Tag Archives: Janet Eilber

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY AT THE JOYCE

Anne Souder and Lloyd Mayor perform in Martha Graham’s “Dark Meadow Suite.” (photo by Hibbard Nash Photography)

Anne Souder and Lloyd Mayor perform in Martha Graham’s “Dark Meadow Suite,” which will be part of two-week season at the Joyce this month (photo by Hibbard Nash Photography)

The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
February 14-26, $10-$60
212-691-9740
www.joyce.org
marthagraham.org

The Martha Graham Company will explore various aspects of magical thinking in three separate programs in its winter season at the Joyce, taking place February 14-26. Program A consists of a world premiere by Annie-B Parson, inspired by Graham’s Punch and the Judy and with text by playwright Will Eno, and Pontus Lidberg’s Woodland, both of which were created for the company, and Graham’s Dark Meadow Suite and Maple Leaf Rag. Program B comprises a new work by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui dealing with Sufi mysticism, Nacho Duarte’s Rust, and Graham’s Primitive Mysteries and Diversion of Angels. Program C features the new Parson and Cherkaoui works in addition to Graham’s Clytemnestra Act II and Maple Leaf Rag. There will be an All-City Panorama University Partners Showcase on February 18 at 2:00, with Graham classics Helios, Panorama, Plain of Prayer, Prelude to Action, and Steps in the Street performed by high school and college dancers from around the country, and the February 22 show will be followed by a Curtain Chat. The company, which began life as the Martha Graham Studio in 1926, is currently made up of dancers So Young An, PeiJu Chien-Pott, Laurel Dalley Smith, Abdiel Jacobsen, Lloyd Knight, Charlotte Landreau, Jacob Larsen, Lloyd Mayor, Ari Mayzick, Marzia Memoli, Anne O’Donnell, Lorenzo Pagano, Ben Schultz, Anne Souder, Leslie Andrea Williams, Konstantina Xintara, and Xin Ying, under the artistic direction of former principal dancer Janet Eilber.

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY 2014 SEASON

New York City Center
130 West 56th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
March 19-22, $35-$95
212-581-1212
www.alvinailey.org
www.nycitycenter.org

After enjoying a terrific experience choreographing Rust for the Martha Graham Dance Company last year, Nacho Duato asked if he could create another piece for the famed company, and artistic director and former Graham dancer Janet Eilber jumped at the opportunity. The result is the tentatively titled Depak Ine, which will have its world premiere March 20 as part of the Martha Graham Dance Company’s too-brief upcoming season at City Center, which runs March 19–22. The season includes the Graham classics Appalachian Spring, Maple Leaf Rag, and The Rite of Spring in addition to two pieces by Andonis Foniadakis, one act of Clytemnestra and the world premiere of Echo. The Spanish-born Duato discussed the new commission and showed unadorned advance excerpts (as well as Graham’s Lamentation and a scene from Rust) at a recent “Works & Process” presentation at the Guggenheim, explaining how he choreographs to make the most of each dancers’ individual talent, something the performers were all smiles about at the reception afterward. Duato, who studied with the Martha Graham Dance Company when he was much younger and feels a kinship with Graham’s gestural sensibilities, talked about how he wanted to work with the women as well in the new commission, since Rust was for five male dancers. The former artistic director and current resident choreographer of the Mikhailovsky Theatre ballet company and the incoming head of the Staatsballett Berlin, Duato noted that the title, Depak Ine, might change — it is currently named for the musical piece by John Talabot that is used in it (along with Arsenije Jovanovic’s “Athos — Montana Sacra”) — and he also pointed out that he still had to figure out what to do with the last three minutes. Hopefully all will be in place by March 20, when this exciting work makes its debut.

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY: MYTH AND TRANSFORMATION

The Martha Graham Dance Company rehearses for its Joyce season, which runs February 20 – March 3

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
February 20 – March 3, $10-$59
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org
www.marthagraham.org

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).

TWI-NY TALK: BILL T. JONES

Kennedy Center honoree and two-time Tony winner Bill T. Jones begins his company’s inaugural New York Live Arts season this week

BODY AGAINST BODY
New York Live Arts
Bessie Schönberg Theater
219 West 19th St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
September 16-24, $32-$40 ($15 on 9/20)
212-691-6500
www.newyorklivearts.org

Last December was a big month for two-time Tony-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones (Spring Awakening, Fela!). The Florida-born dance legend, who formed the highly influential Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982, was awarded the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor, which he called “one of the highest moments in my life,” and he also teamed up with Dance Theater Workshop to create the artist-led New York Live Arts, which is dedicated to producing, presenting, and educating in its mission “to become a place for dance that is vital to the fabric of social and cultural life in New York, America, and beyond.”

This week Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance kicks off the inaugural New York Live Arts season with the exciting Body Against Body program: “Monkey Run Road” (1979), “Continuous Replay” (1977/1991), and “Valley Cottage: A Study” (1980) will be performed September 16, 18, 21, 23, and 25, with “Duet x 2” (1982), “Continuous Replay,” and “Blauvelt Mountain” (1980) scheduled for September 17, 20, 22, and 24. “Valley Cottage” and “Monkey Run Road” are being performed in New York for the first time since their premieres. “Continuous Replay” will also feature live music played by John Oswald or DJ Spooky as well as a rotating cast of guest performers, including Matthew Rushing from Alvin Ailey, Janet Eilber and Blakeley White-McGuire from Martha Graham, Arthur Aviles from Typical Theater, Elena Demyanenko from Trisha Brown, Jennifer Goggans from Merce Cunningham, Megan Sprenger from mvworks, and Richard Move from MoveOpolis! Jones will take part in a preshow talk with Marcia B. Siegel on September 21 and a postshow discussion with Janet Wong, DTW/NYLA artistic director Carla Peterson, and the nine-member Bill T. Jones company on September 23. The premiere gala takes place September 15. Amid this flurry of activity, Jones was able to squeeze in some time to answer a few questions from twi-ny.

twi-ny: Last December, when the merger between Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Dance Theater Workshop was announced, you said, “We are doing something that supposedly can’t be done.” Now you are about to present your first season together. How did you, in fact, get it done?

Bill T. Jones: At the core of this merger was collaboration, and that’s exactly how this inaugural season came together. Carla Peterson spearheaded the curation process, and our talented staff and board of directors have worked tirelessly to bring ideas and resources to the table to make this institution a leader in the performing arts community and a home for movement-based artists. I am very excited about the artists on our season and am proud of the new programs we’re building.

New York Live Arts season kicks off with Bill T. Jones’s “Body Against Body” program

twi-ny: For your first series of performances at NYLA, you are revisiting some of your most iconic works, including the third iteration of “Continuous Replay.” Why did you choose these particular works for this inaugural season?

BTJ: Body Against Body is a program that the company premiered earlier this year (at the ICA/Boston) and we’re now touring it extensively in the upcoming season. It only seemed fitting that we would open the inaugural season of New York Live Arts with this program: It consists of some of the earliest pieces that Arnie Zane and I created together — two of which [“Valley Cottage” and “Blauvelt Mountain”] we premiered at Dance Theater Workshop in the early ’80s.

The newest reconstruction on the program, which will premiere at New York Live Arts, is “Valley Cottage: A Study.” This work has not been seen since Arnie and I first performed it in 1981. I think collectively these seminal works give audience members a glimpse of my roots as a choreographer while also acknowledging New Yorks Live Arts’ foundation, rooted in both my company’s and Dance Theater Workshop’s history and legacy. I like to think of it as a looking back to look forward.