the center at west park presents
Caroline Brethenoux & WIlliam Goldstein: Random acts of kindNess
Presented as part of the CWP Evolution Festival
Tuesday, September 15 @ 7 PM
The Sanctuary at St. Paul & St. Andrew
263 W. 86th Street, New York NY 10024
A movement exploration about the distance between strangers and our capacity to close it.
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A two part dance performance.
Part one: Random Acts of Kindness is an 18-minute movement exploration of the distance between strangers and our capacity to close it. Through duet, through touch, through the shared space of witnessing, we ask: What does generosity look like in a body? How does compassion transmit between people who've never met? What happens when we choose connection over indifference?
Inspired by true stories of transformative chance encounters, this work moves beyond narrative into pure physicality—exploring support, distance, vulnerability, and the resilience that comes from being seen and held without judgment.
Part two is an improvisational dance & piano performance in collaboration with William Goldstein.
About the Lead Artists
Caroline Brethenoux is a French choreographer and performer based in New York City. A self-taught dancer, she trained internationally in Paris, Hong Kong, Madrid, and New York, and began her career in Madrid and Paris before performing in New York with Eryc Taylor Dance Company, Mare Nostrum Elements, and BalaSole Dance Company. She co-founded the collective KAFRA with Francesca Antonacci. Her choreography has been presented at The Shed, Dixon Place, LPAC, and internationally. A certified Gyrokinesis® and Gyrotonic® teacher, she holds degrees from La Sorbonne and HEC Paris, and works in advertising and consumer research strategy.
Eran Bugge is from Oviedo, Florida, where she began training at the Orlando Ballet School. She studied at the Hartt School, graduating with a B.F.A. in ballet pedagogy. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 2005 and danced there for 19 years, creating 25 new works with Mr. Taylor and performing over 100 roles in 79 works, including Piazzolla Caldera, Company B, and Sunset. She toured internationally, performing in China, Italy, Turkey, Norway, and Israel, and was featured on the cover of Dance Magazine in August 2022. She has taught at Adelphi University and the University of Hartford.
Shawn Lesniak is a New York City-based dance artist from New Haven, Connecticut. He began dancing at seven, training in ballet, jazz, modern, and tap before continuing at The Ailey School and graduating from Point Park University. He has toured internationally and domestically with Parsons Dance and, most recently, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, performing works by Paul Taylor, Larry Keigwin, Kurt Jooss, David Parsons, and Lauren Lovette. He is currently dancing with Company XIV in their production Petite Rouge, and is excited to present work with Caroline Brethenoux and Eran Bugge.
William Goldstein gives his audiences something they rarely ever experience. They witness for the first time musical compositions created by this former Motown artist, now a classical crossover success, spinning out emotionally connective, deeply moving complete compositions in real time. Uniquely, he is the only artist creating collaborative compositions with dancers and other musicians, all in real time. The power of these performances has to be experienced live to be appreciated. William Goldstein has scored over 50 Movie and Television projects, including Fame and The Miracle Worker. He has been a recording artist for both Motown and CBS Masterworks. His own label is distributed worldwide by The Orchard with over 70 albums currently available averaging 6,000,000 streams monthly. He has written on the arts for The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. He has been a pioneer in the use of computers and electronic instruments in music. Since 2011 he has received international recognition for his ability to create music in real time, continuing the tradition of the great 18th and 19th century composer pianists.