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| new work |
 RIOULT 2011-2013 SeasonDance to Contemporary Composers SeriesKnown for his daring and imaginative explorations of classical scores, Pascal Rioult has broadened his artistic approach through the Contemporary Composers Series in which he commissioned music from living American composers. The first dance in the series On Distant Shores (2011) is a collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron J. Kernis and offers Rioult's take on the Helen of Troy story. In The Violet Hour (2012) the company and Grammy-winning composer Joan Tower respond to a series of images Rioult shared from his reading of T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" resulting in an evocative new work. In anticipation of Pascal Rioult's collaboration with minimalist Michael Torke each spoke of the challenge that lays ahead. "I’ve been intrigued by Michael Torke’s compositions and their minimalist structure and infusion of the classical and contemporary. This collaboration will inherently push my boundaries since Torke’s aesthetic differs greatly from my use of traditional classical music. Still, I find his music to be ideal for dance because of its effusive energy, interesting rhythms, and the quasi-visual imagery that colors its melodies. I look forward to discovering what impact his music will have on my choreography." --- Pascal Rioult "I find it intoxicating to push what is essentially an abstract form into a narrative. Pascal has produced a scenario where each emotionally-charged dance moment is interspersed with a more formal Chorus moment. I see this piece as operatic: the Chorus provides the recitatives advancing the story, while the pure dance moments are like arias, stopping the action and allowing the emotion to be expressed. After recently seeing the RIOULT piece, Bolero, I am convinced Mr. Rioult is one of the foremost choreographers of his generation." --- Michael Torke The new work premieres during RIOULT's New York Season June 4-9, 2013 at The Joyce Theater. |