The New York Baroque Dance Company presents a master class and lecture on Nijinky's JEUX.

Part I, 3:30-4:30pm:  Power Point Lecture on dance and design elements of Jeux by Kenneth Archer, followed by cultural context of Jeux by Millicent Hodson. John Mauceri, conductor and producer will also be present.

Part II, 4:45-6:30pm: Practical class learning the choreography as re-imagined by Hodson.

DESCRIPTION: Nijinsky’s 1913 ballet, Jeux, is credited as the first ballet performed in modern dress, the first to use the language of sport, the first to explore same sex attraction, and the first to protest war. It depicts athletic and amorous games under threat by premonitions of World War I and it is a ballet of manners that, not unlike its Baroque predecessors, reveals social mores through codified gestures.

After working with Millicent Hodson at the NYBDC summer workshop, New York Baroque Dance Company's Catherine Turocy feels experiencing Hodson’s approach to reconstruction could be a revelation to students of Baroque dance, which is why Hodson has been invited to October’s Dance of the Month.

Nijinsky started Jeux in London in the summer of 1912 while on tour with the Ballets Russes. Observing artists and intellectuals in Bloomsbury Square, a pleasure garden, he developed the idea of a tennis game. The scenario is based on the artist Duncan Grant and two young women, the Stephens sisters, who were soon to be known as the writer, Virginia Woolf, and the modernist painter, Vanessa Bell. 

Participants can attend both the Power Point Presentation and the Class where they will be dancing Jeux excerpts or choose to do one or the other. Participants from Part I will be able to watch Part II if they do not wish to dance.

Must Pre- Register for Class: Please email cturocy@gmail.com to register for the class. The class size is limited to 30 students.

BIOS:  

Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer are a dance and design team based in London. They are known internationally for their reconstructions of lost ballet masterpieces from the early 20th century, most notably Le Sacre du Printemps from 1913, with scenario and designs by Nicholas Roerich, music by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Since its premiere in 1987, they have staged their reconstructed Sacre to acclaim in the United States, England, France, Finland, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Germany, Brazil and Japan. Four films have been made about their work on Le Sacre and three on other ballets in their repertoire. The couple lecture internationally, write books and articles about their productions and exhibit drawings from their projects.

John Mauceri, world-renowned conductor, educator, and writer, has appeared with the world’s greatest opera companies and symphony orchestras, on the musical stages of Broadway and Hollywood as well as at the most prestigious halls of academia. He is the recipient of many awards, including a Grammy, a Tony, an Olivier, three Emmys, and is the 2017 recipient of the Ditson Conducting Award. His book, Maestros and Their Music—The Art and Alchemy of Conducting (Alfred A. Knopf) will be published in November.

We are grateful to The New York Baroque Dance Company and to Mark Morris Dance Center for supporting this special event and rare opportunity.