WHAT YOU WANT

When we are left alone with our truth, what is it that we want? What is stopping us from going after those goals? Emerging from isolation, we have started to uncover the layered identities and imposed vs. chosen selves that have been informing our lives.

“What You Want” is made possible by a commissioning grant from the O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation.

Choreographer: Ariel Grossman

This work can be performed in its entirety of 40 minutes or excerpts of 20 minutes and 12.

Music: Summer Dregs & Stefania De Kenessey Premiere: May 2022

Arrangement & Live Performance: Summer Dregs

UNORTHODOX

Collaborating with composer Stefania de Kenessey to create an original score inspired by the drive and tradition of Klezmer music. The work juxtaposes the raw realness with the polite versions of ourselves we often portray to the world. What happens when you unzip the dress to breathe? The title is inspired by the book of the same name (recently adapted into a Netflix Series), about a woman who leaves a strict Hassidic sect.

Choreographer: Ariel Grossman Length of Piece: 8:44 mins

Music: Stefania De Kenessey Premiere: October 2020

Touring: Philadelphia, PA (2020), Detroit, MI (2021 & 2022), Istanbul, TR (2021 & 2022), Raleigh, NC (2022)

RUST

Rust, is about the beauty of aging— the embarrassment, humor, and ultimate acceptance of physical, emotional, and internal changes. While sometimes ugly, aging is natural and mesmerizing, like the rust that appears on old metal. This work was originally commissioned by Ballet Vero Beach. Please note current cast is different than in films.

Choreographer: Ariel Grossman Length of Piece: 13:40 mins

Music: David Homan & Stefania De Kenessey Premiere: June 2021

Touring: Vero Beach, FL (2020), Edmond, Oklahoma (2021), Detroit, MI (2022)

LEAD ME

Lead Me, originally developed with five dancers in a Nexus Lab - Dance Lab NY week-long (virtual) residency, and presented as a duet in October 2020 with guest artist Sayiga Eugene Peabody, has now been adapted through the barriers of online rehearsal to fit the full company of nine dancers. Through the embodiment and exploration of what it means to be a leader, Lead Me shows the inner turmoil and struggle that comes with power.

Lead Me is performed in front of a live audience and can be broadcast to virtual viewers. It does require a projector.

Choreographer: Ariel Grossman Length of Piece: 09:52 mins

Music: Stefania De Kenessey Premiere: October 2020

Original Commission: Dance Lab New York

VARIATIONS ON A BOX

With a pulsating live score, Variations on a Box drives the dancers to explore the constraints of shape and sound. A living puzzle with interesting patterning, and athletic group interactions.

“The dance’s architecture is only part of what provides visual stimulation. Variations on a Box is incredibly athletic, energetic and lyrical all at once. These seemingly disparate juxtapositions in Grossman’s work are what makes it so satisfying to watch, along with her use of kaleidoscopic groupings and staging.” - Critical Dance

Choreographer: Ariel Grossman Length of Piece: 12 mins

Music: David Homan Premiere: 2016

Touring History: Boston, MA (2018), Vero Beach, FL (2018), Memphis, TN (2019), Atlanta, GA (2019)