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In Context: The White Album

November 20, 2018, 9:19 am
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Lars Jan’s multi-layered vision of Joan Didion’s essay juxtaposes the author’s searing text—performed in its entirety—with a glassed-in microcosm of social unraveling. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.


Program Notes
The White Album (PDF)

Read
Article
The White Album Comes Alive (BAMblog)
For artist Lars Jan, The White Album remains “one of the great pieces of literature of our time” and one that begged for theatricalization.

Article
From Watching to Participating: Kate Bredeson and Lars Jan Discuss 1968 and Jan’s Stage Production of Joan Didion’s “The White Album” (LA Review of Books)
Jan spoke with theater historian Kate Bredeson about the theater and protest of 1968, and how both are approaching this topic in 2018.

Article
Joan Didion: Staking Out California (The New York Times)
Joan Didion's California is a place defined not so much by what her unwavering eye observes, but by what her memory cannot let go.


Watch & Listen
Video
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (Netflix)
Director Griffin Dunne unearths a treasure trove of archival footage and talks at length to his “Aunt Joan” about the eras she covered.


Now your turn...
How did you enjoy the show? Likes? Dislikes? Surprises? Tell us what’s on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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In Context: Elemental

November 20, 2018, 9:20 am
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Electrifying tap dance company Dorrance Dance makes its BAM debut with a new site-specific work co-choreographed by Michelle Dorrance and Nicholas Van Young. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.


Program Notes
Coming soon! (PDF)

Read
Website
Dorrance Dance official website
Learn more about the company and its repertoire.

Article
Tap Dance in America: A Short History (DanceMotion USA)
An overview of tap dance in America from the DanceMotion USA library

Review
Michelle Dorrance Boomwhacks the Guggenheim Rotunda (The New York Times)
Choreographers Michelle Dorrance and Nicholas Van Young team up to create a site-specific dance piece for the Guggenheim Museum’s rotunda.


Watch & Listen
Video
Michelle Dorrance performs tap with Jon Batiste & Stay Human (YouTube)
Michelle Dorrance performs on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Video
Michelle Dorrance discusses her craft with the MacArthur Foundation (MacArthur Foundation)
Dorrance was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2015 for reinvigorating a uniquely American dance form in works that combine the musicality of tap with the choreographic intricacies of contemporary dance.

Video
ABT X MICHELLE DORRANCE at Vail Dance Festival 2018 (YouTube)
Vail Dance Festival co-commissioned this collaboration between Michelle Dorrance (Dorrance Dance) and American Ballet Theatre
Video


Now your turn...
How did you enjoy the show? Likes? Dislikes? Surprises? Tell us what’s on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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In Context: The Good Swimmer

November 20, 2018, 12:23 pm
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Heidi Rodewald composes propulsive music to accompany Donna Di Novelli’s powerful lyrics for The Good Swimmer, a project seven years in the making. A young lifeguard grapples with the legacy of the one she could not save, her brother in Vietnam. This music-theater pop requiem transcends time and brings to the forefront the senselessness of war, begging the question, how do we truly honor our fallen soldiers? Context is everything, so we’ve provided some content for you to read and watch. After you’ve attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #GoodSwimmer.


Program Notes
Learn more about the creators of The Good Swimmer.

Article
Prototype Festival: Donna Di Novelli and Heidi Rodewald on their Vietnam War Era Musical “The Good Swimmer” (StageBuddy)
Di Novelli and Rodewald speak about The Good Swimmer before its debut at the Prototype Festival in 2016.


Watch & Listen
Video
The Good Swimmer Teaser  (Vimeo)
Di Novelli and Rodewald talk about their inspiration for The Good Swimmer.

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

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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In Context: NERVOUS/SYSTEM

November 20, 2018, 1:27 pm
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From interactive media artist Andrew Schneider, NERVOUS/SYSTEM interrogates what we miss in a world ruled by distractions. By utilizing technology to create an immersive experience that is both visual and physical, Schneider and his collaborators push the boundaries of traditional theater and performance to decode the stories we miss each time we blink. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.


Program Notes
Coming soon!

Read
Article
Andrew Schneider’s YOUARENOWHERE Flipped My Wig (Seattle Times)
NERVOUS/SYSTEM writer, director, and actor Andrew Schneider’s work always challenges the conventions of theater. Arts critics from Seattle’s The Stranger called his last work, YOUARENOWHERE, “easily the most fascinating performance I’ve seen on stage all year.”

Article
Three Journeys Under the Radar: Trippy, Unsettling and Affectionate (The New York Times)
Both deeply interested in technology, human connections, and the possibilities of theater, Andrew Schneider and Alicia ayo Ohs are longtime collaborators. After explored those three themes and more, culminating in a mind-boggling, multi-sensory audience experience.

Article
Andrew Schneider Now Embraces Glitches in ‘Youarenowhere’ (The New York Times)
The New York Times tracks Andrew Schneider’s work from his beginnings in musical theater to his current work in more experimental performance.


Watch & Listen
Video
JKB Special Feature: YOUARENOWHERE (YouTube)
Skidmore Theater sat down with Andrew Schneider and Skidmore alumni to discuss the creative process behind his show, YOUARENOWHERE.

Video
Behind the Scenes: Making of “Nervous System” (Vimeo)
Andrew Schneider returned to his alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan University, to stage an original production of Nervous System. See a behind the scenes look at this iteration of the work Schneider will bring to #BAMNextWave 2018.

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

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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In Context: Greek

November 26, 2018, 7:47 am
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From composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and director Joe Hill-Gibbons, Greek is an in-your-face operatic retelling of the Oedipus tale set in 1980s London. Coursing with sharp and scathing political commentary, Greek maintains its shock value, social relevancy, and cultural weight 30 years after the original premiere. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.


Program Notes
Coming Soon!


Read
Article
Opera Director Joe Hill-Gibbins: How I Got an Oedipus Complex (The Guardian)
Joe Hill-Gibbins shares his initial hesitancies regarding the infamous Oedipus tale and how his perspective shifted throughout the process of directing the opera.

Article
Jenny Ogilvie on Becoming the Movement Director for “Greek” (The Herald)
“You are there to make the physical life of the show as vivid and committed and daring and imaginative as it can be.” — Jenny Ogilvie, Greek’s Movement Director, on how her work as an actress informed her transition from being on the stage to behind it.

Article
The country’s in a state of plague”: Greek and the Tragedy of Thatcherite Individualism (BAM Blog)
Writer and performance artist Chris Tyler unpacks how Margaret Thatcher’s political agenda, which created an environment of social peril in the UK in the 1980s, informs the bleakness of Greek.

Article
London Voices, “Greek” style (Eidolon)
Emily Pillinger, a Classics lecturer at Kings College London, recounts her childhood experience with Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Greek and discusses how the work still resonates today.

Article
Dreadful Knowledge (BAM Blog)
In preparation for Mark Anthony-Turnage's contemporary update of the classic Oedipus tale, see illustrator Nathan Gelgud's primer for the infamous story. In this post for the BAMblog, he breaks down pivotal themes and moments for audiences both familiar and new to this thought-provoking tale.

Watch & Listen
Video
Alex Otterburn on Greek: BAM 2018 Next Wave Festival (YouTube)
“Greek was written at a time of political strife and more so than ever we’re back to those times.” — Alex Otterburn, who plays Eddy or Oedipus in Greek, connects the opera’s apocalyptic 1980s London setting to our current politically and socially unstable world.

Video
What is Greek?: BAM 2018 Next Wave Festival (YouTube)
Soprano Susan Bollock and Mezzo-Soprano Allison Cook detail the demands and joys of performing in such a bold, brash reimagining of a classic tale.


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

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Dreadful Knowledge

November 26, 2018, 12:55 pm
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Oh, the Oedipus complex. A story recapitulated over centuries and made particularly popular thanks to a simultaneously concerning and endlessly intriguing Freudian interpretation. When Mark Anthony-Turnage’s seminal opera Greek comes to BAM in a bawdy new production next Wed, Dec 5, audiences will experience the infamous story as never before. Greek transposes antihero Oedipus to 1980s Thatcher-era London, where police brutality, social upheaval, and economic crises reign. Based on Steven Berkoff’s play Greek, the opera elevates Oedipal themes of fate, family, escape, love, and the unknown—offering an unexpected and bold conclusion to a tale many assume they know all too well.

To prepare for this reinvented Oedipus, we partnered with illustrator Nathan Gelgud to break down the pivotal themes and moments for audiences both familiar and new to this thought-provoking tale. We predict you’ll have a new outlook on knowing your fate and fortune.


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Don’t miss Greek when it comes to BAM Dec 5—9. And don’t forget to check out illustrator Nathan Gelgud’s website and his latest book, A House in the Jungle, recently released by Koyama Press.
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The Governess or the Ghosts?

November 27, 2018, 7:10 am
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Sipiwe Moyo, Hannah Heller, Sean Donovan. Photo: James Gibbs.

By Harry Haun

Blood will tell—and did: Henry James—writer/brother of the “Father of American psychology,” William James—crisscrossed the psychological with the supernatural, slyly added a pinch of sex to keep you riveted, and invented the cerebral ghost story.

His farthest reach at this, The Turn of the Screw, unraveled in 12 magazine-serial installments in Collier’s Weekly (Jan 27—Apr 16, 1898) and later that year in one lump sum with another James yarn published together as The Two Magics.

Its heroine is a starchy, sexually repressed governess who tends a rich man’s orphaned niece and nephew on an isolated country estate. James phrases his gothic tale so subtly, so ambiguously, one is never sure if the mystery is just in the governess’ mind or if she really does see ghosts roaming the grounds.

He left that door wide open for interpretation, and all manner of artists have rushed in with theories. Ingrid Bergman did an Emmy-winning Turn for director John Frankenheimer in TV’s Golden Age (1959). Benjamin Britten made an opera out of it in 1954, Luigi Zaninelli a ballet score in 1980, and Will Tuckett a full-length ballet for the Royal Ballet in 1999. William Archiblad adapted The Turn of the Screw for Broadway in 1950, and director Harold Pinter revived that in 1976 with Claire Bloom, Sarah Jessica Parker, and plenty of pauses. Truman Capote added some extra kinks of his own to Archibald’s version and—voila!—created The Innocents, the definitive cinematic Turn of the Screw with a brilliant Deborah Kerr (fresh from Village of the Damned) and young Martin Stephens. A prequel to James’ story—1971’s The Nightcomers—found Marlon Brando filling in the blanks of a backstory about how the estate’s late groundskeeper corrupted the first governess and her charges.

And these innovations keep coming. Strange Window: The Turn of the Screw from The Builders Association and its artistic director Marianne Weems will provide new twists to this already twisty thriller and bring Henry James careening into the world of 21st-century technology from Dec 12 to 15 at BAM’s Harvey Theater.

The Builders Association, which has won two Obies in the two decades of its cutting-edge existence, specializes in mixing technology in with actors. “That’s really our vocabulary,” admits Weems. “We use a lot of technology on stage, but it’s still really about storytelling and theater.”

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Photo: James Gibbs

Fortunately, she found James a willing ally in getting to the bottom of his own yarn. He puts up no struggle to the arsenal of panels, screens and video paraphernalia that she has installed on stage to scrutinize faces where the real unvarnished truth resides. “There was this pop-psych movement in the ‘70s that explored these microscopic expressions that flit across your face and betray how you really feel,” says Weems. Your face has many, many expressions that can be captured on high res video, and Henry James wrote specifically in a micro-psychology way, employing very ornate, paragraph-long sentences that are all about people’s faces—what they show and don’t show.”

Her governess arrives at work in 2018 attire and then changes into Victorian duds on stage. “There are two levels to the show—one is present day, one is 19th century.” The fact that she is played by an African-American (Lucia Roderique) is another facet of modern times. “Everywhere you look in New York, there are women of color with white charges. There’s that metaphor in contemporary life. Also, in Henry James, it’s so interesting in terms of class because the governess is above the other servants in the house but below the children, and I think that still resonates in so many ways.”

The governess tells the story in the first-person, introducing the unreliability of her perception into the narration. The ambiguity about whether the ghosts are real or imagined sits at the center of the story. “What is news, what is real, and who gets to tell the truth are all questions in the air these days,” adds Weems.

When asked that eminently puncturable question of what she wants her audiences to take away from her show, Weems responds quickly, “Their coats!” Getting her laugh, she gets serious: “Hopefully, people will have a satisfying sense of hearing a good story—in a different way. It’s all about innovative storytelling, about a surprising way of hearing the story, and I think there’s a lot of pleasure in that.”

Harry Haun has spent the past 40-plus years covering theater and film in New York for such published outlets as Playbill Magazine, New York Daily News, New York Observer, New York Sun, and Film Journal International.

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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How a 1937 Lifeguard Manual and Other Found Texts Became The Good Swimmer

November 28, 2018, 11:54 am
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A pop requiem for lives lost at war, The Good Swimmer is a visceral music theater piece by composer Heidi Rodewald (Passing Strange), lyricist Donna Di Novelli, and director Kevin Newbury. The show follows a young beach lifeguard who grapples with the legacy of the one she could not save: her brother who died in Vietnam.

Seven years in the making, The Good Swimmer started at a bookshop in Connecticut, where Rodewald and Di Novelli found a 1937 American lifeguard manual that somehow struck a chord. After reading only a few lines, they knew they had discovered something truly great—and Di Novelli got to work composing a libretto.

“It’s amazing… every single line is a metaphor. You can’t make it up. It wasn’t hard to write music for it because it was so inspiring,” according to Rodewald.

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Photo courtesy of Greg Emetaz
“The lifeguard knows if he lets the good swimmer go in, others less capable will follow”
-lyric from the song “The Good Swimmer”, found in a 1937 American Red Cross Life Saving & Water Safety manual
Newbury: When Donna sent me this song, I knew immediately that this piece was mine and no one else could do it …. There's such beautiful poetry to this language; we need more pieces about saving lives right now. And I feel like this particular verse has an incredible urgency to it— it’s about empathy, saving lives, and communities coming together.

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Photo courtesy of Greg Emetaz
“Fish bark and whistle and knock and drum
The waves slap
The whale moans
The roaring pound of surf
Sounds like
The roaring pound of surf”
-lyric from “Sonar”, found in a Naval sonar manual
Di Novelli: It’s a song about someone on a sonar boat listening to the sounds of the sea. There’s deep structure in the piece—we’re not saying the person heard only whales and then it turned into the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, but we’re making those connections and we hope the audience will make their own connections.

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Photo courtesy of Ethan Kan
“A typeface called optima
Coating the granite
In a process much like silk screening”
-lyric from “Optima”, taken from a description of the Vietnam War Memorial
Newbury: It’s a beautifully haunting song... about a font. So much of this piece is about how we remember the dead, what it means to save lives, and how we honor the people who tried to save lives and died trying, under altruistic or false pretenses.

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“Step on the ferocious tide”
-lyric from “Full Moon”, taken from a quote by Trieu Trinh Nuong, a Vietnamese woman warrior from the 3rd Century
Di Novelli: That might be my favorite lyric. It’s a collision between Antigone, which was the foundation for The Good Swimmer, and the Vietnamese heroes, the Trung Sisters. In The Good Swimmer, the sister can’t do anything to stop the war but she has fantasies of rescuing her brother based on what she has learned about the heroic rebellious women warriors in Vietnam.

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“When a person fully clad finds himself in deep water…”
-lyric from the song “Undressing Underwater”, found in a 1937 American Red Cross Life Saving & Water Safety manual
Newbury: In that particular song you watch one young lifeguard slowly change his lifeguard uniform into his military uniform and that’s it. It’s that very gentle, simple idea—watching him change his skin and get ready to go to war and trade in his life-saving outfit for a military outfit. We want to be delicate so that you’ll find your way as an audience member.

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Photo courtesy of Greg Emetaz

The found text for The Good Swimmer started with lifeguard manuals, but over the creative process, it expanded to texts from the Vietnam War era— from a White House daiquiri recipe to a pocket guide to Vietnam given to young soldiers upon deployment. Ultimately catharsis is found in the galvanizing truth: that we honor our fallen soldiers only when we defy the political drumbeat of senseless war.

The world premiere of The Good Swimmer comes to BAM Fisher from Nov 28—Dec 1.
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In Context: The Hard Nut

November 29, 2018, 10:11 am
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Mark Morris Dance Group’s beloved retro-modern reimagining of The Nutcracker, The Hard Nut, comes back to BAM for the holidays, playfully preserving the warm spirit of an essential holiday tradition Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.


Program Notes
Coming soon!

Read
Article
Forever Young (BAM Blog)
Mark Morris Dance Group’s The Hard Nut returns to the Howard Gilman Opera House for the seventh time. We spoke with some dancers who have held longtime roles.

Article
Behind the scenes of The Hard Nut (Brooklyn Magazine)
Brooklyn Magazine stepped backstage to take a look at one of Brooklyn’s most beloved Christmas traditions.

Article
No Sugar Plums Here: The Dark, Romantic Roots of The Nutcracker (NPR)
NPR on ETA Hoffman’s strangely magical story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, a darker and more fascinating fairy tale than the holiday tradition suggests, and Mark Morris’ direct inspiration for The Hard Nut.

Article
BAM: The Next Wave Festival (BAM.org)
Explore the rich history of BAM’s iconic festival in this newly released book.


Watch & Listen
Video
The Hard Nut: A Look Back (YouTube)
Go behind the scenes of The Hard Nut’s development in Brussels with this 1991 mini-doc about the making of the show.

Podcast
Beyond The Hard Nut (SoundCloud)
Musician-choreographer par excellence Mark Morris discusses Tchaikovsky’s beloved music for the ballet as a major inspiration for The Hard Nut.

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

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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In Context: Strange Window: The Turn of the Screw

November 30, 2018, 7:29 am
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A lone governess caught between memory and nightmare weaves a chilling tale made startlingly relevant as her sanity comes into question. Truth, it appears, is relative. A seductive retelling of the Henry James classic by The Builders Association, Strange Window: The Turn of the Screw brings technological stagecraft to the traditional theater format. Context is everything, so we’ve provided some articles to read and videos to watch. After you’ve attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #StrangeWindow.


Program Notes
Coming soon!

Read
Article
The Governess or the Ghosts? (BAM Blog)
A deeper dive into The Builders Association’s unique retelling of The Turn of the Screw at BAM.

Article
UCSC’s "Strange Window" Gives New Life to Classic Ghost Story (Good Times)
The University of California, Santa Cruz gets a preview of Strange Window: The Turn of the Screw.

Article
Even Scarier: On “The Turn of the Screw” (The New Yorker)
A critical look at the continued relevance of The Turn of the Screw.


Watch & Listen
Video
An Evening with Marianne Weem I The New School (YouTube)
The Builders Association’s artistic director Marianne Weems talks about her artistic process and the use of media in contemporary theater.


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

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Singing the Snowflakes

December 17, 2018, 10:32 am
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Photo by Richard Termine
By David Hsieh

In a ballet as full of magical moments as The Nutcracker, the Waltz of the Snowflakes may just be the most magical. Our heroine (Marie or Clara, depending on the version) just helped fend off the Rat King in an act of desperation. Then the wooden Nutcracker turns into a handsome cavalier to take her to a magical snow kingdom full of winter wonder. This moment of transformation with a sense of wonder is conveyed through every element of the staging. The scene shifts from domestic interior where rodents lurk to a forest covered in pristine white. The atmosphere changes from a real world to an imagined one. The dance style changes from social (and mime) to classical ballet on point. The characters change from kids to adults. And Tchaikovsky’s music suddenly adds in a vocal part—the only one in the entire score.

The continuous “ah” sung by a children’s choir to accompany the Snowflakes perfectly represents a young girl’s awe in that transformation—wordless, but not meaningless. It is a simple melody that can be sung by children but contrasts nicely to the short three beats (Snowfall! Gliding on ice!) played by the orchestra. And Mark Morris Dance Company has found a way to make it even more meaningful. In this year’s production of The Hard Nut (playing at BAM until Dec 23), for the first time, choirs from neighboring schools have been invited to sing.

“In previous productions we used students from our own education program. But we thought this would be a good opportunity for community outreach and education,” explains Sarah Marcus, director of education for Mark Morris Dance Group. She sent out invitations to several schools in the area at the beginning of the school year. Eventually fours choirs from three schools were selected. They are Brooklyn Friends School, the Women’s Choir and the Technical Difficulties A Capella from Brooklyn Technical High School, and MS 51 William Alexander. With the MMDG Hard Nut Singers, the five choirs (about 30 singers each) will rotate throughout the engagement. In addition, they will sing carols on the steps of Howard Gilman Opera House before each performance. (Check www.BAM.org for schedule.)

Basia Revi, the choral director of Brooklyn Tech, sang at BAM in the opera Anna Nicole in 2013 (she was one of the lap dancers). So she was particularly excited for her students to come to BAM. “Singing in schools is one thing, but the real experience happens when students are exposed to music making in a professional setting,” Revi said.

Mimi Broderick, choral director of MS 51, agrees. “They will perform with a professional dance group and orchestra, which is something most of them have never done before.”

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Carynthia Roberty, an eighth grader in Brooklyn Tech, also welcomes the opportunity. “We’re always doing work in the science field at school so it’s nice to branch out and do some music.”

The choirs mostly practiced on their own at lunchtime and after-school hours, which also included watching video of the ballet. Then they all gathered for one group rehearsal the night before opening, watching the entire show in the theater. They were totally bewitched by the famous snow tossing scene in The Hard Nut and felt it would energize their singing.

Carynthia said, “when they’re dancing and throwing the snow you feel the joy and happiness. It’s something so beautiful that I feel that it adds happiness to the song.”

Her schoolmate Gaelle Alcindor said, “Judging from the dance that accompanies the song I feel happiness and a sense of renewal because the dancers are spreading the snow. We also sense of awe and amazement because of our song.”

Nallely Pineda of MS 51 has enjoyed singing as a way to express herself all her life. She said that even though the song is without words, “it still gives you the feeling that something is going on, and you have to sing it like that. There is a part in the arrangement where the music speeds up, indicating there’s a big change. Then it returns to slow and peaceful. That is really magical.”

Almost every student has some knowledge of The Nutcracker. But Madelin Bareh of MS 51 grew up with it. “My parents are big fans of it and played the music a lot. It’s pretty amazing thinking that growing up I’ve heard this song hundreds of times and now I’m going to perform in it. It’s insane!”

Even in a slightly tongue in cheek production like Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut, this scene is danced with pure joy. And the students sing it that way. Please come and enjoy this party with them!

David Hsieh is a publicity manager at BAM

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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In Context: Unbound: Malala Yousafzai

December 21, 2018, 10:34 am
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BAM welcomes Nobel Peace Prize laureate and New York Times bestselling author Malala Yousafzai (I Am Malala and Malala’s Magic Pencil) to discuss her powerful new book, We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World. New York Times journalist Rukmini Callimachi leads this powerful discussion about the displacement of millions worldwide through the lens of Yousafzai’s own stunning account of the girls she’s met in refugee camps and cities—girls who have lost their community, relatives, and often the only world they've ever known. Context is everything, so we’ve provided some articles to read and videos to watch.


Read
Timeline
Malala's story (Malala.org)
A closer look at some of the pivotal moments in Malala’s extraordinary journey.

Article
In fighting for girls’ education, UN advocate Malala Yousafzai finds her purpose (UN News)
Malala discusses Malala Fund and her fight for girls’ education.

Article
Malala Yousafzai: By the Book (The New York Times)
Malala shares her favorite writers and book recommendations.

Watch
Video
Malala Yousafzai Nobel Peace Prize Speech (YouTube)
A video of Malala Yousafzai’s speech as she accepts the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17, the first Pakistani and youngest ever recipient.

Video
Malala Yousafzai Nobel Peace Prize Speech (The New York Times)
Earlier in 2018, Malala returns to Pakistan for the first time since she was forced to flee.


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

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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A New Year Message From Katy Clark, President of BAM

January 2, 2019, 7:01 am
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Even for the most resolution-averse, the New Year is a time when we reflect on the past and consider our intentions for the future. At BAM, this is especially resonant as we are undergoing considerable and exciting changes.

David Binder will officially assume his position as artistic director today. The upcoming Winter/Spring Season will be the final one programmed by our legendary Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo, whose vision has guided us for 35 years. While it is difficult to imagine BAM without Joe, we are thrilled to have David join our organization. Together with BAM’s extraordinary curators led by Gina Duncan in film, and Coco Killingsworth in creative learning, David is in the midst of programming his first season.

In order to complete much anticipated changes to our campus, the beloved BAM Harvey Theater will be closed until October 2019. The renovation and expansion will create a larger lobby, house a new visual art gallery, and provide new elevators and stairs for greater accessibility.

Inclusion and accessibility are at the forefront of our priorities not just through these physical changes. This year, we began an organization-wide process to examine our own areas of bias and inequity. This process will create an even richer foundation for artistic programming that can speak to more of our neighbors in this incredible borough and beyond.

Last year I wrote of the wrenching instability facing so many in our world. Sadly that has not changed, and I believe each of us must do what we can. At BAM, we have committed to a process that will deliver greater equity in everything that we do. I hope you will join us on this journey, and I look forward to seeing you at BAM.

Wishing peace and joy in 2019.


© 2019 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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2019 Winter/Spring Preview

January 8, 2019, 9:54 am
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Pepperland, photo by Gareth Jones

The 2019 Winter/Spring Season at BAM is an intriguing, diverse line-up of performances. They share at least one thing in common—they were chosen by Joseph V. Melillo as his final BAM season. The executive producer of more than three decades stepped down from his BAM position at the end of December, but has curated programs through June of 2019. This swan song slate embodies many of the singular talents and genres that have captivated audiences throughout his tenure.

The season kicks off with Théâtre de la Ville’s Ionesco Suite (Jan 23—26), directed by Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota, which amps up the absurdity and hilarity of Ionesco’s text by dicing and splicing five of his plays and recounting them in the guise of a dinner party at the BAM Fisher. Physical theater has thrived at BAM in recent years. Recirquel of Hungary makes its US debut with Non Solus, choreographed by Bence Váagi (Feb 14—16), in which two male performers strive to join forces through powerful, daring nouveau cirque. French Compagnie 111 returns to BAM with Espæce (Jun 20—22). Director Aurélien Bory, known for creating stunning theatrical tableaus, explores the limits and vicissitudes of the Howard Gilman Opera House stage.

Director Ivo van Hove is now hotter than July, with several smash Broadway shows to his credit. But he’s been a regular at BAM over the years, directing eight productions, from epic to intimate. His production of the Janáček opera Diary of One Who Disappeared (Apr 4—6), co-produced by Toneelgroep and Muziektheater Transparant, takes shape in a 22-scene love song cycle for voice and piano. Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) (Jun 6—8), directed by Daniel Fish, features music by the National’s Bryce Dessner, sung by vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth. Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe’s iconic black and white photographs are projected on a huge scale; the libretto is by Korde Arrington Tuttle and considers the vastly differing experiences of viewing Mapplethorpe’s work alone or in a crowd.

If international music superstars are your jam, Senegalese legend Youssou NDOUR alights for a two-evening engagement (May 31 & Jun 1). Brazilian Caetano Veloso performs Ofertório (Apr 12 & 13) with his three sons Moreno, Zeca, and Tom, playing selections from their recent release as well as iconic classics from Caetano’s storied career. And in the canon of early music, the protean William Christie conducts Les Arts Florissants in Rameau, maître à danser (Mar 1—3), a double bill of Daphnis et Églé and La naissance d’Osiris. These two short opera-ballets were created for the private court of Fontainebleau and are rarely staged. This marks Christie’s 28th BAM program.

The dance offerings are bountiful and varied. Merce Cunningham is feted in Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event—“events,” or anthologies, of 100 solos performed by 25 dancers at each of three venues, shared live and via video for a single historic performance on Apr 16. The 42nd DanceAfrica, under the direction of Abdel R. Salaam, occupies its customary spot during Memorial Day weekend, celebrating the dance of Rwanda, plus the bazaar, film, art, and live music.

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Diary of One Who Disappeared, photo by Jan Versweyveld

Brooklyn neighbor Mark Morris Dance Group performs the New York premiere of Pepperland, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Ethan Iverson’s score for Morris’ production is not a literal rendition of the album, but more of a jazz riff on its themes; the costumes evoke the eye-popping style of the 60s. in the shelter of the fold /epilogue, by Doug Varone, is set to an eclectic score composed and performed by Bang on a Can All-Stars Lesley Flanigan, Julia Wolfe, David Lang, Raz Mesinai, and Kevin Keller. The work showcases Varone’s lushly expressive, emotionally evocative movement by his company of 12.

Three companies cross borders to perform at BAM. Batsheva Dance Company of Israel presents Venezuela, a two-part work in which choreographer Ohad Naharin’s Gaga movement appears simultaneously effortless and impossible by his incomparable dancers. Ballet BC, of Vancouver, dances a triple bill with works by Artistic Director Emily Molnar, renowned Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, and William Forsythe, known for his revolutionary ballets and works of dance-theater. The three artists spent time together at Ballett Frankfurt, which was directed by Forsythe. And from Brazil, Grupo Corpo brings Bach & Gira, two distinct works which demonstrate the breadth of the company’s sinuous, highly dynamic range in choreography by Rodrigo Pederneiras.

The season is a rich sampling of Melillo’s curatorial flair, be it dance, theater, physical theater, or music. Join us in celebrating his 35 years of taste-making! Visit BAM.org for full festival information.

Susan Yung is senior editorial manager at BAM
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© 2019 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Race, Sex & Cinema: The World of Marlon Riggs

January 9, 2019, 12:14 pm
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By Ashley Clark

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Tongues Untied (1989), Courtesy of Signifyin' Works and Frameline Distribution

Filmmaker, gay rights activist, poet, professor, provocateur: the late, great Marlon Riggs (1957—94) spoke truth to power through his work in bracingly eloquent fashion. Race, Sex & Cinema: The World of Marlon Riggs (Feb 6—14) is an expansive celebration timed to mark the 25th anniversary of Riggs’ passing from AIDS-related complications, and the 30th anniversary of his best-known film, the seminal Tongues Untied, which opens this series on Wednesday, February 6.

Tongues Untied (1989) is a dense, lyrical essay film which explores the joy and pain of the black, gay, male experience in America—from the freedom of erotic self-expression to the corrosive effects of homophobia manifested both personally and systemically. It combines performance poetry (from Riggs’ friend and colleague Essex Hemphill, among others), stylized direct address, and archival footage from various civil rights protests. Its pulsating, fragmentary form reflects the inherently complex nature of its subject matter.

Riggs was a master of distilling difficult ideas into accessible and gripping dispatches, as evidenced by the two feature-length documentaries he made before and after Tongues Untied: the Emmy award-winning Ethnic Notions (1986) and Color Adjustment (1992). Both are supremely cogent and persuasively argued treaties on the evolution and perpetuation of deep-rooted anti-black stereotypes in American cinema (the former) and television (the latter). The crispness and clarity of Riggs’ nonfiction work dates back to his UC Berkeley graduate thesis film Long Train Running: A History of the Oakland Blues (co-directed with Peter Webster, 1981), and runs through his short films Anthem (1991), Affirmations (1990), and Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (1992), all of which present gay black men’s voices as a resounding response to the rhetorical question posed by Riggs in Tongues Untied: “What future lies in our silence?”

Riggs’ final film, which he worked on even as he struggled to fight the disease which would eventually claim his life, is the searing Black Is… Black Ain’t (1994), a fearless and thought-provoking contribution to debates around black identity within black communities. Completed by friends and colleagues following Riggs’ untimely death, it freely blends spoken word, song, commentary from scholars like bell hooks and Angela Davis, and intimate interviews with Riggs— filmed from his hospital bed in sequences—which resound as simultaneously harrowing and hopeful. Black Is… Black Ain’t is a fitting and moving testament to Riggs’ brilliance.

Though an undoubted original, Riggs did not exist in a vacuum, and Race, Sex & Cinema includes work by a number of his keenest influences and contemporaries in the world of experimental and queer-themed filmmaking, including Trinh T. Minh-ha, Lourdes Portillo, Peter Rose, Jeanne C. Finley, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Su Friedrich, Riggs’ friend and Transatlantic colleague Isaac Julien, and the pioneering black lesbian director Cheryl Dunye, who has cited Riggs as her “forefather.” There is also a program of short films about the novelist, memoirist, and activist James Baldwin, a black, queer, intellectual hero to Riggs.

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Brother to Brother (2004) 
In addition, Race, Sex & Cinema spotlights work directly influenced by Riggs, including a program of formally daring, thematically adventurous shorts by contemporary filmmakers including Tiona Nekkia McClodden, Elegance Bratton, and Martine Syms; Barry Jenkins’ richly cinematic, Academy Award-winning invocation for black queer self-acceptance Moonlight; and a 15th anniversary screening of Rodney Evans’ Brother to Brother, a tender character study of a young gay artist played by Anthony Mackie.

Brother to Brother takes its title from the hypnotic incantation which begins Riggs’ Tongues Untied, a publicly-funded film which found itself under harsh criticism and threats of censorship from right-wing politicians and media watchdogs when it screened on PBS. The eloquent Riggs, of course, was more than capable of standing up for himself, and penned an op-ed in The New York Times in 1992 which concluded with this stinging rejoinder:

“Needless to say, the insult in this brand of politics extends not just to blacks and gays, the majority of whom are taxpayers, and would therefore seem entitled to some measure of representation in publicly financed art. The insult confronts all who now witness and are profoundly outraged by the quality of political—one hesitates to say Presidential—debate. The vilest form of obscenity these days is in our nation’s leadership.”

These strong words remain deeply resonant in 2019, a fraught time and a perfect moment to dive deep into the world of this one-of-a-kind artist.


Race, Sex & Cinema: The World of Marlon Riggsruns Feb 6—14

Ashley Clark is senior repertory and specialty film programmer at BAM.

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Grupo Corpo: Bach & Gira

January 9, 2019, 2:36 pm
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Bach, photo by Jose Luiz Pederneiras
Brazil’s Grupo Corpo brings Bach & Gira to the Howard Gilman Opera House (Jan 31—Feb 2). Choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras answered some questions about the productions.

Q: What inspired you to pair Bach and Gira?

A: Bach is a piece from 1996, and the main idea was a tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach. Starting from there, we wanted something superior, elevated, that transmits the greatness of the German composer. Gira, a view of Afro-Brazilian religions, has a spiritual characteristic. From this angle, we have the elevation of spirituality throughout both pieces, and it seemed interesting to present them together.

Q: What was it like to premiere Bach at the 1996 Lyons Dance Biennial?

A: That was our first premiere abroad and the reception was more than we expected. This premiere was in a festival which has global importance, and it was both a great honor and an immense pleasure to have this experience.

Q: For Bach, how did you decide upon Marco Antônio Guimarães for the score?

A: At the time we already had two partnerships with Marco Antônio Guimarães, so we knew very well his accomplishment and talent as a composer, besides our friendship. He was a cellist with Minas Gerais Orchestra for many years, and as we are, he is a great lover of Johann Sebastian Bach’s work.

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Gira, photo by Jose Luiz Pederneiras.

Q: And in the same vein, how did you come to work with Metá Metá for Gira? What specifically did they bring to the work?

A: Metá Metá was a different process. Paulo Pederneiras (the artistic director) invited them to compose the original music. They brought an unknown world to us that demanded deep research from all of us. I attended on a daily basis the “terreiros de umbanda,” (temples of Umbanda, an Afro-Brazilian religion) and slowly started to learn how the rituals happened, how each entity manifested itself when incorporated in a “cavalo” (the person who lends his body to the entity to be manifested is called a “horse”).

Q: Can you talk a bit about how Umbanda informs the aesthetics and form of Gira?

A: We did huge research on how each entity manifests itself. Each moves in a particular way and has its very own grimaces. Then we incorporate those movements to the contemporary dance that Grupo Corpo has been developing for all these years. Each entity has a lineage well-marked, easy to identify, but still, each one has very specific movements.

Q: You are known for combining numerous forms of classical and traditional dance techniques into your works. How did this come to be?

A: That started in the late 80s and early 90s. We always heard about Brazilian dance, but what we saw were ideas or Brazilian characters represented by movements that weren’t ours at all—sometimes by the classical technique, sometimes by great international masters such as Martha Graham or José Limon. So, at that time, we started to research the Brazilian traditional dances and popular parties. It’s important to highlight that Brazil is diverse, and when we talk about Brazilian culture, you have to consider the influences from Europe, Africa, our indigenous people, and so forth. So, little by little, we transformed those dances in contemporary movements and assimilated that to our repertoire, which had a classical base.

© 2019 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Free Cinema Tickets for Federal Employees

January 14, 2019, 3:00 pm
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If Beale Street Could Talk, Courtesy of Annapurna Pictures

Beginning Monday, January 14, federal staffers on furlough due to the government shutdown are offered free admission to the first show of the day of any film currently playing at BAM Rose Cinemas (30 Lafayette Ave), Monday through Thursday. To receive one free ticket, present a Federal Employee ID at the box office; no online or advance orders are available. Showtimes for all films are available at bam.org/film.
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Notes on Ionesco Suite From Its Actors and Creators

January 15, 2019, 8:33 am
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Théâtre de la Ville, Paris presents Ionesco Suite, a collective work based on texts by Eugène Ionesco staged as an unruly dinner party, at the BAM Fisher from Jan 23—26, directed by Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota. The actors and creators provided texts of their own about the Ionesco Suite adventure, which have been translated here.

Gérald Maillet (performer)

Dear Eugène,

I’ve taken the liberty of calling you by your first name, given how long we’ve known each other.

I’m taking advantage of this new adventure in your delightfully fierce world to write you this little note. If only the two of us could have talked face to face while drinking a fine whiskey, what an honor that would have been!

I would probably have deluged you with questions. How do three or even seven people tackle your “Frenzy for Two”?

How do we penetrate your “momonstrously” deep body of work?


How do we approach your not-so-absurd mind?

I’ve been speaking your words for so many years. Sentences echo in my mind. I hear Ionesco in cafés, on the street, in the train, everywhere “people pass by, pass by,” and speak Ionesco without even realizing. Now that’s truly Ionesco-esque! We even invented a word. “I hope you don’t mind?”

I’m also inhabited by your spiritual quest with “sensing the end” and “being chronometered.” And the obsession with meaning that you pursued through words is at the heart of my work as an actor. Meaning!

So, when “the snail, meaning the turtle, moves about with its house on its back, which it has built itself, one s-nail at a time,” when “the fire catches fire,” and “I’d rather kill a rabbit than sing in the garden,” I tell myself that your world may not be so far from mine. Or should I say that I’ve been contaminated by yours?

It is a joy to read you and speak you, to look for the authentic moment in the relationship with my partners through the prism of your linguistic inventions.

I promise you that, “I will be deeply myself, in my fear, in my desires, in my anxiety, in my joy of being […] of being all these others in what makes them human.”

I hope that tonight’s audience will not go home untouched.

“Life is a battle, it’s cowardly not to fight.”

I wish you long life in death.

Cordially yours,

Gérald Maillet



Jauris Casanova (performer)

13 years already, 13 years that we’ve been performing Ionesco Suite.

Work experienced as a game.

That’s the singular thing about theater: you can always start over, while in life it’s impossible, you can’t go back.

So we wipe the slate clean and start over.

The essential remains to be discovered.

To my buddy Olive.



Sandra Faure (performer)

I took over the part of Roberte in 2006. I remember the tiny room over the bar at the theater in Reims, where we were practically performing on top of the audience! I remember a big mess. I remember I laughed a lot. And that I saw human things in my fellow actors that I hadn’t seen elsewhere. It might have been on this production that the spirit of the company was born in me. I remember tremendous youth. The energy of the bodies. Our insolence and our clumsiness.

To perform this production is to span time. We’ve aged. We’ve had kids. We’ve won some battles and lost others.

Of course, the script resonates more strongly today, fed by the events of our lives. That’s the power of Ionesco’s writing. Like a whirlwind.

We’ve all lived through an experience of death, however close.

I went through the looking glass.

All that makes me think of my favorite line in the show:

“In life, one must look out the window.”





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Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota (director)

Ionesco Suite brings together part of the company of actors that have been with me for many years—more than 10, in most cases. Many of them were already with me for the production of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost, nearly all of them were in Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author, Horváth’s Kasimir and Karoline, Camus’ State of Siege, and one of the eight Fabrice Melquiot plays we’ve premiered over these many years, from Marcia Hesse to Alice and the recent Les Séparables. All of them have accompanied these productions on long tours in France and around the world. They have each followed their personal path: the Conservatoire, the circus school in Châlons or the acting school on rue Blanche, training in theater or in some cases in dance. Part of the ensemble’s strength is in the diversity of backgrounds and generations that compose it. 

In the wake of the revival of Rhinoceros, which after more than 200 performances is continuing its incredible journey and was performed in Créteil in November 2018, we plunged back into the body of Ionesco’s work, including writings for the stage but also biographical and theoretical texts, in order to extend our creative “lab” focused on a few of the writer’s notable obsessions: the levelling of individuality, the arbitrary nature of language and the fundamental impossibility of communicating, the expression of power and domination (emotional and intellectual), the difficulty of being, dreams, and death.

In fact, what is striking in our rehearsals now is Ionesco’s art of taking sentences from everyday life and using these shapeless stones to create a fascinating and original mosaic. All the more reason for the actor to make heard in each of our banalities what is useless and insipid, insignificant or odious, or on the contrary what is terribly human about it.

This theatrical form, and the different spaces in which it can be performed, also allows us to offer the audience a different relationship to the performance, and the actors a different relationship to the audience, through a narrative that continues to be invented before and with the audience and works on the border separating those performing from those watching.



Charles-Roger Bour (performer)

When we created Ionesco Suite 13 years ago in the wake of Rhinoceros, I wasn’t yet as old as the “octogenic” grandmother, to use Ionesco’s term. Today I have to get used to the idea that I’m going to wind up catching up with her in… nine years, but always with a great deal of tenderness. For the role of the professor, which I’ve also been playing since the beginning, I’ve had to reconsider the dominant/dominated relationship with my new partner Walter N’Guyen, who has a very different energy than Olivier Le Borgne’s.



Stéphane Krähenbühl (performer)


I was 34 in 2005 when we first staged Ionesco Suite. I played the same characters I play today. They have lived with me, or I have lived with them, for 13 years now. We’re aging together. In this (re)construction of scenes, some characters maintain their own identity, like the awful father in Jack, or the Submission, while others appear more ghostlike or anonymous. To paraphrase Ionesco in The Hermit, “passersby passing by.” And yet all of them have this fanciful and desperate reality, this deep humanity.


I became particularly aware of this in 2014, when I had to take over the part of young Jack, instead of Father Jack, in Jack, or the Submission. A fascinating experience. I had been the monstrous and overwhelmed father who oppresses his unspeaking son and suddenly I became this rebellious and silent son who dreams of another life. That was a key for me. I had the feeling that I better grasped Ionesco’s poetry, his world, his obsessions, and his anxieties. Today I’m 47 years old and am inhabited by a single thought when I’m on stage: to be there, with them, like in everyday life, present and alive without desperately looking for a meaning to it all. Absurd?




Sarah Karbasnikoff (performer)

To: Céline, Sandra, Séverine, Charles, Christophe, Emmanuel, Gérald, Jauris, Olivier, Romain, Walter, Yves

When I saw Ionesco Suite, in a hall dressed for you in the middle of the Lycée Claude Monet, it was a shock, an astonishment, such a moment of joy and jubilation!

You were all so poignant, moving, united, funny and disturbing, clever and generous.

The words, the rhythm, the absurdity and elevation of Ionesco had become yours. WHAT A DELIGHT… de Théâtre et de Ville, of Theater and of the City… To discover you like this… Since then, every time I come to see you perform this show, it’s the same thing…

So, there you have it.

Now you’re welcoming me among you and I’m so happy to participate in this great Celebration, to taste a little bit of your madness.

Thank you.



Walter N’Guyen (performer)

Originally, I collaborated with Jefferson Lembeye as a composer/musician on the initial staging of this project. We were around for each step of the creative exploration, all the changes, the new versions, the tours, the swapping of parts, and some actors’ departures.

I remember the two of us accompanying the show live with guitar and cello, and doing the recording sessions. Running sound with CD players… The first performances in the studio at the Comédie de Reims and in Givet… Hysterical laughter in rehearsal… Building the set in high schools, Marie-France Ionesco at the Lycée Molière… then Porto, Athens, Rio, Chicago…

We’ve always tried to adapt and question the music as if it were another player on the stage, to feel and accompany the show live, at our fingertips, echoing the lines, the performances, the silences… the sounds and notes as replies to the actors.

Today, I’m returning as an actor, crossing to “the other side” in honor of Olivier.

I’m going to have to look for my truth on the edge of the void, to find the right place for me, here, with my friends. I’m going to play the part of Jacqueline.

Photos: Jean Luis Fernandez

© 2019, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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In Context: Ionesco Suite

January 18, 2019, 12:36 pm
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A feat of repartee and wordplay from acclaimed director Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota and Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, Ionesco Suite comprises excerpts from the following plays: The Bald Soprano; The Lesson; Frenzy for Two, or More; Jack, or The Submission; and French Conversation and Diction Exercises for American Students, allowing audieno experience principal scenes and taste the tragicomic stylings of playwright Eugène Ionesco. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #Ionescosuite.


Program Notes
Coming soon!

Read

Article
Notes on Ionesco Suite From Its Actors and Creators (BAMblog)
The actors and creators of Ionesco Suite provided texts of their own reflecting on their own experiences bringing the suite to the stage.


Article
An Interview With Eugene Ionesco (The Harvard Crimson)
Art’s relation to politics, Ionesco’s “total lack of methodology,” and the importance of literature figure heavily in this 1978 interview with the playwright.


Article
Eugene Ionesco, The Art of Theater No. 6 (The Paris Review, subscription required)
An interviewer sat with the Ionesco in the drawing room of his home in Paris in 1984 and discussed his origins, French poetry, and the influence of surrealism and psychoanalysis in his work.


Article
‘The Impossibility of Theatre:’ An Interview with Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota (HuffPost)
Ionesco Suite director Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota on his approach to production and theatre and what keeps drawing him to Ionesco’s plays.


Article
Eugene Ionesco Is Dead at 84; Stage's Master of Surrealism (New York Times)
This insightful and extensive obituary includes a quote from Ionesco, written in his 20s, on why he wrote: "To allow others to share in the astonishment of being, the dazzlement of existence, and to shout to God and other human beings our anguish, letting it be known that we were there."



Watch & Listen
Video
Interview with Eugene Ionesco (YouTube)
This three-part interview filmed in 1961 touches on everything from Ionesco’s childhood and other aspects of his biography to his feelings on politics, philosophy, and literature. 

Podcast
Ionesco, Voodoo and Therapy (The Moth)
As if Ionesco’s work wasn’t surreal enough, this episode of The Moth includes the true first-person tale of a high school student attempting to pass an Ionesco play off as his own.



Now your turn...
How did you enjoy the show? Likes? Dislikes? Surprises? Tell us what’s on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #Ionescosuite.

© 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
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In Context: Bach & Gira

January 22, 2019, 9:30 am
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Photo: Jose Luiz Pederneiras

Brazil’s foremost contemporary dance troupe returns to BAM for the 5th time with Bach & Gira, a distinctive double bill that showcases the company's breadth. Like the company itself, the program foregrounds classical technique, traditional Afro-Brazilian movement, and a current choreographic language. Choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras renders the baroque beautifully modern in Bach, set to Marco Antônio Guimarães’ interpretation of Bach. Then, the ensemble transports us to its home country with Gira, featuring a soundtrack by São Paulo band Metá Metá. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related content. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #GrupoCorpo.

Program Notes
Bach & Gira (PDF)

Read

Read
Q&A
Grupo Corpo: Bach & Gira (BAMblog)
Choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras elaborates on what inspired him to pair Bach and Gira, how he selects musical collaborators for new works, and the ways his dancers blend contemporary and traditional dance techniques.

Watch & Listen
Video
Estreia no Rio de Janeiro (YouTube)
What does opening night look like at the Teatro Municipal in Brazil? Witness the sweat and cheers in this behind-the-scenes peek at the dancers as they take on the demanding Bach and Gira.

Video
Grupo Corpo (BAM Archives)
Bach & Gira marks Grupo Corpo’s 5th time at BAM. Explore the company’s previous work on the BAM Archives: 21 & O Corpo (NWF 2002), Lecuona and Onqotô (NWF 2005), Benguelê and Breu (Spring 2008), and Ímã & Sem Mim (NWF 2012).

Video
Metá Metá Take Away Show (YouTube)
The composers of the music for Gira bring their unique blend of jazz, funk, and samba to the streets in La Blogothèque’s renowned series.

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

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