Gala Performance
Past, Present & Future
Be the first to see the new work by a renowned Polish choreographer Jacek Luminski and a revival of Shell Games, BDC Artistic Director Jonathan Hollander’s choreography from 2005.
Join us for the Opening Gala performance on May 21, 7.30pm at
3LD Art + Technology.
Luminski founded Silesian Dance Theatre in 1991 and has created a large body of work that has been performed throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S. Luminski and Hollander, and their companies, have been frequent international partners since 1996, presenting each other’s work in the U.S. and Poland. Hollander choreographed on Silesian Dance Theater dancers in 2004 and now, 9 years later, reciprocity has come into play, with support from The Polish Cultural Institute (New York), The Trust for Mutual Understanding (New York) and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (Poland).
Throughout his career, beginning with his training in the State Jewish Theater in Warsaw, Jacek Luminski has searched for a connection to the lost Jewish culture of Poland. From elderly survivors, he derived information, dance steps, stories … and eventually created a movement vocabulary and a body of work that reflected his response to this complicated history. In his work for Battery Dance Company, Luminski has selected scores by Polish and American composers who have engaged in similar quests in the musical vein.
As a companion piece to Jacek’s work, Hollander is reviving Shell Games, set to a commissioned score by Finnish composer Frank Carlberg, with costumes that also serve as set pieces by Solé Salvo and lighting and scenery by Barry Steele. Shell Games owes something to Luminski: Tomek Wygoda, then a member of Silesian Dance Theatre, was a guest artist in the original cast, and Hollander exploited his dramatic style. Imagery from sources as varied as the death of the Polish Pope and the American Presidential Debates figure in this work which has been performed around the world to great acclaim.
Battery Dancers Sean Scantlebury, Robin Cantrell, Carmen Nicole, Mira Cook and Clement Mensah will appear in both works.
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