New York-based Karen Harvey Dances is dedicated to creating organic performances that integrate community and environment, incorporating the natural world into multimedia dance-theater projects. On February 22-23, artistic director Karen Harvey will lead the company in the world premiere of its first evening-length work, Wetlands, at the Center for Performance Research in Brooklyn. Investigating global interconnectedness and environmental responsibility, Wetlands is directed and choreographed by Harvey, who performs in it along with dancers Jin Ju Song-Begin, Elisa Vazquez, Andrew Broaddus, Thea Little, and Rachel Watson, set to music by Benjamin Garner, Little, and Broaddus and with a cappella vocals by René Kladzyk. The piece also features videos by an international group of dance artists, including Vazquez, Song-Begin, Emily Athena Abrahams, Anna Asplind, Silvia Balvin, Miguel Angel Guzman, Carolina Tabares Mendoza, Lina Puodziukaite, and Harvey. Movement, sound, visuals, and humanity come together to celebrate personal freedom and biodiversity as the company examines interdependence in today’s ever-more-complex world.
Dance Heginbotham will perform this weekend as part of Dance Under the Influence series at the Museum of Arts & Design (photo by Liza Voll, courtesy Jacobs Pillow Dance)
MOLISSA FENLEY, JOHN HEGINBOTHAM, DORMESHIA SUMBRY-EDWARDS, AND ZACK WINOKUR
Museum of Arts & Design, the Theater at MAD
2 Columbus Circle at 58th St. & Broadway
Monthly weekends February 22-23 through May 18, $20, 7:30
800-838-3006 www.madmuseum.org
The third season of the Museum of Arts and Design “Dance Under the Influence” series begins this weekend, as a diverse mix of contemporary dancers and choreographers gather at the Columbus Circle institution to perform works and then discuss them with the audience, sharing their artistic processes. Guest-curated by journalist, teacher, and writer Valerie Gladstone, the programs starts February 22-23 with Molissa Fenley, who will premiere Horizon, inspired by her recent trip to Hawaii, with music by Pauline Oliveros; Dance Heginbotham, the new company founded in 2011 by Brooklyn-based John Heginbotham, a veteran of Susan Marshall & Company and the Mark Morris Dance Group; Michael Jackson choreographer and swing and tap-dancer Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, who is part of Divine Rhythm Productions; and Zack Winokur, codirector of the Troupe with Michelle Mola. Next month’s installment takes place March 22-23 with ABT Studio Company, Decadence Theatre, David Neumann, and Basil Twist, while Jared Angle, Pontus Lidberg, Susan Marshall & Company, and Sara du Jour will be at MAD April 26-27. The series concludes May 17-18 with Doug Elkins, Rashaun Mitchell, Ramya Ramnarayan, and Blakely White-McGuire.
It’s been nearly twenty-two years since legendary dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, one of the most influential people in the history of American modern dance, passed away, in 1991 at the age of ninety-six, but her company has continued her vast legacy with both old and new pieces that fit her vision. “A dance reveals the spirit of the country in which it takes root,” she wrote in 1937. “No sooner does it fail to do this than it loses its integrity and significance.” The Martha Graham Dance Company, under the artistic direction of Janet Eilber since 2005, will be at the Joyce from February 20 through March 3, presenting three programs called “Myth and Transformation,” which examine aspects of contemporary storytelling through movement. Program A pairs two Greek myths retold in provocative ways: Graham’s 1962 sexually driven Phaedra, with music by Robert Starer and sculptural décor by Isamu Noguchi, and 2002’s The Show (Achilles Heels), a dance-theater piece commissioned by the White Oak Dance Project and created, directed, and choreographed by Richard Move, with a score by Arto Lindsay, songs by Debbie Harry, and scenic art by Nicole Eisenman. Program B features three postwar Graham pieces that also relate Greek tales, beginning with 1946’s Cave of the Heart, inspired by the story of Medea and featuring music by Samuel Barber; 1947’s Night Journey, which examines the Oedipus myth from the point of view of Jocasta, with music by William Schumann; and a new, spare version of that same year’s Errand into the Maze, loosely based on the Theseus myth, with music by Gian Carlo Menotti, directed by Luca Veggetti and performed by Miki Orihara and others without the usual costumes and set design, as those elements were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Program C includes Cave of the Heart; the New York premiere of Doug Varone’s Lamentation Variation, set to Ravel, along with previous Variations by Yvonne Rainer (2012) and Bulareyaung Pagarlava (2009); the world premiere of Veggetti’s From the Grammar of Dreams, with music by Kaija Saariaho and text from Sylvia Plath; and an excerpt from Graham’s 1948 ensemble piece Diversion of Angels, with music by Norman Dello Joio and introductory film by Peter Sparling.
There will be several special events during the season, including a gala on February 21 featuring the “Moon” duet from Graham’s Canticle for Innocent Comedians and The Show (Achilles Heels), introduced by Patricia Field and with live musical accompaniment by Harry; a dance chat following the February 22 performance; a University Partner Showcase on February 23 with Graham classics performed by college and high school students; a preshow talk on February 28 led by Susan Thomasson; and the Fall and Recovery benefit on February 26, which will raise funds to help restore the costumes and sets destroyed by the hurricane, consisting of From the Grammar of Dreams; “Moon”; an excerpt from The Show (Achilles Heels); excerpts from Rust, a work-in-progress by Nacho Duato with music by Arvo Pärt; Graham’s 1935 Panorama performed by three dozen local high school students; and the 1935 Graham solo Imperial Gesture, reimagined by Kim Jones. Among the participants at the benefit will be Wendy Whelan and Ask la Cour (performing an excerpt from Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain), Michelle Dorrance (improvisation), Maria Kowroski and Martin Harvey (George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue), Irina Dvorovenko (Mikhail Fokine’s Dying Swan), David Neumann (DOSE), and Francesca Harper (TBA).
Brooklyn-based choreographer Ronald K. Brown refers to what his company does as “the ritual and journey of dance,” and they continue what has been an exciting and rewarding journey this week at the Joyce. Founded by Brown in 1985, Evidence, a Dance Company, which incorporates traditional West African rhythm and movement into its exploration of the African American experience, will be performing two programs February 12-17. The first is highlighted by the world premiere of Torch, which is dedicated to the life and memory of former Brown student Beth Young, who passed away in January 2012, along with 2005’s Order My Steps, set to the music of Terry Riley, Fred Hammond, and Bob Marley; 2005’s IFE/My Heart, with guest artist and Alvin Ailey veteran Matthew Rushing, who recently performed in Brown’s updated version of Grace for Ailey’s winter season at City Center; and excerpts from 1998’s Incidents, in which five women evoke slavery life, with music by the Staple Singers, Aretha Franklin, and Wunmi Olaiya. Program B includes 2001’s Walking Out the Dark, combining an original score by Philip Hamilton with text in addition to songs by Sweet Honey in the Rock, Francisco Mora, and M’Bemba Bangoura; and 1998’s Upside Down, an excerpt from Destiny, which examines community mourning, set to the title song by Fela Kuti and “Kun Fe Ko (The Uncertainty of Things)” by Oumou Sangare. There will be a Dance Chat following the February 13 show and a Joyce Pre-Show talk before the February 14 performance, led by Amy Kail. Following the Joyce presentation, Brown and Evidence will be back next month, performing the 1999 Philadanco commission Gatekeepers March 15-17 as part of the 92nd St. Y Harkness Dance Festival series “Stripped/Dressed.”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
20 Lincoln Center between West 62nd & 65th Sts. and Columbus & Amsterdam Aves.
Saturday, February 9, 2:00, and Sunday, February 10, 3:00, $29-$155
212-496-0600 www.nycballet.com
This week the New York City Ballet is presenting its Symphonic Balanchine program, comprising Western Symphony, featuring traditional American tunes orchestrated by Hershy Kay, Symphony in Three Movements, set to music by Igor Stravinsky, and Symphony in C, with music by Georges Bizet, all choreographed by NYCB founder George Balanchine, creator of the American classical ballet tradition. Demonstrating Balanchine’s love of music and mastery of multiple genres, from Stravinsky’s twentieth-century modernism to Bizet’s nineteenth-century Romanticism, the program showcases NYCB’s particularly strong corps du ballet this season as well as a well-rounded group of soloists and principals. Western Symphony is a lively production, with fanciful costumes by Karinska; the men wear cowboy hats and western shirts, while the women are beribboned, tightly encased in satin with showgirl flounces. Energetic and fast-paced, the piece is as American as Broadway, which is fitting, since Kay also did the orchestrations for On the Town, Once Upon a Mattress, A Chorus Line, and Evita, among many other musicals. Megan Fairchild and Jared Angle are among the high-spirited pairs who prance and twirl playfully against the western backdrop. The stark stage of Symphony in Three Movements could not be more different; with nary a prop in sight, the dancers wear plain white or black leotards, executing Balanchine’s precise choreographic architecture to Stravinsky’s stark modernism with grave precision. The evening concludes with a longtime favorite, Balanchine’s glittering tour de force for the corps du ballet, Symphony in C. Originally titled “The Crystal Palace,” Symphony in C sparkles this year in brand-new costumes liberally set with Swarovski crystals. With a cast of more than fifty dancers and a stunningly intricate finale featuring some three dozen dancers onstage at the same time, Symphony in C is, as Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins says in the above video, “arguably our signature piece . . . perhaps the most challenging ballet for the company.” The two-hour Symphonic Balanchine program continues on February 9-10 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.
Bora Yoon collaborates with Adam Larsen and R. Luke DuBois in surreal WEIGHTS AND BALANCES (photo by James Chung)
HERE
145 Sixth Ave. at Dominick St.
Through February 10, $10 in advance, $15 within twenty-four hours of show
212-647-0202 www.here.org
The HERE Artist Residency Program, known as HARP, is now in the second week of its annual Culturemart festival, consisting of unique, experimental works, often in double features, from emerging presenters in such disciplines as dance, theater, music, visual arts, and puppetry as well as a melding of several of them. On February 4-5, Mei-Yin Ng’s Lost Property Unit explores loneliness and solitude in the digital age, referencing television and movies through dance, live and prerecorded music, and robot sculptures, while in Hai-Ting Chinn’s Science Fair the mezzo-soprano combines opera with science in a multimedia performance. On February 6-7, Robin Frohardt’s The Pigeoning uses music and puppets to look at the end of the world, while Joseph Silovsky’s Send for the Million Men is a solo piece that reexamines the Sacco and Vanzettti case with puppets and handmade projectors. Also on February 6-7, Bora Yoon’s Weights and Balances is a surreal opera featuring an interactive performance design by R. Luke DuBois. On February 8-9, Stein / Holum Projects’ The Wholehearted is a work in progress about a woman boxer looking back at her glory days. On February 9 at 2:00, there will be a free performance of David T. Little’s opera-theater piece Artaud in the Black Lodge, which links Antonin Artaud, William S. Burroughs, and David Lynch through a libretto by Anne Waldman. The festival, which also celebrates HERE’s twentieth anniversary, concludes February 9-10 with HERE artistic director Kristin Marting and David Morris’s Trade Practices, a live, interactive market in which audience members become participants in the event.
LES YEUX ET L’ÂME is one of two New York premieres by Trisha Brown at BAM (photo by Stephanie Berger)
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Through February 2, $20-$70, 7:30
718-636-4100 www.bam.org www.trishabrowncompany.org
The Trisha Brown Dance Company’s “Proscenium Works, 1979-2011” tour kicked off at BAM this week with the New York premiere of Brown’s final two works, along with several repertory classics, as Brown announced her retirement as choreographer from the troupe she founded in 1970. On January 31, the program focused on Brown’s revolutionary use of silence and experimental music and avoidance of narrative structure; none of the pieces featured traditional songs or told a dramatic story. The show began with the thirtieth anniversary presentation of the seminal Set and Reset, a stirring collaboration with Laurie Anderson and Robert Rauschenberg. As Anderson’s hypnotic, repetitive “Long Time, No See” plays, seven dancers take the stage under a three-part geometric construction on which Rauschenberg projects newsreel-style black-and-white footage. (On the other nights, 2011’s Les Yeux et l’âme, opened the program.) For 1966’s Homemade, former TBDC member Vicky Shick returned for the short solo work in which she wears an old-fashioned projector that displays a film (by Babette Mangolte, based on Robert Whitman’s original) of Shick dancing wearing an old-fashioned projector. As she slowly moves around the stage, the film appears on the back wall, on the ceiling, and on the audience itself. Different-colored wall screens by artist Donald Judd occasionally descend from above and divide the stage into claustrophobic spaces in Newark (Niweweorce), set to Judd’s minimalist score that combines silence with bolts of loud noises that resemble the sounds of an MRI, which didn’t exist when the piece debuted in 1987. And in the new I’m going to toss my arms—if you catch them they’re yours, eight dancers in loose-fitting white costumes interact with large industrial fans that blow their clothes off, revealing colorful briefs and bathing suits as Alvin Curran plays “Toss and Find” on the piano in the far corner. The informal yet elegant movement throughout all four works is slow and steady, emphasizing form and function in compelling ways, paying tribute to Brown’s profound influence on the world of postmodern dance. At the beginning of the evening, an offstage voice announced that the night will honor the “past, present, and future” of the Trisha Brown Dance Company, and the troupe will indeed continue, with Brown, now seventy-six, taking on the official title of founding artistic director and choreographer. Following the tour of “Proscenium Works, 1979-2011,” TBDC will return to its roots, concentrating on presenting multimedia works in unusual spaces beginning in 2015.
