Press

"Leichter hears the beat of the moment,and renders it into hot but human modern dance."
- Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times

“Leichter borrows the confrontational stance of MTV, as he flirts with street dance and hip-hop bravado, but he subverts them all with questions about racial and cultural stereotypes.”
- Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice

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African-American choreographer Nicholas Leichter and his diverse company offer seductive, luminous dancing. The work wholly reflects the popular culture of today: a provocative combination of modern, hip-hop, jazz, and street dance styles. With unabashed energy and bewitching charm, nicholasleichterdance confronts issues of race, gender, and cultural dominance with dancing that is well crafted and thought provoking.

In recognition of his unique approach to contemporary dance performance he has received grants and awards from the New York State Council on the Arts, TIAA-CREF, Harkness Foundation for Dance, New York Foundation for the Arts, Jerome Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, The National College Choreographic Initiative, Aaron Davis Hall New Works Fund, and the Joyce Theater Foundation, with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Fund

nicholasleichterdance performances have been presented to critical acclaim in contemporary performance venues nationally and abroad, including The Duke on 42nd Street; The Flea Theater; The New Victory Theater; Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors; Dance Place; Connecticut College; ODC in San Francisco; Modlin Center for the Performing Arts at University of Richmond; Velocity Dance Center in Seattle; Bennington College; Wagon Train Project in Nebraska; Theater Aegi in Hanover, Germany; and Tangente in Montréal.

Leichter’s joyous amalgamation of street vernacular, social dances, and contemporary dance, along with his use of music – from original scores by composers such as Alfredo Hidrovo and Chris Lancaster to soul and R&B songs by Stevie Wonder, Aaliyah, D’Angelo and others – serve as entryways for audiences to engage with the work. In this way, nicholasleichterdance attracts new audiences, particularly young people, to venues where it is presented.

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Biography

Artistic Director Nicholas Leichter received a BA in dance from Connecticut College where he studied with Jaclynn Villamil and Martha Myers. He was a member of Ralph Lemon Company from 1993 -1995, and has performed with the companies of Jennifer Muller, Ron Brown, Amy Pivar, and Gus Solomons Jr. He has taught throughout the U.S. and at festivals in Belgium, Russia, and Taiwan and has been artist in residence at numerous colleges & universities.. His 2002 residency at the University of Houston was one of the NEA’s National College Choreography Initiative (NCCI) awards.

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Repertory

RITE OF SPRING (estimated time)

Currently in development, the Rite of Spring will open the Brooklyn Phiharmonic’s 52nd season at the BAM Opera House in February ??, 2007, marking the company’s second commission in two years by the Philharmonic……. (probably a couple more sentences here…)


CARMINA BURANA (full-evening opera, 65 min. choreography) (perhaps a link to the video, which is also available on the Resources page).

Set to medieval poetry, Nicholas Leichter’s choreography forges a fresh interpretation of composer Carl Orff’s exploration into hedonistic pagan ritual. Distancing Carmina Burana from the Third Reich’s appropriation of the work during the second World War, Leichter’s signature choreographic style, fusing a modern dance vernacular with urban street dance, transforms this magnetic, crowd-pleasing work, often over-used and somewhat abused in our pop culture, into a full-out celebration of contemporary cultural diversity.

The work may be presented with either the recorded score, with your local chorus and orchestra, or excerpted in a repertory evening that would include work set to scores by both contemporary composers and/or popular music.

nicholasleichterdance will perform Carmina Burana at SUNY Oswego with chorus and piano score reduction on Friday and Saturday, December 8-9 at 8pm. Please let me know if I can reserve you complimentary tickets for either of these performances.

SWEETWASH (30 minutes) (link to vide)

Marking Nicholas Leichter’s first collaboration with African American composer, writer, and performer Eisa Davis, Sweetwash honors the work and ideas of African American civil rights activists and literary figures. Sweetwash has been commissioned, in part, by The Duncan Theater at Palm Beach Community College, was performed in a work-in-progress presentation at The Whitney at Altria and previewed at Dance New Amsterdam (NYC) June 30 and July 1, 2006.

MIXED REP (link to video)

A short paragraph here on his other works, how long they are, etc.

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