CreativeMatters - Basil Twist - September 29, 2016

Basil Twist is a puppeteer and theater artist whose experiments with the materials and techniques of puppetry explore the boundaries between the animate and inanimate, the abstract and the figurative. This December, Twist is bringing his dynamic artistic style to the creative team developing an all new production of The Nutcracker for the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago with preview performances at the Hancher Auditorium, December 1-4. In addition to working on the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Twist’s works range from productions of classic stories to abstract visualizations of orchestral music and are informed by puppetry traditions from around the world. His maverick Rite of Spring – a ballet without dancers, made its world premiere in 2013. Twist is the recipient of a 2015 MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant.”