Rehearsal: Knight/Beamish DANCE FOR NEPAL

Above: Lloyd Knight rehearsing a new Joshua Beamish solo, ‘Adoration‘, for the upcoming gala benefit DANCE FOR NEPAL; photo by Nir Arieli

Saturday June 27th, 2015 – On Tuesday June 30th, 2015, DANCE FOR NEPAL will be presented at the Union Square Theatre. The program, conceived by Simona Ferrera, is under the artistic direction of Lloyd Knight, principal dancer of The Martha Graham Dance Company. All proceeds from this gala performance will benefit the survivors of the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25th, 2015. A stellar group of dancers will perform; tickets and more information here.

On an overcast afternoon, photographer Nir Arieli and I dropped in at the Martha Graham studios for a rehearsal/preview of the new Beamish solo work. The choreographer has chosen the adagio from Haydn’s concerto in C-Major for cello and orchestra: a perfect setting for his fluent and expressive choreography and for Lloyd Knight’s powerful, emotive dancing. Demanding in its physicality, the solo has a deeply spiritual quality which gives Lloyd a perfect impetus for his interpretation: a striking mixture of muscularity and grace.

Joshua Beamish (above, with Lloyd), the Canadian dancer/choreographer and founder of MOVE: the company, was recently seen here in New York City as one of Wendy Whelan’s choreographer-cavaliers in her RESTLESS CREATURE presentation at The Joyce. In August 2015, Josh will be presenting MOVE: the company for two performances at The Joyce. Details here.

The studio atmosphere today was paradoxically calm and intense; I could have gone on watching endlessly since the combination of the music, Josh’s mapping of the movement, and Lloyd’s inspiring dancing were a welcome balm to the spirit.

Here’s a gallery of Nir Arieli’s images from this rehearsal; I have chosen quite a few since they really capture the atmosphere: