Mammal Mountain, a multidisciplinary dance commissioned by NYU Skirball (premiere April ‘26), includes long-time collaborators: performers Eleanor Smith, Anna Adams Stark, Darrin Wright, Saúl Ulerio, and choreographer Ivy Baldwin; composition by Justin Jones with an original song by Ryan Tracy; lighting by Amanda Ringger; and visual design in collaboration with artist Inna Babaeva.

Mammal Mountain takes inspiration from Ken Russell’s 1969 film adaptation of D.H Lawrence’s Women In Love, specifically Gudrun’s “dance with highland cattle”—a ritual between woman and animal, of seduction, submission, fear, sensuality, aggression. Visually, the dance incorporates mammalian hides, specifically cows—used as second skins, physical terrains, paintings, weapons, and objects of desire.

Mammal Mountain is commissioned by NYU Skirball, with additional development support provided by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Marble House Project, Groundworks, The Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation, Dugas Family Foundation, and Ivy Baldwin Dance Commissioning Circle Members.

Ivy Baldwin is a NY-based choreographer, performer, educator, and founder of Ivy Baldwin Dance, Inc. (est. 1999). Commissions include BAM Next Wave, DTW, NYLA, Chocolate Factory, Abrons Arts Center, Joyce Theater (Joyce Unleashed), American Dance Institute, The Philip Johnson Glass House, The Wooden Floor, Russel Wright Design Center, and LaMaMa. Select awards include Guggenheim, Bogliasco and Jerome Foundation Fellowships, Gibney DiP, NYFA, LMCC, 92Y, MacDowell, Yaddo, Movement Research, JCAL, and Trust for Mutual Understanding. Her work has been presented by The New Museum, MASS MoCA, REDCAT, and Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago, and internationally in Germany, Romania, and Italy.