic. It remains a medium dominated by white creatives who instinctively create narratives that reflect their understanding of the world.

It can be assumed that in 1921 white audiences looked upon Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid and saw their fathers, sons, or the fathers and sons they never had. The Kid was perhaps one of the first family-oriented comedic tearjerkers. In it, a tramp (Chaplin) finds an abandoned child (Jackie Coogan) and raises him as his own. Then the child’s mother (Edna Purviance) appears, complicating their way of life. As per the classic storytelling structure, the tramp is reluctant at first to take on the kid, but by the end of the film, he can’t live without him. Neither can we—as the film ends, our minds wander into fan fiction: What kind of man will the kid become? Will he become someone like his surrogate father? When he’s older, will that closeness fade between him and the tramp?

The Kid

There is no question that The Kid is a masterpiece. But it also cannot be denied that the film’s enduring legacy is partially down to its whiteness, cementing its mainstream appeal for generations to come. The remainder of the film’s success rests on the shoulders of Chaplin, an auteur with a keen eye for delivering and producing sympathetic, layered performances, with a heart firmly rooted in the trials and tribulations of the underclass.

It makes sense that black director Charles Lane easily applied the structure and pathos of The Kid to his debut feature Sidewalk Stories (1989), a (mostly) silent, black-and-white comedic drama about a young, homeless street painter played by Lane (The Artist, as he is named in the credits), the little girl he takes on as a surrogate daughter (Nicole Alysia), and the professional black woman (Sandye Wilson) with whom he strikes up a surprising relationship that transcends economic boundaries.

Sidewalk Stories debuted at Cannes, where it reportedly received a standing ovation, before promptly fading into prolonged, unfair obscurity—it was unavailable on home video in the US until 2013. In addition to a general lack of industrial support for black independent filmmakers, perhaps the film’s unflinching, all-too-real depiction of a struggling underclass contributed to its prolonged lack of play. Wrenchingly poignant and unafraid to depict an accurate, soul-crushing portrayal of homeless life in New York City, the film shows The Artist and his poor community living parallel to the wealthy in Manhattan—with their long, expensive coats and self-assured, eyes-forward strides, they do their best to strategically avoid those calling out for help around them. And the film's plot is catalyzed by a brutal, frankly presented murder and mugging—the father of The Artist's surrogate daughter is on the wrong end of a knifing.

Sidewalk Stories

Arguably Sidewalk Stories’ most profound revisionist success is that it asks audiences to care for the well-being of society’s most ignored child: the little black girl. After all, since The Kid premiered to rave reviews in 1921, audiences have become accustomed to the cinematic white child—an adorable precocious moppet that is the embodiment of white innocence (with his expressive eyes and pinchable cheeks, Coogan became American film’s first child star and thus the primary archetype for children onscreen.) In Sidewalk Stories, it’s Alysia—Lane’s real-life daughter; undeniably cute, with natural pluck and an affectionate nature—who is the focal point. She instantly attaches herself to The Artist and trusts him with her whole heart. He, in turn, adores her with an intensity that surprises even himself. Through the role of protector and provider, he finds himself—imbuing this lost-and-found classic with a transcendentally powerful, personal-political undertow.

Join us for Beyond the Canon on Sun, Apr 28 at 2pm

Jourdain Searles is a critic and screenwriter who hails from Georgia and resides in Queens. She has written for Bitch Media, Thrillist, The Ringer, MTV News, and Paste Magazine.

© 2019 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mark Morris (kneeling) joined an all-star lineup celebrating the 15th Next Wave in 1997. First row, L-R: Jene Highstein (artist), Kristin Jones (artist), Merce Cunningham (choreographer), Mark Morris (choreographer), Harvey Lichtenstein (BAM President/Executive Producer). Back row: Andrew Ginzel (artist), Susan Marshall (choreographer), Joanne Akalaitis (director), Bill T. Jones (choreographer), Lou Reed (musician), Bob Telson (composer), Ping Chong (artist), Howard Gilman (benefactor), Pina Bausch (choreographer), John Kelly (artist), Joseph V. Melillo (BAM Producing Director). Photo: Joanne Savio.

By Susan Yung

BAM has presented work by Mark Morris since 1984, when his debut program took place in the Lepercq Space and included one of his early milestone works, Gloria. Since then, more than 60 of his dances have graced BAM’s stages, with live music on every program. Pepperland—a tribute to The Beatles’ landmark album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, with a new jazz score by Ethan Iverson—will be at the Howard Gilman Opera House May 8—11. Here’s a look back at some of Morris’ previous choreographic mastery at BAM.

Gloria, 1984, music by Antonio Vivaldi
The dancers flew, ran, and crawled, re-defining what dance could be. Morris actually conducted the show’s 2006 BAM performances.

Nixon in China, 1987, music by John Adams
Morris choreographed this opera with an unlikely subject directed by Peter Sellars; the dances included segments of the Chinese Socialist ballet, The Red Detachment of Women.

Dido and Aeneas, 1990, music by Henry Purcell
Morris played the queen opposite Guillermo Resto; the dancers took the stage, while the musicians performed from the pit. Dido—a role later cast with both men and women—erased gender stereotypes.

L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, 1990, music by George Frideric Handel
A dazzling, sumptuous, largely abstract work with pastoral undertones, framed by Adrianne Lobel’s lucid set designs and James Ingall’s lighting.

The Hard Nut, 1992, music by Tchaikovsky
A mod, yet timeless take on The Nutcracker, with a swingin’ cocktail party and exhilarating snowflake and flower waltzes. This, L’Allegro, and Dido were created in Belgium while the company was in a three-year residence at La Monnaie opera house, which enabled Morris a grandeur of scale and ambition that he might not have had otherwise.

Grand Duo, 1993, music by Lou Harrison
This exuberant tribal celebration accelerates in dynamic from the hypnotic, mysterious opening line dance to the rousing, foot-stomping polka.

Four Saints in Three Acts, 2001, music by Virgil Thomson, set by Maira Kalman
A lushly visual and kinetic rendition of Gertrude Stein’s prose; Kalman’s vividly graphic set design includes a Watteau-esque rope swing.

V, 2002, music by Robert Schumann
A prime example of Morris’ artistry in exuberant form, pattern, syntax, and musicality, unreliant upon narrative.

Socrates, 2010, music by Erik Satie
Praised for being beautiful, sensuous, and elegiac; another major premiere by Morris at BAM.

Words, 2015, music by Felix Mendelssohn
Morris divines the complex rhythms of Mendelssohn’s musical genius, and uses simple, compelling theatrical motifs to distinguish scenes.

Pepperland will be at BAM May 8—11.

Susan Yung is senior editorial manager at BAM.

Photo: Mat Hayward

Mark Morris continues to redefine the relationship between music and movement in his homage to a monument of 20th-century art: The Beatles’ 1967 revolution in sound, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Commissioned by the City of Liverpool in celebration of the album’s 50th anniversary, Pepperland teases out the album’s colorfully avant-garde heart and omnivorous influences—from Bach to Stockhausen, music hall to raga—straining it through a theremin- and harpsichord-laced score by jazz composer Ethan Iverson, performed live by a remarkable seven-piece music ensemble. Morris’ company transforms the stage into a candy-colored kaleidoscope of modish 60s dance crazes and balletic intricacy that hovers, like its inspiration, between pop pleasure and exhilarating abstraction.

After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #pepperland.

Program Notes

Pepperland (PDF)

Read

Article
The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Gets a 50th Birthday Festival in Liverpool (The New York Times)
Pepperland premiered as the opening to a celebration that featured 13 cross-disciplinary commissions inspired by the iconic album.

Blog
The Vibrant Colors and Surprisingly Conservative Cuts of the Costumes in Pepperland (BAM Blog)
Elizabeth Kurtzman, the show’s costume designer, looked to an earlier era for its fashion.

Blog
How a Jazz Composer Reinvented a Revolution in Sound (BAM Blog)
Composer Ethan Iverson discusses Pepperland’s instrumentation, the singer’s presentation, and how he incorporated different classical forms into the score.

Blog
Mark Morris: Mastery at BAM (BAM Blog)
A look back at some of the choreographer’s previous mastery at BAM.

Article
The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’: The Story Behind Every Song (Rolling Stone)
A track-by-track guide to every tune on the landmark 1967 album, with links to articles corresponding to each song.

Now your turn...

What did you think? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #pepperland.

© 2019 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

By David Hsieh

When this year’s DanceAfrica opens at the Howard Gilman Opera House stage on May 24, audiences will see a dance tradition that has never been presented in the 41 years of this treasured festival—the dance of Rwanda. It will be the fulfillment of Artistic Director Abdel R. Salaam’s longtime dream—using the festival to expand our understanding of African dance and demonstrate the healing power of dance.
“The first dance I learned from Chuck [DanceAfrica founder Charles Davis] is Intore,” said Salaam. “It is a warrior dance from the East/Central African region. I believe Chuck learned it from Burundi dancers. Then a few years ago I saw a video of women doing the same movements. I was surprised. Because as far I knew, Intore could only be danced by men. I did some digging and found out this is from Rwanda, and no, they’re not doing a men’s dance. But there are shared movements.”

So for DanceAfrica 2019, Salaam went to Rwanda to see Inganzo Ngari, a dance troupe that has mastered traditional dances. “This is a group that has all the professional touring experience and can put on a show that is fairly representative of Rwanda dances,” said Salaam.

Created in 2006, Inganzo Ngari (“wide talent”) aims to promote Rwandan culture through traditional dance and music. The company’s Technical Director Serge Nahimana said that Rwandan dance differs from other African dance “by the rhythmic movement of the whole body, and the way of symbolizing many things with the arms, all done in a harmonic style.” Although like all African dances which are full of energy and vigor, Rwanda’s is also famous for its slow and soft movement, such as Umushagiriro.

Traditionally, men and women have different dances. This is because the movements depict the daily work of men and women, who have different roles in society, as Nahimana explained. For instance, Umuhigo is a hunting dance for men. Inkoko shows women winnowing sorghum and other cereals. The dance Inkangara is named after the big basket women use to carry food and drink. But Nahimana points out that there are shared movements, which explains the confusion that Salaam encountered in the video.

Since taking on the responsibility of DanceAfrica’s artistic direction, Salaam has presented dances from Senegal, Guinea, and South Africa. Rwanda brings in another tradition: East Africa. But besides expanding the scope of dance presented by the festival, Rwanda also fits into Salaam’s belief that music and dance can heal wounds and unite people. Twenty-five years after the Rwandan genocide, Salaam said that “everywhere we went, Rwandans no longer divide themselves as Hutus, Tutsis, or Twas. They are just Rwandans. They have rebuilt their society, created one of the fastest economic growths in Africa, and they are understanding and reconciling with their past in a new light.”

Music and dance, Salaam said, played an important part in that process. “Rwanda is another living example of a people who have gone through a very difficult time. But able to examine themselves, make change, and to use the art as ways and means to transform and regenerate.”

To deepen understanding of contemporary Rwanda, BAM will also collaborate with Shared Studios to create a public “Portal,” adjacent to the DanceAfrica bazaar. It is a self-contained space where audience members can enter and have a realtime video chat with Rwandans living in the capital Kigali on topics ranging from gender equality, to green initiatives and reconciliation.

BAM’s Vice President of Education and Community Engagement Coco Killingsworth said, “Shared Studios have installed Portals all around the world, which really take people beyond the headlines to connect with each other. We are going to have some curated topics as well as spontaneous discussions. Our audience will see contemporary Rwanda from Rwandans’ points of view. And Rwandans will also see how their dance and music are received in Brooklyn.”

Of course, some of DanceAfrica’s old favorites will return, including the bazaar, FilmAfrica, a kids’ film, a dance party in the BAMcafé, art, classes, and more. Ago, Ame. See you on Memorial Day Weekend!

DanceAfrica 2019 will be at BAM May 18—27.

David Hsieh is a publicity manager at BAM.

Photos: Inganzo Ngari, courtesy the artists

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling (1986) + All That Jazz (1979)

It is no secret that the cinema canon has historically skewed toward lionizing the white, male auteur. Beyond the Canon is a monthly series that seeks to question that history and broaden horizons by pairing one much-loved, highly regarded, canonized classic with a thematically or stylistically-related—and equally brilliant—work by a filmmaker traditionally excluded from that discussion. This month’s double feature pairs Richard Pryor’s Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling (1986) with Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979).

By Christina Newland

“He tore his ass on the freeway of life,” says Richard Pryor, to peals of laughter from an audience. This is his eulogy to himself, delivered onstage in Pryor’s own inimitable fashion, and the last scene of the only film he ever directed: Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling.

It was 1986. Six years earlier, Pryor was nearly killed in an accidental explosion at his home caused by freebasing cocaine. He suffered second and third-degree burns. His directorial debut features the life story of a comedian (Jo Jo) who does exactly the same thing, and is played by Pryor himself, in case the mirroring was somehow unclear. Jo Jo is raised in a whorehouse in Ohio and grows up to find nationwide acclaim in stand-up comedy, but is unable to shake the existential wound of his upbringing. As Jo Jo lies on a hospital gurney fighting for his life, his “alter ego” guides him on a journey through the major events of his past.

Richard Pryor in Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling (1986). Courtesy of Sony Picture Classics

The lacerating effects of show business—both on the ego and the soul—are common ground in Jo Jo Dancer and Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979). In both films, the makers look back on their glitzy lives from the perch of their mortality. They see the gnawing, nihilistic emptiness within. Bob Fosse was another famous maverick of the ‘70s, though his sector of show-biz was very different from Pryor’s. His avatar in All That Jazz is played by Roy Scheider, a chain-smoking theatre director named Joe Gideon. Gideon is struggling to balance editing a film with staging a Broadway musical, tortured by addiction and his revolving door of lovers.

In both films, there’s a smorgasbord of substances on offer: dexedrine, methamphetamine, cocaine, and alcohol are maybe the most consistent parts of these men’s celebrity lives. With all their career twists, dalliances and divorces, they lean heavily on their addictions, and often those addictions lean back on them. Gideon suffers from angina and ignores impending risks to his health—until he collapses and undergoes open-heart surgery.

Cathartic and sparklingly unreal, All That Jazz features a ghostly Dickensian figure that guides Gideon through the twilight between life and death, but unlike Jo Jo Dancer, Gideon's ghost is not a version of himself. Pryor’s alter-ego is happy to tell him when he’s being an asshole. But for Fosse, this figure is Jessica Lange, a sexy angel of death. She never calls him an asshole. In both movies, the male ego is omnipresent, bolstered by severe insecurity and a rotating display of female flesh—dancers, models, and the like. There’s some degree of self-awareness on both filmmakers’ parts, showing some shame about their treatment of women, but just how reconciliatory their tones are is questionable. Given Fosse’s own well-documented bad behavior towards women in real life, it’s interesting that even his version of self-reckoning involves a fantasy woman.

Roy Scheider and Jessica Lang, as the angel of death, in All That Jazz (1979). Courtesy of 20th Century Fox/Photofest

If All That Jazz is a hedonistic, sinuously sexy musical, Jo Jo Dancer is less overtly polished or constructed. But it nonetheless reveals a fascination with the act of performance and being onstage, particularly given Jo Jo’s past as a neglected child. There’s a yearning to be adored that can never be fully satisfied, and satisfaction must be found elsewhere. In one memorable scene in Jo Jo Dancer, Pryor sits in a luxurious bathroom smoking crack. He gets a phone call. “Alicia, I stopped doing dope,” he says. “Honest, I stopped. Five minutes ago.”

Jo Jo Dancer is an audacious project, if perhaps more in its striking honesty than its execution. If it’s not well-remembered in Pryor’s remarkable body of work, it’s likely because it’s considerably more serious than most of the other films he was best known for. By the late 1980’s, he was no longer quite the same mega-star as he had been in the decade previous, and making a strange, earnest autobiographical movie about setting himself on fire was perhaps not too welcome. Critics like Pauline Kael and Vincent Canby were lukewarm at the time, with Canby calling it “schmaltzy.” Kael wrote that when Pryor was, “trying to be sincere, he’s less than himself.” It’s an interesting remark, given that Pryor seems sincere in basically all of his stand-up: his painful upbringing and the wounds of his life are the very stuff of his hyper-expressive comedy. Pryor and Fosse both grapple with the unique pain of the addict-performer, as beholden to the stage as to the substance. Only one of them imagines any hope for the future.

Join us for Beyond the Canon on Sat, May 18 at 2pm

Christina Newland is a writer on film and culture with bylines at The Guardian, Sight & Sound Magazine, BFI, VICE, and others. She loves boxing flicks and '70s Hollywood. She is also editing an upcoming anthology due for publication in early 2020, She Found it at the Movies: Women Writers on Sex, Desire, & Cinema. @christinalefou

Upcoming Beyond the Canon screenings:

Sat, Jun 29 at 4:30pm
Touki Bouki
Djibril Diop Mambety
1973, 85min
+
Breathless
Jean-Luc Godard
1960, 90min
© 2019 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

Photo: Adreinne Waheed

By Akornefa Akyea

DanceAfrica is the longest-running program at BAM. The festival founded in 1977 by traditional African dance choreographer Dr. Charles "Chuck" Davis (1937—2017) began as a three-day event in the Lepercq Space; a note in the program read:

“In essence, you are visitors to our village which is wherever we are. We welcome you with Dyembes (Drums) and Eparoro (Chant). Through the chant we ask that you not only enjoy your stay with us but form with us a comradeship that will remain a lasting association.”

In its 42nd year and now under the artistic direction of Abdel R. Salaam, DanceAfrica is almost two weeks long, taking place in several venues, with a community that is very much alive and well. This year we celebrate the rich movement and dance traditions of Rwanda in acknowledgement of the 25th anniversary of the government-sponsored genocide against the Tutsi.

Here’s your guide to this expansive event, which has everything from performances, classes, and screenings to the sprawling DanceAfrica Bazaar, a late-night dance party, and a chance to talk and interact with Rwandans in real time.

Courtesy of the artist and Ethan Cohen Gallery

DanceAfrica Visual Art: Innocent Nkurunziza (FREE)
Fri, May 10—31; BAM Fisher Lower Lobby

Visual art was first made a part of the festival only five years ago and continues this year with the work of contemporary Rwandan artist Innocent Nkurunziza. His latest abstract work, Intense Emotions, is a reflection of Nkurunziza’s Rwanda and will be on display in the BAM Fisher Lower Lobby for three weeks.

Tribute to the Ancestors (FREE)
Sat, May 18 at 10am; Weeksville Heritage Center

The first weekend of DanceAfrica kicks off with an acknowledgement of those who have come before us. We go off-campus to the historical Weeksville Heritage Center for an inspiring showcase of music, drumming, dance, and a libation ceremony conducted by the DanceAfrica Council of Elders.

Photo: David Gonsier

Community Day (FREE)
Sat, May 18 at 1pm; Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza

Make a splash with your best summer fashion at the first outdoor event of the festival, showcasing youth talent from RestorationArt and is a joyful celebration of all the participating artists.

Chuck Davis Emerging Choreographer Fellowship Workshop (FREE w/ RSVP)
Sat, May 18 at 3pm; BAM Fisher Hillman Studio

Since 2016, emerging choreographers have been given the opportunity to travel to Africa and study with an African dance expert. This year’s fellow, Jade Charon, will lead an intensive workshop (open to all ages and experience levels) corresponding to her extensive studies in Senegal and Burkina Faso.

Chuck Davis Emerging Choreographer Fellowship Showing (FREE w/ RSVP)
Sun, May 19 at 7pm; BAM Fisher

After attending the workshop, see Jade Charon showcase Kony and N’Dep dance styles from Senegal and Burkina Faso.

Memorial Room (FREE)
Thu, May 23—Mon, May 27; Natman Room

In week two of DanceAfrica, the Natman Room transforms into the Memorial Room, open for visitors to pass through and pay homage to the ancestors.

FilmAfrica (TICKETS)

Thu, May 23—Mon, May 27; BAM Rose Cinemas

Co-presented by the New York African Film Festival, FilmAfrica showcases the best new narrative, documentary, and short films from across Africa and the diaspora. This year’s lineup includes Sometimes in April starring British actor Idris Elba and Dreamstates, a debut feature from Rwandan filmmaker Anisia Uzeyman shot entirely on iPhones!

DanceAfrica 2019 Performances (TICKETS)
Fri, May 24—Mon, May 27; Howard Gilman Opera House

The highly anticipated Opera House performances return this year with a focus on Rwanda and features Rwandan dance troupe Inganzo Ngari. As usual, there will be several guest performances including Rwandan-born spoken word artist Malaika Uwamahoro, composer Michael Wimberly, percussionist Kofi Osei Williams, percussionist Frank Molloy IV, the DanceAfrica Spirit Walkers, and the beloved RestorationArt Dance Youth Ensemble.

Photo: Greg Kessler

DanceAfrica 2019 Bazaar (FREE)
Sat, May 25—Mon, May 27; Ashland Pl / Lafayette Ave

The one-and-only DanceAfrica Bazaar gives you the chance to explore the diverse cultural heritage of Africa and its diaspora and how it manifests in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Shop the offerings from over 150 vendors while sliding into a spontaneous dance circle or drinking from that pineapple you’ve been fantasizing about all winter!

DanceAfrica Portal (FREE)
Sat, May 25—Mon, May 27; The Plaza at 300 Ashland

The DanceAfrica Portal is new to the festival this year. Enter a re-fitted shipping container situated in the public plaza of 300 Ashland Place and instantly connect, live, with the people of Kigali, Rwanda. The schedule includes a series of free curated sessions; RSVP here.

Late Night Dance Party with DJ YB (FREE)
Sat, May 25 at 10pm; Lepercq Space

The celebration moves from the Opera House and outdoor bazaar to the Lepercq Space for the Late Night Dance Party co-presented by OkayAfrica. Bring your best dance moves and get ready to sweat to beats mixed by DJ YB.

Connecting Generations and Continents: RadioBook Rwanda (FREE)
Sun, May 26 at 12pm; The Center for Fiction

Join us at The Center for Fiction for a moderated conversation and audience Q&A as we explore the work of three young Rwandan writers exploring the themes of relationships, resistance, and modern myths.

Photo: Greg Kessler

DanceAfrica Workshops and Master Class (TICKETS)
Mon, May 27 at 10am; Mark Morris Dance Center

Round out the festival on Memorial Day at Mark Morris Dance Center with a master class and dance workshops that are accessible for all ages and abilities!

Visit bam.org/programs/2019/dance-africa for more info, to RSVP and purchase tickets to events.

This year’s DanceAfrica performances (May 24—27) offer a taste of the rich culture and traditions of Rwanda, under the leadership of artistic director Abdel R. Salaam. In acknowledgement of the 25th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the undaunted national movement toward reconciliation and renewal, DanceAfrica offers a moment to celebrate a path forward.

This year’s visiting company is the globally recognized Rwandan dance troupe Inganzo Ngari. Founded in 2006, the ensemble is utterly beloved by Rwandans for its dedication to traditional forms and movement idioms, from warrior dances to a variety of crop rituals. They are joined onstage by Rwandan-born spoken word artist Malaika Uwamahoro, composer Michael Wimberly, percussionist Kofi Osei Williams, percussionist Frank Molloy IV, the DanceAfrica Spirit Walkers, and the beloved RestorationArt Dance Youth Ensemble. Together, with the DanceAfrica and BAM community, they rejoice in the transcendent power of movement and music.

After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #DanceAfrica.

Program Notes

DanceAfrica 2019 (PDF)

Related Events

Film
FilmAfrica (May 23—27)

Neighborhood
DanceAfrica 2019 Bazaar (May 23—25)
DanceAfrica Portal (May 25—27)

Literary
Connecting Generations and Continents: RadioBook Rwanda (May 26)

Read

Article
Rwanda Gets the Spotlight at DanceAfrica 2019 (BAMblog)
Abdel R. Salaam reflects on his trip to Rwanda and why featuring Rwanda at this year’s festival is part of his “longtime dream.”

Article
A Guide to DanceAfrica 2019 (BAMblog)
An overview of all activities taking place during the 10-day festival.

Article
Intore: The longest-living traditional Rwandan dance reserved for elite royal soldiers (Face2Face Africa)
Learn about Intore, one of the more famous traditional dances from Rwanda.

Article
Play Marks 25th Anniversary of Rwandan Massacre (Amsterdam News)
In this interview, DanceAfrica performer/spoken-word artist Malaika speaks about her one-woman-play Miracle in Rwanda, which tells the story of Rwandan genocide survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza.

Watch & Listen

Video
Inganzo Ngari Entertains Guests (YouTube)
See our featured dance troupe in action during a performance in Kigali, Rwanda.

Video
DanceAfrica Portal (YouTube)
Check out the newest feature of this year’s festival, the DanceAfrica Portal by Shared_Studios, which creates spaces for intimate exchanges between festival attendees and people in Kigali, Rwanda.

Podcast
Waiting for Words (RadioBook Rwanda)
Explore the work of Rwandan writers with the podcast RadioBook Rwanda, our partners for our literary discussion at The Center for Fiction.

Video
Building Rwanda's art scene (BBC News)
Innocent Nkurunziza—featured DanceAfrica visual artist—along with his brother, Emmanuel Nkuranga, founded Inema Arts Center in 2012 as the leading source of contemporary art in Rwanda. Here, Emmanuel discusses the importance of art in his community.

Now your turn...

What did you think? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #DanceAfrica.

© 2019 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Great Tamer, photo: Julian Mommert

Want to go deeper into Next Wave? We asked this year’s presenting artists for some suggested reading to give greater context for their productions or practice. Reference copies of these books and others can be found in venue lobbies, and this list will be updated throughout the summer.

Cruel Optimism | By Lauren Berlant

Selected by: Nat Randall and Anna Breckon
Show: The Second Woman

Reality Television, Affect and Intimacy: Reality Matters | By Misha Kavka

Selected by: Nat Randall and Anna Breckon
Show: The Second Woman

26666 | By Roberto Bolaño

Selected by: Christiane Jatahy
Show: What if they went to Moscow?

1Q84 | By Haruki Murakami

Selected by: Christiane Jatahy
Show: What if they went to Moscow?

Água Viva | By Clarice Lispector

Selected by: Christiane Jatahy
Show: What if they went to Moscow?

Lincoln in the Bardo | By George Saunders

Selected by: Ben Kidd and Bush Moukarzel
Show: Hamnet

The Brutality of Fact: Interviews with Francis Bacon | By David Sylvester

Selected by: Ben Kidd and Bush Moukarzel
Show: Hamnet

Untangling the Web: What the Internet is Doing to You | By Aleks Krotoski

Selected by: Dante or Die
Show: User Not Found

The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography | By Graham Robb

Selected by: Pamela Carter
Show: The End of Eddy

Merde!: The Real French You Were Never Taught at School | By Genevieve

Selected by: Pamela Carter
Show: The End of Eddy

The Essential Rumi | Translated by Coleman Barks

Selected by: Dimitris Papaioannou
Show: The Great Tamer

Autobiography of Red | By Anne Carson

Selected by: Dimitris Papaioannou
Show: The Great Tamer

Cloud Atlas | By David Mitchell

Selected by: Inua Ellams
Show: Barber Shop Chronicles

The Palm-Wine Drinkard | By Amos Tutuola

Selected by: Inua Ellams
Show: Barber Shop Chronicles

Invisible Man | By Ralph Ellison

Selected by: Kyle Marshall
Show: A.D. & Colored

The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America | By Frances FitzGerald

Selected by: Kyle Marshall
Show: A.D. & Colored

Together: The Rituals, Pleasures and Politics of Cooperation | By Richard Sennett

Selected by: Kate McIntosh
Show: In Many Hands

How Forests Think: Toward an Anthropology Beyond the Human | By Eduardo Kohn

Selected by: Kate McIntosh
Show: In Many Hands

To This Day, photo: Michael Slobodian

By Susan Yung

Vancouver-based Ballet BC bears its geographical stamp in its name, but the “C” might just as well stand for “contemporary.” The company makes its BAM debut at the Howard Gilman Opera House from June 13 to 15. The three repertory dances to be performed are by choreographers whose paths have crossed previously—William Forsythe, Crystal Pite, and Emily Molnar, the artistic director of Ballet BC.

The direction of Ballet BC under Molnar, who celebrates a decade at the company’s helm, heartily embraces collaboration. She says, “With a new work, you have the gift of having that work done on your artists, so that they have a one-on-one relationship with the choreographer. It’s very new and it’s very vibrant, and that’s what Ballet BC has always been known for. Right now, we are going back to those roots. We are about creation; we are about innovation. We are about collaborating with not just the designers and musicians, but also with our community, with our audiences, with our country, and keeping that collaborative feeling in the institution, so that we flow in a collaborative way, and so that every part of the company is in the creative process.”

William Forsythe is well-known to audiences for the numerous intrepid dance-theater works by his companies Ballett Frankfurt and The Forsythe Company performed at BAM over the last two decades. Pite and Molnar, both Canadians, danced for him in Germany, where he was based for many years, and where his radical style and intellectual approach to ballet exerted great influence on the genre. Molnar notes, “Contemporary ballet is the ballet of today, and we are bringing that vernacular forward, very similar to what’s been going on in Europe for years.” That course was charted in no small part by Forsythe.

Ballet BC dancers Justin Rapaport and Parker Finley performing Enemy in the Figure, photo: Michael Slobodian

Forsythe’s Enemy in the Figure (1989) was, interestingly, performed by his company at BAM in 2001. It is set to a score by Dutch composer and frequent Forsythe collaborator Thom Willems, and is memorable for its dramatic chiaroscuro lighting (also by Forsythe), a set with a wildly snaking rope, high-speed stage crossings, and devilishly difficult modern ballet technique. That it is 30 years old is an emphatic declaration of how avant-garde this American-born choreographer has always been.

Crystal Pite has gained a large international following in recent years, with commissions by notable companies, and performance by her own troupe, Kidd Pivot. Her works frequently embrace the entire theater space, using lighting to ingeniously shape the performance volume and create deep shadows which obscure and reveal the dancers. Ballet BC will perform Solo Echo, which is accompanied by a Brahms sonata for cello and piano. The dance is a prime example of Pite’s fluid, emotive, and singular movement vocabulary.

Solo Echo, photo: Sharen Bradford

Molnar has created a new work that will be included in the BAM engagement, set to blues rock [Hendrix?], and which will utilize her highly expressionistic and challenging movement. She notes, “What I’m attracted to in blues is that such sorrow is sung through joy. It’s the opposition of the very dark with the uplifting. There’s a wildness and chaos... It’s about living and being human.”

Ballet BC dancers Anna Bekirova and Brandon Alley performing To This Day, photo: Michael Slobodian

Of her evolution from dancer to choreographer to company director, she said, “As an artist, you tend to want to challenge yourself and see how you can keep enhancing your understanding of the art form. That led me into wanting to understand what it meant to do choreography, and become a choreographer, and now I’m into understanding what it takes to create the environment so that dancers, and choreographers, and artists of all forms, can actually develop.”

The three choreographers have created disparate bodies of work, of course, but they share a visceral, at times primal vibe that impacts audiences immediately. Molnar says, “I always go back to when you watch a show. It shouldn’t be lights or costumes—those are enhancements and they absolutely interplay with the work. But at the end of the day you should be able to strip everything down and be able to be moved by that one individual on the stage. That is what makes us a performing art, and that is our strength. It’s something that you cannot manipulate or edit.” No doubt Ballet BC’s BAM performances will reach viewers’ guts, hearts, and minds.

Ballet BC will be at BAM Jun 13—15.

Susan Yung is senior editorial manager at BAM.

By Susan Yung

Triptych (Eyes of One on Another), at the Howard Gilman Opera House (Jun 6—8), features large-scale projections of the photography of Robert Mapplethorpe and combines music by Bryce Dessner with a libretto by Korde Arrington Tuttle, performed by Roomful of Teeth with Alicia Hall Moran and Isaiah Robinson, directed by Kaneza Schaal. We spoke to Dessner (whose band The National released its eighth album last week) about his connection to Mapplethorpe’s photography, how he structured his composition, and how Tuttle’s libretto influenced the music.

What moved you to create a piece based on Mapplethorpe, and how did you choose to structure it?
Mapplethorpe has influenced me since my first exposure to his work as a teenager. Growing up in Cincinnati in 1990 I was told by the authorities that I was not allowed to look at Mapplethorpe’s photographs—that these tremendous works of art were not art at all, but pornography. I witnessed Cincinnati become the crucible of the NEA wars up close after Contemporary Art Center Director Dennis Barrie was jailed and art was put on trial in municipal court. It was a huge moment for me and for the city, and for better or for worse still resonates there and across all aspects of American culture. As a result Triptych covers a lot of ground (the middle section is inspired by the trial and my experience as a teenager)—the XYZ portfolio as an underlying structure allowed librettist Korde Arrington Tuttle and I to look across the entire span of Mapplethorpe’s work and embrace his work from where we stand in 2019.

What’s the connection between Mapplethorpe’s portraits and madrigals?
A lot of Mapplethorpe’s work directly references Italian Mannerism and Renaissance art. There are many photographs (some of the self-portraits and S&M images as well as his photographs of sculpture and the human body) that we can look at alongside Renaissance paintings and see all kinds of references and connections and his love and appreciation of beauty feels very connected to the renaissance. The Italian madrigal vocal tradition is the musical analog to this incredible period of creativity that I have always loved and this project gave me the opportunity to explore the music of Monteverdi with the amazing voices of Roomful of Teeth in relationship to Mapplethorpe’s work. In Triptych we hear a section of a Monteverdi madrigal, “Sestina” (“Tears of a Lover at the Tomb of the Beloved”), woven throughout the three sections, in re-imagined settings and re-mixed through the incredible vocal techniques of Roomful of Teeth. I originally set this idea at the opening of the piece and as a prelude to Patti Smith’s “The Boy Who Loved Michelangelo,” but as we worked more on the overall structure of the work we incorporated it into section Y and Z in faint echoes of the original.

Did you consider rock influences while writing Triptych, with a nod to Patti Smith’s sound, as you incorporate some of her poetry in the lyrics, and since she was so close to Mapplethorpe?
I love Patti Smith’s music and poetry and have been honored to perform with her several times over the years as part of Philip Glass’ Tibet House benefits at Carnegie Hall. Around the time I first learned about Robert Mapplethorpe in 1990 I was also discovering Patti’s incredible music and all the music of her contemporaries (1970s punk rock is probably the single biggest influence on my band The National and our entire generation). The vastness of her own creative output and interests has always been deeply inspiring to me. The opening of Triptych and the setting of Patti’s “The Boy Who Loved Michelangelo” was one of the first pieces of music I wrote for this project and was extremely important for me in finding the overall sound of the work. I allowed Patti’s words, in addition to the words of our librettist Korde Arrington Tuttle and the additional poetry of Essex Hemphill to guide me as I found the sounds and melodic ideas for the piece. While the piece does not directly reference Patti’s music, I think stylistically the work travels some distance between the sound world of madrigal and more classical vocal techniques, through various American idioms and singing styles (including folk music, gospel, and more rock/pop techniques) I am beyond blessed to work in a range of musical directions in my everyday work, and my musical response to Korde, Patti, and Essex Hemphill was informed by all of them.

Bryce Dessner and Korde Arrington Tuttle, photo: Pascal Gely

The repeating phrase: “When you shoot a black body…” what was the thought process while writing this movement, with its double entendre?
I spent a lot of time with this powerful moment in Korde’s libretto and trying to find a musical setting that would do justice to these words. Eventually the music came to me clearly and that piece kind of wrote itself—in a simple and raw/direct setting of Korde’s words. My intention with the entire libretto was to do the best I can in answering to the power of Korde’s words—it was one of many moments for me and the creative team in the creation of this piece that pushed us beyond ourselves.

Youssou NDOUR graces the stage of the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, joined by his band the Super Étoile de Dakar. With a soaring tenor that brims with passion and nuance, the Dakar-born singer-songwriter is a global music icon and tireless cultural ambassador. An early emissary of the mbalax style—a blend of bubbling Senegalese griot percussion, Wolof lyrics, and Afro-Cuban influences—he has gone on to become one of the most revered figures on the world stage.

After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #YoussouNDOUR.
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Program Notesbr />

Youssou NDOUR (PDF)

Read

Article
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Youssou Endures (The Beat on Afropop)
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King of African pop returns with new album ‘History’ (France24)
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Watch the video for the song that catapulted Youssou to international stardom. (It features this year’s BAM Gala musical guest, Neneh Cherry!)

Now your turn...

Photo: Erin Baiano

In an intricately woven tapestry of sound, shape, momentum, and stillness, choreographer Doug Varone and his 13-member ensemble contemplate our private and public relationship to faith. in the shelter of the fold / epilogue comprises seven interconnected vignettes, featuring original music by Lesley Flanigan, Julia Wolfe, David Lang, Michael Gordon, Raz Mesinai, and Kevin Keller, masterfully performed by Flanigan, PUBLIQuartet, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Drawing upon Varone’s own personal questions about prayer as both a spiritual and secular dialogue, this episodic work digs deep to ask how and why we find shelter in the unknown.

After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #shelterofthefold.

Program Notes

in the shelter of the fold / epilogue (PDF)

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Doug Varone and Dancers celebrate 30 years with BAM (Hollywood SOAPBOX)
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Doug Varone’s Final Performance (The New Yorker)
“As a dancemaker, he makes things up all the time; as a dancer, in this piece especially, he gave us the truth.” This review of Varone’s last performance doubles as a recap of his illustrious career.

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Video
in the shelter of the fold (excerpt)
Watch an excerpt of in the shelter of the fold on the Doug Varone and Dancers website.

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