Matthew Lutz-Kinoy: Filling Station

A newly commissioned project by Paris-based, American multidisciplinary artist Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Filling Station (2023) comprises three dance performances sited across two locations, and an exhibition of a new series of paintings, archival materials, audiovisual elements, and ephemera by the artist at the Kitchen’s satellite loft space at Westbeth in the West Village.
For this project, Lutz-Kinoy reinterprets the one-act ballet Filling Station originally staged by the short-lived troupe Ballet Caravan (1936-1940)-initially co-founded by Lincoln Kirstein, George Balanchine, and Edward Warburg as the American Ballet and touted as the first professional ballet company in the United States-as part of a presentation titled A Sunday in Town, which debuted in Hartford, Connecticut, on January 6, 1938. The original performance featured music by composer Virgil Thomson, choreography by Lew Christensen (known for his direction of the San Francisco Ballet from 1952 to 1984), and costumes by artist Paul Cadmus. This ballet is credited as the first ballet directed by an American choreographer, danced by an American company, and based on an American theme, with music and designs by American artists. A response to-and refusal of-a Eurocentric canon of classical ballet, this work brought to the fore a group of collaborators that shone light on questions of American industry, capital, class, and gender roles. It also put new language to the idea of the “American pastoral,” a renegotiation of city and country in a period when much of the material of American suburbanism was in the process of being built, deeply defined by the mobility of Americans via car transport.
Lutz-Kinoy’s restaging of Filling Station views the 1938 work of American ballet through a contemporary lens, creating a dynamic, queered space for reflection on race, class, and gender. The project features new choreography by Niall Jones (lead) and Raymond Pinto (consulting); a score by musician James Ferraro; set design by Lutz-Kinoy; and costumes by Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta of fashion label Eckhaus Latta. The dance ensemble includes Bria Bacon, Ayano Elson, Maxfield Haynes, Niall Jones, Kris Lee, Niala, and Mina Nishimura.

[@nicolasmoore6220]

Super Good! Everyone made this performance very moving!

[@lynnjohnson8223]

Saw the performance at Dia Beacon. It was riveting, and very moving, from the dance to the music, and Matthew’s lovely painted backdrop. Creative genius at work.