www.cedarlakedance.com World premiere: January 31, 2012, La Maison de la Danse, Lyon, France, by Cedar Lake. Choreography: Alexander Ekman Lighting Design: Amith A. Chandrashaker Costume Design: Nancy Haeyung Bae Music and Sound: Mikael Karlsson Featuring "Fly Me To The Moon," performed by Victor Feldman, from the album "Jazz at Ronnie Scott's." Program note: Tuplet is a swift, pulsating 18-minute tour de force for six dancers. Utilizing a score created in collaboration with the dancers' own rhythmic impulses and employing their individual bodies as percussion instruments, the soundscape is integrated with original electronic music composed by Mikael Karlsson. "I'm attempting to find a fraction of an answer to an extremely large question: What is rhythm? In my world of music and dance this theme is a huge challenge and continual exploration for me. Tuplet endeavors to understand a small fragment of this quest," Ekman says. Former Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (NDT 2) dancer Alexander Ekman (Sweden, 1984) has been associate choreographer at Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) since 2011-2012. After a dance career with Royal Swedish Ballet, Cullberg Ballet and NDT 2, Ekman decided to solely focus on choreography. During the NDT workshop "Switch" he was noticed for his talent and individual and original style, and he has since created numerous works for NDT and NDT 2. Alexander Ekman has gained an international reputation, working with Cullberg Ballet, Compañia Nacional de Danza Goteborg Ballet, Iceland Dance Company, Bern Ballet, Cedar Lake Contemporary Dance, Ballet de l'Opéra du Rhin, Royal Swedish Ballet and the Norwegian National Ballet. He also created for festivals as the French Europa Danse and the Athens International Dance Festival. In the International Choreography Competition of Hannover 2005, Ekman was awarded the first prize by the critics and won the second prize with Swingle Sisters (one of the ballets from his Sisters trilogy). In 2010 Ekman created his first full evening for the Cullberg Ballet. Triptych is a study of entertainment: it received great response, and is still touring the world. In 2011 Ekman also worked as a teacher / choreographer at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. His 2010 NDT 2 work Cacti was an instant hit and has been performed by NDT 2 in the Netherlands and on tour world-wide to great acclaim. Cacti was also nominated for the Dutch dance prize Zwaan 2010 and for the National Dance Award (UK) 2012. Last spring, Cacti premiered in Australia and Germany. Sydney Dance Company, Dresdenb Ballet and Dortmund Ballet added the success piece to their repertoire. In his years as a choreographer, Ekman proved to be an artistic multitalent. He often makes film productions. Though usually integrated in his choreographies, these productions also create more and more interest on their own. In 2009 Ekman created the dance film 40 Meters Under for and with Cullberg Ballet, which was broadcasted on National Swedish television. That autumn he collaborated with the Swedish renowned choreographer Mats Ek on video projections for Ek's play Håll Plats. Ekman also created an installation for the Modern Museum in Stockholm with dancers of Cullberg Ballet.

• published: 23 Jan 2014
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