Kaatsbaan Cultural Park Reveals Added Artists for Fall Festival 2023

Kaatsbaan kicks off its Fall Festival with a triple bill of new and rarely seen classical works, including the long-awaited return of Kenneth MacMillan's Ballade, an excerpt of Gemma Bond's brand-new Brain on Fire and Herman Cornejo's tango-inspired piece, The Apartment. These three works, created separately but connected by domestic themes, will be performed together on our Outdoor Mountain Stage on September 9th at 6pm and September 10th at 1pm. Ticket holders at the $100 level are also invited to join on September 9th at 3:30pm for a pre-show discussion and demonstration of this historic program with Kaatsbaan co-founder Kevin Mckenzie and Kate Lyons of the Kenneth MacMillan Project.

Ticketing Link: https://ci.ovationtix.com/36035/production/1172056

Kenneth MacMillan's Ballade is a chamber work that has not graced the stage since 1972. Originally created for The Royal Ballet's New Group, this intimate piece is set in an austere environment. As the performance unfolds, four dancers engage in a choreographic game of poker, where alliances form and hearts are won. MacMillan's fluid choreography, masterfully interpreted by Christopher Marney and the Kenneth MacMillan Project, is infused with gentle emotions and creates a kaleidoscope of captivating dance.

New to the program is an excerpt of Gemma Bond's Brain on Fire, commissioned by CoLab Dance. Based on the best-selling memoir by Susannah Cahalan, this work is emotionally wrought and imbued with Bond's signature craft and imagination. This excerpt has original music composed by Lori Scacco and features the central pas de deux performed by American Ballet Theatre Principal Thomas Forster and American Ballet Theatre dancer Erica Lall.

Closing out the performance is The Apartment, a tango-inspired dance work choreographed by Herman Cornejo to Astor Piazzolla's world-famous musical score, Suite del Ángel. The performance delves into the internal struggle of a character navigating the challenges of a bustling city, evoking a mix of emotions and reflections on the human experience. Herman and Erica Cornejo, celebrated for their exceptional artistry and captivating performances, bring this compelling story to life through dance.

About Kenneth MacMillan

Kenneth MacMillan (1929-92) was one of the leading choreographers of his generation. His close association with The Royal Ballet began when he joined Sadler's Wells School (now The Royal Ballet School) aged 15. He was Director of the Company 1970-77 and Principal Choreographer 1977-92. His ballets are distinguished by their penetrating psychological insight and expressive use of classical language. These qualities are demonstrated in his many works for the Company, which include Romeo and Juliet, Gloria, Manon, Mayerling and Requiem.

MacMillan was born in Dunfermline and discovered ballet while evacuated in Retford during World War II. At the age of 15, he forged a letter from his father to Ninette de Valois requesting an audition. He joined Sadler's Wells School on a full scholarship, later entering the Company. He created his first major work, Danses concertantes, in 1955 and went on to become one of the world's leading choreographers. Positions away from the Company included Director of Deutsche Oper Ballet Berlin (1966-9) and Associate Director of American Ballet Theatre (1984-90). He continued to create masterpieces throughout his life, including The Prince of the Pagodas (1989) and his last work The Judas Tree in 1992. He died backstage at the Royal Opera House during a revival of Mayerling.

Some of MacMillan's most significant muses included Lynn Seymour, Christopher Gable, Monica Mason, Marcia Haydée, David Wall, Darcey Bussell and Irek Mukhamedov.

About CoLab Dance

CoLab Dance was founded in 2018 by American Ballet Theatre dancer, Lauren Post. Lauren's goal in creating CoLab Dance was to provide a platform for performance artists to continue creating outside of the confines of a traditional, large scale dance company. Lauren aimed to utilize the off time between seasons to provide creative performance opportunities.

As the company grew, so did its vision. CoLab Dance now collaborates with artists from numerous creative fields and provides opportunity for an array of dancers, musicians, videographers, choreographers, and visual artists from all over the world.

About Herman Cornejo

Argentine-born Herman Cornejo is one of the most celebrated dancers of our present time. He began his training at the Arts Institute of Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. At age 14 he was awarded a full scholarship from the School of American Ballet, after which he was summoned by Julio Bocca to join the Ballet Argentino, and alternated the major roles of the repertoire with him during the world tour of the company. At 16 he won the Gold Medal at the VIII International Moscow Competition, being the youngest dancer to get this award in the history of the event until now. In 1998, at 17, he was invited to join ABT Studio Company. He officially joined American Ballet Theatre in 1999. He was promoted to soloist in 2000 and to Principal Dancer in 2003. Since then, he has been one of the greatest stars of the company.

Considered a prodigy by teachers and critics alike, he has received numerous awards and honors: he was appointed Messenger of Peace by UNESCO; 'Dancer of the Year' by The New York Times; Star of the 21st Century in 2005; 'Mr. Expressivity' in the International Ballet Festival 'Dance Open' in St. Petersburg in both 2010 and 2013; 2013 'New York Dance Outstanding Performer 'The Bessies Award' presented by the 'NY Dance & Performance League'; in 2005 and 2014 Benois de la Danse, which defined him as the best dancer of the year; in 2018, Best World Male Dancer 'Positano Award'; in 2019 the Platinum Konex as the best Argentine male dancer of the last decade and celebrated his 20th Anniversary with the American Ballet Theatre. In 2022 he was one of the recipients of the prestigious Dance Magazine Awards.

He collaborated with Prima Ballerina Alessandra Ferri in various projects, such as Cheri, Trio Concert Dance; and Evolution. In 2015, he debuted as artistic director of the "Latin American Stars"; Gala for the 50th Anniversary of the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County. Throughout his career, Herman has become one of the favorite artists of the most famous international galas. Major companies in the world also regularly invite him as Guest Artist: the Ballet Estable of Teatro Colón, Ballet of Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Barcelona Ballet, Contemporary Dance Company of Cuba, Martha Graham Ballet Company, Pennsylvania Ballet, Boston Ballet, New York City Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Dortmund Ballet, National Ballet of Japan, Universal Ballet of Korea, Scala di Milano, Kremlin Ballet, among others. He has also donated his time to perform in charity events for several organizations.

He has performed the entirety of the classical repertoire, and works regularly with today's finest choreographers: Jorma Elo, Alexei Ratmansky, Twyla Tharp, Stanton Welch, Martha Clarke, Russell Maliphant, Mark Morris, Benjamin Millepied, Wayne McGregor. Cornejo has also choreographed for himself: Tango y Yo for Dance Open Festival 2010 in Saint Petersburg, Two sunsets for the 'Dance against Cancer' event in 2012, Transcendence in collaboration with bandoneonist JP Jofre for The Kings Of the Dance Tour 2014, Dentro and Momentum with pianist Bruce Levingston for Trio ConcertDance, and Milongón in 2016, in honor of Damian Woetzel's first decade as director of the Vail International Dance Festival. In 2022, he created The Apartment to Piazzolla's Suite del Angel, commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Live Arts as part of Catalyst Quartet;s 2022-2023 MetLiveArts Residency. As part of his 2020-2021 Fellowship at NYU The Center of Ballet and the Arts, he created the piece Anima Animal, based on his research of the indigenous-themed ballet Caapora, originally created in Argentina for Vaslav Nijinsky.

About Gemma Bond

Born in Bedfordshire, England, Gemma Bond trained with Sylvia Bebbs and at The Royal Ballet School. In 2000, she danced Zulme in Giselle in the School's annual performance.

Bond joined The Royal Ballet in 2000 and was promoted to first artist in 2003. Her repertory included Olga in Onegin,Princess Stephanie in Mayerling, Clara in The Nutcracker, the Fairy of the Song Bird in The Sleeping Beauty, a cygnet in Swan Lake, Marie in Anastasia and a sylphide in La Sylphide. She created a role in Poppy Ben David's Siren Song(2000), which was part of The Royal Ballet's "The New Works."

Bond joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in January 2008. Her repertory with the Company includes a Porcelain Princess in Aurora's Wedding, Galya in The Bright Stream, Step-Sister and Spring Fairy in Cinderella, Mazurka Lady in Coppélia, an Odalisque in Le Corsaire, Amour in Don Quixote, Helena in The Dream, Mrs. Fairfax in Jane Eyre, Vera in A Month in the Country, the Chinese Dance in Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker, Olga in Onegin, Sergei's Mother in On the Dnieper, Miettes qui tombent (Breadcrumb) and Sapphire Fairy in Ratmansky's The Sleeping Beauty, the Fairy of Charity in The Sleeping Beauty, a little swan and the Italian Princess in Swan Lake, Effie in La Sylphide and roles in Black Tuesday, Company B, Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes, Dumbarton, In the Upper Roomand The Seasons.

She created Columbine in Ratmansky's The Nutcracker, Cinderella in Ratmansky's The Sleeping Beauty, a leading role in Liam Scarlett's With a Chance of Rain and roles in After You, Brahms-Haydn Variations and Everything Doesn't Happen at Once.

Bond got her first taste of choreography at age 13 when she competed in The Royal Ballet's Sir Kenneth Macmillan Choreographic Competition. Since 2010, she has created three new ballets for ABT's Choreographic Institute, as well as works for ABT Studio Company, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Sun Valley, Intermezzo Ballet Company, New York Theater Ballet and The Hartt School. Her choreography has been performed at the prestigious Erik Bruhn Competition, the Youth America Grand Prix Gala, the 92nd Street Y, The Joyce and Jacob's Pillow. Her work Myriad was commissioned by The Washington Ballet and received its world premiere in March 2018. She has also worked on commercial projects with 1stAveMachine.

Bond has received grants from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, and in 2014, she was awarded the fellowship grant from the New York Choreographic Institute, an affiliate of New York City Ballet. Bond was a 2017-2018 New York City Center Choreography Fellow, the recipient of a 2017 Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship and the winner of a 2018 Clive Barnes Award for Dance.

About Kaatsbaan Cultural Park

The mission of Kaatsbaan Cultural Park is to provide an extraordinary environment for cultural innovation and excellence. As both an incubator for creativity and presenter for world-class artists in dance, theater, music, film, poetry, culinary and visual arts, Kaatsbaan provides artists with state-of-the-art dance studios, accommodations, an indoor theater, and two outdoor stages. Sitting on 153 Hudson River-adjacent acres, Kaatsbaan is free of urban facilities' space and time constraints, allowing for exciting levels of artistic exploration, creative action, and achievement - just two hours north of New York City. Kaatsbaan Cultural Park is committed to the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts as we aim to present, promote, and embrace programming that accurately reflects our society. We encourage a broadly diverse group of individuals to participate in our programs and join our Board and Staff and insist on being inclusive of all peoples regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socio-economic background, physical or mental ability.

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