SARATOGA SPRINGS — "SPAC REIMAGINED," a series of unique, locally shot dance videos that pay tribute to the 2020 classical season and feature all three of SPAC's resident companies are premiering through July 25 at spac.org, and on SPAC’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
Created by videographers and NYCB dancers, Emily Kikta and Peter Walker, the project combines the talents of seven dancers and four choreographers from New York City Ballet, alongside music performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The videos will culminate with a longer-form, exclusive performance on Saturday, July 25.
“In a time when the usual parameters and processes of presenting live performance have evaporated, SPAC has been reinventing itself – and the ways in which we provide great art and artists to our community,” said Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center, in a statement. “This year marks our fourth collaboration with NYCB dancers and videographers Emily Kikta and Peter Walker, but it is the first time that the series will incorporate artists from across our entire classical season. We feel fortunate to have this artistic gift to share – something to fill, if just a little, the enormous void created in a ballet season without New York City Ballet.”
The artists choreographed, rehearsed and shot the films over a two-week period, and features four new digital works filmed exclusively on the grounds of SPAC and in the Saratoga Spa State Park and are all set to music originally planned to be performed during the 2020 classical season.
Emily Kikta has been a dancer in New York City Ballet since 2010. Peter Walker has been a dancer and choreographer with the New York City Ballet since 2011. New York City Ballet dancers featured in the videos include Devin Alberda, Christina Clark, Uma Deming, Meaghan Dutton-O’Hara, Anthony Huxley, Emily Kikta and Peter Walker. The pieces were choreographed by Emily Kikta, Peter Walker, Devin Alberda and Christina Clark. All artists were tested for COVID-19 prior to coming to the Capital Region and the artists strictly adhered to the CDC’s guidelines for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19.
