Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher: Counterpoint

Counterpoint is a collaboration between pianist and composer Conrad Tao and choreographer and dancer Caleb Teicher. The duo explores the dichotomy of their different perspectives and artistic practices, expanding their individual expressive capacity through a collective experience. Harmonic, rhythmic, and theatrical counterpoint between the artists seeks to map out constellations linking their disparate traditions, driving the imagination and opening the heart. The stylistically diverse music of Counterpoint includes the Aria from Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Art Tatum’s demented stride piano, Arnold Schoenberg’s ironic take on the Viennese waltz, a delicate miniature from Tao and Teicher’s More Forever, and threading it all together, a work that bridges traditions, approaches, and styles—Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Tao and Teicher’s earlier work, More Forever, is a Bessie Award-winning, New York Times critic’s pick which was lauded for “constantly extending the sonic aspects of dance.”

“[Counterpoint] demands such a high level of presence and such a close attentiveness to one another. To me, it doesn’t feel removed from the classical tradition. You are given a score as a musician and you are interpreting a score every time and every night. Of course, that interpretation is formed by the work you have done ahead of time, by practicing and thinking and preparation. While all of that is true, the interpretation is actually taking flight anew for every single show.” – San Diego Tribune