Description

Slow and sensual, insistent and intertwined, athletic and aware, Leichter's dance pieces are filled with provocative pairings. Whether exploring race and gender, the relationship between dancers, or between street and traditional dance styles, the movement evokes a cultivated culture clash.

>more info

Nicholas Leichter Biography

Nicholas Leichter (Artistic Director) received a BA in Dance from Connecticut College where he studied with Jacylnn Villamil and Martha Myers. He was a member of Ralph Lemon Company from 1993-1995, has performed with the companies of Jennifer Muller, Ronald K. Brown, and Gus Solomons jr, and regularly appears in the work of Clare Byrne.

>more info

Repertory>full repertory info

Spanish Wells (40 minutes)

In Spanish Wells, a diverse community exchange unspoken bonds that reach back and forth across time. Alternating sections of Claude Debussy’s La Mer with songs by Amy Winehouse, Leichter’s newest work is a Creole with a slightly ‘60s vibe, mixing up genres in music and dance, along with sea themes, ideas of death and afterlife, and a touch of the subversive. Support for Spanish Wells was provided with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

The RIte of Spring (33 minutes)

Leichter’s vision for this second commission for the company from the Brooklyn Philharmonic follows the structures of the Stravinsky ballet but imagines a collective of workers instead of a virgin as the central theme. Support for the Rite of Spring was provided, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Sweetwash (30 minutes)

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.

Carmina Burana (full-evening opera, 65 minutes choreograhy)

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 in our popular culture, into a full-out celebration of contemporary cultural diversity.

Downloads and Links

Website: nicholasleichterdance

To access high resolution images or technical specifications for this artist send an email to: info@elsieman.org, be sure to include which artist you are interested in!