BAM Blog Questionnaire: Guillaume Quéau of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet

This June 3—6, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet performs their final farewell performances at BAM. We caught up with dancer Guillaume Quéau in the busy days leading up to opening night to learn more about his craft, career, and time spent with Cedar Lake.

How long have you been dancing with Cedar Lake? Who have been your favorite choreographers to work with? Do you have a favorite piece?

I joined Cedar Lake 3 years ago. I first saw the company in Lyon. France, and said to myself: "You have to work with them! They are insane!" So, I did an audition in Paris a week later…and I got the job. My favorite choreographer to work with was Andonis Foniadakis. He’s Greek and was the first choreographer that I worked with as a member of Cedar Lake. It was crazy to be treated like a professional dancer for the first time in my life—I was just out of school, and I was really nervous to work with someone whose work I admired so much. Andonis gave me the chance to really feel like a part of the company, and I loved dancing Horizons for him.

BAM Blog Questionnaire: Ebony Williams of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet

This June 3—6, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet performs their final farewell performances at BAM. We caught up with dancer Ebony Williams (who you may recognize from Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" video) in the busy days leading up to opening night to learn more about her craft, career, and time spent with Cedar Lake.

How long have you been dancing with Cedar Lake? Who have been your favorite choreographers to work with? Do you have a favorite piece?

I've been in Cedar Lake for ten years. My favorite choreographers to work with have been Crystal Pite, Jacopo Godani, Ohad Naharin, Richard Siegal, and my favorite pieces are [Pite's] Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue and Hofesh Shechter's Violet Kid.

Of all the places you’ve traveled to with Cedar Lake, which is your favorite?

New Zealand, which was our last tour out of the country. London, Israel, and of course Paris!

In Context: Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet returns to BAM for its final performances June 3—6. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of articles, videos, and original pieces related to the show. Once you've seen it, help us keep the conversation going by telling us what you thought below, or on social media using #CedarLakeDance.

BAM Blog Questionnaire: Ida Saki of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet

Ida Saki arrives at BAM next Wednesday, June 3 for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet's final farewell performances. We caught up with the dancer in the busy days leading up to opening night to learn more about her craft, career, and time spent with Cedar Lake.

How long have you been dancing with Cedar Lake? Who have been your favorite choreographers to work with? Do you have a favorite piece? 

I've been in Cedar Lake for three years. I've truly enjoyed every piece that I've been a part of, but probably learned the most from the work of Andonis Foniadakis. His movement opposes a lot of my natural tendencies, so I had to find ways to move that quickly while still being released and free, rather than tight.

My favorite piece, although difficult to say, would probably be Violet Kid by Hofesh Shechter. That piece is a constant challenge no matter where you're at, in terms of emotional and physical stamina. Not leaving the stage for 35 minutes and [being in] constant movement takes you through a journey that's different everyday. The most interesting part is seeing how we all respond to that challenge.

Cedar Lake—Sexy, smart & cool

Rain Dogs. Photo: Ally Duffey

By Susan Reiter

It’s been a busy year between BAM engagements for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, which returns to the Howard Gilman Opera House with two programs June 3—6. Following its inaugural BAM season, which marked this energetic, distinctively edgy troupe’s 10th anniversary, Cedar Lake introduced a new choreographic initiative, Cedar Lab, which culminated in performances of five new works created by company members.

The company toured to Germany last fall, and then debuted in Australia and New Zealand. In February, they presented a full-company installation, with live music, conceived/directed by Artistic Director Alexandra Damiani. This month they perform in Boston and then return to BAM, where the repertory includes world and New York premieres.

Particularly intriguing is My Generation, by Richard Siegal—an American based in Europe whose work has had few chances to be seen in New York in recent years. Cedar Lake’s mission has been to introduce New York audiences to dances by cutting-edge choreographers who often have busy careers in other parts of the world, but whose work is less known in these parts.

BAM Blog Questionnaire: Cedar Lake costume designer Nancy Haeyung Bae

by Raphaele de Boisblanc

Grace Engine. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

In conjunction with Cedar Lake's 10th Anniversary Celebration (BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, through Jun 14), we reached out to designer Nancy Haeyung Bae for insights on creating costumes for the company. Nancy is a New York native and was educated at the Parsons School of Design. She is the co-founder of the brand aulle and has designed for Theory, Gap, and Isabel Toledo, among others.

How did you meet Cedar Lake's (former) artistic director, Benoit-Swan Pouffer, and what led you to work for the company?

I met Swan over 15 years ago at Alvin Ailey. Swan hired me to create costumes for a piece performed by the Ailey students at that time. We continued to work together on full-length installations and programs after he joined Cedar Lake. Swan's artistic vision has always been an inspiration to me. It involves a creative process that begins from an organic place; emotion, movement, sound and light—a different place to start when compared to retail product design. The talent at Cedar Lake collaborates on bringing innovative ideas to the table. I'm just happy to be a part of their process.

What were the unique challenges of designing costumes for Crystal Pite's Grace Engine? What do you most like about them?

Crystal Pite is an extraordinary visionary who saw Grace Engine being performed in fully tailored suits. Each suit was designed with the dancer in mind, having marked details and style lines different from one another. The unique challenge was to maintain a contemporary fit, which required meticulous attention to angles and seams that provided maximum rotation and movement. The fabrics were all non-stretch wools, so we spent a good deal of time engineering and perfecting patterns to work back to the performance. I worked with the talented wardrobe team at Cedar Lake throughout the development using new techniques; the experience was educational and exciting. I was very pleased with the end result.

BAM Blog Questionnaire: Nickemil Concepcion of Cedar Lake

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet celebrates its tenth anniversary next week with a BAM debut. We caught up with Nick Concepcion, who's been with the company since the beginning, to talk travel tips, risk, and ritual.


1. You’ve been in Cedar Lake from the beginning. Who have been your favorite choreographers to work with? Do you have a favorite piece?

Yes, I've been with the company since the beginning (2003) and have had the privilege to work with so many talented choreographers. It's difficult to just pick one, as they all challenge me in different ways and have molded me into the dancer I've become today mentally, physically, and historically. One of my favorites is Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue by Crystal Pite*, who is now the company's associate choreographer. I am really looking forward to working with her again.

*Pite’s Grace Engine will be performed in Program C on June 14

2. Cedar Lake tours a lot. How do you stay healthy while traveling? Do you have tips for other dancers who tour?  

A little over a year ago I quit drinking alcohol which has made quite a difference in my overall energy and versatility. Hydrating is key to staying fit on these tours which can be very demanding on the body. 

3. Of all the places you’ve traveled to with Cedar Lake, which is your favorite?

By far it would be Israel! However, I'm really looking forward to going to Australia next season.

In Context: Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet performs at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House from June 11—14. Context is everything, so get even closer to the nimble dancers, their repertoire, and more with this curated selection of articles, videos, and original blog pieces related to the show. For those of you who've already seen it, help us keep the conversation going by telling us what you thought below.

Cedar Lake Videopalooza

by Susan Yung

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet is celebrating 10 years! See previews of the works comprising three programs at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (June 11 to 14) in these clips, which show the range of choreography by some of the world's hottest dancemakers and the dancers' virtuosity and full throttle approach.


Orbo Novo by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
This evening-length work, inspired by Jill Bolte Taylor's memoir on having a stroke, is a search for the perfect balance between the left and right sides of the brain, an attempt at untangling the future and the past. Cedar Lake has made some fun travel vlogs; this one focuses on performances of Orbo Novo in Germany, with insights on the work by performers.

Cedar Lake—Pivoting

by Susan Yung

Tuplet. Photo: Christopher Duggan

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet is having a moment. The company celebrates its 10-year anniversary and BAM debut with a run from June 11 to 14 in the Howard Gilman Opera House. And it welcomes a new artistic director, Alexandra Damiani—although “new” is not exactly right. Damiani has been with Cedar Lake for nine years now as associate artistic director and ballet master, running rehearsals and keeping the impressively diverse repertory in top shape, and has been acting artistic director after the departure last year of its previous AD, Benoit Swan Pouffer. In this time, she has forged strong working relationships with the dancers, many of who are long-tenured.

Another twist is the appointment of an associate choreographer who is in demand worldwide, Crystal Pite, who created for Cedar Lake Grace Engine, included in BAM’s season. She will create a minimum of two works over a few years, with time in between to research. Pite said, “Cedar Lake is a dynamic company of distinct individuals; I love the versatility and courage of the dancers. They have a rigorous commitment to physical skill and a willingness to risk, so I can manifest a lot through them—both choreographically and theatrically. The organization itself—administration, production—is professional and open-minded. There is a spirit of curiosity and commitment to innovation that permeates the whole building. I can throw a seed of an idea in there and I know it will find fertile ground.”

2013 Winter Reading List

An image from Ed Piskor's Hip-Hop Family Tree

You probably already have a lot to read this holiday season: at least three day’s worth of critic’s top 10 lists, weird holiday kale recipes, instructions for assembling your nephew’s new toy (which, let's be honest, isn't half as cool as Legos). But for those cherished moments of idle time, during which your thoughts, we hope, will drift towards BAM, you’ll need something more substantial on hand. Enjoy this list of books, each related in some way to one of our upcoming Winter/Spring productions.

A Lover's Discourse: Fragments | By Roland Barthes
Recommended for: Jeffrey Eugenides / Eat, Drink & Be Literary
A major inspiration for novelist Jeffrey Eugenides, who comes to BAM in February as part of Eat, Drink & Be Literary, Roland Barthes’ A Lover’s Discourse is the most seductive and hilarious entry point imaginable into the often impenetrable world of French theory. Arranged as a chain of fragmentary musings on the most ridiculous totems, symbols, and gestures of unrequited love, this slim volume breaks down the melodrama of amour fou so methodically, you hardly know whether to laugh or cry. In prose that somehow manages to attack its subject with surgical precision while also mimicking the intoxicated illogic of infatuation, Barthes accomplishes a feat unprecedented in semiotic theory before or since: allowing the reader to stand both inside and outside a complex web of human emotion. —Andrew Chan


Today I Wrote Nothing: The Selected Writings of Danil Kharms
Translated by Matvei Yankelevich | Recommended for: The Old Woman
On February 2, 1942, in the psych ward of a Soviet hospital, Russian writer Daniil Kharms died of hunger. Had he concealed his belief (and others like it) that one could hide one’s thoughts simply by wearing a hat, he might have never been confined there. But such was the eccentric mind of this recently rediscovered master of the absurd. Kharm’s writings are dark, quizzical, and often hysterical, typically lasting no longer than a page. Pushkin trips over Gogol, men forget whether or not seven or eight comes first, and old women die inconveniently while losing their dentures. Experience the latter as interpreted for the stage by Robert Wilson, Willem Dafoe, and Mikhail Baryshnikov in The Old Woman, at BAM this June.  —Robert Wood


My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey 
By Jill Bolte Taylor | Recommended for: Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
Taylor, a brain researcher at Harvard, used her own recovery from a massive stroke as fodder for her research, and offers up her findings in this popular memoir (and equally popular TEDtalk ). Filled with lines like“My spirit soared free like a great whale gliding through the sea of silent euphoria” (which choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, inspired by Taylor’s text,  actually has his dancers speak in the work Orbo Novo), the book can verge on Dr. Feelgood. But all in all it’s a fascinating firsthand look at the two ways your one brain processes information: linear judgements and future worries on the left, here-and-now revelations and instinctive responses on the right.  —Jessica Goldschmidt


Hip Hop Family Tree | Ed Piskor
Recommended for: Poetry 2014: Birth of a Hip-Hop Nation
Ed Piskor’s Hip-Hop Family Tree, crammed with vignettes featuring the founders and luminaries from the world of rap, is a detailed comic-book history of one of the most popular genres in the world. Piskor’s graphic style is classic—the layout and coloring are like old-school newsprint—and his clarity and detail make the book rich and readable when it could be overwhelming. He puts his story in a precise socio-political context while offering funny anecdotes about how rappers and DJs teamed up, as well as hilarious caricatures of icons like Russell Simmons, diligently spelling out the latter’s lisp in cartoon bubbles as he records “the firtht gold rekkid in hip hop hithtory” with Kurtis Blow. —Nate Gelgud

"Christian Rizzo In Conversation with John Jasperse"
Recommended for: Lyon Opera Ballet
Two choreographers walk into a bar and...actually, they sit down and talk. Christian Rizzo, who choreographed the work ni fleurs, ni ford-mustang, to be performed by Lyon Opera Ballet at BAM in May, chats with fellow choreographer John Jasperse (Canyon, BAM 2011) in this interview for the website Movement Research. Rizzo is a French native known for working in visual art and fashion as well as dance, and here we learn about his views on art history (it goes much further back than Cunningham and Rauschenberg), about how there might be more talking about dance than actually doing it, and more. —Susan Yung


My Autobiography | By Charlie Chaplin
Recommended for: Charlie's Kid
Charlie Chaplin’s 1954 autobiography, recently reissued as a handsome paperback by Neversink, makes an excellent companion piece to the BAMkids production Charlie’s Kid, coming up in May. The book is a thick account of the screen icon’s life, but it moves quickly, powered forward by Chaplin’s crisp, humorous, self-aware way with words. In Bosley Crowther’s New York Times review of the book upon its original publication, the critic maintained that Chaplin wasn’t entirely truthful, so who knows if the funny and surprising anecdotes that pack the book actually happened. The important thing is that Chaplin tells his stories well, and readers get to spend enjoyable time with Chaplin the artist, not just the on-screen Tramp. —Nate Gelgud

The Interestings | By Meg Wolitzer
Recommended for: Meg Wolitzer / Eat, Drink & Be Literary
The title of this bestselling novel refers to sibling friends of protagonist Jules, among a group of lifelong pals who meet at an idyllic summer camp, which later morphs into a darker iteration of the rural. Jules struggles to define her modest, undistinguished life as successful and fulfilling by societal norms, despite being the emotional anchor of her clique. Wolitzer explores the lasting bonds, and occasional devil's bargain, of close relationships, as well as infatuation, fate, and the seduction of wealth. She comes to BAM in May as part of the Eat, Drink & Be Literary series. —Susan Yung

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Film
By Raoul Walsh | Recommended for: BAMcinématek's Walsh/Scorsese series
This March, BAMcinématek presents a week-long series charting the influence of still-underappreciated classic Hollywood auteur Raoul Walsh on Martin Scorsese. One of the most ardently cinephilic of American directors, Scorsese has spent the last few decades as a leader in championing and preserving film culture. Walsh’s lavishly illustrated, lovingly annotated 1997 book A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies—a companion to his sprawling TV documentary of the same name—is a testament to his encyclopedic knowledge of the art form, filled with passionate and sometimes idiosyncratic readings of everyone from Kubrick and Fuller to lesser-known directors Ida Lupino and Edger G. Ulmer. —Andrew Chan