Continuing Dia Art Foundation’s long-term commitment to supporting performance, Dia has commissioned Paris-based choreographers François Chaignaud and Cecilia Bengolea to develop a multipart program for Dia:Beacon. Staged in the lower level of the museum, the program evokes the industrial architecture of the former factory space, and is further textured with echoes of alternative art scenes and spaces that have impacted the artists.

Calling upon a diverse vocabulary, their work combines classical forms with contemporary references while reflecting their radical politics and cultural associations. Their practice is well-known for bringing together singular mixes of ballet, modern dance, and choral singing with dancehall, dub, voguing, and other influences drawn from club culture.

The program at Dia:Beacon traces the trajectory of the artists’ twelve-year creative partnership. Each performance includes three consecutive episodes, transitioning through the layered references that inform their collaborative work—from the musical structures of polyphonic singing, through the transcendent dance of Sylphides (2009), to the recent ensemble work Dub Love (2014).

Reservations are not required, but recommended.

This program is made possible in part by support from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States.