NYU Skirball presents the North American premiere of the North American premiere of “The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988,” a solo dance by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker continues her journey with Bach, this time together with pianist Pavel Kolesnikov. She stays true to her main principle of using the musical score as the blueprint for choreography.

The Goldberg Variations belong to Bach’s late period, in which the composer pushes the boundaries of musical themes in a play of variations, canons, and fugues. Spanning one aria and thirty variations, the music challenges the choreographer to find a form of dance capable of adaptation and flexibility while retaining an immutable core. To De Keersmaeker, it is above all an invitation to consolidate the road traveled as an artist, posing today’s questions in her ongoing search for a personal choreographic idiom.

NYU Skirball is located in the heart of Greenwich Village, historically a center of resistance, dissent and free thinking. NYU Skirball’s programing reflects this history and embraces today’s renegade artists and companies, presenting works that aim to engage, provoke and inspire audiences. NYU Skirball is NYC’s home for cutting-edge performance, artistic research, and discourse, holding close to James Baldwin’s dictum that “artists are here to disturb the peace.” The 800-seat theatre provides a home for internationally renowned artists, innovators, and thinkers and presents ground-breaking events ranging from re-inventions of the classics to cutting-edge premieres, in genres ranging from dance, theatre and performance arts to comedy, music and film.