Garth Fagan and Wynton Marsalis Reunite for the World Premiere of Lighthouse/Lightning Rod
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Garth Fagan and Wynton Marsalis reunite for the world premiere of Lighthouse/Lightning Rod Iconic duo presents new work alongside excerpts from Griot New York, their first collaboration in 1991 “Mr. Fagan has created, a suite of ensemble dances or love duets of such natural purity that the audience is moved to roars, or simply moved.” – The New York Times BAM’s 150th anniversary celebration continues through Dec 2012 American Express is the BAM 30th Next Wave Festival sponsor Lighthouse/Lightning Rod and Griot New York (excerpts) Garth Fagan Dance Wynton Marsalis Septet Concept and choreography by Garth Fagan Original music composed and arranged by Wynton Marsalis Scenic design by Alison Saar Costume design by Mary Nemecek Peterson Lighting design by Jeff McRoberts BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Ave) Sep 27*—29 at 7:30pm; Sep 30 at 3pm Tickets start at $20 *30th Next Wave Gala Artist Talk with Garth Fagan and Wynton Marsalis Moderated by Anna Kisselgoff Sep 28, post-show (free for same-day ticket holders) Brooklyn, NY/August 28, 2012—For the first time since their BAM debut more than 20 years ago, Garth Fagan and Wynton Marsalis return to premiere their new piece, Lighthouse/Lightning Rod along with excerpts from their first work, the beloved Griot New York. Lighthouse/Lightning Rod is set to an original score by Wynton Marsalis, is performed live by the Wynton Marsalis Septet, and features scenic design by celebrated visual artist and Guggenheim fellow Alison Saar. The Wynton Marsalis Septet is comprised of Dan Nimmer, Piano; Reginald Veal, Bass; Ali Jackson, Drums; Victor Goines, Saxophone, Clarinet; Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Alto Saxophone; and Eliot Mason, Trombone in addition to Marsalis. The piece explores the juxtaposition and illusion of security and danger in three sections; Lighthouse, Memories, and Lightning Rod (working titles). The choreography examines emotional response to the stress and anxiety created by the inherent danger/safety that each of these three structures represents. Probing their physical, intellectual, mythical, and cultural place in our ever-shrinking global society, Fagan focuses on the balance necessary to live within these structures while maintaining meaningful relationships of depth, conflict, integrity, and truth. This balance will be struck in Saar’s sculptural sets, translating the space between attracting and repelling, simultaneously courting danger while offering sanctuary, the lighthouse becoming a figure of protection. Griot New York premiered in 1991 during BAM’s Next Wave Festival and explores contemporary urban life and humankind’s triumph over adversity through the lens of a griot—a traditional West African storyteller. Esteemed members of African communities, griots interpret events in terms of their deepest, most enduring values, and are responsible for transmitting the history of their people to following generations. Embodying this narrative practice, Griot New York depicts life events by crossing borders of time, geography, ethnicity, and style in a poetic and nonlinear manner. The piece is set to Marsalis’ melodic and haunting jazz score, Citi Movement (Griot New York), which was created specifically for this work and explores all aspects of jazz music, from the waltz to big band to calypso. Using the original backdrop of Martin Puryear’s looming and minimalist set designs, the music and dance create an aural and visual cacophony of the cityscape and the harmonies that emerge from the conflicts and compromises of urban life. The opening performance will also mark the 30th Anniversary of the BAM Next Wave Festival and the 40th Anniversary of Garth Fagan Dance with cocktails and a gala dinner at Skylight One Hanson following the performance. About the artists: Garth Fagan is the founder and artistic director of the award-winning and internationally acclaimed Garth Fagan Dance. A Tony and Olivier Award winner, Fagan continually renews his own distinctive dance vocabulary, which draws on many sources: torso-centered movement, the sense of weight in modern dance, Afro-Caribbean energy, the speed and precision of ballet, and the groundbreaking experimentation of postmodern choreographers. Fagan was awarded the prestigious Best Choreography Tony Award in 1998 for his trailblazing work in Walt Disney’s The Lion King. Fagan’s distinguished work in theater also includes the first fully staged production of the Duke Ellington street opera Queenie Pie at the Kennedy Center in 1986 and the opening production of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival's Shakespeare Marathon: A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1988, set in Brazil and directed by A.J. Antoon. In the world of concert dance, Fagan choreographs primarily for Garth Fagan Dance. His recent work Mudan 175/39 was ranked third in the top six dance moments of 2009 by The New York Times. Fagan has also produced commissions for a number of leading companies, including his first work en pointe, Footprints Dressed in Red, for the Dance Theatre of Harlem; a solo for Judith Jamison, Scene Seen, for the debut of the Jamison Project; Jukebox for Alvin for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Never No Lament for the Jose Limon Company; and Ellington Elation, part of a triad of pieces commissioned by New York City Ballet in honor of Duke Ellington’s centenary and New York City Ballet’s 50th anniversary. Fagan’s career began his career when he toured Latin America with Ivy Baxter, one of his greatest influences. In New York City, he studied with Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Mary Hinkson, and Alvin Ailey, who were all central to his development. Fagan was the director of Detroit's All-City Dance Company and the principal soloist and choreographer for Detroit Contemporary Dance Company and Dance Theatre of Detroit. A recipient of the Chancellor’s Award and the Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of the State University of New York, Fagan taught for over three decades at SUNY Brockport. In 2003 he received the George Eastman Medal from the University of Rochester. He holds honorary doctorates from the Juilliard School, the University of Rochester, Nazareth College of Rochester, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. In 2001, Fagan was the recipient of the Golden Plate Award and was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement. In 1996, he was one of 25 American scholars, artists, professionals, and public figures to receive the title of Fulbright 50th Anniversary Distinguished Fellow. He also received the 2001 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award, a Guggenheim fellowship, and the prestigious three-year choreography fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In recognition of his contribution to modern dance, Fagan has received a Dance Magazine Award and a Bessie Award for Sustained Achievement. Other awards include the Monarch Award from the National Council for Culture and Art, the Lillian Fairchild Award, and the Arts Achievement Award from his alma mater, Wayne State University. Wynton Marsalis is the managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, the music director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and a world-renowned trumpeter and composer. Born in New Orleans in 1961, Marsalis began his classical training on trumpet at age 12, entered the Juilliard School at age 17, and subsequently joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He made his recording debut as a leader in 1982 and has since recorded more than 60 jazz and classical recordings, which have won him nine Grammy Awards. In 1983, he became the first and only artist to win both classical and jazz Grammys in the same year and repeated this feat in 1984. Marsalis is also an internationally respected teacher and spokesman for music education, and has received honorary doctorates from dozens of universities and colleges throughout the US. He has written several books, including Sweet Swing Blues on the Road in collaboration with photographer Frank Stewart, Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life with Carl Vigeland, and To a Young Musician: Letters from the Road with Selwyn Seyfu Hinds. In October 2005, Candlewick Press released Marsalis’ Jazz ABZ, an A-to-Z collection of 26 poems celebrating jazz greats, illustrated by poster artist Paul Rogers. In 2008, he wrote Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life with Geoffrey C. Ward. His children’s book Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! with illustrations by Paul Rogers goes on sale October 9, 2012. In 1997, Marsalis became the first jazz artist to be awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in music for his oratorio Blood on the Fields, which was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 2001, he was appointed a Messenger of Peace by Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan and was also designated a cultural ambassador to the United States of America by the US State Department through their CultureConnect program. Marsalis was instrumental in the Higher Ground Hurricane Relief concert, which was produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center. The event raised over $3 million for the Higher Ground Relief Fund to benefit the musicians, music industry related enterprises, and other individuals and entities from the areas in Greater New Orleans who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Marsalis led the effort to construct Jazz at Lincoln Center’s home—Frederick P. Rose Hall—the first education, performance, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz, which opened in October 2004. He last appeared at BAM as part of its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration in 2004. Garth Fagan Dance is led by Tony Award-winning choreographer Garth Fagan. The company has been deemed “unfailingly original” by the The New York Times, which also ranked the piece Mudan 175/39 third in the top six dance moments of 2009. Its dancers communicate the depth, precision, and grace of Fagan’s work with unbridled energy.