ADAM LENZ
producer . curator . educator . artist

Tell Me Where It Comes From

A New Project By Emily Coates 

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The Wadsworth

February 26, 2026

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 Harriet Jung and Reid Bartelme (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.

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Tell Me Where It Comes From is commissioned by Works & Process. The iterative development has included a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at The Church (2025) in Sag Harbor, home to George Balanchine’s grave. The project continued to be supported with a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at the Catskill Mountain Foundation in Hunter, New York where Jacques d’Amboise lived for seven decades. Additional developmental support was provided by the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University, and The Wadsworth. Supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts Dance Fund. Tell Me Where It Comes From was created in part during a residency at the Pillow Lab at Jacob’s Pillow. With additional support from the O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation.

This performance was 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. Project supported in part by the Greater Hartford Arts Council. Funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the six New England state arts agencies. Additional support provided by Gloria and Larry Langer.

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Conceived, choreographed, and written by Emily Coates
Directed by Ain Gordon
Performance material developed by Emily Coates, Ain Gordon, Derek Lucci, 
and 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 designer: Krista Smith
Costume designers: Harriet Jung and Reid Bartelme
Production Stage Manager: Ed Fitzgerald