Winter/Spring Season 2019: BAM

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January 21 – June 2019

BAM Brooklyn Academy of Music

in the shelter of the fold / epilogue

The infectious, unmistakably Brazilian movement stylings of Grupo Corpo. The return of William Christie and his acclaimed early-music ensemble Les Arts Florissants. Superstar director Ivo van Hove reimagines an obscure Czech opera. Mark Morris interprets the Beatles. And so much more.

in the shelter of the fold / epilogue

Doug Varone and Dancers
With Bang on a Can All-Stars
Choreography by Doug Varone

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 six interconnected vignettes, featuring original music by Lesley Flanigan, Julia Wolfe, David Lang, 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.

Diary of One Who Disappeared

Muziektheater Transparant
By Leoš Janáček
Directed by Ivo van Hove

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.

Espaece

A piece by Aurélien Bory
Compagnie 111

An enormous moveable wall splits and folds like a book. Five performers – three dancers, a soprano (Claire Lefilliâtre), and an acrobat – navigate this imposing monolith to create a shapeshifting tableau. Aurélien Bory’s intrepid work of physical theater is inspired by the life and work of writer-trickster Georges Perec, best known for his wordplay and droll wit. Using Perec’s Species of Spaces as a jumping-off point and diving into a physical riddle of arrivals and departures, presence and absence, Espæce stretches the void of the stage and destabilizes our expectations to moody and mischievous effect.

Night of 100 Solos

Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event

Choreography by Merce Cunningham

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.

Non Solus

Recirquel Company, Budapest
Written, directed, and choreographed by Bence Vági

Suspended in midair, two fragmented souls reach for one another, yearning to be made whole. In a marvelous display of trust, with no net to catch their fall, these acrobatic figures search for the truth of our commonality, in synchronicity with the living, breathing environment around them. Hungary’s Recirquel Company, Budapest, makes its BAM debut with this sublime duet exemplifying the young troupe’s unique blend of circus and dance – and choreographer Bence Vági’s mission to revive the tradition of the great circuses of Europe while infusing it with a new movement vocabulary. Non Solus, which translates as “not alone,” weaves together electronic organ music with the sounds of Rachmaninoff and Bach, serving as a reminder of our shared primordial past and an expression of our present humanity.

Venezuela

Batsheva Dance Company
By Ohad Naharin

Acclaimed Choreographer Ohad Naharin and Batsheva’s 18-member company are renowned worldwide for their adventurous vision and distinctive movement language. Combining visceral physicality with a rigor and consistency in their training, Batsheva Dance Company compels audiences with its virtuosity and raw energy.