this week in dance

HARLEM WEEK: A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM AND MORE

Who: Uptown Dance Academy, Unveiled Unlocked, IMPACT Repertory Theatre, Mama Foundation’s Sing Harlem! Choir, the Isn’t Her Grace Amazing! Choir, Lord Nelson, Shemar Levy, Lorenzo Laroc, the Bengsons, Kenny Lattimore, Ray Chew & the Harlem Music Festival All-Star Band
What: Annual Harlem Week celebration
Where: U.S. Grant National Memorial Park, West 122nd St. at Riverside Dr.
When: Sunday, August 14, free, noon – 7:00 pm
Why: One of the centerpieces of Harlem Week is “A Great Day in Harlem,” which takes place Sunday, August 14, as part of the opening weekend of this ten-day summer festival. There will be an international village with booths selling food, clothing, jewelry, and more, as well as live music and dance divided into “Artz, Rootz & Rhythm,” “The Gospel Caravan,” and “the Concert Under the Stars.” Among the performers are the Uptown Dance Academy, Kenny Lattimore, Unveiled Unlocked, IMPACT Repertory Theatre, the Sing Harlem! Choir, the Isn’t Her Grace Amazing! Choir, and electric violinist and composer Lorenzo Laroc. In addition, the Bengsons will play songs from their show Where the Mountains Meet the Sea; there will be a tribute to Tobago-born calypsonian Lord Nelson, with Shemar Levy and Nelson himself; and Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On album will be honored by Ray Chew & the Harlem Music Festival All-Star Band.

Harlem Week runs August 12-21 with such other events as the Percy Sutton 5K and 1.5-mile Harlem Health Walk (August 13, 8:00 am), Great Jazz on the Great Hill in Central Park with the Jimmy Heath Legacy Band, the Antonio Hart Quartet, and Tammy McCann (August 13, 4:00), the livestreamed Charles B Rangel Systemic Racism Summit (August 16, noon), the ImageNation Outdoor Film Festival (Marcus Garvey Park, August 17, 6:00; St. Nicholas Park, August 20, 6:00), the livestreamed talk “Ta-Nehisi Coates and Dr. Julius Garvey: A Harlem on My Mind Conversation” (August 17, 7:30), the livestreamed Arts & Culture/Broadway Summit (August 18, 3:00), Harlem SummerStage (August 18, 5:30), Summer in the City with the Jeff Foxx Band, Donnell Jones, EPMD, Freddie Jackson, and others (August 20, 1:00), and the grand Harlem Day with Dru Hill, Slick Rick, Doug E Fresh, Levell, Grandmaster Caz & Melle Mel, MJ the Musical, and more. All events are free.

BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL 2022

Battery Dance Company hosts annual festival August 13-20 (photo by Steven Pisano)

BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL
Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, Battery Park City
20 Battery Pl.
August 13-19, free with advance RSVP, 7:00
August 20, Schimmel Center at Pace University, $10-$75, 6:00
batterydance.org

The forty-first annual Battery Dance Festival is back fully in person this summer, with live presentations from three dozen companies from around the globe, including several New York City and world premieres. Free performances take place August 13-19 at 7:00 at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park in Battery Park City and will be livestreamed as well; the festival concludes August 20 at 6:00 with a ticketed indoor closing celebration and VIP reception at the Schimmel Center at Pace University ($10 for performance, $75 for VIP with priority seating and preshow Prosecco toast). Dance enthusiasts will be able to check out multiple disciplines, from tap and classical ballet to circus and Afro-Brazilian, from the US, Canada, Romania, Singapore, Denmark, Spain, and elsewhere, with some programs featuring live music.

“Lady Liberty might be tempted to shimmy and shake as dance companies from near and far take the stage at Wagner Park once again this summer. Audiences will have a tough time deciding which performance to attend,” Battery Dance founder Jonathan Hollander said in a statement.

Below is the full schedule.

Saturday, August 13, 7:00
Sydney Burtis, The Difference
Zachary Seto, Nostalgic Beings of Synesthesia
Camryn & Courtney Spero, Distance
Kate Louissant, For Love
Lerato Ragontse, In Between Change
Anya Susan, In Conversation
Myles King, The Last Foundry
Shannon Harkins, Dreams and Nightmares of a Mutant People

Sunday, August 14, 7:00
The Dancing Wheels Company, Unconquered Warriors
Ballet Nepantla, Let Down & Huasteca Suite
Linotip, Diagonal and Cain
Gaudanse, Nanibu
Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, Just Above the Surface
The Vanaver Caracan, Vanaver Caravan retrospective

Monday, August 15: India Independence Day, 7:00
Anjali Dance Company, Nagendra Haraya, Pranavakaram, and Tillana
Siddendra Kuchipudi Dance Company, Naumisatam, Sringaralahari, Chandra Sherkaram, and Keedaragoula

Tuesday, August 16, 7:00
Christina Carminucci, The Solidarity Series IV: Free Spirits Suite
Linotip, Diagonal and Cain
Fairul Zahid & LaSalle Dance Singapore, Allocentric
Buglisi Dance Theatre, The Threads Project #1: “Universal Dialogues”
Boca Tuya / Omar Roman de Jesus, Los Perros del Barrio Colosal

Wednesday, August 17, 7:00
Xing Dance Theater, Citizen
Julienne Doko, Lost Memories (Mémoires Perdues)
Tati Nuñez, Touch — Returned
Dos Proposiciones Dance Theatre, Pacto de Fuga
Ntrinsik Movement, Kindred Spirit
Ballet Inc., Touche
Alison Chase/Performance, Tsu-Ku-Tsu

Thursday, August 18, 7:00
Demi Remick & Dancers, That’s Entertainment!
Floyd McLean Jr., Cold
Battery Dance, A Certain Mood
TeaTime Company, Stick-Stok
Fairul Zahid & LaSalle Dance Singapore, Allocentric
Tina Croll + Company, Balkan Bacchanal

Friday, August 19, 7:00
Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Face What’s Facing You!
Lanecoarts, Swerve
Dos Proposiciones Dance Theatre, Pacto de Fuga
I Kada Contemporary Dance Company, Unfolding
Battery Dance, Wind in the Olive Grove
Compagnie Virginie Brunelle, Les Corps Avalés

Saturday, August 20, Schimmel Center at Pace University, 6:00
Boca Tuya / Omar Roman de Jesus, Los Perros del Barrio Colosal
Battery Dance, Above Deep Waters
Julienne Doko, Lost Memories (Mémoires Perdues)
TeaTime Company, Stick-Stok
Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Face What’s Facing You!
Compagnie Virginie Brunelle, Les Corps Avalés

SUMMER FOR THE CITY: BAAND TOGETHER DANCE FESTIVAL

Who: Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem
What: Free dance festival
Where: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
When: August 9-13, free, 5:00 & 7:30
Why: Last summer, Lincoln Center presented the inaugural BAAND Together Dance Festival, consisting of five different programs by five of New York’s finest companies: Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. In a joint statement for the second annual event, the five artistic directors explain, “Last year’s festival was a resounding success, proof that New York audiences are excited for their beloved dance companies to return to the stage. This year we will go beyond performing side by side and do so together, as a unified dance family, through an exciting new work by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. This new work is a testament to our commitment for building new avenues of cultural innovation, dialogue, and accessibility for our incredible city.”

Banding together August 9-13, each troupe will host one daily workshop at 5:00 for all ages. Below is the complete schedule, with wide-ranging works by Alvin Ailey, Michelle Manzanales, George Balanchine, Ulysses Dove, Helen Pickett, Jessica Lang, Robert Battle, Pedro Ruiz, and Robert Garland.

Tuesday, August 9, 5:00
New York City Ballet Children’s Workshop

Tuesday, August 9, 7:30
One for All, world premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, with dancers from each of the five companies, set to “Manteca” by Funky Lowlives/Dizzy Gillespie
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Cry, by Alvin Ailey, with music by Alice Coltrane, Laura Nyro, and Voices of East Harlem
Ballet Hispánico: Con Brazos Abiertos, by Michelle Manzanales, with music by Julio Iglesias and others
Dance Theatre of Harlem: When Love, by Helen Pickett
American Ballet Theatre: Children’s Songs Dance, by Jessica Lang, with music by Chick Corea

Ballet Hispánico’s Club Havana is part of free Lincoln Center festival (photo by Paula Lobo)

Wednesday, August 10, 5:00
Ballet Hispánico’s Latin Social Dance Workshop

Wednesday, August 10, 7:30
One for All, world premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, with dancers from each of the five companies, set to “Manteca” by Funky Lowlives/Dizzy Gillespie
Ballet Hispánico: Con Brazos Abiertos, by Michelle Manzanales, with music by Julio Iglesias and others
New York City Ballet: Red Angels, by Ulysses Dove, set to Richard Einhorn’s “Maxwell’s Demon”
American Ballet Theatre: Children’s Songs Dance, by Jessica Lang, set to music by Chick Corea
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Love Stories finale, by Robert Battle, with music by Stevie Wonder
Dance Theatre of Harlem: Return, by Robert Garland, with music by James Brown and Aretha Franklin

Thursday, August 11, 5:00
Dancing with Ailey on the Plaza!

Thursday, August 11, 7:30
One for All, world premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, with dancers from each of the five companies, set to “Manteca” by Funky Lowlives/Dizzy Gillespie
Ballet Hispánico: Club Havana, by Pedro Ruiz
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American Ballet Theatre: Pas de Duke, by Alvin Ailey, performed by Jacquelin Harris and Herman Cornejo, with music by Duke Ellington
New York City Ballet: Red Angels, by Ulysses Dove, set to Richard Einhorn’s “Maxwell’s Demon”
Dance Theatre of Harlem: When Love, by Helen Pickett
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Love Stories finale, by Robert Battle, with music by Stevie Wonder

Dance Theatre of Harlem will present Return at BAAND Together (photo by Rachel Neville)

Friday, August 12, 5:00
Dancing in the Street with Dance Theatre of Harlem

Friday, August 12, 7:30
One for All, world premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, with dancers from each of the five companies, set to “Manteca” by Funky Lowlives/Dizzy Gillespie
Dance Theatre of Harlem: Return, by Robert Garland, with music by James Brown and Aretha Franklin
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Cry, by Alvin Ailey, with music by Alice Coltrane, Laura Nyro, and Voices of East Harlem
New York City Ballet: Allegro Brillante, by George Balanchine, set to Tschaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 3
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American Ballet Theatre: Pas de Duke, by Alvin Ailey, performed by Jacquelin Harris and Herman Cornejo, with music by Duke Ellington
Ballet Hispánico: Club Havana, by Pedro Ruiz

Saturday, August 13, 5:00
American Ballet Theatre: ABTKids Story Ballet Workshop

Saturday, August 13, 7:30
American Ballet Theatre: Children’s Songs Dance, by Jessica Lang, set to music by Chick Corea
Ballet Hispánico: Club Havana, by Pedro Ruiz
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Cry, by Alvin Ailey, with music by Alice Coltrane, Laura Nyro, and Voices of East Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem: When Love, by Helen Pickett
New York City Ballet: Allegro Brillante, by George Balanchine, set to Tschaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 3
One for All, world premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, with dancers from each of the five companies, set to “Manteca” by Funky Lowlives/Dizzy Gillespie

FIAF’s BASTILLE DAY 2022

BASTILLE DAY
French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)
Madison Ave. between Fifty-Ninth & Sixty-Third Sts.
Sunday, July 10, free – $75, noon – 5:00 pm
fiaf.org

On July 14, 1789, a Parisian mob stormed the Bastille prison, a symbolic victory that kicked off the French Revolution and the establishment of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Ever since, July 14 has been a national holiday celebrating liberté, égalité, and fraternité. In New York City, the Bastille Day festivities are set for Sunday, July 10, on Madison Ave. between Fifty-Ninth & Sixty-Third Sts., where the French Institute Alliance Française hosts its annual daylong party of food and drink, music and dance, and other special activities. The celebration features free live music by Paul Beaubrun, street dance by Cal Hunt, a dance party with DJ Orson, and an excerpt from the French musical Notre Dame de Paris on the main stage at Fifty-Ninth St. from noon to 5:00; a Summer in the South of France Tasting in Tinker Auditorium from 12:30 to 5:00 ($35), with wines from Maison Antech, Château Maris, and Château Haut-Blanville, nonalcoholic wines from Le Petit Béret, gazpacho from Karine & Jeff, and cheese selections from cheese2u.com; a sneak preview screening of Matthieu Rozé’s Azuro starring Valérie Donzelli in Florence Gould Hall at 5:30 ($17); and the elegant Champagne & Musette Party at 1:30 ($65-$75) in Le Skyroom, with live music by Chloé Perrier & the French Heart Jazz Band, Champagnes from Billecart Salmon, Delamotte, and Henriot, macarons from Thierry Atlan, and hors d’oeuvres from Miss Madeleine.

A sneak preview of Matthieu Rozé’s Azuro is part of FIAF Bastille Day festivities

The French Garden between Sixtieth & Sixty-First consists of booths from Thermomix, Thierry Atlan, Stephane Koerwyn, Angelina Paris, Bichon, OCabanon, Oliviers & Co, Opinel, Payot, Silpat, and Tissage Moutet, while Market Booths between Sixtieth & Sixty-Third include Brasserie Cognac, Maman Bakery, Mille-feuille Bakery Cafe, Hanami Designs, Barachou, Miss Madeleine, and dozens more. The FIAF Language Center Booth between Fifty-Ninth & Sixtieth will present special activities for children and a trivia contest for adults from 1:00 to 4:00. And this year’s prize drawing can win you skincare baskets, a wellness collection, a FIAF Premier Membership, a two-night stay at Sofitel New York, or a Dream Getaway for Two to France’s Occitanie region.

BroadwayCon 2022

Who: Anthony Rapp, LaChanze, Andrew Barth Feldman, Carolee Carmello, Ben Cameron, Erin Quill, Fredi Walker-Browne, Julie White, Telly Leung, Ilana Levine, Jacqueline B. Arnold, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Vanessa Williams, Judy Kuhn, Lesli Margherita, Nik Walker, Ryann Redmond, Thayne Jasperson, Hillary Clinton, more
What: BroadwayCon 2022
Where: Manhattan Center, 311 West Thirty-Fourth St., and the New Yorker Hotel, 481 Eighth Ave.
When: July 8-10, day passes $80, general pass $200, gold pass $425, platinum pass $1,250
Why: BroadwayCon is back with an in-person edition taking place July 8-10 at the Manhattan Center and the New Yorker Hotel, right by Madison Square Garden and Penn Station and just a few blocks south of the Theater District. This year’s edition includes panel discussions, interviews, live performances, podcasts, a cosplay contest, workshops, photo and autograph sessions, singalongs, meetups, and celebrations of and inside looks at such shows as A Strange Loop, Six the Musical, Chicago, POTUS, Dear Evan Hansen, Beetlejuice, Thoughts of a Colored Man, Kimberly Akimbo, SpongeBob SquarePants, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Kite Runner, Assassins, and Hamilton.

Among those participating at the three-day festival are Anthony Rapp, LaChanze, Carolee Carmello, Ben Cameron, Erin Quill, Julie White, Telly Leung, Vanessa Williams, Judy Kuhn, Lesli Margherita, and Hillary Clinton, talking about such topics as racial and gender diversity, disability, understudies, anxiety, body positivity, and Stephen Sondheim.

Below are select highlights for each day:

Friday, July 8
Ensemble screening, with Telly Leung, 10:00 am, followed by a talkback at 11:20, Crystal Ballroom, the New Yorker Hotel

BroadwayCon 2022 Opening Ceremony, with Ben Cameron, Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, 12:40

Here’s to the Ladies: Hillary Rodham Clinton Live at BroadwayCon, with LaChanze, Julie White, and Vanessa Williams, moderated by Hillary Clinton, Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, 1:00

Making a Living and Having a Life in Theatre Production, with Jameson Croasdale, Mary Kathryn “MK” Blazek, Rebecca Zuber, Lauren Parrish, and Gary Levinson, moderated by Naomi Siegel, Sutton Place Suite, the New Yorker Hotel, 2:20

Lights, Overture, Stage Fright! Breaking Down Performance Anxiety, with Kira Sparks, Sutton Place Suite, the New Yorker Hotel, 3:40

POTUS is one of several Broadway shows that will be featured at BroadwayCon (photo by Paul Kolnick)

Saturday, July 9
Black Lives Matter on Broadway, with T. Oliver Reid, Britton Smith, Emilio Sosa, Michael Dinwiddie, and Lillias White, moderated by Linda Armstrong, New Yorker Hotel Grand Ballroom, 10:00

Broadway Livestreaming: Expanding the Reach of Live Theatre, with Timothy Allen McDonald, Sean Cercone, Luke Naphat, Tralen Doler, Nathan Gehan, and Jen Sandler, moderated by Joshua Turchin, Gramercy Park Suite, the New Yorker Hotel, 11:20

Getting the Show Back on the Road: The Pandemic and Its Impact on Touring Broadway, with Jacob Persily, Sutton Place Suite, the New Yorker Hotel, 2:20

Paul Gemignani and Sondheim’s Musical Legacy, with Margaret Hall and Meg Masseron, Crystal Ballroom, the New Yorker Hotel, 3:40

BroadwayCon Cabaret, with special secret guest, hosted by Ben Cameron, Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, 5:00

Sunday, July 10
Cheers to Understudies: The Broadway Cast Live!, with Amber Ardolino, Mallory Maedke, Tally Sessions, and Lauren Boyd, hosted by Ben Cameron, New Yorker Hotel Grand Ballroom, 10:00

Body Liberation on Broadway, with Amara Janae Brady, Shantez M. Tolbut, and Evan Ruggiero, moderated by Stephanie Lexis, Gramercy Park Suite, the New Yorker Hotel, 10:00

Directors on Debuts, with Zhailon Levingston and Tina Satter, moderated by Zeynep Akça, Crystal Ballroom, the New Yorker Hotel, 1:00

Tell Me More! Tell Me More!, special guests TBA, Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, 2:20

Broadway Anecdotes II: Golden Age Gossip, with Kenneth Kantor, Joshua Ellis, and Mimi Quillin, moderated by Ken Bloom, Gramercy Park Suite, the New Yorker Hotel, 5:00

PAUL MAHEKE: A FIRE CIRCLE FOR A PUBLIC HEARING

Paul Maheke rehearses A fire circle for a public hearing before US debut on the High Line this week (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Who: Paul Maheke, Morgan “Emme” Bryant, Lucy Hollier, Rafaelle Kennibol-Cox
What: High Line Art live performance
Where: The High Line at Fourteenth St.
When: June 28-30, free (advance RSVP recommended), 7:00
Why: “My work is always in reaction or in response to a certain space, a certain context,” multidisciplinary French artist Paul Maheke said in a 2018 discussion about his installation A fire circle for a public hearing at Chisenhale Gallery in London. “Often in my exhibitions, there is this notion of welcoming people in the space, whether they are collaborators or members of the audience.” Maheke is reimagining A fire circle for a public hearing for its US debut, taking place in the Fourteenth St. tunnel passage on the High Line June 28-30 at 7:00. He will be joined by dancers Morgan “Emme” Bryant and Rafaelle Kennibol-Cox and trombonist Lucy Hollier. The piece combines music, movement, and spoken word as Maheke explores marginalization, hypervisibility, erasure, and identity.

Paul Maheke’s A fire circle for a public hearing premiered at Chisenhale Gallery in London in 2018 (photo by Mark Blower)

“Paul’s work asks important questions about what it means to be a body onstage, and how a single person is able to hold many shared and overlapping histories in a single gesture. He encourages us to think about what is seen and what is not seen, both in the performance of a single person, but also in our wider cultures and histories at large,” High Line Art associate curator Melanie Kress said in a statement. Judging from a rehearsal I saw a few days ago, this is a powerful work with a lot to say about where we are at this moment in history.

VIRTUAL DUMBO DANCE FESTIVAL

Who: Sixty companies and more than three hundred and fifty artists from around the world
What: Virtual Dumbo Dance Festival
Where: White Wave Dance online
When: June 23-26, $15 per performance, $20 for finale, $100-$250 for gala
Why: The twenty-first annual Dumbo Dance Festival will take place online June 23-26, kicking off with the gala featuring speakers Gerald Appelstein, Danni Gee, Jennifer Muller, Ludo Scheffer, Thera Marshall, Pascal Rekoert, and Young Soon Kim and presentations by Buglisi Dance Theatre, A.L.A.H., Limón2, Hyonok Kim Dance Arts, achagmu center|KIM / MEA JA, UBIN Dance|Na-Hyun Lee, and WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company. Performances continue June 24-26, along with a free Zoom dance class and a family-friendly program.

“This is a festival about opportunities,” Young Soon Kim said in a statement. “The DUMBO Dance Festival — now virtual — provides an opportunity for over 350 performing artists to showcase their work. Further, it offers New York and global audiences the chance to experience one of the most diverse displays of leading-edge choreography and excellence at an affordable price.” Among the dozens of other participating troupes are Jody Oberfelder Projects, David Appel, Ballaro Dance, Alison Cook Beatty Dance, Meg Kirchhoff, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre, and Taylor Graham from New York, Flamencodanza Aylin Bayaz from Spain, Ramona Sekulovic from Germany, Lisa D. Long and Lauren Blair Smith Dance Company from California, Theatre Mucheon from Korea, and Cristina Ruberto from Italy.