Basil Twist's THE RITE OF SPRING to Premiere 10/15 at Lincoln Center

The director/designer and master puppeteer Basil Twist, whose numerous works for the stage - including SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE, PETRUSHKA, DOGUGAESHI and ARIAS WITH A TWIST -- have consistently re-defined our understanding of traditional puppetry, will celebrate the New York debut of his biggest, most ambitious creation to date when Lincoln Center presents THE RITE OF SPRING during its fifth season of WHITE LIGHT FESTIVAL for five performances only Wednesday, October 15-18 at the Rose Theatre in Frederick Rose Hall, located in the Time-Warner Center (10 Columbus Circle) at Broadway and 60th Street.

Mr. Twist's groundbreaking THE RITE OF SPRING - an all-Stravinsky program performed live by the 73-piece Orchestra at St. Luke's - had its world-premiere last year at the Carolina Peforming Arts at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the occasion of its centennial celebration of THE RITE OF SPRING last year. The Orchestra of St. Luke's is led by guest conductor Jayce Ogren.

To the live accompaniment by the Orchestra, Mr. Twist populates the stage with kinetic, living fabric sculptures performed by a cast of 12 puppeteers in THE RITE OF SPRING. Mr. Twist notes that dating back to the runaway success of SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE - his now-legendary performance of the Berlioz compostion using fabrics, forms, film and light in a water tank in 1998 - he "has always wanted to take my abstract puppetry to a much bigger scale," and does so with THE RITE OF SPRING. "It truly feels as though the ideas I developed during SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE have come full-circle with THE RITE OF SPRING."

In addition to Stravinsky's beloved THE RITE OF SPRING, the program includes Mr. Twist's take on the composer's lesser-known PULCINELLA SUITE and FIREWORKS, OP. 4.

A third-generation puppeteer from San Francisco, Basil Twist is the only American to graduate from France's Ecole Superieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette. One of the most creative performers in contemporary theater, he works with nearly every conceivable element including water and wind. His numerous works for the theater include THE ADDAMS FAMILY and THE PEE WEE HERMAN SHOW on Broadway, Paula Vogel's poetic drama THE LONG CHRISTMAS RIDE HOME, BEHIND THE LID with the legendary theater artist Lee Nagrin, ARIAS WITH A TWIST with the nightlife icon Joey Arias, PETER AND WENDY and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with Lee Breuer. He has conceived and directed two operas and has collaborative work has also included dance: CINDERELLA with Christopher Wheeldon at the Dutch National Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, as well as A WINTER'S TALE for the Royal Ballet in 2014.

His previous productions at Lincoln Center include LA BELLA DORMENTE NEL BOSCO, a co-commission by Lincoln Center Festival and Spoleto Festival; his 2001 PETRUSHKA, also set to Stravinsky and commissioned by Lincoln Center; and SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE, which had its world-premiere at the HERE Arts Center in Soho, where it ran for 2 years, one of the most talked-about shows in the history of downtown theatre in New York.

THE RITE OF SPRING will be performed October 15 at 7:30 pm; October 16 at 7:30 pm; October 17 at 7:30 pm; and Saturday, October 18 at 2 and 7:30 pm. There will be a pre-performance discussion with Basil Twist on Friday, October 17 at 6:15 pm at the Irene Diamond Education Center in Frederick P. Rose Hall.

THE RITE OF SPRING was commissioned by the Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Lincoln Center's WHITE LIGHT FESTIVAL runs October 7-November 11 and is sponsored by Time Warner Inc.

Tickets are available online at WhiteLightFestival.org, by calling CenterCharge at 212 721 6500 or visiting the Avery Fisher or Alice Tully Hall box offices at Broadway and 65th St.

THE RITE OF SPRING is directed and designed by Basil Twist; lighting design is by Ayumu Poe Saegusa; special effects design is by Greg Meeh; projection design is by Daniel Brodie; costume and textile design by Lynne Buckson.

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