Buglisi Dance Theatre presents the world premiere of The Threads Project #1 "Universal Dialogues" on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 and Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 7:30pm at Chelsea Factory, 547 West 26th Street, NYC. Tickets are $30-$40 general admission, and $15 for students and seniors. General admission tickets purchased by June 12 will be available at a 25% discount (code: EarlyBird). To purchase, visit https://www.chelseafactory.org/universal-dialogues.

 

Jacqulyn Buglisi collaborates with eight diverse choreographers—Alexander Anderson, Jennifer Archibald, Sidra Bell, PeiJu Chien-Pott, Daniel Fetecua, Loni Landon, Jesse Obremski, Blakeley White-McGuire—on her newest exploration: a multi-layered dance that turns to the poets for truths, revealing the strengths and vulnerabilities of what makes us human. Captivating and rapturous, with lighting and set design by the award-winning Jack Mehler and costumes by FIT designer-on-the-rise Lauren Starobin, the dance is timely, drawing inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaims that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights...and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." (Article I). Each choreographer illuminates their unique poetic voice to an Article, threading, weaving, questioning fundamental principles of human rights and freedoms and hope for the future of humanity. The piece also invokes Rilke: "Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going."

 

The performance on June 22 will feature a post-show talkback, and the performance on June 23 will be followed by a reception for Gala ticket holders. The production runs 60 minutes with no intermission and includes use of haze. 

 

The dancers include Blakeley White-McGuire, Ben Schultz, Lauren Jaeger, Jessica Sgambelluri, Ashley Merker, Greta Campo, Aoi Sato, Rayan Lecurieux-Durival, Sierra Sanders, Zachary Jeppsen, Kate Reyes, Esteban Santamaria, Gabrielle Willis, Isabella Pagano, and Jai Perez. The understudy is Cristina Barretta. The apprentices are Emily Aslin and YuChin Tseng. 

 

The production team also includes Artistic Associate Terese Capucilli, Artistic Collaborator Blakeley White-McGuire, Music Soundscape Editor John K. Stone, Projection Designer Joey Moro, and Production Stage Manager Jacqueline Reid.

 

The Threads Project #1 "Universal Dialogues" is made possible through the generous support of the Jody and John Arnhold | Arnhold Foundation, the Harkness Foundation for Dance, and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

 

Chelsea Factory will be implementing the following procedures to help ensure the health and safety of its patrons, staff, and artists:

 

Proof of COVID-19 vaccination

Masks worn at all times inside Chelsea Factory

 

About Chelsea Factory

Chelsea Factory exists to provide strong support, responsive partnership, and transformative experiences for New York City artists, organizations, and audiences. Chelsea Factory is multi-disciplinary across its programming. With an initial 5-year operating model, it is committed to being an inclusive and expansive space, prioritizing support for historically excluded New York City-based artists. Chelsea Factory imagines New York City's arts sector as coming back more diverse, more sustainable, and more connected than ever before. With art making at its core, Chelsea Factory will become a place for New Yorkers to find connection, inspiration, and joy. For more information, visit chelseafactory.org. 

 

About Buglisi Dance Theatre

The award-winning Buglisi Dance Theatre is acclaimed for multi-cultural dances on the human condition that expose social and environmental injustices and reveal the heroic spirit, strengths and vulnerabilities of humanity. Founded in 1993 by Artistic Director Jacqulyn Buglisi, Terese Capucilli, Christine Dakin and Donlin Foreman, former principal dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company, BDT is honored to celebrate its 29th NYC season at Chelsea Factory. The company has held seasons at The Joyce Theater, New York Live Arts, Ailey Citigroup Theater, and the LMCC/River to River Festival, and tours across the U.S. including Jacob's Pillow, the Kennedy Center, Kaatsbaan, Vail International Dance Festival; and abroad to Melbourne Festival; Australia, Prague International Dance Festival, Czech Republic, Mexico, Israel, and Italy. BDT perform regularly in support of social causes, most recently for the Zen Center for Contemplative Care, Career Transition for Dancers, Dancers Responding to AIDS, and the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. BDT builds the legacy of American culture through its interactive educational programs and residencies in public schools and universities. In partnership with Lincoln Center, BDT presents the annual Table of Silence Project 9/11, a free performance ritual for peace on the Josie Robertson Plaza reaching over four million viewers via live stream in 235 countries/territories. For more information, visit buglisidance.org. 

 

About Jacqulyn Buglisi, Artistic Director/Choreographer/Educator/Advocate

In her five-decade career, Bessie Award Honoree Jacqulyn Buglisi has made an indelible impact on the field of dance. Using literature, poetry, and heroic archetypes, Buglisi crafts socially-relevant, multi-layered dance works that reveal the visceral strengths, humor and exquisite vulnerabilities of the individual. She co-founded BDT in 1993 following an illustrious career as a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Buglisi's repertoire of more than 100 ballets is archived in the Jerome Robbins Dance Collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and includes commissions for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Richmond Ballet, The Joyce Theater Foundation, The Juilliard School's Emerging Modern Masters, and the Flamenco Festival at Sadler's Wells, London, and New York City Center. Interdisciplinary, multi-cultural collaboration is core to Buglisi's creative process, featuring such groundbreaking artists as composers Daniel Bernard Roumain, Paola Prestini, Jeff Beal; spoken word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph; environmental artist Jacobo Borges, projection designer Wendall Harrington, and producer/videographer Nel Shelby. A master teacher of Graham technique for 50 years, Buglisi is Chair of the Modern Department at the Ailey/Fordham BFA program, served on the faculty of Juilliard and the Martha Graham School, and has held residencies and workshops at Yale, SUNY Purchase, Chautauqua Institution, UC, Santa Barbara, Marymount Manhattan College, and Steps on Broadway. Recipient of National Endowment for the Arts choreographer fellowships and grants, Buglisi has been featured on the cover of Dance Teacher magazine, in articles for Dance Spirit, Dance Magazine, and as an Arts & Leisure feature in The New York Times, among others. Buglisi is further distinguished for her visionary mission to create community through the Table of Silence Project 9/11, an annual performance ritual for peace at Lincoln Center streamed around the world that harnesses the collective breath in pursuit of compassion and global unity.