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opening season 2024

On October 15th and 16th 2024, vildwerk. will stage its first season in New York City, presenting a medley of works by leading choreographers and artists each of which with a theme of wildlife and environmental conservation. Being the first and only organization of its kind, vildwerk. aspires to revolutionize and reshape artistic creativity, striking compelling collaborations with environmentalists, conservationists, and those devoted to the protection of our wilderness and its inhabitants.

inaugural gala dinner

may 1, 2023 at the bowery hotel

Dinner Chairman Christopher Wheeldon, OBE welcomed guests to an evening allowing a small glance into what is yet to come in 2024 at vildwerk.’s first season.

The gala featured a world premiere by choreographer Joshua Beamish entitled The Golden Tortoise, performed by Mara Galeazzi with music by Felipe Perez Santiago in tribute to the Ploughshare Tortoise. One the rarest species of tortoise on the planet and native to Madagascar, it has almost been poached to extinction with fewer than 150 left in the wild, which are sold for up to six figure sums on the black market as so-called “status symbols”. Standing next to a nearly extinct ploughshare tortoise, joining the Gala by video, was Turtle Conservancy Founder, Eric Goode. Conservation legend Re:Wild’s CCO, Professor Russell Mittermeier, and Turtle Conservancy’s Senior Scientist, Professor James Juvik, worked with Beamish during the choreographic creation process of the solo and addressed guests with insights from the field. The evening also featured performances by cellists of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Dorothea and Rafael Figueroa. After a video message from David K. Israel, they performed his Windansea, a classical piece by Jean-Baptiste Barriere, and then Dying Swan by Charles-Camille Saint-Saens, joined on the piano by Amber Salladin. Amber, Co-Artistic Director of Inspire – Chorus for Unity, also conducted Grow Little Tree, sang by 7 young vocal artists, accompanied by 9-year-old Anton Figueroa at the keyboard and Cassandra Longville, dancing a piece choreographed by former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater star, Briana Reed.

Emmy award winning MC of the evening, Sergey Gordeev concluded with “what can YOU do for our planet?”, recognizing the power of the performing arts as a force for change and calling upon all the attendees to contribute to saving our planet. vildwerk.

Open Rehearsal The Golden Tortoise

April 28, 2023 at Gibney Studios

Choreographer Joshua Beamish and Principal Dancer Mara Galeazzi in rehearsal for The Golden Tortoise. A solo created to raise awareness and in honor of the almost extinct Ploughshare Tortoise of Madagascar. To learn more about one of the world’s most trafficked animals click here and support Turtle Conservancy and its partner organizations.

 

In the Press

Music and the Arts and a taste of History

Inaugural Vildwerk Gala

Vildwerk. Inaugural Gala Brings Together Leaders in Art and Conservation to Raise Environmental Awareness

On the Scene: vildwerk. Host Inaugural Gala at the Bowery Hotel

Inaugural Vildwerk Gala

Conserving the Earth's Rhythm: vildwerk. Unites Conservation Work with Performing Arts