The Woods by San Fermin & BalletCollective

Join us on July 31st and August 1st for The Woods, an immersive concert experience created by composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone of the Brooklyn-based band San Fermin and choreographer and director Troy Schumacher of BalletCollective. With two performances scheduled over back-to-back evenings in the Main Hall, The Woods celebrates the alchemical power of music and dance to transform fear and loss into life-affirming moments of community.

The Woods is Ludwig-Leone and Schumacher’s newest and perhaps most ambitious collaboration yet: exploding the rich musical universe of San Fermin’s catalogue across an enveloping set designed by Jason Ardizzone-West (Redwood, The Weeknd, Dua Lipa). The set is visually inspired by an original sculpture by Ardizzone-West: a fractured frame with a snow white surface, belying something blood red and alive beneath. Featuring a cast of 17 dancers and singers moving freely across multiple stages and amongst the audience, the set becomes a living, breathing entity, while the band, situated throughout the space, puts the audience inside the music-making. Costumes by CFDA Award-winning fashion designer Elena Velez conjure a mythic dreamscape where fantasy and reality blur over the course of the 75 minute show.

In this production, the woods become a gathering place for searching souls awaiting a chance for change. Held together by this fragile connection, everyone who enters sees their own desires and fears written across the enchanted space, and as the sun sets, they are drawn deeper into a magical and sometimes perilous world.

The music of San Fermin, lauded for its “knack for simultaneously expressing beauty and crisis,” lends itself to this expansive setting and theatrical treatment. What is the role of storytelling—and songwriting—in a constantly shifting, often terrifying reality? The Woods celebrates the alchemical power of music and dance to transform fear and loss into life-affirming and communal experiences: in a world that is always in motion, we must resolve to love.

In this spirit, The Woods is meant to be undertaken in a crowd. Drawing on elements of a live rock concert, theater, and contemporary dance, The Woods promises to be a singular and unforgettable event.

CREATIVE TEAM

Troy Schumacher, Co-Creator, Director & Choreographer
Ellis Ludwig-Leone, Co-Creator, Composer & Music Director
Jason Ardizzone-West, Stage Designer & Source Artist
Elena Velez, Costume Designer
Vivian Chuang, Stylist
Ben Rawson, Lighting Designer
DJ Potts, Sound Designer
Zach Jenkins, Stage Manager
Matthew Stephens, Rehearsal Vocal Coach
Marzia Memoli, Rehearsal Director
Lorenzo Pagano, Rehearsal Director
Philip Nix, Campaign Videographer
Meyrem Bulucek, Campaign Photographer

SAN FERMIN
Ellis Ludwig-Leone
Allen Tate
Claire Wellin
Stephen Chen
Tyler McDiarmid
Griffin Brown

FEATURED PERFORMERS
Mckenzie Cahill, Lead Vocalist
Annalise Gehling
Sophie Rose Shapiro
Thomas Hogan
Mizuho Kappa
Leslie Andrea Williams

ENSEMBLE PERFORMERS
Arcadian Broad
Justin Daniels
Shizu Higa
Salma Kiuhan
Devin Loh
Solange Rodrigues
Noah Wang
Annika Wong

ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS
Colin Brookes
Andy Clausen
Lauren Cauley Kalal
Addison Maye-Saxon

The Woods is presented by Pioneer Works in collaboration with BalletCollective & San Fermin. The performance is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, as well as the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The creation of The Woods was made possible, in part, through a leadership gift from Stephen Kroll Reidy.