TRACES OF GOUNOUJ by Léo Lérus to Make North American Premiere at L'Alliance New York
Performances are on October 3, 2026 at 12:30PM, 2PM, and 3:30PM.
L’Alliance New York has announced the North American premiere of dance piece Traces of Gounouj by Léo Lérus on October 3, 2026 at 12:30PM, 2PM, and 3:30PM at Colonels Row on Governors Island, part of the 2026 Crossing The Line Festival and Governors Island Arts’ INTERVENTIONS Performance Series. The event is free, but RSVP is strongly recommended.
This special site-specific short performance brings together dancers Asha Thomas and Robert Cornejo in an intimate duet that offers a sensitive lecture on communication across generations. By placing these two artists at distinct, contrasting moments in their lives and careers, the choreography becomes a living conversation where maturity and youth meet. Their physical dialogue navigates the deep-seated difficulties of finding balance, letting the human relationship play out directly within the environment around them.
While this duet is drawn from excerpts of Gounouj In Situ, it stands as a window into the core themes of Léo Lérus’s broader choreographic work. His practice frequently draws inspiration from the Gwoka tradition and the lush natural beauty of his native Guadeloupe, exploring the island’s natural and cultural ability to adapt to change. Through his movement research, Lérus explores environments in a delicate natural balance and examines how that equilibrium is altered by contemporary input.
By weaving these ideas into the duet, the performance reflects the complex mix of feelings around environmental preservation—using the movement of two different generations to juxtapose disappointment and anger with an enduring hope and a shared movement toward a positive future.
This site-specific adaptation was imagined during Lérus’ Villa Albertine residency in New York City in July 2026.
Guadeloupean choreographer Léo Lérus first learned the traditional Guadeloupean dance ‘Gwoka,’ as well as contemporary and classical dance, with choreographer and teacher Léna Blou. On her advice, he went to study at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP) at the age of fourteen to train as a contemporary dancer. In 1999, he began his professional career with premier companies including Batsheva Dance Company, Wayne McGregor Dance Company, and Sharon Eyal Dance Company. In 2010, he began creating his own work, eventually anchoring his artistic research in his Caribbean heritage by blending contemporary dance with the traditional spirit of Gwoka. His notable creations include Entropie, Gounouj In Situ, Gounouj, and Ici, created for the Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin in France. A recipient of the 2026 Villa Albertine residency in New York, Lérus is an associate artist at Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse starting in the 2026/2027 season.
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