RITE OF SPRING
"Breathtaking, A brave new world of unforgettable effects."- The Wall Street Journal
Twist’s stunning “ballet without dancers” is a full-length orchestral program. Also staged are new versions of Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella” and “Fireworks.” Twist’s original take on The Rite of Spring is primarily abstract with cascading silks, billowing smoke, geometric shapes that transform and self destruct, and huge swathes of darkness traveling the stage. The production evokes both a misty ancient past and a powerful vision of the future. Driven by the primal energy of Stravinsky’s famously provocative score, a lone human figure emerges from the chaos to lead the audience on a breathtaking voyage into Twist’s endless imagination and vocabulary. Rite of Spring made it's New York premiere in October of 2014 as part of Lincoln Center’s fifth annual White Light Festival.
Commissioned by Carolina Performing Arts Program at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hil.
VIDEO
GALLERY
PRESS
“In countless productions, the music, with or without its primitivist scenario, has dwarfed any dancing. Abstraction is more promising, and much of Mr. Twist’s spectacle came close to matching Stravinsky”- New York Times
“A puppeteer captures the atmosphere of natural cataclysm in Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. With the ice caps melting & coastlines ravaged by hurricanes, Twist’s Rite has arrived just in time.”- Financial Times
production Credits
Directed and designed by Basil Twist, Music by Igor Stravinsky
Performed by: Eric Avery, Kate Brehm, Chris DeVille, Rob Hamilton, Matthew Leabo, Brendan McMahon, David Ojala, Marc Petrosino, Jessica Scott, Lake Simons, Julia Smith, Amanda Villalobos, Christopher Williams, Dancer, Dede Corvinus, Ben Elling, Lily Escobar, Quuhong Gu (Chu), Sarah Howe, Liam O'Neill, Tori Ralston, Ashley Winkfield.
Greg Meeh, special effects designer - Ayumu Poe Saegusa, lighting designer - Daniel Brodie, projection designer - Lynne Buckson, costume designer -David Ojala, technical director - Kimberley Prescott, production stage manager - Trey Gilmore, assistant projection designer - Kate Brehm, associate technical director - Carmen Torres, assistant stage manager - Eric Avery, assistant director and Barbara Busackino, producer.
This work was made possible in part by public funding from The National Endowment for the Arts- Art Works, private funding from The Jim Henson Foundation, Jane Henson, The University of Maryland and The Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards Program along with the generous donations of the following individual Angels: Priscilla and Dan Wieden, The Fetzer Institute, David Marshall, Becky Robbins and Holly and John Madigan.
