On Monday, organizers of the Guggenheim Museum's Works & Process series announced that they had chosen Justin Peck's Heatscape for inclusion in the prestigious series. The Guggenheim's series offers audiences' insight into both the creators and performers of forthcoming works. It's also is meant to preview what insiders believe to be the best dance choreography of the upcoming year. Heatscape will begin the Guggenheim's spring season on January 18 and 19 -- two months before the new work is scheduled to debut at the Miami City Ballet. Heatscape will premier at MCB on March 27 and run until April 19.
For those too impatient to wait for the MCB's premier, the Guggenheim will live stream the January 18 performance at guggenheim.org/live.
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Heatscape pairs unlikely bedfellows: ballet and street art. For the project, Peck collaborated with street artist Shepard Fairey who is best known for his iconic image of then-candidate Barack Obama and "Obey," his graffiti-turned-hipster-branded clothing line. Heatscape will be performed to the music of the prolific modern classical composer Bohuslav Martinů. The MCB promises that the new work will "an entirely new exploration of movement, music, costuming and art design."
This isn't the first program Peck has choreographed for MCB, the company performed his commissioned work Chutes and Ladders during their 2013 season. Listen to Peck talk about his process and influences in the video below. It might give us a bit of insight into what to expect from Heatscape.
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