The fusion of Bach with African movement and music may not seem outrageous in the 21st century, but Val Caniparoli made a splash when Lambarena, his commissioned ballet for the San Francisco Ballet featuring principal dancer Evelyn Cisneros, premiered in 1995. Created in collaboration with African dance consultants Zakariya Sao Diouf and Naomi Gedo Washington, with costumes by Sandra Woodall that combine corsets with kente cloth, Lambarena has become one of Caniparoli's best-known ballets, an earthy expression of sensuality and joy. The ballet is restaging Lambarena in Program 1 of its 2015 season, with Lorena Feijoo, Vanessa Zahorian, and Frances Chung stepping into Cisneros' shoes. Get a special glimpse inside the history and creative minds behind Lambarena when Words on Dance presents Caniparoli and Cisneros in conversation for 90 minutes on the ODC Theater stage.
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