An impressive, unified presentation

By MIRIAM SEIDEL
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Mar. 15, 2004

Could this be happening in Philadelphia? A new dance company, self-presenting a full evening on the expansive Zellerbach stage at the Annenberg Center, complete with production values to die for?

Yes, local dance-lovers, it's true - it's just not one of our own companies, collectively known for their shoestring creativity.

Cedar Lake Ensemble, the Innovative Contemporary Ballet Comany, Returns to Miami's Gusman Center For The Performing Arts
the PRWeb

This year’s offering is an original full-length contemporary ballet titled "Beyond The Red", and features former Eliot Feld member Nickemil Concepcion and Juilliard alum Jolene Baldini as well as featured performer Jason Kittelberger previously of Hubbard Street in a kaleidoscopic tale of love’s sweeping journey.

published: April 7, 2005

An Ensemble Engages the Physical Side of Modern Ballet
by GIA KOURLAS for the new York Times

"This Mortal Coil," by Mr. Liang, a work in nine sections, began with "Song to the Siren," an angst-ridden solo for Kristen Elizabeth Weiser. Wearing a white bra and shorts, she hinged her torso over her hips, swinging her arms and her waist-length blond hair from side to side with futile ferocity.

published: October 26, 2005

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet Offers One Tool to Convey Many Meanings
by JOHN ROCKWELL for the New York Times

Eventually everyone is cavorting happily, back in dresses and shirts and slacks. At the end Ms. Damiani passes on the hammer to a new bearer of its powers. Whatever they may be.

This is kitchen-sink choreography, kitschy and dumb, and the movement vocabulary is commonplace. Mr. Pouffer, born and reared in Paris but long since a product of the Ailey school and company, may be talented. His dancers are willing, and Ms. Laurie has made sure they have real jobs. But...

published: May 10, 2006

Cedar Lake Company, Financed by Nancy Laurie, Looks for Success in Dance
by ROSLYN SULCAS for the New York Times

Exploration is exactly what Mr. Pouffer wants. "I would like us to be seen as a laboratory," he said during a rehearsal of "Hammer," his two-part work inspired by Nietzsche's "Twilight of the Idols," which will run until May 21. (Reviewing the work for The New York Times on Wednesday, John Rockwell was not enthusiastic, calling the movement vocabulary "commonplace.") "We have the luxury of giving people time to work. They can use the stage as much as they like. I want to create a place where it's O.K. for a choreographer to experiment. We are not trying to fit in somewhere; we are trying to create something new, work that you might not see elsewhere."

published: May 14, 2006

Errant Largesse
Adrift on a sea of glamorous trouble
by DEBORAH JOWITT for the Village Voice

In the dark 191-seat theater, a line from Nietzsche appears on a white backdrop curving down to become a floor. Something about "[posing] questions with a hammer." Bang! A seated woman (choreographic assistant Alexandra Damiani) hits the floor with a . . . you guessed it. Figures mill about on a large, irregularly shaped raft of black boards, their shadows (courtesy of lighting designer Jim French) looming behind them. Sounds of footsteps, traces of music in Stefano Zazzera's score . . . I'm full of hope. The lights brighten with a visual bang, and instantly the raft people are on their feet, dancing fairly interesting tough movement in unison. T

published: May 23, 2006

Violent Repetition
by DEBORAH JOWITT for the Village Voice
published: June 20, 2007

Ohad Naharin doesn't just choreograph pieces; he molds them to dancers' bodies and injects them under the skin of their souls. In adapting his constantly changing retrospective anthology Decadance for 16 members of Cedar Lake, he worked with them for three months, thanks in part to artistic director Benoit-Swan Pouffer's ambitious vision for this company.