Barak Marshall's Monger, which appears at the Walking Distance Dance Festival this month. Photo by Rose Eichenbaum, Courtesy John Hill PR
A Broadway luminary and a postmodern darling bring their talents to ballet, a music video maven turns to the concert stage, and a contemporary choreographer gets soulful with Aretha Franklin. Our editors' must-sees this May are all about the unexpected.
Marc Crousillat and Amos Machanic in Netta Yerushalmy's Dahpis and Chloe, with designs by Reid & Harriet. Photo courtesy Reid & Harriet
New York-based costume designers Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung are in high-demand. Though the duo, who together make up Reid & Harriet Designs, work with major choreographers around the world, they're often frustrated with the backseat role that design plays.
So when Guggenheim Works & Process general manager Duke Dang approached them with an idea to create a designer-driven program exploring the creative methods of the Ballets Russes, they were intrigued.
Hadestown at London's National Theatre. Photo by Helen Maybanks, Courtesy DKC/O&M
There are more intriguing performances than one person could possibly see this month, so our editors' picks run the gamut. The topics—Greek mythology and systemic racism, the Ballets Russes and secondary incarceration—are as varied as the styles—contemporary, bharatanatyam, aerial. The one through line: They're bound to make you look at the world a little differently.
Jack Ferver and Reid Bartelme. Photo by Jason Akira Somma, Courtesy New York Live Arts
For Jack Ferver's latest, he's joined by American Ballet Theatre star James Whiteside, Martha Graham Dance Company principal Lloyd Knight, Broadway performer Garen Scribner and dancer-turned-designer Reid Bartelme (who, along with design partner Harriet Jung, also provides the costumes). Everything Is Imaginable juxtaposes these wonderfully different artists to create a portrait of queer community. April 4–7. newyorklivearts.org.
Bartelme and Jung compare colors. Photo by Michael Manata, courtesy Reid & Harriet
Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung were still students at the Fashion Institute of Technology when their first joint commission came along: Creating the costume for a Fall for Dance piece Andrea Miller choreographed on Drew Jacoby. The pair officially joined forces in 2011, forming their eponymous label and building a resumé that includes designing for American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet and Miami City Ballet. Reid & Harriet Design's success lies in their ability to mix bold colors and unique textures with an innate understanding of what dancers need to perform comfortably.
