Dance is an experience by itself, especially if it’s choreographed and performed by the best national and international dancers. Ballare Carmel has been determined to bring world-class dance to Monterey County and it’s keeping the promise.
But Lillian Barbeito, co-founder – along with her husband Grant Barbeito – of Ballare and the artistic director for both the dance company and Carmel Dance Festival, is not stopping there. Within the last year, she has successfully paired dancing with painting, chocolate and wine. With the concept of selecting different art pieces or flavors for each dance, she worked with choreographers to make decisions about what goes with what.
This time, Ballare combines their contemporary dance menu with farming under the title Farm~to~Tendu, where “tendu” means a movement in which the dancer’s leg is extended with the toe pointed. The goal is to awaken more senses.
“When we add things like pairing, every person who comes has an experience in the human body,” Barbeito says. “There are kinesthetic responses when they are watching the show. Then when you add other things like smell and taste, it just enhances the experience.”
There will be local food, local history and live music (Vincent Pierce on harp and Michelle Djokic on cello). Each performance will begin with an immersive walkabout created by Ballare Carmel’s resident choreographer, Javon Ja’Moon Jones. He will tell via dance a regional story of the meeting between Indigenous people and settlers who came to the area during the Gold Rush. The costumes the dancers will wear are inspired by Western saloons and the Victorian era.
The following dance pieces are “Summer,” choreographed by Robin Dekkers, set to Vivaldi and featuring Charmaine Butcher and Babatunji Johnson; a world premiere by Amsterdam choreographer Anouk Van Dijk, featuring dancer Joseph Kudraa; and another premiere by Brooklyn choreographer Kelly Ashton Todd, inspired by regenerative farming.
Completing the sensory experience, evening performances will include food harvested by the performers themselves, offering an authentic farm-to-table dining experience. On Friday, Chef Todd Fisher, the owner of The Meatery, will serve fried chicken, salmon or vegan options. On Saturday and Sunday, the farm-to-table meal is provided by Patrina Pinto of Hacienda.
“Figuring out those details is really fun for me,” Barbeito says. “Seeing how it works, how it unfolds.”
She hopes that pairing dancing with food will make the experience more meaningful. The thought is that the audience will feel the parallels when watching the dance.
This event is co-presented by Nancy Eccles and Homer M. Hayward Family Foundation.
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