New Work by Aszure Barton and Benjamin Millepied, and More Set for Baryshnikov Arts Fall 2025 Season

Baryshnikov Arts will present a fall season of dance, music, and theatre beginning with the world premiere of Kevin Carillo’s FIGARO/FAGGOTS (September 25, 26, and 27), a theatre/opera hybrid work that marries W.A. Mozart’s classic opera The Marriage of Figaro with gay rights activist Larry Kramer’s incendiary novel, Faggots. Set on Fire Island in 1977, the performance investigates the complexities of same-sex partnership and fight for marriage equality through a score by Mozart, transformed with a new libretto sourced entirely from texts by Kramer.

On October 27, the annual Fall Fête will present an evening of world premieres by Aszure Barton and Benjamin Millepied. After the Fall Fête, there will be two additional performances on October 29 and 30 at 7 PM in the Jerome Robbins Theater at Baryshnikov Arts Center.

The Fall Fête will honor Baryshnikov Arts’ first Managing Director, Christina Sterner, and include a pre-performance cocktail reception at 6 PM, performance at 6:30 PM, and seated fundraising dinner at 7:30 PM. To reserve a ticket or table, please email gala@baryshnikovarts.org. 

Additional highlights:

Of Dishes and Dreams—October 16, 17, and 18 (world premiere commissioned by Baryshnikov Arts), a new evening-length creation choreographed by Keerati Jinakunwiphat. Inspired by her experiences growing up in a family-run Thai restaurant, Jinakunwiphat explores service, synergy, and the balance between order and chaos. Set to an original score by Quaba Ernest and Bryndon Cook, the piece evokes the energetic pulse of kitchens and home-cooked meals. The evening’s visual landscape will be designed by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, incorporating traditional textiles, sculpture, and domestic objects. Together, the dancers transform an everyday space into a sphere of healing and belonging, driven by themes of lineage, community, and the American Dream. 

Music by Silvestrov and Shostakovich—December 9, performed by violist Ettore Causa and pianist Boris Berman, features the music of two great composers—Ukrainian Valentyn Silvestrov (in a New York premiere) and Russian Dmitri Shostakovich—whose artistic expression was shaped by political events in their homelands. Silvestrov fled Kyiv in 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Shostakovich struggled throughout his life with censorship of Stalin’s regime in the Soviet Union.

Silvestrov’s Three Intermezzos and Triptych, written for Ettore Causa and Boris Berman, will receive their New York premiere in this concert. Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano is his final work, his musical farewell, completed only a month before his death in 1975.

Both Silvestrov and Shostakovich transcend the enormous challenges of their life experiences and write music that is filled with humanity, enlightenment and profound beauty.

Baryshnikov Arts’ Artist Labs will continue with Life Jacket Theatre Company’s Spring 2025 BA residency project The Gorgeous Nothings. Inspired by real people and events, The Gorgeous Nothings is a new musical that tells the forgotten story of the “Fag Ward”—an isolated wing at the Men's Penitentiary on Welfare Island, New York City, for inmates convicted of homosexuality during the 1930s. With a reimagined score from the Great American Songbook, this boundary-spanning musical weaves six inmates’ stories into high-camp numbers from The Fag Follies—the prison’s annual Christmas pageant—to expose a secret, fabulous, underground world that was never supposed to have existed.

Performances

FIGARO/FAGGOTS 

World Premiere
Conceived, Directed, and Choreographed by Kevin Carillo
From texts by Larry Kramer
Music by W.A. Mozart
Score and Libretto Co-Adapted by Kevin Carillo and Sean Forte
Book by Kevin Carillo
Based on the Novel Faggots and Other Literary Works by Larry Kramer
Inspired by the Opera Le Nozze di Figaro by W.A. Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte
Produced by Little Cart Theatricals
Music/Theatre
September 25, 26, and 27 at 7 PM
Jerome Robbins Theater
Orchestra $39
Balcony $29
Ticket price includes a $4 processing fee.
Running time: approximately 90 minutes, no intermission.

Of Dishes and Dreams

World Premiere
Baryshnikov Arts Commission
Choreographed by Keerati Jinakunwiphat
Dance
October 16, 17, and 18 at 7 PM
Jerome Robbins Theater
Orchestra $39
Balcony $29
Ticket price includes a $4 processing fee.
Running time: approximately 50 minutes, no intermission.

An Evening of New Work

World Premiere
Baryshnikov Arts Commission
Dance
October 29, 30 at 7 PM
Jerome Robbins Theater
Tickets:
Orchestra $39
Balcony $29
Ticket price includes a $4 processing fee.

October 27 at 6 PM
Annual Fall Fête performance and dinner honoring Christina Sterner. For more information, please email gala@baryshnikovarts.org.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Baryshnikov Arts, Mikhail Baryshnikov has invited Aszure Barton and Benjamin Millepied back to Baryshnikov Arts Center to choreograph an evening of new work. Barton and Millepied were not only the first choreographers to create in the organization’s studios, but also to collaborate with Baryshnikov himself at BA. This project will mark 20 years since the creation of the Center, which supports and nourishes creatives and creation here in New York City. Together, Barton and Millepied will create an evening of dance as an offering of thanks to Mikhail Baryshnikov for his longtime support.

Music by Silvestrov and Shostakovich