Immigration issue finds expression in Lemon Sponge Cake ballet in Boulder

Contemporary ballet group Lemon Sponge Cake‘s world premiere of their “Vertical Migration Experiment” at the Boulder Jewish Community Center promises to be a groundbreaking event both for the performers and the venue.

The dance is a new performance that is focused on the issues of migration and immigration. It was choreographed by Austria native Robert Sher-Machherndl, Lemon Sponge Cake’s artistic director. For Sher-Machherndl, an immigrant himself, the dance is his personal understanding and expression of these issues. His goal, through his choreography, is to make people think about their opinions on these controversial topics. Rather than forcing his own ideas on his audience, he simply wishes to raise awareness.

“It’s always important that the public works too. I don’t want the people to sit back and be spoon fed,” he said. “They have to sit there and try to understand and make their own story up.”

He elaborated on the choreography itself — Sher-Machherndl explained that there is repetition of movement throughout the performance to symbolize the repetition that people, specifically immigrants and refugees, experience in their lives.

The “Vertical Migration Experiment” was created specifically to suit its audience and its environment. Sher-Machherndl said that rather than rehearsing at Lemon Sponge Cake’s own studio on Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder, they decided to rehearse at the Jewish Community Center.

“I wanted to do the rehearsal here because I wanted to get the feeling about the space and create here. And I’m sure something different came out rehearsing here than if I would have rehearsed over there, so that was important for me,” Sher-Machherndl said.

Sher-Machherndl met his wife, Jenifer Sher, in London. Twenty years ago, they moved to Boulder. They loved the feel of the cool little town, particularly the skiers, snowboarders, and Moe’s Bagels, they said.

Sher-Machherndl had been dancing since he was young, and although he didn’t know exactly where his path would take him, he knew that this was the field of art for him. Sher-Machherndl and Jenifer Sher wanted to do something new, which is how Lemon Sponge Cake came to be.

“We decided to start a sort of pick-up company and create something, create something different and new. And that sort of was the inspiration behind it,” Sher-Machherndl said.

Since is launched 16 years ago, Lemon Sponge Cake has garnered national and international acclaim.

A beautiful performance space

Not only is this a groundbreaking performance for Lemon Sponge Cake, it is an exciting new development for the Jewish Community Center. Jenifer Sher set up the “Vertical Migration Experiment” as a site-specific work, and the Jewish Community Center is thrilled to have such a performance in what’s a new establishment.

“This is our second year in the new building. We were in an old school, and the only space we had was a converted gym. That would not have been, in any way, appropriate to host someone like Lemon Sponge Cake,” said Kathryn Bernheimer, the arts, culture, and education director of the BJCC. “We really hope that the community will see what we’re capable of now that we have a really beautiful performance space.” She added that the center wants to offer more performances that are open to the community.

Offering a performance like “Vertical Migration Experiment” helps the Jewish Community Center emphasize its values, Bernheimer said.

“The values of inclusion, celebration of diversity permeate everything, as they would have to for a publicly Jewish institution in the community that is representative of a persecuted minority,” she said.

While Lemon Sponge Cake will be focused on bringing to attention issues of migration and immigration, the Jewish Community Center will be working on goals of their own. During the performance, they do everything they can to enhance the experience for the audience.

“For us, it’s all about building community. So we’re very much concerned with people meeting each other, the social interaction, we have a reception, just some refreshments after every program so people can meet each other and have more conversation, and create that community building,” said Bernheimer.

Jenifer Sher said, “It’s an interesting collaboration, it really is. I think it feels like a very good fit … We’re very excited to be premiering new work in such an amazing facility.”