Kaatsbaan is a hidden delight of the Hudson Valley: a venue of first-rate dance performance set on 153 acres in Tivoli, with an engrossing sculpture park. Its fall festival takes place over three weekends beginning September 9. “Festival” suggests variety, and this is a true festival. Even people who think they hate “dance” will find an event to admire.
Herman Cornejo, a principal with the American Ballet Theatre, is the choreographer of “The Apartment,” a duet he performs with his sister, Erica. Cornejo is one of those men in tights who convinces one, for three or four seconds at a time, that he can actually fly. Born in Argentina, Cornejo drew on the symbology of the tango in creating this piece. Dancing a passionate tango with one’s sister is, as we used to say in the `90s, thrillingly transgressive.
Dance can also express political outrage. Dancer and choreographer Roderick George’s world premiere of “The Missing Fruit” is inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. George employs the Nina Simone rendition of “Strange Fruit,” the 1939 protest song attacking Southern lynchings:
Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root;
Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze;
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
“I was thinking, ‘What about the individuals who are dying who are not being mentioned, and only the people at home are dealing with that trauma?’,” George says. DJ Hussein Pwono provides accompaniment. Text is intermixed with the music, but much of the speaking is done by human legs and torsos.
The New York Theatre Ballet will present “The Firebird,” with music by Stravinsky. The story, based on a Russian folktale, begins when Prince Ivan captures the elusive firebird, and snags one of her feathers. Thirteen princesses enter his garden, and Ivan falls in love with one of them. The couple dances amorously, but then all the princesses enter the palace of the evil Koschei. Ivan is locked out. Will he reunite with his beloved—or will he suffer a tragic Russian fate? I’m certainly not going to tell you. With bright costumes and vivid, sweeping motions, the New York Theatre Ballet especially appeals to children, though adults should not be ashamed to attend.Ruckus is an acoustic ensemble—harpsichord, bassoon, bass, cello, and lute—specializing in Baroque music. As their name suggests, they take a freewheeling approach to performance. “They’re the rock stars of early music,” remarks Adam Weinert, artistic associate at Kaatsbaan.
Ruckus will accompany Sargent Seedo, a local line dance caller, who will lead group dancing. The audience is invited to participate. This may be the closest you’ll ever come to attending a 16th-century Flemish peasant feast.
A great dance makes music visible. Tan Dun, dean of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, composed “Ghost Opera” 30 years ago. The Attacca Quartet joins with pipa master Wu Man to perform the work, which combines Chinese and Western musical traditions. (The pipa is a pear-shaped stringed instrument that has been plucked in China for centuries.) The five instrumentalists appear on stage, occasionally playing dramatically lit water bowls. They also tear paper, as a musical accent. PeiJu Chien-Pott developed a dance accompaniment to “Ghost Opera” at a residency at Kaatsbaan in April. At times she will dance among the performing musicians.
Many of these shows will be on the outdoor Mountain Stage. How nice to see wind tug at a dancer’s hair, under the blue Tivoli sky! “Bring your friends, bring a picnic!” Weinert suggests.
This article appears in September 2023.
