Kaatsbaan Cultural Park will present New Classical Dance Works as a part of its inaugural Summer Festival 2021, taking place both outdoors across its 153-acres in the Hudson Valley as well as in its indoor Theater, following all CDC and NYS guidelines. Tickets are available at https://ci.ovationtix.com/36035/production/1071000.

 

August 28 and 29, 2021

6:00pm – 7:30pm

The premiere of three Kaatsbaan commissioned classical dance works

 

Choreographer Gemma Bond (former dancer from Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, current Artist-in-Residence at CoLab Dance), brings a new creation to Kaatsbaan's outdoor Mountain Stage, with dancers from American Ballet Theatre, including Devon Teuscher, Cory Stearns, Lauren Bonfiglio, Tyler Maloney, Chloe Misseldine, and Jose Sebastian. Renowned concert pianist, Cecile Licad, will play excerpts from Rachmaninoff's virtuosic 13 Preludes in an exciting collaboration with these dancers. Costume design by Harriet Jung.

 

Choreographer Claire Davison (American Ballet Theatre, Corps de Ballet), brings a site-specific physical comedy piece to Kaatsbaan, with elements of clowning, dance, slapstick, juggling and aerial dance to live music. Performing artists include Kyle Driggs, Andrea Murillo, Omari Soulfinger, Jeff Seal, and Tyler West. The Ávila Ensemble, with Ana Aparicio, Laura Pérez, Juan Diego Mora, and Elizabeth Liotta, students from Bard Conservatory, will accompany with Venezuelan folk music and music from classical repertoire.

 

Choreographer Lauren Lovette (New York City Ballet, Principal Dancer), brings a new pas de deux to Kaatsbaan's outdoor Mountain Stage, with ABT dancer Zimmi Coker and TBD with the Balourdet String Quartet.

 

A solo recital with Steinway Artist Cecile Licad will open the Mountain Stage portion of the evening. The piano has been provided by Steinway & Sons – the Artistic Choice of Kaatsbaan Summer Festival.

 

The site-specific performance will begin at 6:00pm. At 6:30pm, audience members will be escorted to the Mountain Stage area, where Cecile Licad will begin her solo music concert at 6:45pm. Please note that this is a 5-10 minute walk. Kaatsbaan will have one golf cart to transport those requiring assistance.

 

"Kaatsbaan has always been a haven for artists, and this was never more evident than during these last sixteen months. We felt it was our responsibility to find a way to provide safe work spaces and performance opportunities for artists throughout the pandemic. The Summer Festival 2021 is building off the success of our past two Festivals, which supported over 300 New York City artists and allowed us to welcome more than 3,500 audience members to Kaatsbaan." said Stella Abrera, Artistic Director. 

 

About Kaatsbaan Cultural Park

The mission of Kaatsbaan Cultural Park is to provide an extraordinary environment for cultural innovation and excellence. As both an incubator for creativity and presenter for world-class artists in dance, theater, music, film, poetry, culinary and visual arts, Kaatsbaan provides artists with state-of-the-art dance studios, accommodations, an indoor theater, and two outdoor stages. Sitting on 153 Hudson River-adjacent acres, Kaatsbaan is free of urban facilities' space and time constraints, allowing for exciting levels of artistic exploration, creative action, and achievement – just two hours north of New York City. Kaatsbaan Cultural Park is committed to the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts as we aim to present, promote, and embrace programming that accurately reflects our society. We encourage a broadly diverse group of individuals to participate in our programs and join our Board and Staff and insist on being inclusive of all peoples regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socio-economic background, physical or mental ability.