On Saturday, September 10th, just before Jason Ignacio and I left for Minsk, the Samruk Dance Company, a company I have come to adore and be endlessly delighted to work with, presented a program in the Capital City, Astana, of all-American choreography. Most of those dances were sponsored by the US Embassy. Rebecca Rice, a wonderful and elegant choreographer, premiered a work, "Uplift." I had the chance to see just the very beginnings of her dance, and it really resonated with me. Strong yet supple; smart yet accessible. Not easy to do those things.
For me, and for my colleague Kathryn Pilkington, it was a particularly remarkable night because of the four dances presented, three were by me or by she and I together. That's the first time that's ever happened. Its an odd thing to realize when you direct a dance company and have for the better part of 15 years. Yet CityDance, and now Company E's mission isn't my art -- its great art by many voices, and so I never imagined putting that much of my own art on stage in a single performance.
Yet, thanks to Gulnara Adamova, Samruk's courageous and visionary director, and the US Embassy and Consulate in Kazakhstan, that's what happened 10 time zones from DC.
Here's the image from the Embassy of the US in KZ's website.
Crazy. And a real honor...
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