Thrilling Production of Pina Bausch’s 1975 Groundbreaking Work ‘The Rite of Spring,’ plus the L.A. Premiere of ‘common ground[s],’ to Captivate Audiences During Boldest Season To-Date of ‘Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center’
LOS ANGELES (December 11, 2023) — The Music Center continues its 21st season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center with a major presentation and dance residency, co-produced by the Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables and Sadler’s Wells, of two dance works choreographed by women—Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring and the Los Angeles premiere of common ground[s], choreographed by Germaine Acogny, founder of École des Sables, and Malou Airaudo, an original member of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. The performances, which will take place at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion from February 8–11, 2024, spotlight a specially assembled group of more than 30 dancers—united for these performances and for the first time ever—who hail from 13 African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Togo."Works about strong, dynamic women by strong, incredible women are at the essence of our dance season. Angelenos will experience something remarkable as they watch Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring performed entirely, for the first time ever, by an African dance corps breathing new energy into her groundbreaking work," said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. "Add to the mix the Los Angeles premiere of a piece that showcases the lived experiences of two remarkable women from the dance arena, and we end up with a pair of riveting performances that will not only grip audiences, but also reinforce the 21st season of Glorya Presents Dance at The Music Center as our boldest yet."The iconic 1975 work of the late choreographer Pina Bausch, The Rite of Spring examines the notion of unyielding ritual when the sacrifice of a “chosen one” changes the season from winter to spring. When creating her 35-minute work nearly five decades ago, Bausch asked her dancers this central question: How would you dance if you knew you were going to die? Bausch’s pioneering work, which established her iconic choreographic approach, has flourished to become one of the 20th century’s most significant and important bodies of dance theatre. Faithful to Igor Stravinsky’s visceral score, Bausch’s monumental choreography is given a thrilling new life by these dancers. Dancing on a peat-covered stage at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, they clash and engage in a struggle of life, ritual and sacrifice that pays tribute to Bausch’s unparalleled genius.“We get a chance to see different dancers bring a different spirit to Pina’s choreography,” said Sadler’s Wells Artistic Director and Co-Chief Executive Sir Alistair Spalding CBE. “There is a very strong passion about this project. It’s not just dancing in a dance piece; there is more to it. It is an opportunity for these dancers to experience something they never had a chance to do before.”Preceding The Rite of Spring will be common ground[s], a 30-minute work created, performed and inspired by two remarkable women: Germaine Acogny, founder of École des Sables and considered “the mother of contemporary African dance,” and dancer Malou Airaudo, who has performed the role of the “chosen one” in The Rite of Spring. Acogny and Airaudo’s first collaboration is a poetic and tender piece that reflects their shared histories, emotional experiences and common ground.“We don’t know each other, but we find each other,” said Airaudo, of her collaboration with Acogny. “We don’t have anything to prove. What we do is what we are. We were together, sharing together and what came out is what we felt.”Tickets to performances of the doubled-billed The Rite of Spring and common ground[s] are available for purchase now by visiting musiccenter.org/riteofspring or calling (213) 972-0711.The Music Center’s Ticket Buyer Assurance Program protects all advance ticket purchases for dance presentations through 2024. Ticketed patrons will receive, at their request, a full refund or a credit for a future performance if Los Angeles County or the State of California elects to restrict or prohibit large gathering events at venues, resulting in the cancellation by The Music Center of dance performances due to COVID-19-related conditions. If an event is postponed or rescheduled, ticketed patrons will be moved automatically to the new performance date; however, patrons may request a refund or credit for the future. All changes must be handled prior to the purchaser’s scheduled performance date.The Music Center remains committed to the highest standards of safety, sanitation and security to minimize risk for guests, artists and employees. Visit musiccenter.org/safety for information about The Music Center’s continued safety and security measures.CALENDAR LISTING
The Rite of Spring & common ground[s]The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler PavilionThursday, February 8, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, February 9, 2024, 7:30 p.m.Saturday, February 10, 2024, 7:30 p.m.Sunday, February 11, 2024, 2:00 p.m.common ground[s] (Los Angeles Premiere)Co-Choreographers and Dancers: Germaine Acogny, Malou AiraudoComposer: Fabrice Bouillon LaForestCostume Designer: Petra LeidnerLighting Designer: Zeynep KepekliDramaturg: Sophiatou KossokoThe Rite of SpringChoreography: Pina BauschMusic: Igor StravinskyOriginal Set and Costume Design: Rolf BorzikCollaboration: Hans PopOriginal World Premiere: December 3, 1975 – Opera House Wuppertal (Germany)RestagingArtistic Directors: Jo Ann Endicott, Jorge Puerta Armenta, Clémentine DeluyRehearsal Directors: Çağdaş Ermiş, Ditta Miranda Jasjfi, Barbara Kaufmann, Julie Shanahan, Kenji Takagi
A Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables & Sadler’s Wells production, co-produced with Théâtre de la Ville, Paris; Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg; Holland Festival, Amsterdam; Festspielhaus, St Pölten; Ludwigsburg Festival; Teatros del Canal de la Comunidad de Madrid, Adelaide Festival and Spoleto Festival dei 2Mondi.
The project is funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the International Coproduction Fund of the Goethe-Institut, and kindly supported by the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch.
ABOUT GLORYA KAUFMAN PRESENTS DANCE AT THE MUSIC CENTERGlorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, a TMC Arts program, is one of the leading presenters of dance on the West Coast. The celebrated series offers significant works by prestigious ballet and contemporary dance artists from around the world. Now entering its 21st year, Dance at The Music Center is a powerful force, supporting new works and artists-in-residence projects by today’s most influential companies and choreographers. Performances are complemented by special experiences for both ticket buyers and the public with opportunities to learn more about the choreography and the themes explored, including panels, master classes, dance film festivals, interactive experiences and more. The 21st season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center is generously supported by Glorya Kaufman Foundation, Center Dance Arts, Dorothy B. Chandler Program Fund and Elisabeth Katte Harris.ABOUT CENTER DANCE ARTSCenter Dance Arts is a dynamic community of patrons with a passion for dance. Center Dance Arts members bring dance to life in Los Angeles by promoting The Music Center’s world-class dance performances, extensive educational outreach and free and low-cost community experiences so all may experience the transformative power of dance. For more information, visit musiccenter.org/cda.ABOUT THE MUSIC CENTERThe Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The $70 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County and on a digital platform called The Music Center Offstage. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, as well as live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Gloria Molina Grand Park, which comprise $2 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on social media @MusicCenterLA.ABOUT THE PINA BAUSCH FOUNDATIONwww.pinabausch.orgThe Pina Bausch Foundation carries the artistic legacy of dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch into the future. Her son Salomon Bausch founded the non-profit foundation shortly after her death in 2009 to make her work accessible and tangible for dancers worldwide, diverse audiences, and new generations. The focus is on rehearsing and performing Pina Bausch's pieces and physically getting to know her work in workshop formats.For this purpose, the Foundation passes on Pina Bausch's choreographies to dancers and companies worldwide and collaborates with universities. It also develops a training process for rehearsal directors and artistic strategies to safeguard the unique knowledge of the choreographies and their rehearsal process for the future.One of the Foundation's fundamental tasks is to make the extensive materials of Pina Bausch's artistic legacy accessible through digital archives. The Pina Bausch Archives, which include photographs and video recordings as well as written materials on the creation of the pieces, serve as a knowledge resource that is used again and again during rehearsals and restagings. Since November 2021, first materials are publicly accessible worldwide in the online archives at pinabausch.org. The online archives are constantly being expanded with new materials and pieces.ABOUT ÉCOLE DES SABLES, SENEGALecoledessables.orgÉcole des Sables is an international centre for traditional and contemporary African dances, a school for theoretical and practical teaching, a laboratory for research, and a space for meetings and exchanges, conferences and artistic residences.The school is dedicated to professional training for dancers from all over Africa in traditional and contemporary African dances. Its objectives are to professionalise African dancers, allowing them to be able to live from their art, and to encourage communication and collaboration between dancers, choreographers and companies from Africa and with the rest of the world; in short, to develop and promote contemporary African dance. Since 1998, the school has regularly organised professional training workshops gathering dancers and choreographers from Africa, the African diaspora and all over the world.École des Sables was created in 1998 by Germaine Acogny, considered as “the mother of contemporary African Dance”, and her husband Helmut Vogt. Germaine Acogny is the former director of Mudra Afrique (1977-1982), a pan-African school founded by Leopold Sedar Senghor and Maurice Bejart, which had the objective of giving a professional education to African dancers and citizens to make them become responsible and autonomous through the art.ABOUT SADLER’S WELLSSadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. We strive to make and share dance that inspires us all. Our acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap.We commission, produce and present more dance than any other organisation in the world. Since 2005, we have helped to bring more than 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown. Our acclaimed productions tour the world. Since 2005 we’ve produced 64 new full-length works and performed to audiences of more than two million, touring to 51 countries.Each year, over half a million people visit our three London theatres - Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio and Peacock Theatre. Millions more attend our touring productions nationally and internationally or explore our digital platforms, including Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage.Sadler’s Wells EastIn 2024 we’re opening a fourth London venue in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Sadler’s Wells East will house a 550-seat mid-scale theatre, as well as facilities for the new Rose Choreographic School and the hip hop theatre training centre, Academy Breakin’ Convention.Sadler’s Wells East joins the rich cultural heritage of Stratford, opening in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as part of the East Bank development alongside the BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion, UCL and the V&A. Sadler’s Wells East will support artist development and training, and the creation of new work. It will build the infrastructure for dance and make it accessible to more people. Sadler’s Wells East will house a flexible theatre presenting a wide variety of dance performances. Community will be at the heart of Sadler’s Wells East with a large open foyer that can be used by everyone as a meeting or performance space. There will also be dance studios and world-class dance facilities for dancemakers to train, create and rehearse productions.Supporting ArtistsSupporting artists is at the heart of our work. We have associate artists and companies, which nurture some of the most exciting talent working in dance today. We host the National Youth Dance Company, which draws together some of the brightest young dancers from across the country. Sadler’s Wells Breakin' Convention runs professional development programmes to champion and develop the world’s best hip hop artists, as well as producing, programming and touring groundbreaking hip hop performances.Learning and Community LinksAround 30,000 people take part in our learning and engagement programmes every year. We support schools local to our theatres in Islington and Stratford, designing experiences for children and young people to watch, explore and critically engage with the arts. We also run Company of Elders, a resident performance company of dancers aged over 60 who rehearse with renowned artists to make new work for public performances locally, nationally and internationally.Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.www.sadlerswells.com Stay up to date with everything Sadler’s Wells on social media Facebook: @SadlersWells Twitter: @Sadlers_Wells