Christopher Wheeldon, Henning Rübsam, Gianna Reisen, Briana Reed, Mara Galeazzi, Buglisi Dance Theatre and Joshua Beamish will lead the debut season of vildwerk., choreographing ballets about ecological crises, including turtle extinction, butterfly migration and climate change.
The cast features dancers from the The Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Complexions, L.A. Dance Project and more.
Performances are October 15 and 16, at 7pm, at El Museo del Barrio Theater.
vildwerk. is a new non-profit organization with a mission of raising environmental conservation awareness and the serious issues affecting our planet through the performing arts.
vildwerk.’s first season is dedicated to their #therubyinitiative. Ruby is the only Burmese Roof Headed Turtle in North America, and her species is facing extinction.
Smuggled across borders from Myanmar to a wet-market in Hong Kong before arriving in the United States, Ruby was abused for 20 years, kept in a dark basement, in a cage too small to turn around or get out of the water. She is a third of the normal size she should presently be at her age, and it is a miracle that she survived the harsh conditions of captivity. Since being rescued, her location remains secret. Poachers and smugglers are an ever present concern, as her face value on the back market goes into six figure sums.
#therubyinitiative is working to find her a mate but international politics, the civil war in Myanmar and the rarity of her species make the search difficult.
“vildwerk. hopes to help establish an assurance colony of Ruby’s hatchlings being rewilded to Myanmar, so that this species can thrive in her native habitat”, said founder Chiara Gorodesky. “Thank you Wildlife Conservation Society, Turtle Conservancy and all of the other dedicated wildlife experts who fight – every single day – for her survival and her vital position in the circle of life and basis of our ecosystem. Ruby has an estimated 50 years of viable eggs ahead of her.”
The vildwerk. season is centered around the beauty and fragility of our planet. Each ballet takes on a different ecological issue.
Christopher Wheeldon choreographs a piece about cenote caves (limestone sinkholes) in Yucatán, Mexico, performed by Benjamin Freemantle, and in collaboration with Martin Broen.
Joshua Beamish choreographs two performances. The Golden Turtle is about trafficked and abused turtles, performed by Mara Galeazzi, with music by Felipe Perez Santiago, in collaboration with Re:Wild and Turtle Conservancy. Beamish’s second piece is about migration of species in the rainforest, performed by Benjamin Freemantle, Luciana Paris and Lloyd Knight, in collaboration with Nature and Culture International.
Mara Galeazzi also choreographs and will dance – alongside Jason Kittelberger – in a work about extinction and loss of species.
Briana Reed’s choreography will highlight climate change in Divinity in Paradox, with performers Fernando Montano, Luciana Paris, Eriko Sugimura, Amar Ramasar, Gabi Roller, Erin Gonzales, Sydney Williams and Jacob Rodriguez.
Gianna Reisen choreographs a piece on mycorrhizal fungi, with performers Jonathan Fahoury, Vinicius Silva, Peter Mazurowski and Alyssa Rose Bulin. This is an artistic collaboration with David K. Israel (score) and Samantha Bass (set visuals) with photo documentation by Stephanie Diani. The work is supported by the Mycorrhizal Fund.
Henning Rübsam’s choreography is dedicated to butterfly migration, performed by Luciana Paris, Fernando Montano and Eriko Sugimura, in honor of philanthropist Barbara Tober.
Jacqulyn Buglisi choreographs Moss Anthology Variation Number 5, performed by Buglisi Dance Theatre, with music by Jeff Beal, lighting by Jack Mehler, and costume design by Christina Giannini.
In addition to the performances, on October 15 and 16, patrons of vildwerk. will have access to a photography exhibition, #therubyinitiative, with works by award winning photographers and visual artists Samantha Bass, Martin Broen and Stephanie Diani.
Tickets and more information can be found at www.vildwerk.org/season-2024.
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