ADAM LENZ
producer . curator . educator . artist
Tell Me Where It Comes From
A New Project By Emily Coates
The Wadsworth
February 26, 2026 (forthcoming)
Spurred by George Balanchine’s brief yet pivotal 1933 touchdown in Hartford, Connecticut, dancer, writer, and choreographer Emily Coates gathered artifacts of his lingering presence in archives throughout the region. Drawing on her background as a former member of New York City Ballet, Coates creates an unexpected portrait of Balanchine’s choreographic legacy, working in collaboration with Ain Gordon (director), Derek Lucci (performer, co-creator), Charles Burnham (violinist, composer), Melvin Chen (pianist), Krista Smith (lighting design), and Reid & Harriet (costume design) to collage far-flung remains: unanswered letters, lost ballets, old photographs, music exercises, early muses, and more. Filled with hidden movements and quieted voices, Tell Me Where It Comes From meditates on the spark that propels art into existence.
Commissioned by Works & Process for premiere at Guggenheim New York. This performance is presented by The Wadsworth in partnership with Austin Arts Center at Trinity College. Support provided by the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation Fund and The Saunders Foundation Endowment for Music at The Wadsworth.
Conceived, choreographed, and written by: Emily Coates
Directed by: Ain Gordon
Performance material developed by: Emily Coates, Ain Gordon, Derek Lucci, Charles Burnham
Original music composed by: Charles Burnham
Musical composition exercises by: George Balanchine
Additional music: The Unanswered Question (1908) by Charles Ives; Gaspard de la Nuit / II. Le Gibet (1908) by Maurice Ravel
Performers: Emily Coates and Derek Lucci
Special cameo: Henry Seth
Musicians: Charles Burnham and Melvin Chen
Lighting design by: Krista Smith
Costume design by: Harriet Jung and Reid Bartelme
Production Stage Manager: Ed Fitzgerald
Translations by: Alice Stone Nakhimovsky and Alexander Nakhimovsky (1936 letter); Sophia Schwaner and Constantine Muravnik (1930s music theory lessons)
Text in Russian read by: Alexander Nakhimovsky
Music transcription: Luke Haaksma
Musicology: Stephanie Venturino
Sound design: Adam Lenz and Sophia Schwaner
Project Manager: Natalie King
Above: Poster for Tell Me Where It Comes From performance at The Wadsworth, Hartford, Connecticut. Below: Images 1-3, Emily Coates, Derek Lucci, and Charles Burnham in Tell Me Where It Comes From. Photographs by Chris Randall. Image 4, Emily Coates and Derek Lucci during the Balanchine Traces artist residency at The Wadsworth, courtesy of The Wadsworth, Hartford, Connecticut.
Artist Residency
Balanchine Traces | The Wadsworth
with Emily Coates, Derek Lucci, and Ain Gordon
July 20-27, 2024
Public presentation, Saturday, July 27, 2024, 2pm
Gallery Talk
Art and Dance | The Wadsworth
with Emily Coates and Adam Lenz
Saturday, September 28, 2024, 1pm
Performance (in progress performance and conversation)
The Scattering | Works & Process | Guggenheim New York
Adam Lenz (moderator)
Saturday, January 12, 2025, 7pm
Conversation
The Trail of Early Balanchine Archives | Works & Process |
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division | Lincoln Center
with Emily Coates, Derek Lucci, Charles Burnham, and
Adam Lenz
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 6pm
Performance (world premiere)
Tell Me Where It Comes From | Works & Process | Guggenheim New York
Sunday, November 23, 2025, 7pm
Performance
Tell Me Where It Comes From | The Wadsworth
Thursday, February 26, 2026, 7:30pm