Cedar Lake Project
It started in Columbia, Missouri, perhaps in a studio like yours. But in 1998, when Nancy Laurie realized what a joy dance provided children, she also decided that schools in her area lacked solid ballet programs. She acted by founding the Columbia Arts Centre in Columbia, a facility with 8 studios and a 670-seat auditorium. Enrollment grew from 250 the first year to its present level of 700 with a staff of 20. Students study 8-10 hours of ballet per week, as well as jazz, tap, modern dance and hip-hop.
Laurie's next step was to help young performers and choreographers find a permanent place to work. The result was the formation of the Cedar Lake contemporary ballet company ensconced in a renovated two-building home for its twenty dancers with rehearsal studios and a 190-seat expandable theater. Its site is in Manhattan's new Chelsea Gallery District, where art galleries are emerging, taking the block off the beaten path and onto a new one. The theater has state-of-the art equipment and a technical staff to rival any major television studio.
This is not the first time in New York a wealthy, American patron of the arts began a dance company. Lucia Chase in 1940, with Richard Pleasant, founded Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre) with 11 choreographers, 85 dancers and 21 ballets. It is now the foremost ballet company in the United States. Another patron, Rebekah Harkness, formed the Harkness Ballet in 1964 with the same intention of providing financial support for young choreographers and dancers. Although the dancers were lauded in their many European tours, the company was dissolved in 1970.
Cedar Lake's artistic director is Benoit-Swan Pouffer, born and raised in Paris, who studied at the Conservatoire de Bobigny and later was accepted into the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse of Paris. Benoit-Swan, who saw a tape of Alvin Ailey's group and was inspired by its energy and mix of styles, entered the 1993 Benetton European dance competition, where he won first place and a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. Within months, he was in New York and after a year of study, began his performing career with Philadanco and Complexions. In 1997, he became a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company where he stayed
until 2004.
"I want to realize the dreams that I have for dance," says "Swan," through multimedia and all the technologies that give a wide opportunity to express them. The audience reaction is not the same as when someone sees a film, a theater piece or a conventional work. A new world has opened up." A handsome, articulate young man with a soft French accent, "Swan" looks for new choreographers with "sensibilities." His choices show a philosophical approach. His position as artistic director came about when he sent a videotape of his work to the new project two years ago. Then he found himself the director as well a contributing choreographer. "While I respect and do not reject the past techniques of dance, I prefer to incorporate them into our vocabulary which is evolving to fit our mission and needs. To me, technique means how the body is used and does not limit itself to bravura. It's about discipline and awareness, consciousness of what the body is doing within the moment."
The opening season at the new theater, October 23, 25, 27-29, presented works of three emerging choreographers: Edwaard Liang, Jodie Gates and Pouffer. "This Mortal Coil," by Liang, a 9-section confusion with Kristen Elizabeth Weiser found her ferociously tossing her waist-length hair in frustration. A video sequence followed. Then she fell (on videotape, onto a six panel screen) through the air. It substituted for choreography. Jodie Gates, a former dancer with William Forsythe, who spent 14 years at the Joffrey Ballet before it reestablished itself in Chicago, followed Forsythe's spare statements in her "Momentary Play." To Bach accompaniment, Gates unexpectedly dropped transparent white curtains from the grid, here and there, to define the area of space for her dancers. The descent and rise of the curtains also began and ended the improvised sequences. In keeping with Cedar Lake's mission to incorporate the newest technology and innovation, a live D.J. and a 7-screen curved back-drop kept the performance going during the intermission. The audience that wanted to talk about the show, refresh themselves and just stand up for a while, did not appreciate the innovation. Finally, Pouffer's work, "Seed," attempted to tie the works together in an overly-long sequence of dances with various ethnic influences, all indicative of man's life cycle.
Cedar Lake's next season, February 2, 3, 4, scheduled works by Nicolo Fonte, Emily Molnar and Pouffer. Hopefully, the group will eventually evolve through their classes into a common level of technique that will support individual personalities. At the moment it's a mixed bag of levels.
A salute to Nancy Laurie. More information about Cedar Lake and its tours is available at: www.cedarlakedance.com.