Lambarena

Choreography by Val Caniparoli
Music by J. S. Bach
Set Design by Sandra Woodall
Lighting Design by Lisa Pinkerton

World Premiere 1995, by San Francisco Ballet

A thrilling fusion of African dance and ballet, this work was choreographed and conceived by Val Caniparoli, the resident choreographer at the San Francisco Ballet.  To create this work, Caniparoli brought in two African dancers who taught his company African dance techniques; he then created a new vocabulary of movement that is a cross-fertilization between ballet and African dance.  Music is played on both African and Western instruments and was composed in honor of Albert Schweitzer.  Graham Lustig also arranged to have the two African dancers visit the studio to share their tradition of dance with ARB dancers, as well as hold workshops and other educational outreach programs on African dance.

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