Tag Archives: joyce theater

GOTHAM DANCE FESTIVAL: ABRAHAM, DRISCOLL, DOLBASHIAN

Gregory Dolbashian’s DASH Ensemble will present LIKE THE EAGLE at Summer Sampler Matinee at the Joyce

The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
June 4-5, $10-$39, 2:00
Festival runs through June 12
212-691-9740
www.joyce.org

The Gotham Dance Festival continues at the Joyce this weekend with two matinee performances featuring a trio of exciting young choreographers. Brooklyn-based dancer and choreographer Kyle Abraham, who has danced with David Dorfman, Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane, and the Kevin Wynn Collection, among others, will lead his hip-hop-influenced Abraham.In.Motion company in the new work The Quiet Dance. Also based in Brooklyn, the hugely talented Faye Driscoll, who has staged such unique and fascinating productions as 837 Venice Blvd. and There is so much mad in me and was included in the New Museum’s “Younger Than Jesus” exhibit of emerging talent under the age of thirty-three, will present not…not, part I, which looks at beauty, power, and desire, with her Faye Driscoll Dance Group. New York City native Gregory Dolbashian, who debuted at the tender age of eight with the Glimmerglass Opera, was the resident choreographer for the Chicago Ballet and CorbinDances before forming the DASH Ensemble, which will perform Like the Eagle. Next week’s Summer Sampler Matinee will feature works by Julian Barnett, Ashleigh Leite, and Sydney Skybetter.

Update: The first of four Gotham Dance Festival Summer Sampler Matinees was an at times subdued but overall inspired affair, consisting of three short works that all included extended moments of silence. Abraham.In.Motion’s The Quiet Dance was indeed quiet, starting off with Abraham dancing to no music, then joined by the quartet of Chalvar Monteiro, Elyse Morris, Rachelle Rafailedes, and Hsiao-Jou Tang, who remained relatively fixed in position on the left side of the stage as they danced in place to jazz legend Bill Evans’s gorgeous piano solo “Some Other Time.” For most of the piece, the performers do not make contact with one another until they break off into duets, having changed into dungarees and button-down shirts. Faye Driscoll takes a very different approach in not…not (part 1): If you pretend you are drowning / I will pretend I am saving you (a teaser of which can be seen above, from her March residency at the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University), in which she, in a Moe-ish moptop, and Jesse Zaritt, in a Larry Fine-like curly fro, play a pair of rather not-very-good dancers performing a rather poorly choreographed work, making silly muscular gestures, unable to properly complete twists, stretches, and turns, displaying clearly overstated, ridiculously fake emotions, and acting out some extremely awkward and absurd sexual situations. Set to no music at all (although the Playbill credits Brandon Wolcott and Emil Abramyan, furthering the production’s purposeful ineptness by making mistakes in the printed program and, later, with the closing curtain), it’s a very funny work that concludes with Driscoll’s tour-de-force flurry through a seemingly endless bag of props. Driscoll and Zaritt were a tough act to follow, having laid the groundwork for an audience ready for further silly choreography that would make Leonard Pinth-Garnell proud, but Gregory Dolbashian’s DASH Ensemble quickly dashed those concerns, as Like the Eagle soared with a series of virtuosic moves by Antonio Brown, joined by Mor Gur-Arie, Alexandra Johnson, Rebecca Niziol, and Christopher Ralph. Transitioning from silent passages to quotes about inspiration from a WNYC RadioLab broadcast to music by Marsen Jules, Hauschka, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and Hoarse, Like the Eagle featured the most aggressive choreography of the afternoon. The well-curated three-piece program will be performed again on Sunday afternoon, offering another chance to see wonderful work by three extremely talented and inventive young choreographers.

GOTHAM DANCE FESTIVAL: BRIAN BROOKS MOVING COMPANY

The Brian Brooks Moving Company will present MOTOR and two other pieces in their Joyce debut this week (photo by Christopher Duggan)

The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
June 1, 3, 5, $10-$39
Festival runs June 1-12
212-691-9740
www.joyce.org
www.brianbrooksmovingcompany.com

The New York City-based Brian Brooks Moving Company will make its Joyce debut this week, kicking off the Gotham Dance Festival on June 1. Founded in 1997 by artistic director and choreographer Brian Brooks, who also teaches at Dance New Amsterdam, BBMC will present 2007’s solo I’m Going to Explode, 2010’s cable-laden MOTOR, which deals with perpetual motion and features a score by Jonathan Pratt, and the world premiere of Descent, set to music by Adam Crystal. The company consists of Brooks, Hollis Bartlett, Meghan Frederick, Jeff Kent Jacobs, Jo-anne Lee, Danielle McIntosh, and Aaron Walter, with lighting by Philip Trevino and costumes by Liz Prince. BBMC will also be part of the DRA Fire Island Dance Festival on July 16-17. The Gotham Dance Festival continues through June 12 at the Joyce with performances by Monica Bill Barnes & Company; Abraham, Driscoll, Dolbashian; Kate Weare Company; CorbinDances; and Barnett, Leite, Skybetter.

DESCENT concludes Brian Brooks Moving Company show at the Joyce in uplifting fashion (photo by Christopher Duggan)

Update: The Brian Brooks Moving Company made its Joyce debut Tuesday night with a little bit of the old and a little bit of the new as part of the Gotham Dance Festival. After intermission, Brooks performed his thrilling solo I’m Going to Explode, which is set to LCD Soundsystem’s first single, “Losing My Edge.” Dressed as a commuter and sitting in a chair to the side of the stage, Brooks took off his shoes and suit jacket, then began moving to the funky techno beat, often keeping his arms fully extended, concentrating primarily on his upper body, head, and shoulders as James Murphy sang about his favorite bands and clubs. The evening concluded with the world premiere of the beautiful Descent, which started off with one male dancer carrying another over the side of his body across a stage glowing in smoky horizontal beams of light, then going back again, soon joined by other same-sex pairs doing the same thing. Next, the dancers used small boards to keep colorful sheets of fabric floating through the air, creating lovely patterns that they wouldn’t let reach the floor. The third section involved the dancers jumping at one another, being caught in an upside-down use of the arms. Set to an electronic music score composed by Adam Crystal, Descent is an enticing work that actually focuses more on ascending than descending, preventing people and objects from touching the ground. MOTOR, which premiered at the 2010 Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, was performed first, an erratic, occasionally chaotic, at times awe-inspiring work set on a stage from which dozens of cables shoot out over the audience, making it feel like everyone is inside a futuristic time capsule. The piece began with unusual movement among two groups of three men and three women, then featured Jo-anne Lee repeatedly walking over a standing male dancer, up the front of his body, over his head, and down his back. As the dancers shed much, but not all, of their clothing, it became rather repetitive, going on too long, but setting things up for a much more satisfying second act.

DOUG VARONE AND DANCERS: CHAPTERS FROM A BROKEN NOVEL

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
March 15-20, $10-$59
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org
www.dougvaroneanddancers.org

Long Island native Doug Varone is celebrating his company’s twenty-fifth anniversary with the New York premiere of Chapters from a Broken Novel, running at the Joyce March 15-20. The evening-length piece consists of twenty vignettes inspired by quotes from books, movies, and overheard conversations, resulting in dramatic portraits that delve into human nature, the body, and private and public intercommunication. Composer and percussionist David Van Tieghem will perform his original score live; the crew also includes lighting designer Jane Cox, scenic designer Andrew Lieberman, and costume designer Liz Prince. Doug Varone and Dancers, the resident company of the 92nd St. Y’s Harkness Dance Center, features Julia Burrer, Ryan Corriston, Natalie Desch, Erin Owen, Alex Springer, Eddite Taketa, and Netta Yerushalmy, who will be following up such relatively recent projects as Alchemy, Dense Terrain, Lux, and Orpheus and Euridice.

Update: Like a great book that you can’t put down, Doug Varone & Dancers’ Chapters from a Broken Novel — performed without intermission — contains compelling characters, unexpected plot twists, complex relationships, and emotional depth. Consisting of twenty vignettes ranging from barely sixty seconds to several minutes, the evening-length piece begins with “Spilling the Contents,” in which the full company presents a dazzling overview of what is to come, a sort-of précis filled with anticipation, followed by individual chapters whose titles are projected onto an arched white sheet hanging from the ceiling. With percussionist David Van Tieghem providing live accompaniment to his prerecorded score, the seven dancers flawlessly turn the pages of an abstract cinematic narrative that offers aggressive conflict, introspective moments of loneliness and desperation, scenes of chaos and confusion, depictions of love and desire, and forays into death and forgiveness. The outstanding company is highlighted by Eddie Taketa’s somber “Funeral,” Erin Owen’s playful “Tile Riot,” Netta Yerushalmy’s breathless “Twelve Dreams for Rent,” and Ryan Corriston and Yerushalmy’s poignant “Ruby Throated Sparrows,” with subtle but superb lighting by Jane Cox, often casting haunting, illuminating shadows against the backdrop. Chapters from a Broken Novel is a thrilling night of moving literature at its very best.

PARSONS DANCE

David Parsons’s stroboscopic classic, “Caught,” will be part of all three programs at the Joyce

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
January 25 – February 6, $10-$59
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org
www.parsonsdance.org

Born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City, David Parsons cut his teeth dancing for the Paul Taylor Company and the New York City Ballet before forming the New York City-based Parsons Dance in 1985. Since then he has choreographed more than seventy works for the ten-member troupe, in addition to many other commissions and commercial endeavors. Parsons Dance will be at the Joyce January 25 – February 6 presenting three different programs as well as a VIP preview. Program A includes “The Envelope,” “Sleep Study,” “Mood Swing,” the world premiere of “Portinari,” inspired by the life of Brazilian artist-activist Candido Portinari, the stroboscopic classic “Caught,” and the world premiere of “Run to You,” set to the music of Steely Dan; Program B consists of “Bachiana,” “Portinari,” “Slow Dance,” the world premiere of Monica Bill Barnes’s “Love, oh Love,” “Caught,” and “Nascimento”; and Program C, arranged for four family-friendly weekend matinees, contains “The Envelope,” “Sleep Study,” “Hand Dance,” “Love, oh Love, ” “Walk, ” and “Caught.” The January 25 opening night VIP preview highlights “Bachiana,” “Portinari,” “Love, oh Love,” “Caught,” and “Run to You” and will be staged without intermission; the ten-member troupe currently features Eric Bourne, Sarah Braverman, Elena D’Amario, Abby Silva Gavezzoli, Christina Ilisije, Jason MacDonald, Miguel Quinones, Ian Spring, Melissa Ullom, and Steven Vaughn.

CAMILLE A. BROWN & ANDREA MILLER / KATE WEARE & MONICA BILL BARNES

Kate Weare will present the world premiere of BRIGHT LAND at the Joyce this week

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
April 9-14, $10-$39
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org

This week the Joyce will be hosting four excellent companies performing in repertory over six days, with pairs of exciting groups appearing on alternate nights Monday through Saturday. On August 9, 11, and 13, Camille A. Brown will present, with her new ensemble, the world premiere of CITY OF RAIN, with music by Jonathan Melville Pratt; GOOD AND GROWN, with music by Saycon Sengbloh and Wes Montgomery; the New York premiere of the duet BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, with Brown and Juel D. Lane; the Katrina-inspired NEW SECOND LINE, with visual art by Moses Ball; and GIRLZ VERSE 1, an all-female piece with music by Wunmi Olaiya and M.I.A. On those same nights, Miller’s Gallim Dance will perform WONDERLAND, a longer work that was inspired by Cai Guo-Qiang’s installation “Head On,” in which ninety-nine wolves crash into a glass wall, seen here at the Chinese artist’s 2008 Guggenheim retrospective. On August 10, 12, and 14, the Kate Weare Company makes its Joyce season debut with the world premiere of BRIGHT LAND, featuring live music by the string band the Crooked Jades, while Monica Bill Barnes will update its piece ANOTHER PARADE, about the relationship between performer and audience, using a vast array of music ranging from classical to classic R&B. In addition, on Saturday afternoon, all four companies will present excerpts from their works in a family-friendly production that should be a blast.

PILOBOLUS

Pilobolus collaborates with Art Spiegelman on HAPLESS HOOLIGAN IN “STILL MOVING,” at the Joyce this summer (photo by Joseph Mehling)

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
July 12 – August 7, $10-$75
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org
www.pilobolus.com

The uniquely creative Connecticut-based Pilobolus Dance Theatre has something very special planned for its annual summer season at the Joyce, a multimedia collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegleman. In HAPLESS HOOLIGAN IN “STILL MOVING,” the dancers will interact with Spiegelman’s colorful artwork, animated on backdrops by Dan Abdo and Jason Patterson, with sound design by FELA!’s Rob Kaplowitz. HOOLIGAN will be part of Program 1, which also includes Jonathan Wolken’s REDLINE, Michael Tracy’s dazzling SYMBIOSIS, and Inbal Pinto, Avshalom Pollak, and Robby Barnett’s RUSHES. Program 2 consists of Wolken’s GNOMEN and HITCHED, THE TRANSFORMATION, RUSHES, and Moses Pendleton’s beautiful and sexy DAY 2, with Program 3 featuring Tracy’s LATERNA MAGICA, Wolken’s stunning PSEUDOPODIA, Matt Kent and Renee Jaworski’s CONTRADANCE (featuring music by kids rocker Dan Zanes), Barnett and Wolken’s GNOMEN, and Wolken’s MEGAWATT. On July 15 at 2:00 at the Joyce, Pilobolus will be holding a public memorial service for cofounder (with Pendleton) and artistic director Wolken, who died on June 13 at the age of sixty, leaving behind a wife and four daughters.

TRUTH, REVISED HISTORIES, WISHFUL THINKING, AND FLAT OUT LIES

john Jasperse’s latest, playing at the Joyce June 16-19, features a pair of bathing beauties and much more (photo by Sylvio Dittrich)


JOHN JASPERSE COMPANY
Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
June 16-19, $10-$39
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org
www.johnjasperse.org

For more than twenty years, Manhattan-based dancer-choreographer Johnn Jasperse has been creating unique works that explore both the human body and the psyche. Commissioning experimental music and often incorporating multimedia and multidisciplinary elements, Jasperse is always up to challenging himself as well as the audience. In 2007 he presented the environmentally conscious MISUSE LIABLE TO PROSECUTION at BAM, which was trashy fun, and last May he staged the very intimate BECKY JODI AND JOHN at Dance Theater Workshop. Back at the Joyce this week for the first time in ten years, Jasperse will be holding the New York premiere of TRUTH, REVISED HISTORIES, WISHFUL THINKING, AND FLAT OUT LIES, featuring a commissioned score by Hahn Rowe played live by the International Contemporary Ensemble.

Erin Cornell and John Jasperse go at it in the choreographer’s latest work (photo by Sylvio Dittrich)

Review: In his latest evening-length piece, John Jasperse explores the social, political, and personal aspects of the history of performance, with forays into adagio tango, the flappers fad, classical ballet, and experimental contemporary dance. He mixes fantasy with reality, truth with fiction, playing with illusion while testing the audience’s patience and its ability to acknowledge quality. At one point Neal Beasley, Erin Cornell, Eleanor Hullihan, and Kayvon Pourazar stumble about, unable to complete a move correctly, while at another they slide gracefully across the stage, in total control of their bodies. Jasperse makes occasional appearances as well, serving as comic relief, including one stint as a lousy magician. The glitz and glamour of the first part, which features sequined outfits, a colorful beach backdrop, and songs by Ginuwine and Barry White, is offset by the much more serious second act, with everything bathed in bright white, from the International Contemporary Ensemble, who play Hahn Rowe’s beautiful score live onstage, to the doily lampshades the four dancers and Jasperse don during a long, nearly motionless section following a scene of unexpected violence. While a handful of people left early on opening night (June 16), many more gave the company a rousing standing ovation at the end of a challenging, diverse, exciting, and intriguing night of unusual dance theater.