Internationally Acclaimed choreographer Hofesh Shechter with co-producer Studio Simkin, will premiere masterwork Appalachian Spring and Chronicle. Appalachian Spring will feature a luminous score by Aaron Copland and a spare set by Graham’s long-time collaborator Isamu Noguchi. Chronicle is a performance by the company’s women created as a response to the rise of fascism in Europe; its underlying theme of political activism continues to reverberate today.
“It has been my absolute pleasure and honor to work with the Graham Company—a group of incredibly talented, generously hardworking, humble, and fully committed dancers who connected with my work fully, a work that is made to stir and inspire the driving beat of the body, and by that to awaken that euphoric human spirit with a sense of togetherness,” said Shechter. “I couldn’t have hoped for a better match than these fierce dancers for this work.
The New York premiere of Canticle for Innocent Comedians created by eight different choreographers, including Sonya Tayeh, Sir Robert Cohan and Jenn Freeman, will also occur this season. The 1952 original work was built around eight virtuous vignettes that celebrated a different aspect of nature and our relationship to it. Therefore, each vignette was created by eight choreographers of diverse dance backgrounds.
“To be a part of recrafting a Graham work is one of my greatest honors,” said Tayeh. “As the lead choreographer on the project, I get to be in throes of history being brought back to the forefront by Graham and seven other stellar choreographers. To me, Graham’s works are relics of resilience, and Canticle is full of that vivid energy.”, founded in 1926, has been a leader in the evolving art form of modern dance.
The premiere of these new works will take place during separate programs and galas on April 6,7,9 and 10. The