1 Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) announces 2012 Winter/Spring Season, featuring nine theater, dance, and nouveau cirque engagements—from Jan 10 to Jun 3 BAM’s 150th anniversary celebration continues through Dec 2012 BAM 2012 Winter/Spring Season is sponsored by Bloomberg Chase is the BAM 150th anniversary sponsor Five international theater productions, all in US premieres: Sam Mendes directs Kevin Spacey as Richard III in the final season of The Bridge Project, a unique three-year series of co-productions by BAM, The Old Vic, and Neal Street…………………………………………………………………………………page 8 Cheek by Jowl turns to Jacobean tragedy with John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, directed by Declan Donnellan and designed by Nick Ormerod………………...page 13 Actor Simon Callow stars in the critically acclaimed one-man show Being Shakespeare…………………………………………………………………………page 14 The legendary Maly Drama Theatre of Russia returns to BAM with Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, directed by Lev Dodin……………………………………………page 15 Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker features a lauded performance by actor Jonathan Pryce………………………………………………………………page 16 Dynamic dance engagements: Mark Morris Dance Company presents a world premiere paired with the return of choreographer Mark Morris’ joyous interpretation of Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein’s opera Four Saints in Three Acts…………………………………………………….page 12 Israel’s electrifying Batsheva Dance Company performs the US premiere of choreographer Ohad Naharin’s 2009 work Hora…………………………………..page 11 DanceAfrica 2012 celebrates its 35th year at BAM under the artistic direction of Founding Elder Chuck Davis with expanded anniversary programming including a special pre-Memorial Day weekend celebration……………………………………………page 17 2 An exciting nouveau cirque event: Swedish contemporary circus troupe Cirkus Cirkör returns to BAM with the US premiere of Wear it like a crown, featuring six performers on a revolving stage.........page 18 BAM 2012 Winter/Spring Season is complemented by film, humanities, music, and visual arts events. Brooklyn, NY/Oct 13, 2011—Joseph V. Melillo, executive producer of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, today announced programming for the BAM 2012 Winter/Spring Season, which runs from January 10 through June 3, 2012. The season comprises nine theater, dance, and nouveau cirque engagements and features BAMcinématek series, BAMcafé Live weekend music events, artist talks, visual art exhibitions, and literary events. Winter/Spring 2012 season tickets go on sale October 31 for the general public (Oct 19 for Friends of BAM and Oct 24 for season ticket holders of both the 2011 Next Wave Festival and 2011 Spring Season). Tickets for Richard III go on sale November 21 (Nov 14 for Friends of BAM); single tickets for all other Winter/Spring Season engagements go on sale January 30 (Jan 23 for Friends of BAM). To purchase tickets online visit BAM.org or contact BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100. BAM Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo comments, “This rich winter/spring season underscores the ongoing celebration of BAM's 150th anniversary. We’re thrilled to present five US premieres from an exceptional array of international theater artists—including the BAM co-production of The Bridge Project with Richard III featuring Kevin Spacey, as well as the return of celebrated UK company Cheek by Jowl and Russia’s iconic Maly Drama Theatre. Two critically acclaimed performances—that of Simon Callow in his one-man show Being Shakespeare and Jonathan Pryce in Harold Pinter’s seminal The Caretaker—anchor the rest of this exceptional ‘theater season within a season.’ “We will also proudly present a world premiere work from longtime BAM artist Mark Morris, a New York premiere work from trailblazing Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin, and the return of our popular annual DanceAfrica festival celebrating its own significant anniversary of 35 years. This is truly a momentous and historic time, both for BAM and for its extended artistic family,” said Melillo. BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins adds, “BAM would like to thank Bloomberg—now in its seventh year of support of our Winter/Spring Season—for its enthusiasm for BAM's artistic mission and its commitment to the cultural vitality of New York City. We gratefully acknowledge all of our donors, whose contributions are all the more vital in these challenging times, and which have helped this institution survive and thrive for a century and a half. The tremendous work that will grace our stages and take place across the expanding BAM campus this winter/spring season is truly an embodiment of our new mission statement: to be the home for adventurous artists, audiences, and ideas.” Bloomberg Bloomberg is the world’s most trusted source of information for financial professionals and businesses. Bloomberg combines innovative technology with unmatched analytic, data, 3 news, display and distribution capabilities, to deliver critical information via the Bloomberg Professional service and multimedia platforms, which span television, radio, digital and print. BAMcinématek New Yorkers recognize BAMcinématek for its bold and innovative film programming, including retrospectives, festivals, and one-of-a-kind series along with sneak previews of upcoming releases, artist talks, parties, silent films with live music, and other special events. BAM Rose Cinemas also offers daily screenings of newly released independent and foreign films. BAMcinématek highlights this spring include Brooklyn Close-Up, the ongoing 150th anniversary program celebrating nearly nine decades of Brooklyn film history scheduled for the last Monday of each month through December 2012, as well as the return in June of the fourth annual BAMcinemaFest, which will screen the best films from the Sundance, SXSW, Toronto, and Berlin film festivals, among others. The Wall Street Journal is the BAMcinématek and BAM Rose cinemas sponsor. Eat, Drink & Be Literary Presented in partnership with the National Book Awards, Eat, Drink & Be Literary brings illustrious contemporary authors to BAMcafé for intimate dinners, entertaining readings, and engaging discussions. Authors for this Thursday evening series (with more to be confirmed) include: Téa Obreht (Feb 9) Teju Cole (Apr 12) Ann Patchett (May 31) Sapphire (Jun 7) Edwidge Danticat (Jun 14) Tickets for Eat, Drink & Be Literary go on sale Nov 22 (Nov 15 for Friends of BAM). Admission is $50 per event, which includes dinner, wine, tax, and tip. Doors open at 6pm; dinner begins at 6:30pm. Bloomberg is the presenting sponsor for Eat, Drink & Be Literary. Leadership support for Eat, Drink & Be Literary provided by Martha A. & Robert S. Rubin. Artist Talks BAM Artist Talks provide an opportunity to listen to and ask questions of many of the groundbreaking artists featured in this year’s winter/spring season. In conjunction with BAM’s 150th-anniversary celebration, a number of special Iconic Artist Talks will be presented over the course of several seasons. Iconic Artist Talks As part of BAM’s150th anniversary celebration, a number of artists will examine the evolution of their work at BAM over the years, referencing onscreen projections of original performance 4 footage and images from the BAM Archives. Four Iconic Artist Talks are scheduled this winter/spring: Meredith Monk Feb 15 at 7pm BAMcafé Tickets: $20 ($10 for Friends of BAM) Steve Reich Mar 6 at 7pm BAMcafé Tickets: $20 ($10 for Friends of BAM) Bill T. Jones Apr 23 at 7pm BAMcafé Tickets: $20 ($10 for Friends of BAM) Chuck Davis May 27 at 6pm BAM Hillman Attic Studio Tickets: $20 ($10 for Friends of BAM) Artist Talks Get Gaga Open class with Batsheva Dance Company Mar 10 at 12pm BAM Hillman Attic Studio Tickets: $20 ($10 for Friends of BAM) Open to the public/all ages. ‘Tis Pity Declan Donnellan (‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore) and James Shapiro, author and Columbia University professor Mar 18 at 6pm BAMcafé Tickets: $15 ($7.50 for Friends of BAM) Being Shakespeare Jonathan Bate (author, Being Shakespeare) Apr 14 at 5pm BAM Hillman Attic Studio Tickets: $15 ($7.50 for Friends of BAM) Naturalism and Russian Drama Lev Dodin and Dina Dodina (director and translator, respectively, Three Sisters) Apr 21 at 5pm BAM Hillman Attic Studio Tickets: $15 ($7.50 for Friends of BAM) 5 Post-performance Artist Talks Members of the cast of Richard III Jan 26, post-performance, BAM Harvey Theater (free for same-day ticket holders) Simon Callow, Being Shakespeare Apr 12, post-performance, BAM Harvey Theater (free for same-day ticket holders) Jonathan Pryce, The Caretaker May 24, post-performance, BAM Harvey Theater (free for same-day ticket holders) BAMcafé Live BAMcafé Live features an eclectic mix of live weekend music at BAMcafé. The series showcases some of the best rock, R&B, world beat, pop, jazz, and experimental music from Brooklyn and beyond. Spring highlights include Kokayi (Jan 27), Aabaraki (Feb 10), Grandfather (Apr 13), Xenia Rubinos (Apr 27), Il Albanico (Jun 22) in association with Berklee School of Music, and Pillow Theory (Jun 29). The BAMcafé Live All-Stars series will continue with performances by Howard Fishman (Jan 6), Francis Mbappe (Feb 3), Nora York (Mar 9), Black Rock Coalition (Jun 9), and more. Events have no cover charge and no drink minimum. Doors open at 6pm; music usually begins at 9pm (check BAM.org for details). ConEdison is the BAMcafé Live sponsor. Target is the presenting sponsor of BAM Community Access to the Arts. Programming in BAM Lepercq Space supported by The Lepercq Foundation. BAMcafé Live receives endowment support from the BAM Fund to Support Emerging and Local Musicians. Live in HD Performance in HD screenings present the experience of dance, opera, and theater in an entirely new way, bringing broadcasts of filmed live performances from around the globe to BAM Rose Cinemas. Ballet in Cinema The inaugural season of Ballet in Cinema at BAM features performances from some of Europe’s top companies, including the Bolshoi Ballet and the Royal Ballet.