| Year / Length: | 2017, 75’ (European premiere) |
|---|---|
| Concept: | Simone Dinnerstein, Pam Tanowitz |
| Choreography: | Pam Tanowitz |
| Music: | Johann Sebastian Bach, “Goldberg Variations” (BWV 988) |
| Performed live by: | Simone Dinnerstein, piano |
| Light and visual design: | Davison Scandrett |
| Costumes: | Reid Bartelme & Harriet Jung |
| Artistic associate and rehearsal director: | Melissa Toogood |
| Creative producer: | Jason Collins |
| Performers: | Maggie Cloud, Jason Collins, Christine Flores, Lindsey Jones, Victor Lozano, Maile Okamura, Melissa Toogood, Netta Yerushalmy |
| Commissioned by: | Duke Performances at Duke University & PEAK Performances at Montclair State University |
| Co-commissioned by: | Opening Nights Performing Arts at Florida State University & Summer Stages Dance at the Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston) |
| Creative development support: | Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) at Florida State University, The Yard at Martha’s Vineyard, The Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU & New York City Center |
| Note: | “New Work for Goldberg Variations” was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation & The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and support from the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation |
| Note: | General operating support for Pam Tanowitz Dance was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation |
| Note: | This performance was made possible in part by the Doris Duke Artist Awards programme |
| Note: | Pam Tanowitz Dance is represented by Matthew Bledsoe at IMG Artists |
| Note: | All activities of Pam Tanowitz Dance are supported in part by a choreographic fellowship from Fisher Center at Bard, through the support of Jay Franke & David Herro |
| Note: | Fiscal sponsorship provided by Foundation for Independent Artists, Inc., a nonprofit organisation administered by Pentacle (DanceWorks, Inc.). Pentacle is a non-profit management support organisation for the performing arts |
Dance
Pam Tanowitz / Simone Dinnerstein - New Work for Goldberg Variations
Description
Deconstructing classical, formal and traditional movement vocabularies, New Work for Goldberg Variations mirrors and converses with Bach’s iconic score in a delightful interplay of rhythm, style and idiosyncrasy, shifting between encoded gestures and virtuosic dancing and demonstrating the rich emotional world lying beneath the poised surface of the Goldbergs’ musical architecture. This monumental collaboration between pianist Simone Dinnerstein and choreographer Pam Tanowitz did not come without its artistic risks. Both initially expressed hesitation in creating a new large-scale production using a historic work like Goldberg Variations, knowing that other artists have tackled it with great success, most famously in Jerome Robbins’ landmark ballet and Glenn Gould’s celebrated recording. But ultimately, both Tanowitz and Dinnerstein agreed that pushing against history and making way for new interpretations is part of the creative process and that any hesitation about working on Goldberg was the exact reason the project should move ahead. Tanowitz remembered the words of one of her icons, Merce Cunningham: “The only way to do it is to do it”. Thus, New Work for Goldberg Variations was born, and since its premiere in 2017, the work continues to thrive and evolve, receiving critical acclaim and becoming Tanowitz and the company’s most performed work to date.