Early Works
Lucinda Childs
In 2026, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival presents Early Works by Lucinda Childs in collaboration with Guggenheim New York and Works & Process.
Lucinda Childs is a major name in American postmodern dance and a preeminent figure in the history of contemporary performing arts. Her important choreographic body of work is distinguished by the uniqueness of the language, recognizable in the complex and abstract structure of her pieces and in the vocabulary employed, of restricted movement.
The Early Works are a collection of pieces that cover the period of creative evolution of this seminal choreographer and dancer, spanning from solo work made during her time with the Judson Dance Theater in 1963 to the earliest works she made for her Company, which she founded in 1973.
This program highlights rhythm and geometry. Through the pure movement vocabulary of walking, running, turning, skipping and jumping, Childs explores the effects of rapid changes of direction and minimal shifts in pattern. These mathematical dances were the precursor to DANCE her first work choregraphed to music in 1979.
Program : Pastime / Calico Mingling / Reclining Rondo / Katema / Radial Courses