Jacob's Pillow to be Last Stop for CND2 Founder
BECKET, Mass. — Madrid-based contemporary dance company CND2 (Compañía Nacional de Danza 2) performs at Jacob’s Pillow July 28 to Aug. 1, in their final engagement under departing founder and Artistic Director Nacho Duato.Nacho Duato announced in April that by the end of July he would step down as artistic director of both CND2 and the parent company CND after founding both companies and 20 years at the helm. For this engagement, CND2 will perform the U.S. premiere of "Insected" by co-Artistic Director Tony Fabre, and acclaimed dancemaker Duato’s spiritual works "Kol Nidre" and "Gnawa."
CND2 is an audience favorite at Jacob’s Pillow, having made its U.S. debut at the festival in 2003. Known for their “non-stop, eye-popping, full-on dancing” (Albany Times Union) and “dramatic, visually stunning works” (The Boston Globe), the dancers of CND2 will perform three contemporary ballet works at Jacob’s Pillow.
"Insected" is set to an eclectic score, with music by Hans Werner Henze, the tribes of northern Ghana, André Klenes & Sébastien Walnier, Spontus, Siegrid Palm, Lydia Torea and Ruben Romero. Choreographed by Fabre, the dance explores maturation and learning through experience, self and community, with a wide movement vocabulary from intimate gestures to demanding technical feats. "Insected" also employs a structural set which the dancers climb on and around at certain points to further the ideas and imagery of the work. "Insected" won the Premio de Coreografía de Danza Villa de Madrid 2009, an annual prize awarded by the city of Madrid with the aim of stimulating creation, research, and cultural production.
Duato named his work "Kol Nidre" for the phrase that is recited in the synagogue at the beginning of the evening service for Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. "Kol Nidre" is set to music by John Tavener, Arvo Pärt and John Zorn.
In "Gnawa," Duato uses strong, interconnected sequences to suggest the vibrancy and spirituality of the Moroccan landscape and people. Gnawa is the name of members of mystic Muslim brotherhoods of sub-Saharan origin, known for the use of song and dance as a means to reach ecstasy. "Gnawa" was created on and premiered by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, which performed the work at Jacob’s Pillow in 2007.
CND2 was originally created in 1999 to act as a link between younger dancers and veteran professional companies, such as its parent company, Compañía Nacional de Danza. Since then, CND2 has come into its own as a seasoned company with distinctive repertory from Duato, Fabre and up-and-coming choreographers.
