The Three Choreographers Bringing Contemporary Ballet to BAM in June

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.

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.

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.

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.”