RISING to Have NY Premiere at Baruch Center with Neave Trio & Pigeonwing Dance

On April 23, 24, 25, 2026 at 7pm at Baruch Performing Arts Center, CUNY Dance Initiative will present the New York premiere performances of Rising – an evening-length dance work featuring a score by composer Robert Sirota and choreography by Gabrielle Lamb, performed by Lamb's company Pigeonwing Dance and the Neave Trio. The performances are the culmination of Lamb's residency with CDI this spring.

Dances about water – rivers and oceans – are among the oldest human forms of expression; but in this time of climate change and rising sea levels, Rising takes on much more heightened significance. An exploration of our connection to Earth's oceans, Rising intertwines Robert Sirota's emotive, lyrical music, performed live by the GRAMMY-nominated Neave Trio, with Gabrielle Lamb's evocative and articulate choreography for her chamber company, Pigeonwing Dance. The score includes recorded text from oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer (Flotsametrics and the Floating World) and naturalist Craig Foster (My Octopus Teacher). Rising was developed over three years with the Neave Trio, who selected both the composer and choreographer. The musicians and dancers, who perform together onstage, shaped the work's vision.

The artists wish to bring attention to the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels on marine ecosystems, while leaving space for the hope that, in the words of naturalist Craig Foster, “we can all learn to walk a little more lightly on this planet.”