Baryshnikov Arts Center Premieres Final Installment of Works Commissioned for Digital Spring 2021 Season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2021

Press Contact: Kristen Miles
kmiles@bacnyc.org / 646-731-3221

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BARYSHNIKOV ARTS CENTER PREMIERES FINAL INSTALLMENT OF WORKS COMMISSIONED FOR DIGITAL SPRING 2021 SEASON

Stefanie Batten Bland’s Kolonial, May 3—17
Tei Blow’s The Sprezzaturameron, May 17—31
Kyle Marshall’s STELLAR, June 7—21

Free and Available to Stream On-Demand at BACNYC.ORG

New York, NY — Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) presents the final installment of world premieres commissioned for the Digital Spring 2021 season. Through this initiative, BAC has continued supporting the development of new work by providing resources for artists to realize their creative visions specifically for online presentation. When released on Mondays at 5PM ET, the digital works will be free and available to watch on-demand at bacnyc.org for two weeks until Monday at 5PM ET. The artists will discuss their projects and creative processes in a series of live-streamed conversations held in conjunction with the premieres.

All three presentations rounding out the Digital Spring 2021 season were filmed at BAC’s Jerome Robbins Theater in December 2020 and early 2021 with strict adherence to COVID health and safety protocols. The first, premiering May 3—17, is choreographer Stefanie Batten Bland’s Kolonial, created in collaboration with installation artist Conrad Quesen and inspired by the colonial exposition parks of Europe, North America, and the Caribbean during the 1810s–1940s. The ensemble work of dance cinema examines behaviors of self and community through transparent COVID barriers of isolation. Batten Bland will be in conversation with writer and curator Eva Yaa Asantewaa on Tuesday, May 11 at 5PM ET. Free registration for the ZOOM live-stream will be available beginning May 3 at bacnyc.org. The trailer for Kolonial can be viewed now at bacnyc.org.

Next is a video docudrama from multimedia artists and musicians Tei Blow and Sean McElroy of Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble, premiering May 17—31. The Sprezzaturameron follows two men who must confront the precarious nature of art-making in an apocalyptic near-future. As they gain awareness of their own privilege in a reforming world, the duo embarks on a vision quest to craft the perfect apology, inspired by the infamous apologists of the #MeToo era. Blow will be in conversation with producer Andrew Kircher on Wednesday, May 26 at 5PM ET. Free registration for the ZOOM live-stream will be available beginning May 17 at bacnyc.org.

The final premiere June 7—21 is STELLAR by choreographer Kyle Marshall. This dance of speculative fiction began as virtual improvisation sessions with Marshall and two fellow movement artists, Bree Breeden and Ariana Speight. Filmed on the stage of BAC’s Jerome Robbins Theater with an original score including cornet, keyboard, and hand percussion performed live by sound artist Kwami Winfield, STELLAR is inspired by Afrofuturism and the echoes of Jazz. Marshall will be in conversation with performer, educator, and dance writer Charmaine Warren on Wednesday, June 16 at 7PM ET. Free registration for the ZOOM live-stream will be available beginning June 7 at bacnyc.org.

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Events Schedule

Stefanie Batten Bland

Kolonial (World Premiere)

May 3–17 (Monday at 5PM EST until Monday at 5PM EST)

Free and available on demand at bacnyc.org

Running time: 20 minutes

 

Direction and Choreography: Stefanie Batten Bland

Direction and Cinematography: Jean Claude Dhien

Scenic Installation: Conrad Quesen

Installation Assistant: Anthony Quesen

Costume Design: Shane Ballard

Hair and Makeup: Damian Monzillo

Musical Composition: Grant Cutler

Performers: Miguel Anaya, Stefanie Batten Bland, Yeman Brown, Rachel Watson Jih, Jennifer Payán, Paul Singh, Latra A. Wilson

Montage: Victoria Roseburgh

First Assistant AD: Victoria Roseburgh

Production Manager: Emma Rivera

Filmed December 2020 at BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater 

 

In Conversation: Stefanie Batten Bland with Eva Yaa Asantewaa

Tuesday, May 11 at 5PM EST

Live on ZOOM

Free / Registration required at bacnyc.org beginning May 3 at 5PM ET

 

Stefanie Batten Bland was a 2012 BAC Resident Artist and BAC Presents Artist.

 

 

Tei Blow

The Sprezzaturameron (World Premiere)

May 17–31 (Monday at 5PM EST until Monday at 5PM EST)

Free and available on demand at bacnyc.org

Running time: 30 minutes

 

Written and Performed by Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble

Company: Tei Blow, Sean McElroy

Music: Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble

Digital Architect: John Blalock

Aesthetic Consultant: Julian Shapiro-Barnum

Filmed, in part, January 2021 at BAC’s Jerome Robbins Theater

 

Tei Blow was a 2018-19 Cage Cunningham Fellow.

 

In Conversation: Tei Blow with Andrew Kircher  

Wednesday, May 26 at 5PM EST 

Live on ZOOM

Free / Registration required at bacnyc.org beginning May 17 at 5PM ET

 

 

Kyle Marshall

STELLAR (World Premiere)

June 7–21 (Monday at 5PM EST until Monday at 5PM EST)

Free and available on demand at bacnyc.org

Running time: 30 minutes

 

Choreography and Scores: Kyle Marshall

Performers: Bree Breeden, Kyle Marshall, and Ariana Speight

Sound: Kwami Winfield

Suits: Malcolm-x Betts

Lighting: Amanda K. Ringger

Makeup: Edo Tastic

Filmmaker: Tatyana Tenenbaum

Filmed March 2021 at BAC’s Jerome Robbins Theater

 

In Conversation: Kyle Marshall with Charmaine Warren

Wednesday, June 16 at 7PM EST

Live on ZOOM

Free / Registration required at bacnyc.org beginning June 7 at 5PM ET

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About the Artists

Jerome Robbins awardee Stefanie Batten Bland is an interdisciplinary global artist who interrogates contemporary and historical culture. She situates her work at the intersection of dance-theatre and installation. A 2020 commissioned artist by Baryshnikov Arts Center, Duke Performances, and 2019 fellow at Center for Ballet Arts at NYU, Batten Bland is also currently a choreographer for American Ballet Theatre's inaugural Women's Movement Initiative. She created Company SBB in Paris in 2008 and established it in New York City in 2011, when she was in residency at Baryshnikov Arts Center and began her current residence at University Settlement. Regularly produced by LaMama Experimental Theater, she premiered her latest work Look Who's Coming To Dinner at LaMama in fall 2019 for FIAF's Crossing the Line Festival. Her COVID commissions include the virtual global performance of EU Day for the European Union at the United Nations, a distanced film for Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and Works & Process at the Guggenheim. Known for her unique visual and movement aesthetic, she served as movement director for Eve’s Song at the Public Theater (Forbes 2018 Best Theatre) and is currently Movement Director and Director of Equity for the 2021 immersive production Life & Trust by Emursive. She also directs dance cinema films. She is regularly commissioned by companies including Louis Vuitton and Hermes. Recent commissions include: Ailey II, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Gina Gibney Dance, The Juilliard School, Singapore Frontier Danceland, Spoleto Festival Italy, and The American Center for Art & Culture in Paris where she is a resident artist. Featured in The New York Times, Dance Europe, Brooklyn Rail, Marie Claire, Dance Data Project, TV 5 Monde and Dance Teacher Magazine among others, she will celebrate Company SBB's 10th U.S. anniversary in the 2021-2022 season with existing and new works. She received her MFA in interdisciplinary arts from Goddard College, is Assistant Professor at Montclair State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, and lives in SoHo with her family.

Tei Blow is a performer, educator, and media designer based in New York. Blow’s work incorporates photography, video, and sound culled from found materials and mass media. He has performed and designed for The Laboratory of Dmitry Krymov, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jodi Melnick, Ann Liv Young, Big Dance Theater, and David Neumann/Advanced Beginner Group. He also performs as Frustrator on Enemies List Recordings. Blow’s work has been featured at Hartford Stage, Dance Theater Workshop, PS122/PSNY, Lincoln Center Festival, The Kitchen, BAM, The Public Theater, The Broad Stage, MCA Chicago, MFA Boston, Kate Werble Gallery, Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Wadsworth Atheneum, and at theaters around the world. He is the recipient of a 2015 New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award for Outstanding Sound Design for David Neumann/Advanced Beginner Group’s I Understand Everything Better. Blow is one half of Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble, whose ongoing multipart series The Art of Luv is a recipient of the Creative Capital and Franklin Furnace Awards.

Kyle Marshall is a choreographer, performer and teaching artist. He recently received the 2020 Dance Magazine Harkness Promise Award and a NY “Bessie” Award nomination for the production Colored. His dance company, Kyle Marshall Choreography (KMC) sees the dancing body as a container of history, an igniter of social reform and a site of celebration. Since inception in 2014, KMC has performed at venues including: BAM Next Wave Festival, Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out, Joe’s Pub at the Public, Actors Fund Arts Center, NJPAC, NYC Summerstage, and Roulette. He has also received commissions from "Dance on the Lawn" Montclair's Dance Festival and Harlem Stage. Marshall has been in residence at the 92nd St. Y, CPR, Jamaica Performing Arts Center and currently is a Resident Performance Artist at MANA Contemporary. As a teacher, Marshall has conducted dance masterclasses and creative workshops at schools including; American Dance Festival, Montclair State University, Ailey/Fordham, County Prep High School and Bloomfield College. Kyle is a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company. He also danced with doug elkins choreography etc., and Tiffany Mills Company. Marshall graduated from Rutgers University with a BFA in Dance.

About Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC)

BAC is the realization of a long-held vision by artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov who sought to build an arts center in Manhattan that would serve as a gathering place for artists from all disciplines. BAC’s opening in 2005 heralded the launch of this mission, establishing a thriving creative laboratory and performance space for artists from around the world. BAC’s activities encompass a robust residency program augmented by a range of professional services, including commissions of new work, as well as the presentation of performances by artists at varying stages of their careers. In tandem with its commitment to supporting artists, BAC is dedicated to building audiences for the arts by presenting contemporary, innovative work at affordable ticket prices. For more information visit bacnyc.org.

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Baryshnikov Arts Center is grateful for the support of its generous individual and institutional annual fund donors in 2019–­­–2021.

Anonymous (3); Joanne and Tuvia Barak; Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lisa Rinehart; Simon Basner; Carol Baxter and Loren Plotkin; Michael Benari; Ray and Jane Bernick; Jamie Bishton; Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Borer; Catherine Brennan; Dino Buturovic and Mirjana Ciric; Cora Cahan; Pamela Ceglinski; Frank and Monique Cordasco; Anya and Peter Cole; Nancy Dalva; Richard and Jennie DeScherer; Janet Dewan; Joseph and Diana DiMenna; Estate of James H. Duffy; Cheryl Lee and Steven C. Dupré; William James Earle; David Fanger and Martin Wechsler; Alan and Judy Fishman; Barbara G. Fleischman; Anne and Chris Flowers; Sandra Foschi; Jennifer Frautschi; Alex and Jenia Fridlyand; Kineret Gal-On; Randy Gaugert; Carol Giles-Straight; Jon Gilman and Brad Learmonth; Slavka B. Glaser; Agnes Gund; Cynthia Harvey; David S. Hattem; Deborah Hicks; Huong Hoang; Joan Hooker; In Honor of Roger Hooker; Sarah Hooker; Fred Humphrey; Susan Israel; Bobbo Jetmundsen; Carine Joannou; Stephanie Joel; Susan Justman; Leo and Nadine Keegan; Miodrag Kukrika; Iya Labunka; Jarrett and Maritess Lilien; Julie Lilien; Topper Lilien; Marianne Lockwood and David Bury; Nick and Cass Ludington; The Honorable and Mrs. Earle Mack; Maia Mamamtavrishvili; Marsha Mason; Hilary McDaniel; Karen McLaughlin and Mark Schubin; Adam Miller; Gary Miller and Valerie Beaman; Bob and Carol Morris; Mark Morris; Mark R. Morris; Kirsten Munro; Alexander Nakhimovsky; Brooke Garber Neidich and Daniel Neidich; Bebe Neuwirth; Alessandra Nicifero; Ingrid Nyeboe and Louise Fishman; Zoya and Anna Obraztsova; Lorenza Panero; Denis Pelli; Ray Pepi and Karen Arrigoni; Steven and Michèle Pesner; Georgiana Pickett; Darryl Pinckney; Jane Pratt; Noni Pratt; Mary Ann Reddy; Christina Repetti: John Rockwell; John Sansone; Jed David Satow Family Foundation; Dorothy Scheuer; Michael Schmale; Laura Schoen; Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan; Wallace Shawn and Deborah Eisenberg; Sandy Siegel; Jeremy Smith; Gus Solomons; Ellen Sorrin and David York; Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley; Christina Sterner and Steve Poses; Angele Surault; Anne and William Tatlock; Lisa Marie Valeri; Deidra Wager; Robert and Kathleen Wallace; Robert Warshaw and Debbie Schmidt; Shelley Washington; Mary R. Waters; Suzanne Weil; Roger Weisberg and Karen Freedman; David N. White; Stephen Wood and Louisa Spencer.

Affirmation Arts Fund; Altman Foundation; American Chai Trust; Anonymous (2); Bay and Paul Foundations; Blavatnik Family Foundation; Bloomberg Philanthropies; Dance/NYC’s New York City Dance Rehearsal Space Subsidy  Program, made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; The Enoch Foundation; Don Falconio Memorial Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation; Howard Gilman Foundation; Harkness Foundation for Dance; Irving Harris Foundation; Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust; Dubose & Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund; Consulate General of Israel in North America; Jerome Foundation; Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation; Kent Van-Alen Fund; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation; MJR Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts Dance Project with lead funding from the Doris  Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; North American-Chilean Chamber of Commerce; Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation; NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund in The New York Community Trust; Princess Grace Foundation-USA; Robert Rauschenberg Foundation; The Reed Foundation; Related Companies; The Jerome Robbins Foundation; Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund; Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation; Soros Fund Charitable Foundation; Consulate General of Switzerland in New York; The Thompson Family Foundation; Trust for Mutual Understanding; Twin Beeches Foundation

Baryshnikov Arts Center is also grateful for support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Funding is also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Yamaha is the official piano of the Baryshnikov Arts Center

As of March 27, 2021

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