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twi-ny talk: MICHAEL NOVAK / PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY

PTDC artistic director Michael Novak is deep in thought during rehearsal for Joyce season (photo by Whitney Browne)

PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY
Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
June 14-19, $71-$91 (Curtain Chat follows June 15 show)
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org
paultaylordance.org

Growing up in a Chicago suburb, Michael Novak initially tried his hand at sports, but when that didn’t go very well he soon found his muse in musical theater and dance, as both a performer and a disciplined student. Dance became a form of expression that helped him through a severe speech impediment when he was twelve.

He was an artistic associate at the Columbia Ballet Collaborative at Columbia University, where he performed Paul Taylor’s solo from Aureole and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 2008. He made his debut with Paul Taylor Dance Company in 2010-11 — Taylor created thirteen roles on him — and, on July 1, 2018, was named the artistic director designate.

At the time, Taylor announced, “I know that Michael is the right person to lead my company in the future. I look forward to working with him to continue my vision.” However, Taylor died that August at the age of eighty-eight, leaving Novak to take on his mentor’s legacy.

Having guided PTDC through a two-year pandemic lockdown, Novak is now ready to present three special programs at the Joyce, running June 14-19, offering something different from the company’s usual seasons at City Center. The schedule consists of Taylor’s Events II (1957), Images and Reflections (excerpt; 1958), Fibers (1960), Aureole (1962), Tracer (1962), and Profiles (1979), along with a pair of PTDC commissions: the world premiere of Michelle Manzanales’s Hope Is the Thing with Feathers and the New York premiere of Peter Chu’s A Call for Softer Landings.

On the eve of opening night, Novak, who is married to award-winning Broadway choreographer Josh Prince, shared his thoughts on transitioning from dancer to artistic director, navigating through the coronavirus crisis, and planning the future of a beloved, legendary troupe.

twi-ny: You performed with Paul Taylor Dance Company for nine years and were named artistic director designate only a few months before Mr. Taylor’s passing. What were the initial challenges of maintaining his legacy, especially with him no longer there?

michael novak: One of my goals as artistic director is to both preserve Mr. Taylor’s art, legacy, and values while also innovating to push the art form forward driven by my own beliefs and vision. Initially, many of the challenges were centered on how to hold space for the death of a founder and simultaneously move forward, bringing tens upon tens of thousands of people along with us.

But we did it, launching the Celebration Tour in 2019 — a multiyear international retrospective of the most celebrated and captivating dances by Paul Taylor — and creating PTDF Digital, a platform that created a host of unique digital engagements during the pandemic.

twi-ny: How was your transition from dancer to artistic director?

mn: The transition from dancer to artistic director was, overall, smooth. I have always had a passion for arts administration, dance history, and graphic design, so those passions have served me well, as has my education from the Columbia University School of General Studies.

twi-ny: Just as you’re establishing yourself as artistic director, the pandemic hits. What was lockdown like for you, both personally and professionally?

mn: The initial phase of lockdown was extraordinarily unsettling because I was very concerned about our dancers’ safety and company’s sustainability. Simply, we worked nonstop . . . on revamping our educational platforms, rethinking social media strategy, building new ways to engage with patrons and audiences, and, most importantly, getting our dancers back in the studio as soon as possible. We knew that if we wanted to thrive in such a volatile environment, adaptability and sustained momentum were essential.

Michael Novak performs in Paul Taylor’s Concertiana (photo by Paul B. Goode)

twi-ny: In some ways, dance thrived during the coronavirus crisis, unlike other art forms, leading to innovation in online productions. PTDF Digital included the 2021 gala benefit “Modern Is Now: Illumination.” Can you describe that title and what it has been like creating digital works?

mn: I believe modern is a movement, not just a moment. So, “Modern Is Now” is another way of creating an awareness of our present moment to create and experience something new. Being modern has been the foundation of our past and it is what propels us into the future. It has been a very thrilling opportunity to step into the digital world and reach audiences in new ways. At the same time, it has made me realize the poignancy and preciousness of live performances where audiences and artists are in the same space experiencing art together.

twi-ny: In March, PTDC returned to the stage and live audiences at the City Center Dance Festival. What was that experience like?

mn: It was wonderful to be back on the New York stage for our audiences, and at City Center, where so much of our history was made. It was emotional on both sides of the curtain.

twi-ny: The City Center shows saw Michael Apuzzo’s final bow as a dancer, and Jessica Ferretti and Austin Kelly have joined the troupe. What does it take to be a Paul Taylor dancer?

mn: Taylor dancers are known for their athleticism, power, transcendence, and, most importantly, their individuality. They are also known for their emotional range — from the comedic to the horrific, and everything in between.

twi-ny: In preparing for the Joyce season, what Covid-19 protocols were in place, and how did that impact rehearsals?

mn: Covid protocols have changed constantly over the past two years. Our board of directors has been relentless in supporting the company at every stage of this recovery, from daily testing, mask wearing, building upgrades, rehearsal schedule adjustments, etc.

twi-ny: The Joyce season includes the sixtieth anniversary of Aureole, which was a major turning point in Taylor’s career as he reexamined dance as an art form. How do you approach such a piece in 2022? You yourself danced the solo when you were studying at Columbia.

mn: This lyrical, joyful work was a controversial departure from the norm of modern dance in 1962, and it catapulted the then-thirty-two-year-old choreographer to the forefront of the dance world — a position he never relinquished. This is a seminal work that is as impactful now as it was on its premiere. We work diligently with alumni to ensure that its poignancy remains steadfast while also encouraging each artist to find their own voice within the work. It’s balancing both preservation and interpretation.

twi-ny: The three Joyce programs include major works from more than fifty years ago, a New York premiere by Peter Chu, and a world premiere by Michelle Manzanales. What was the impetus behind these specific selections, and how do they differ from the company’s usual Lincoln Center shows?

mn: As artistic director my goal is to curate theatrical experiences that celebrate both our ever-expanding dance repertory and the unique venues we perform in. I have been interested in presenting a series of performances that link early, foundational works from the Taylor canon with new works for a very long time. I am thrilled to present premieres by two of today’s most captivating choreographers, Peter Chu and Michelle Manzanales, at the Joyce.

My vision is to juxtapose the past and future of our company in one of the most intimate dance theaters in our city so audiences will understand — more than ever — how our company sits at a fascinating intersection of radicalism and beauty. These early dances by Paul Taylor were made on small ensembles, and audiences will benefit greatly from their proximity to the stage. It will be up close, visceral, and vibrant.

twi-ny: Four years after taking over as artistic director, what do you see as the next chapters for the company?

mn: The Paul Taylor Dance Company is one of the most innovative, athletic, and expressive dance companies in the world. Our next chapter takes us into celebrating seventy years of bringing the best of modern dance to the broadest possible audience.

We will continue to bring Paul Taylor’s great dances to stages around the world; curate great modern dance from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; invest heavily in the creation of new work by our resident choreographer, Lauren Lovette, and other compelling choreographers and designers; and expand our educational programming and outreach initiatives.

Modern dance is born out of a desire to innovate, rebel against convention, liberate the human body, and to express the freedom of the emotions of the soul. The need for this never subsides, and our company will never stop innovating and responding to our experiences in the world.

RONALD K. BROWN/EVIDENCE: COMPANY HITS FROM THE PAST 35 YEARS

The Joyce Theater
Thursday, February 18, $25, 8:00 (available on demand through March 4 at midnight)
www.joyce.org
www.evidencedance.com

It’s hard for to believe that it was fifteen years ago that I had a lunch interview with Ronald K. Brown, discussing the twentieth anniversary of his Brooklyn-based troupe, EVIDENCE. Brown is now celebrating the company’s thirty-fifth anniversary with a special virtual evening at the Joyce, presented live from the empty theater over the institution’s online portal, JoyceStream. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Brown has been an integral part of the community since the beginning, giving back in numerous ways, strengthening that engagement during these difficult times. “For thirty-five years, the mission of EVIDENCE has been to promote understanding of the human experience in the African Diaspora through dance, music, history, and tradition to remind us of our individual and collective responsibility and liberation,” the company explains on its website. “The fact that art and social justice share a common foundation continues to push us forward in spite of the continuing turmoil of a global pandemic and nationwide protests against police brutality. Now more than ever we need each other and it is beneficial for us to find ways to call one another and see each other virtually, whenever we can. Social distance does not mean social disconnection. EVIDENCE continues to do the work that says: We know what’s right in our heart and we need to keep that front and center.”

Mercy is part of Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE anniversary celebration at the Joyce (photo by Julietta Cervantes)

In conjunction with the Joyce Theater Foundation, Northrop, DANCECleveland, and Cuyahoga Community College, EVIDENCE will present an evening of greatest hits, which will stream live from the Joyce stage on February 18 at 8:00 and be available on demand through March 4 at midnight. The program includes an excerpt from Grace, originally choreographed for Alvin Ailey in 1999, an exhilarating, rapturous work, filled with an innate, infectious spirituality, with music by Duke Ellington, Roy Davis Jr., and Fela Anikulapo Kuti, that celebrated its own twentieth anniversary at the Center for the Art of Performance UCLA this past November; 2003’s For You, a solo tribute to the late American Dance Festival codirector Stephanie Reinhart, set to a song by Donny Hathaway; 2016’s She Is Here, a solo for women, honoring teachers and mothers; the “Palo y Machete” introductory multimedia solo from 2007’s One Shot: Rhapsody in Black & White, inspired by the legacy of Pittsburgh photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris; the powerful “March” excerpt from 1995’s Lessons, set to the words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (“All I’m saying is simply this: that all life is interrelated. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Long as there is extreme poverty in this world, no man can be totally rich even if he has a billion dollars.”); and 2019’s Mercy, an emotional and moving work about justice and compassion set to Meshell Ndegeocello’s version of Oumou Sangare’s “Shirk.” The evening is dedicated to Brown’s longtime booking agent, Pam Green, who is retiring after more than twenty years with the company. In addition, Brown is holding monthly virtual community classes on March 6, April 3, and May 8 at noon; registration is $15 per class.

PAM TANOWITZ DANCE: FINALLY UNFINISHED PARTS 1 & 2

Pam Tanowitz Dance’s Finally Unfinished streams from the Joyce through December 26

JoyceStream
The Joyce Theater
December 12-26, $13
www.joyce.org
pamtanowitzdance.org

Pam Tanowitz Dance (PTD) continues its digital site-specific season with Finally Unfinished: Part I, streaming from the Joyce through December 26. During the pandemic, with theaters emptied by health restrictions, the Bronx-born Tanowitz, who was a 2013 Joyce Residency Artist, has created several outdoor works that take dance fans and performers outside. David, a solo for American Ballet Theater principal dancer David Hallberg as part of “ABT Today: The Future Starts Now,” is set at the Glass House in New Canaan, while Solo for Russell: Sites 1-5, a solo for New York City Ballet principal dancer Russell Janzen for NYCB’s New Works Festival, guided viewers around the Lincoln Center campus, from the Illumination Lawn to the Damrosch Park Bandshell. (In June 2019, Tanowitz’s Time is forever dividing itself toward innumerable futures took place in several locations in Nelson A. Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City for the 2019 River to River Festival.)

Now Tanowitz has returned to the Joyce Theater, where she has presented such works as Passagen and Heaven on One’s Head in February 2014, Sequenzas in Quadrilles and the story progresses as if in a dream of glittering surfaces in September 2016, and New Work for Goldberg Variations in December 2019, with a multipart show created specifically for online viewing through JoyceStream. Made following Covid-19 protocols during a residency on Governors Island, the work, following an iteration livestreamed from the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia on October 15, is a “flexible dance piece” that is set in and around the Joyce, from the proscenium stage to the wings, from the aisles to the balcony.

“We finally finished Finally Unfinished, but it’s never really finished,” Tanowitz announces before the curtain literally rises on Jason Collins, Christine Flores, Zachary Gonder, and Victor Lozano, who perform Gustave Le Gray, No. 2 on an empty stage. The four barefoot dancers, wearing tan shorts and T-shirts designed by Reid Barthelme and Harriet Jung, move gingerly in unison to a score by Caroline Shaw played by pianist Amy Yang; the camera shoots them from multiple angles, with closeups of their bare legs and long shots from the back of the theater.

After ten minutes, they are joined by Brittany Engel-Adams, Lindsey Jones, and Melissa Toogood for the explosion that is Finally Unfinished: Part 1. Amid piped-in crowd noises (“Field Recordings” by Dan Siegler) and recordings of cues from PTD’s 2014 appearance at the Joyce (“Cueing Sound Score,” with the disembodied voices of Laurie Benoit and Jeff Segal), Toogood takes over the stage, dressed in a full-length space-age onesie with a hood, followed by a masked cameraman in the same outfit. Soon everyone has changed costumes (including some garb that incorporates the design and color of the seats in the audience, the curtain, and the carpeting) as they dance to “Furtive Movements,” an electronic score by Ted Hearne, performed by cellist Ashley Bathgate and percussionist Ron Wiltrout. It all builds to an exhilarating crescendo until a peaceful and quiet finale with, of course, no applause.

But it’s not quite over; Finally Unfinished: Part II continues online with what PTD calls “a Digital Curio Case.” Designed by Jeremy Jacob and beginning with old footage of a clapping crowd, Part II reveals some of Tanowitz’s inspirations and creative process, including text (“Nowhere is a dead end”), cutouts of the dancers, a collection of clips from films in which characters perform playful dances using their fingers on a table (The Gold Rush, A Band Apart, Benny & Joon), a behind-the-scenes look at costumes by Barthelme and Jung and scenery by Suzanne Bocanegra, recommended reading, and more.

From the dances to the multimedia scrapbook, it’s a judicious and entertaining tribute to the Joyce using the internet as medium during a health crisis that has left us all in front of our screens, unable to experience dance and other live entertainment in person. As Tanowitz says, “It’s a different format now. / What format should it be? / We finished it for you. / It’s never finished for me.”

STATE OF DARKNESS

Who: Molissa Fenley, Jared Brown, Lloyd Knight, Sara Mearns, Shamel Pitts, Annique Roberts, Cassandra Trenary, Michael Trusnovec, Peter Boal
What: Livestreamed performances from the Joyce stage
Where: JoyceStream YouTube
When: October 24 – November 1, each dance $12, full Choreographers & Cocktails experience $150 per household
Why: In 1988, dancer and choreographer Molissa Fenley created State of Darkness, an American Dance Festival commission that is a solo set to Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps (“Rite of Spring”); the thirty-five-minute piece was performed exclusively by Fenley through 1994, then by Peter Boal in 1999-2000 and Rachel Foster, James Moore, and Jonathan Porretta of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in June 2007. With the pandemic lockdown, Fenley, who was born in Las Vegas, grew up in Nigeria, and has been based in New York City since 1975, is revisiting the work, presenting it live on the Joyce stage to an empty house, performed October 24-25 and October 31 – November 1 by seven dancers with their own interpretations, livestreamed via the JoyceStream YouTube channel, the first live show from the Joyce stage since March. The October 24 lineup features Michael Trusnovec (formerly Paul Taylor Dance Company) at 5:00 and Jared Brown (Shechter II — Hofesh Shechter Company) at 8:00; October 25, Annique S. Roberts (Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, A Dance Company) at 5:00 and Shamel Pitts (formerly Batsheva Dance Company) at 8:00; October 31, Lloyd Knight (Martha Graham Dance Company) at 5:00 and Cassandra Trenary (American Ballet Theatre) at 8:00; and concluding November 1 with Sara Mearns (New York City Ballet principal) at 5:00. There will also be a behind-the-scenes discussion of the work on October 24 at 7:00 with Fenley and the dancers, moderated by Boal.

“It has been truly inspiring and uplifting to see the dancers and Molissa tackle State of Darkness during this difficult and unprecedented interruption to our lives,” Joyce executive director Linda Shelton said in a statement. “To me, this piece is about emerging from the darkness we have been coping with since March.” Fenley added, “In 1988, environmental, political, and social unrest inspired me to create State of Darkness. Today, a response to similar influences affecting us feels even more urgent and necessary.” Tickets for each individual dance is $12; the complete Choreographers & Cocktails experience, including all seven performances, an interview with Fenley, a live Q&A with the dancers, and a signature cocktail recipe by chef Peter Kelly, is $150 per household.

JoyceStream: DECLASSIFIED MEMORY FRAGMENT (with live Q&A)

The Jpyce will stream Olivier Tarpaga’s Declassified Memory Fragment followed by a live Q&A on July 2

Who: Olivier Tarpaga, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, Aaron Mattocks
What: Online premiere of prerecorded dance work with live Q&A
Where: JoyceStream
When: Thursday, July 2, free (donations accepted), 7:00 (performance can be streamed through July 31)
Why: During the pandemic lockdown, the Joyce Theater Foundation has been presenting limited-run streams of previously recorded works by Trisha Brown Dance Company, Batsheva — The Young Ensemble, Malpaso Dance Company, Stephen Petronio Company, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, and others, accompanied by live Q&As. On July 2 at 7:00, JoyceStream will feature the online premiere of Olivier Tarpaga’s Declassified Memory Fragment, followed by a live Q&A; the piece will be available through July 31, while the Q&A will be added to the growing archive you can watch here. Declassified Memory Fragment was directed and choreographed by dancer, choreographer, Princeton professor, and musician Tarpaga, exploring power, history, political corruption, and culture clashes in Kenya, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, and, primarily, his native country, Burkina Faso.

Tarpaga designed the costumes and also appears in the production, along with Ousséni Dabaré, Aziz Dermé, Jérôme Kaboré, and Adonis Nébié. The music was conceived of and composed by Tarpaga and his band, Dafra Kura Band, and is played by Flatié Dembelé, Boubacar Djiga, Daouda Guindo, and Tarpaga; the lighting is by Cyril Givort, with sets by Face-O-Sceno, props by Sahab Koanda, and dramaturgy by Esther Baker-Tarpaga, Olivier’s wife, who runs the Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project with him. (Previous works by the company include Whiteness Revisited and When Birds Refused to Fly.) Olivier Tarpaga will take part in the Q&A with Gibney Dance editorial director and senior director of artist development and curation Eva Yaa Asantewaa and Joyce director of programming Aaron Mattocks.

STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY: #LoveSpreadsFaster and more

Petronio-JoyceStream-e1589303054173

Stephen Petronio Company
May 13 – June 14, free
petron.io

Manhattan-based Stephen Petronio Company’s New York season at the Joyce was supposed to run May 12-17 but was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. So SPC is reaching back to its past and jumping into the future with a monthlong series of online events during the Covid-19 shutdown, some of which were scheduled to take place at the Joyce. Beginning May 15 at 8:00 pm and continuing through May 22 at 10:00 am, the Joyce will show the troupe’s April 11, 2019, Skirball performance of American Landscapes in its JoyceStream program and Bring Dance Home initiative; the twenty-five-minute piece features visual design by Robert Longo and an original score by Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch and will be followed by a talkback with Petronio and Joyce director of programming Aaron Mattocks.

petronio

From May 18 to June 14, the Merce Cunningham Trust Centennial Repertory Festival will stream Tread, which SPC performed at Skirball as part of its Bloodlines homage on July 27, 2018; Cunningham’s original, with set design by Bruce Nauman, debuted in 1970. Also available will be a conversation between Patricia Lent, Jennifer Goggans, and Petronio about the work. And on May 29 at 6:00, Petronio will introduce #LoveSpreadsFaster, anchored by the world premiere of #GimmeShelter, a new Zoom collaboration with his dancers from wherever they are sheltering in place, along with Jaqlin Medlock performing the “Danse Sacrale” solo from Petronio’s 1992 Full Half Wrong. On May 30 at 6:00, #LoveSpreadsFaster features _AShadowPrince, a video solo by dancer and choreographer Johnnie Cruise Mercer that is the first commissioned work of Petronio’s “Bloodlines(future)” project, paying homage to those who came before while looking ahead at what comes next.

CATCH HER IF YOU CAN

Drew Jacoby and Maria Kochetkova get groovy at the Joyce in Rachel, Nevada (photo by Rachel Neville Photography)

The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
July 16-21, $56-$96
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org

Thirty-five-year-old Moscow-born ballerina Maria Kochetkova gives audiences an intimate look into her future with her first solo project, Catch Her If You Can, continuing at the Joyce through July 21. After eleven years as a principal with San Francisco Ballet, the last two overlapping as a principal here in New York City with ABT, Kochetkova has worked with the Joyce Foundation on an evening of seven short pieces and one longer one by seven contemporary choreographers created specifically for the Moscow-born ballerina and several of her friends and colleagues. The program displays a talented woman bridging the gap between the classicism of ballet and the unpredictability of modern dance, and while some pieces are more exciting than others, it makes for a splendid introduction to what is next for Kochetkova.

Maria Kochetkova performs in David Dawson’s At the End of the Day in independent debut (photo by Rachel Neville Photography)

The evening begins with William Forsythe’s Bach Duet (from New Suite), in which Kochetkova pairs with Sebastian Klorborg in a romantic pas de deux that is more balletic in nature, focusing on exquisite use of the upper body and arms in particular. Following Carlo Di Lanno’s bold solo in Myles Thatcher’s Painting Greys, with music by Emmit Fenn, Drew Jacoby wows with her muscular solo in Marco Goecke’s Tué, set to music by Barbara; Jacoby’s back muscles ripple in a dance all their own. Kochetkova next takes center stage, showcasing innovative footwork and astonishing flexibility on the floor to Oleg Malov’s version of Alexander Knaifel’s “O Heavenly King” in Marcos Morau’s Degunino. In David Dawson’s White Swan Pas de Deux (from Swan Lake), Di Lanno and Sofiane Sylve, two statuesque, athletic presences, perform breathtaking lifts and carries to Tchaikovsky’s familiar sounds.

The first act concludes with Jacoby and Kochetkova having a blast with the world premiere of Jacoby’s Rachel, Nevada. Their substantial size difference is put to good effect in front of a screen showing mostly black-and-white optical illusions designed by TOYKYO, with music by Sam Spiegel and opaque costumes by Anja Mlakar. Following intermission, Kochetkova and Kloborg offer up Dawson’s romantic duet At the End of the Day, set to Szymon Brzóska’s “Migrations,” but it’s the grand finale, the world premiere of Jérôme Bel’s Masha Machine — Kochetkova is affectionately known as Masha — that lays bare Kochetkova’s style, devotion to dance, and perhaps surprising sense of humor in a comic and revealing media-rich duet.