Tag Archives: joyce theater

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).

PARSONS DANCE

The world premiere of former Parsons dancer Kate Skarpetowska’s BLACK FLOWERS is part of winter season at the Joyce (photo by Jill Orschel)

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
January 15-27, $10-$59
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org
www.parsonsdance.org

Parsons Dance returns to the Joyce this week for its annual winter season, running January 15-27, during which the New York–based company will present new works in addition to selections from its repertory. The program is highlighted by the world premiere of Black Flowers by guest choreographer and former Parsons dancer Kate Skarpetowska as well as the new Dawn to Dusk, a multimedia piece that is part of Wolf Trap’s Face of America: Spirit of South Florida series. For Black Flowers, Skarpetowska, who contributed A Stray’s Lullaby to last year’s program, goes back to her native Poland, using the music of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin in depicting sacred trios of women in the midst of mourning rituals. Created during a specially commissioned trip to the Sunshine State, Dawn to Dusk features music by Andrew Bird and Tiempo Libre, photographs by Clyde Butcher, and video by Blue Land Media, transporting audiences to the natural environments of Big Cypress National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, and Everglades National Park. Also on the bill are Wolfgang, an elegant ballet for three male-female duos set to music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the 2007 ensemble piece In the End, set to such Dave Matthews Band songs as “When the World Ends,” “Satellite,” and “Out of My Hands”; and 1982 company favorite Caught, in which a solo dancer moves to the music of Robert Fripp while seemingly being trapped in midair by stroboscopic lights. There will also be a special family matinee on January 26 at 2:00 that consisting of Dawn to Dusk, Wolfgang, and In the End. The current troupe who will perform at the Joyce includes Abby Silva Gavezzoli, Eric Bourne, Steven Vaughn, Melissa Ullom, Christina Ilisije, Jason Macdonald, Ian Spring, Elena D’Amario, Lauren Garson, and apprentice Leeann Ramsey.

FOCUS DANCE

John Jasperse’s FORT BLOSSOM REVISITED is a highlight of the second annual Focus Dance at the Joyce

The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
January 8-13, $10-$39
212-242-0800
www.focusdance.us
www.joyce.org

The second annual Focus Dance at the Joyce, presented by the Gotham Arts Exchange, features an exciting, wide-ranging collection of old and new works celebrating American-based companies. Held in conjunction with the annual APAP conference, this year’s lineup includes four programs by eight choreographers, featuring numerous outstanding pieces that dance fans might have recently missed. Program A, taking place January 8 at 7:30 and January 13 at 2:00, includes Jodi Melnick’s 2012 Solo, Deluxe Version and excerpts from Stephen Petronio’s in-progress Like Lazarus Did (LLD), 2012’s The Architecture of Loss, and 2011’s Underland. Program B, on January 9 at 7:30 and January 13 at 7:30, brings together Camille A. Brown’s Mr. TOL E. RAncE, City of Rain, and Been There, Done That and Brian Brooks Moving Company’s I’m Going to Explode, Descent, and Fall Falls. On January 10 and 12 at 8:00, Program C will consist of Rosie Herrera Dance Theater’s Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret and Doug Varone and Dancers’ Able to Leap Tall Buildings and Lux. And Program D, on January 11 at 8:00 and January 12 at 2:00, combines Eiko & Koma’s 1976 classic White Dance and the world premiere of their Flower Dance and John Jasperse’s Fort Blossom revisited.

MORPHOSES: WITHIN (LABYRINTH WITHIN)

Morphoses explores reality and perception in multimedia WITHIN (LABYRINTH WITHIN)

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
November 7-10, $10-$49
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org
www.morphoses.org

This past summer, the New York-based Morphoses company presented the world premiere of the multimedia WITHIN (Labyrinth Within) at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. The hour-long piece, by Swedish dancer and choreographer Pontus Lidberg, Morphoses’ current resident artistic director, examines reality and perception by combining live and projected movement. The work features Jens Weber, Gabrielle Lamb, Laura Mead, New York City Ballet’s Adrian Danchig-Waring, and American Ballet Theatre’s Isabella Boylston onstage, joined onscreen by Wendy Whelan, Giovanni Bucchieri, and Lidberg, with a score by David Lang. The November 8 performance will be preceded by a discussion led by Susan Thomasson and followed by a Dance Chat with members of the Morphoses company.

DOUG VARONE AND DANCERS: TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

The New York premiere of CARRUGI is part of Doug Varone and Dancers’ twenty-fifth anniversary celebration at the Joyce (photo by Cylia von Tiedeman)

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
October 9-14, $10-$49
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org
www.dougvaroneanddancers.org

For twenty-five years, New York City-based choreographer Doug Varone has been creating works for opera, theater, film, fashion, and his company, Doug Varone and Dancers, which he started back in 1986. He’ll be celebrating his silver anniversary with a series of events that kick off this week with a six-day stand at the Joyce, where last year he brought his riveting Chapters from a Broken Novel. This time around he’s presenting a pair of programs, the first featuring the New York premiere of Carrugi, a dance opera with singers and musicians that examines duplicity and myth inspired by the pathways and labyrinths of Liguria in Italy, set to Mozart’s La Betulia liberate; 2001’s Ballet Mécanique, a groundbreaking twenty-six-minute multimedia piece for eight dancers that intertwines movement and technology, set to George Anthreil’s 1925 score and with projections by Wendall Harrington; and 1994’s Aperture, a work for three dancers that imagines life outside the frame of a photograph, set to Shubert’s Moments Musicaux, No. 2. The second program is highlighted by the world premiere of Able to Leap Tall Buildings, a duet with movement based on that of superhero dolls, set to Julia Wolfe’s “Cruel Sister”; 2006’s Bessie Award-winning Boats Leaving, with images adapted from photos in the New York Times and reproductions in an art book, set to Arvo Pärt’s “Te Deum”; and a reconstruction of 1993’s signature dance Rise, an investigation of structure built around John Adams’s “Fearful Symmetries” that changed the nature of Varone’s choreography. There will be a Dance Chat following the October 10 performance and a preshow discussion led by Amy Kail on October 11. In honor of the anniversary, Varone has created a series of videos, “Uncovering the Archives,” looking back at his repertoire; you can watch them here.

GOTHAM DANCE FESTIVAL

Gallim Dance will present the world premiere of SIT, KNEEL, STAND at the Joyce’s annual Gotham Dance Festival (photo by Franziska Strauss)

The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
May 30 – June 10, $10-$39, 2:00
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org

Organized by the Gotham Arts Exchange, whose motto is “Think • Innovate • Promote • Develop • Produce • Dance,” this year’s Gotham Dance Festival features five programs by emerging, cutting-edge, and established choreographers at the Joyce. The Brian Brooks Moving Company, which made its Joyce debut at the festival last year, returns with the New York premiere of Big City, about destruction and reconstruction, set within a dynamic aluminum installation. On June 2-3, Canadian choreographer Peter Quanz’s Q Dance makes its Joyce debut with the Hong Kong Ballet commission Luminous and the Guggenheim commission In Tandem, set to music by Steve Reich, on a shared bill with two works by Jodie Gates, Embellish performed by Colorado Ballet and Delicate Balance danced by BalletX. On June 5, the Gotham Arts Exchange benefit “Working Women” will celebrate American choreographers Pam Tanowitz, Camille A. Brown, Carolyn Dorfman, Loni Landon, Jane Comfort, Monica Bill Barnes, and Gates with an evening of solos, duets, excerpts, and world premieres. L.A’s BODYTRAFFIC will take over June 6-7 with new works by Barak Marshall and Richard Siegal as well as Stijn Celis’s Fragile Dwellings. The festival concludes June 8-10 with Andrea Miller’s Gallim Dance performing the world premiere of the evening-length Sit, Kneel, Stand, which explores artistic barriers and borders, set to original music by Jerome Begin and Christopher Lancaster.

STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY

Julian De Leon and Joshua Tuason will perform in the world premiere of THE ARCHITECTURE OF LOSS (photo by Sarah Silver)

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
March 6-11, $10-$69
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org
www.stephenpetronio.com

The New York City-based Stephen Petronio Company is known for its unusual collaborations and innovative choreography that shows off the sheer strength and beauty of its dancers. Last year at the Joyce, SPC performed Underland, an evening-length piece that was set to murder ballads by Nick Cave, while in 2010, Petronio put together old and new works set to tunes by Elvis Presley, Wire, Radiohead, and the Wordless Music Orchestra. This year SPC will present the world premiere of The Architecture of Loss, a coproduction with the Nordic House of the Faroe Islands that investigates formation and disintegration in an ever-morphing global society. The work features a score by Icelandic composer Valgeir Sigurðsson with contributions from Nico Muhly, costumes by Guðrun & Guðrun, lighting by Ken Tabachnick, and visual design by Rannvá Kunoy, with Sigurdsson, Nadia Sirota, and Shahzad Ismaily performing the score live. The program also includes the first-ever revival of Steve Paxton’s 1970 Intravenous Lecture, which examines censorship and will be performed by Petronio; 2002’s City of Twist, which pays homage to post-9/11 New York with music by Laurie Anderson and costumes by Tara Subkoff/Imitation of Christ; and an updated version of 2003’s Ethersketch I (March 6-9 only), a solo from Underland that has been reimagined for New York City Ballet principal dancer Wendy Whelan. (Note: There will be a Dance Chat following the March 7 performance.)