On December 17, Vildwerk.— a nonprofit committed to environmental advocacy through dance presented Dancing For Our Wonderful World, a four-night program at the NY Live Arts Theater in NYC that fused artistic excellence with ecological urgency. Running December 17–20, the series featured eight works spanning contemporary and classical voices, including two world premieres by Bradley Shelver and Antonia Franceschi. The program also showcased repertory by an illustrious lineup: Christopher Wheeldon, OBE; Gianna Reisen; Jacqulyn Buglisi; Annabelle Lopez Ochoa; Virginie Mécène; and Henning Rübsam—each contributing a distinct perspective to a performance that framed dance as both celebration and call to action.
The lobby housed The Ruby Initiative photo exhibition, highlighting Ruby, an endangered Burmese Roofed Turtle, and raising funds through merchandise and donations for her protection. wildwerk.betterworld.
During the presentation, Chiara Gorodesky, founder of Vildwerk, remarked that art and nature have always gone hand in hand, adding that the opening night was sold out. The evening translated conservation into movement, using dance and the performing arts as a conduit for awareness. Each of the eight works on the program unfolded as an intellectual inquiry as much as a sensory experience. That season, vildwerk. collaborated with the World Wildlife Fund and Nature and Culture International, whose teams worked closely with the artists, grounding the choreography in real-world conversations about environmental realities. The result bridged fieldwork and footlights, asking not only what needed to be done globally, but what could be done locally—right here in Manhattan by New Yorker’s ready to move toward change.
Performers included former Royal Ballet principal, Edward Watson, MBE, who flew in from London to dance in ASYLUM, which Antonia Franceschi choreographed specifically for him. Other stars in the program included Mira Nadon, Megan LeCrone (former New York City Ballet), Preston Chamblee, and Craig Hall (NYCB), Isabella Boylston (American Ballet Theatre), Renan Cerdeiro (former Miami City Ballet), Benjamin Freemantle (former San Francisco Ballet), Grace Sautter (Martha Graham Dance Company), Gianna Reisen (former Los Angeles Dance Project), Bryan Testa (GALLIM), Alyssa Bulin and Peter Mazurowski (freelance), as well as members of the Buglisi Dance Theatre, and the Joffrey Concert Group.
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The night continued to sparkle in eclectic energy with an intimate dinner and VIP auction, including cocktails, delicious bites, and up-close moments with dance-world stars set the perfect scene.” Barbara Tober set the tone, with a paddle raised for $25,000 pledge in support of vildwerk. Guests jumped into the bidding, chasing experiences that mixed nature experienced with purpose—from a whale-watching getaway to private tours of the Garden State Tortoise Conservatory.
Guests included Emily Avsar, Samantha Bass, Zara Beard, Judy and Nick Bunzl, Celina Chien, Caroline Coleman, Daniel Fox, Lola Koch, David K. Israel, Jeannette and Alex Sanger, Donna Sanzone, Jerald Tenenbaum, and Désirée Von la Valette.
vildwerk. imagines a future in which the arts serve as a catalyst for environmental stewardship. By presenting evocative dance works and forging cross-disciplinary partnerships, the organization seeks to awaken awareness, ignite conversation, and galvanize communities to take meaningful action in safeguarding the planet for generations to come.
vildwerk.
219 W 19th Street
New York, NY, 10011
For more information, please visit: vildwerk.org