Cedar Lake Contemporary BALLET KEEPS THE AUDIENCE ON ITS FEET

COLLABORATIVE INSTALLATION TO PREMIERE AT COMPANY'S CHELSEA GALLERY DISTRICT SPACE

New York, N.Y., FEBRUARY 4, 2008 – Benoit-Swan Pouffer, Artistic Director of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, announced "Glassy Essence," an installation work combining dance, photography and video will premiere Friday, April 24th at the company's West Chelsea theater and performance space.

Part choreographed dance performance and part interactive installation, "Glassy Essence" bridges the gap between dancer and audience by merging the two in the most literal sense. Audience members are standing throughout the show and invited to move freely within the same space in which the dancers are performing.

The physical elements of light, space, sound, and movement are all here, but experienced through the unpredictable and surprising conditions created by the live performances of the 16 member Cedar Lake company–– all moving with and around an equally unpredictable audience sharing the same interactive environment.

Collaborating on "Glassy Essence" with Cedar Lake Artistic Director/Choreographer Pouffer is the photographer and visual artist François Rousseau, who has provided a series of images best described as "other-worldly portraits" of the dancers in various guises. Whimsical, provocative, and fantastic, these images provide the road map through the event. Rousseau began his artistic career as a painter then transitioned to photography and is best known for his famous "Dieux du stade" series of books and calendars. "Glassy Essence" also features an original score by frequent Cedar Lake collaborator Stefano Zazzera. Zazzera has composed dance, theater, film, and electronic music for companies in the USA and internationally. Other collaborators include costume design by Nancy Haeyung Bae and video design by Gilles Papain.

Pouffer explains, "What we are seeing during the live action of the installation is the distance and space(s) between these key images. What has brought these characters from one particular moment, recorded in Francois' images, to the next? And this "place" between moments is what the audience and the spectators are exploring together in, "Glassy Essence." The audience attending, "Glassy Essence" isn't passively sitting in a chair watching what they have been told to focus on. This is an audience that has been given the challenge of choosing how this magical environment will alter the total experience for everyone. The spectator becomes an artist in the experience. "Glassy Essence" is the collaboration of everyone within the four walls. And everyone will leave with something of their own."

Performances are Thursday, April 24-Saturday, April 26, Thursday, May 1- Saturday, May 3, twice nightly at 8pm and 9pm. Tickets are $10, general admission. To order tickets, please visit www.SmartTix.com or call 212-868-4444. Cedar Lake is in the heart of the Chelsea Gallery District at 547 West 26th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. For more information, visit www.glassyessence.com and www.cedarlakedance.com.