Works & Process: Brokeback Mountain, the ballet, B. Starke & Chrybaby Cozie

Exceptional dance projects come to the Campus at Marlboro Music in January in collaboration with Works & Process. In advance of the works’ premieres at the Guggenheim New York, groups offer a free in-progress showing on January 9 at 3 pm in the Serkin Center. Seating is limited, and reservations are required.

Catch a first glimpse of Brokeback Mountain: the ballet—a full-length work commissioned by Works & Process with choreography by acclaimed dance maker Pontus Lidberg and a commissioned score by composer David Conte. World-class dancers bring Annie Proulx’s iconic short story to life with expressive dance and music capturing the emotional restraint, rugged beauty, and tragic romance that have made the story a cornerstone of literature and film. Set in the American West before same-sex marriage was legal, the ballet tells the story of two working-class men caught between desire and fear, sharing the unspoken depths of longing, conflict, and intimacy.

In Black Sheep, Bronx born, Queens raised dancer/choreographer B. Starke shares his story as a young, black, gay male who felt there was no space for him in this world and then found it through community and chosen family. The work highlights each stage of his journey, from confusion, hesitation, and doubt to inspiration, audacity, and acceptance. Starke has trained with creatives such as Courtney Washington, Torey Nelson, and Mike Da Genius and is a principal member of The Masterz At Work Dance Family, with whom he’s danced and choreographed for stages such as The Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, The Oculus Center, the New York Public Library, Jacob’s Pillow, and Summerstage.

Harlem Lite Feet pioneer Chrybaby Cozie and members of the renowned Bomb Squad return to dance through their lived experience of the origins and evolution of this vibrant NYC dance tradition. Litefeet, also known as “getting lite,” is a dynamic street dance style that originated in Harlem and the Bronx in the early 2000s. The term “Litefeet” reflects the dance’s emphasis on light, rapid steps that give the impression of weightlessness.

Brokeback Mountain, the ballet photo ©Allison Daniell, Stellar Propeller Studio for Green Box