Oberon's Glade

Tag: Abdiel Cedric Jacobsen

  • Lubovitch’s LEGEND OF TEN @ Martha Graham

    SA3_9126_preview

    Above: Abdiel Cedric Jacobsen and Anne Souder of the Martha Graham Dance Company; photo by Nir Arieli

    ~ Author: Oberon

    Friday November 17th, 2017 – The renowned choreographer Lar Lubovitch will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his Company in the coming Spring when the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company will perform two programs at the Joyce Theater from April 17th through April 22nd, 2018. Joining in the celebration, the dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company will perform the Lubovitch masterpiece LEGEND OF TEN, set to Johannes Brahms’s Piano Quintet in F minor; the Lubovitch Company premiered this work in 2010.

    This afternoon, photographer Nir Arieli and I stopped by at the Graham Studios at Westbeth to watch a rehearsal of LEGEND OF TEN. The Graham dancers are the crème de la crème of the dance world: in their combination of athleticism and artistry, they have few rivals. On top of that, they’re all really nice people. So any chance to be in their presence has a special meaning for me.

    I’ve seen LEGEND OF TEN three times in the past, danced by the Lubovitch Company. Yet today, I was struck afresh by its power and beauty. Taking wing on the Brahms score, LEGEND sends the dancers swirling thru dynamic movement that melds ballet motifs with elements of folk dance.

    In the course of today’s rehearsal, Mr. Lubovitch did quite a bit of dancing himself as he demonstrated for the Graham dancers. Assisting Mr. Lubovitch was Kate Skarpetowska – an estimable choreographer in her own right who has danced with the Lubovitch Company and is intimately familiar with his work.

    Here’s a gallery of Nir Arieli’s images from this afternoon:

    SA3_8351_preview

    From left: Ben Schultz, Anne O’Donnell, Kate Skarpetowska, So Young An, Leslie Andrea Williams, Lorenzo Pagano

    SA3_8409_preview

    Abdiel Cedric Jacobsen, Anne Souder, and Kate Skarpetowska

    SA3_8470_preview

    Watching a film of LEGEND with Mr. Lubovitch

    SA3_8477_preview

    SA3_8546_preview

    Lar Lubovitch coaching Abdiel and Anne Souder in a duet passage

    SA3_8568_preview

    Anne Souder and Anne O’Donnell

    SA3_8832_preview

    Leslie Andrea Williams

    SA3_8896_preview

    So Young An

    SA3_9155_preview

    Lorenzo Pagano

    SA3_8804_preview

    Ari Mayzick, Anne O’Donnell

    SA3_9348_preview

    Abdiel Cedric Jacobsen

    SA3_9481_preview

    Ecstatic moment

    SA3_8990_preview

    Abdiel with Anne Souder: pas de deux…continued below…

    SA3_9101_preview

    SA3_9110_preview

    SA3_9111_preview

    SA3_9125_preview

    SA3_9139_preview

    SA3_9142_preview

    SA3_9144_preview

    Ensemble: Ari, Ben, Lorenzo, Laurel Dalley Smith, Leslie

    SA3_9180_preview

    Leslie Andrea Williams

    SA3_9337_preview

    Abdiel and Anne Souder

    SA3_9492_preview

    Leslie Andrea Williams

    SA3_9505_preview

    Many thanks to Denise Vale of the Graham Company for helping to arrange today’s studio visit, and also to Janet Eilber, publicist Janet Stapleton, to Mr. Lubovitch and Ms. Skarpetowska for letting us eavesdrop on their process, and – of course – to the phenomenal dancers. And although they weren’t dancing today, it was great to catch up briefly with Ying Xin and The Lloyds: Knight and Mayor.

    All photos by Nir Arieli.

    ~ Oberon