Orbo Novo (excerpts) by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet

"Orbo Novo" - the New World - explores a construct of the mind. Inspired by Jill Bolte Taylors "My Stroke of Insight," a book in which she expresses her experience of having a stroke, Orbo Novo tries to create a universe where past and future meet. The piece tackles issues of freedom, contamination, perspective, loneliness and enlightenment. Searching for the perfect balance between left and right, between heaven and earth, Orbo Novo is in a way an exploration of the present moment, the Now, by trying to untangle the future from the past. I see it not so much as choosing to hope, but more as hoping for the ability and insight to choose. -Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, 2009 Choreography Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui Composer Szymon Brzóska Assistants to the Choreographer James O'Hara, Alexandra Damiani Lighting Design Jim French Scenic Design Alexander Dodge Costume Design Isabelle Lhoas Assistant to the Costume Designer Frederic Denis Music Mosaic String Quartet: Jane Chung & Liza Zurlinden, violins, Tawnya Popoff, viola, & Greg Hesselink, cello, with guest pianist Aaron Wunsch Text Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor from her original work "My Stroke of Insight." For the full version of Jill Bolte-Taylor's speech, visit TED.com