Jonah Bokaer's CURTAIN Comes to France's Avignon Festival, 7/20; MA's Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, 8/1

Jonah Bokaer, who has been making artistic waves on the international dance circuit since he began choreographing almost ten years ago, will be seen both close-up and afar in these coming months: outdoors at the Avignon Festival in France (July 20–22, 24–26) and indoors at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, MA (August 1–5) when he and Bolshoi Ballet star David Hallberg perform together in the world premiere of Bokaer's "CURTAIN."

"CURTAIN" is co-produced by Fondation d'Entreprise Hermes as part of its program New Settings; SACD (Societe des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques; Paris: Sujets a Vif Commission 2012); Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin (Paris) and The Producers Circle of Chez Bushwick (Brooklyn, NY).

The title of "CURTAIN" has several references including to the Iron Curtain, whose destruction made possible the present and historic relationship between the South Dakota-born Hallberg and the Bolshoi Ballet. The full sixty-minute dance is comprised of two solos--CURTAIN performed by Hallberg and SORRY performed by Bokaer--as well as a duet, Les Innocents, performed by the two artists. The original score by Chris Garneau includes portions of a student lecture that composer John Cage gave at the 1984 Jacob's Pillow Festival, now rendered almost unrecognizable by Garneau's application of a centrifugal speaker.

The design for "CURTAIN" is created by long-time Bokaer collaborator Daniel Arsham, who uses a non-Newtonian substance, whose state of matter (liquid, solid or gas) reacts to the stress of an outside interference. For this work, the "stress" comes from cast fiberglass molds that will be unsealed minutes before the performance begins. The resulting sculptures and props that populate the stage at the start of the dance melt down, creating new shapes and forms as the show proceeds. In effect, these time-based, dissolving sculptures create their own dance. The costumes are by former Marc Jacobs designer Richard Chai.

Marking a rare time that Americans have been invited to perform at the Avignon Festival, the shows will take place in le Jardin de la Vierge du Lyce?e Saint-Joseph in Avignon, where Bokaer and Hallberg will perform Les Innocents. The Pillow performances will additionally include the individual solos. In both settings, there is no "curtain." The program will be performed at The?a?tre de la Cite? Internationale in Paris in November, where there is also no curtain. Jonah Bokaer will perform the two solos CURTAIN and SORRY and Adam H. Weinert and James McGinn will perform the duet Les Innocents in Paris.

Choreographer and Media Artist Jonah Bokaer has been creating dances for stage, museum, gallery and outdoor spaces throughout the world for the past decade. During that time, he has also created ten videos, three motion capture works, as well as interactive installations, several mobile applications and a film. The 30 works that he has choreographed have been seen throughout theaters in Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Often created to accommodate museum spaces, Bokaer's dances have been performed in New York City at New Museum; MoMA PS1; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; and Museum of Arts and Design. His dances and films have also been seen at MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA); Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (FL); the Muse?e d'Art Contemporain (Marseille, France); Carre? d'Art (Nimes, France ); Maison Jean Vilar (Avignon, France); La Ferme du Buisson (Marne-La-Valle?e, France); Palazzo delle Arti (Napoli, Italy); IVAM (Valencia, Spain); and Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen (St. Gallen, Switzerland).

His work with theater / opera artist Robert Wilson includes creating the choreography for Wilson's operas "FAUST," performed by the Polish National Opera, "AI?DA" for Teatro dell'Opera di Roma; "Fronteras" at IVAM in Valencia; "KOOL" at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City; and "On The Beach" at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City.

Bokaer's prodigious accomplishments have been recognized with many awards and honors including a Human Rights Award (2000); Joan Kirnsner Memorial Award (2005); Foundation for Contemporary Arts (2005-2006); Passing It On Award, Brooklyn Arts Exchange (2006); Inaugural Gallery Installation Fellowship from Dance Theater Workshop (2007); Finalist: Rolex Mentor / Prote?ge? Initiative in Dance (2007); New York Dance & Performance "Bessie" Award - Special Citation Chez Bushwick (2007); New York Dance & Performance "Bessie" Award– Aaron Copp, Lighting Design (2008); National Dance Access Scholarship from Dance/USA (Mellon Foundation, 2007); Alumni Achievement Award from North Carolina School of the Arts (2009); Rockefeller NYC Cultural Innovation Award (For Chez Bushwick, 2008/9); Bogliasco Foundation Prize Fellowship in Choreography (2011); SACD Prix Noveau Talent Chore?graphique (2011); National Endowment for the Arts (2011, 2012).

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