ww-041416-4Photo by Erin Baiano in choreography by Brian Brooks

Some Of A Thousand Words

World Premiere – June 23 & 24, 2016 at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas
July 25-31, 2016 at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

Wendy Whelan and Brian Brooks will create a second project together with live music by the New York-based string quartet, Brooklyn Rider. The evening will include the duet First Fall, which Brian and Wendy developed for Restless Creature (co-produced by The Joyce Theater in 2013). Described as “luminous” and a “tour de force” in the Boston Globe and “instantly intimate” in the Chicago Tribune, First Fall bears testament to the personal friendship and effervescent artistic chemistry which emerged from
this collaboration.

Wendy and Brian will be collaborating closely with Brooklyn Rider in the holistic process of creative conception. In as much, this second project will bring music to the foreground as a dynamic and central creative component, both shaping and being shaped by the evolution of the choreography designed by Brooks. Emphasizing the agency of the music in relation to the dance, the project will use existing music from composers John Luther Adams, Tyondai Braxton, Philip Glass, Evan Ziporyn and a new composition from Brooklyn Rider’s own Colin Jacobsen.

This new evening is being co-commissioned by the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, The Joyce Theater, The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts and the Modlin Center for The Arts at University of Richmond. The world premiere will take place at the Arts & Ideas Festival on June 23 & 24 2016, followed by Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in July 25-31 2016.

“Putting her 30-year career as a dancer with New York City Ballet behind her – 23 of those as the troupe’s principal ballerina – the 49-year-old Whelan is making the transformation into one of the most startling performers in contemporary dance. Her form, technique, and musculature-defying movement instantly give her a unique signature as a dancer, and this ability to do things that no one else can do open new possibilities in choreography.”—Seth Rogovoy,
The Rogovoy Report

ww-041416-3Photo by Erin Baiano in choreography by Brian Brooks

"As artists age there is a process of letting go as well as adaptation of more limited but richer possibilities. Often there is a struggle to cope with physical ailments, pain and suffering. It can be magnificent and inspiring when this become embedded in
the work.

Like Mannerism this new work is a developent of art that stands aside from the mainstream of contemporary dance. It would be unlikely to see it performed by anyone other than Whelan and Brooks.

It is important to note that she is working alone with partners. Whelan has not formed a company. There is no baton to pass to the next generation.

It is fair to speculate, however, that many younger dancers are looking long and hard at this seminal work and what it might mean for their own practice.

Truly we feel honored and blessed to have these two life changing encounters with a national treasure of dance at Jacob’s Pillow. May her tribe increase."—Charles Giuliano, Berkshire Fine Arts

brooklynriderPhoto by Erin Baiano
New York-based string quartet, Brooklyn Rider