Big News from Cedar Lake

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet has been director-less for nearly a year. Longtime leader Benoit-Swan Pouffer, who shaped the company into an avant-garde powerhouse with a European accent, stepped down last May. Yesterday, however, it was announced that Alexandra Damiani will become Cedar Lake’s new artistic director.

What does that mean? Well, as Cedar Lake’s ballet master, Damiani was Pouffer’s right-hand woman for many years, and she stayed his course during her time as interim director. So a dramatic change of vision for the company seems unlikely. That’s fine by us; Cedar Lake’s distinctive repertory fills a hole in the American ballet scene.

Here’s the interesting part: Cedar Lake has also named Crystal Pite associate choreographer. Pite has already made two pieces for the company, and its dancers seem especially well-suited to her intricate, imaginative choreography. She’ll create at least two more works for Cedar Lake over the next three years. We’re excited to see what will come out of her deeper involvement with the company.