Jonah Bokaer Charts a Voyage, Ancestors Aboard  The
choreographer brings Anchises to the Abrons Art Center  In a
recent interview for, the choreographer Jonah Bokaer generously
acknowledged the many artists whose ideas have influenced him.
His beautiful Anchises, which received its U.S. premiere the
week before Thanksgiving, reveals most obviously the input of
his collaborators, Ariane and Seth Harrison of Harrison Atelier,
who served as dramaturges and created the visual design, and
lighting designer Aaron Copp. But you can also discern the
influence of Merce Cunningham, in whose company Bokaer memorably
danced for eight years, and Robert Wilson, with whom he has been
collaborating recently. From Cunningham, he inherited a certain
lovely reticence and a desire to let every gesture, fully and
simply performed, be itself (and also stand for whatever the
viewer intuits). Working with Wilson seems to have sharpened his
aptitude—evident in his sophisticated use of digital media in
some of his own work—for a lumin