BAM and Theatre de la Ville to Host Brooklyn/Paris Exchange Initiative

The 2016 Next Wave Festival includes four engagements representing the Brooklyn/Paris Exchange, a new collaboration between BAM and Paris' Théâtre de la Ville.

In this cross-cultural initiative, companies chosen by the institutions' respective artistic leaders Joseph V. Melillo and Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota will make their Paris or Brooklyn debuts as part of the other's upcoming season.

Melillo's selections-the explosive Zimbabwe-born choreographer nora chipaumire and innovative theater troupe The Civilians-represent the breadth of the borough's current creative output. Demarcy-Mota's selections are similarly expansive, bringing celebrated circus artist Yoann Bourgeois and the hip-hop-inflected movement of dance duo Company Wang Ramirez to Brooklyn for their Next Wave debuts. Melillo and Demarcy-Mota are, in essence, giving one another carte blanche to program a section of their corresponding artistic seasons, while also placing trust in the artists, and audiences, that the work will transcend cultural barriers.

"I am so excited to embark on this creative partnership with my esteemed colleague Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota," says Melillo. "BAM and Théâtre de la Ville institutionally- and Emmanuel and I personally-share a set of values about the importance of performance in the creation and expansion of local and global communities. I think of this exchange as a cultural conversation that will enrich everybody involved."

"I am thrilled with this innovative partnership, a result of inspiring exchanges with Joe Melillo," says Demarcy-Mota. "BAM and Théâtre de la Ville are sister theaters, with common values based on community and global involvement, as well as artistic audacity. Most importantly, our relationship will make it possible American and French artists' work to transcend borders and be seen more widely."

Pictured: Shamar Watt, nora chipaumire, Pape Ibrahima N'Diaye (Kaolack). Photo by Gennadi Novash.

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