Lenio Kaklea: The Birds

PS21 kicks off L’Alliance New York’s Crossing The Line Festival—and brings it to upstate NY for the first time ever—with Athens-born, Paris-based choreographer Lenio Kaklea’s The Birds. Drawing on the vivid plumage, songs, and movements of birds, this striking new work reflects on what it means to be seen and heard—and deepens Kaklea’s inquiry into ecology and the human impact on our environment. Seven dancers shift between dynamic individuality and the cohesion of a migratory flock, navigating the tensions of predator and prey. Referencing mating rituals and territorial defense, Kaklea’s choreography probes a society where freedom and subjugation exist in an increasingly precarious balance. The Birds was presented in November at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles after its premiere at Montpellier Danse in July 2025. Kaklea’s works have been performed at Centre Pompidou, the National Theatre of Chaillot, Sadler’s Wells, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Festival d’Automne, the Serpentine, Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Palazzo Grassi – Pinault Collection, New York Live Arts, ImPulsTanz International Dance Festival, Athens and Epidaurus Festival, the National Greek Opera, and Les presses du réel. The Birds is co-presented by PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance and L’Alliance New York’s Crossing The Line Festival