Produced by David LaChapelle in collaboration with Fred Torres

Updated: May 25, 2011 – Choreographer John Byrne presents the world premiere of his first full-length dance work, Transcending Form, this summer at Theatre 80. A work for eight dancers, Transcending Form is set to an eclectic mix of music, and incorporates a figurative photo installation by artist David LaChapelle. Performances run Thursday through Saturday, June 2–4, at 8pm; and Wednesdays, June 15 through August 24, at 8pm. Preview performance on June 2; opens June 3.

An original dance fable, Transcending Form explores ideas of life, afterlife, and the transcending soul. Created and choreographed by Byrne, this 70-minute narrative work conjures archetypal images and themes in purely contemporary terms. Transcending Form is set to the music of Schubert, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky, as well as folk and gospel music, and features live performances by vocalist Gina Figueroa and other musical guests. The work will be performed by dancers Debra Zalkind, Soetkin Jacobs, Ryan Braun, Vincent Marra, Lior Shneior, Rob Laqui, Farrah Olieri, and Kimberly Mhoon. Lighting design is by Stephen Petrilli. Transcending Form is produced by David LaChapelle, with whom Byrne has worked on a variety of film, art, and stage projects over the last ten years.

Performances will take place at Theatre 80, 80 St. Mark’s Place (between First and Second Avenues), in New York City. Tickets can be purchased for $15 online at www.theatre80.net and are also available at the box office for a $15 suggested donation. One hundred percent of the ticket sales will be donated to Education In Dance and the Related Arts, a not-for-profit organization that brings an integrated movement, music, visual arts, and nutrition enrichment program to preschool through high school students in over sixty New York City area outreach schools yearly.

John Byrne is a New York City-based choreographer. He received his formal dance training as a scholarship student at the Juilliard School, The School of American Ballet, and The North Carolina School of the Arts, where he performed works by choreographers George Balanchine, Lar Lubovitch, and Twyla Tharp. At the age of 18, Byrne was the youngest member ever to join Taylor II, with which he toured the United States and Europe, performing and teaching the works of Mr. Taylor. He later originated a role in Promethean Fire with the Paul Taylor Dance Company at the American Dance Festival. Byrne has also performed with Erick Hawkins Dance, Battery Dance Company, and Corbin Dances.

As a choreographer, Byrne premiered his solo piece Bridge in Los Angeles in 2004, and for the past seven years has been honing his craft as a choreographer, creating a style and new vocabulary of movement inspired by the influences of Eliot Feld, José Limón, and house dance. As an educator, Byrne has been teaching dance in the New York City Public Schools for the past 10 years, working with disadvantaged populations and children with special needs through Education In Dance and the Related Arts.

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What is Big Octopus? And why did we name the show this? 

No good answer, but imagine James Bond meets all of the best gams in New York, mixes them with dreams about flight, a pair of hot blondes, and a group of Sirens….puts them on an intimate stage in Soho… called The Rover… and you got yourself "Big Octopus". Don’t ask questions unless you plan on coming to the show….You will not regret… 
Featuring an evening of new works by

Yarden Raz and Genna Baroni

with "You Drool On Me"

Megan Bascom

with "dream. fly. awaken. continue."
and

Lane Gifford / Lane and Co.

with "Bi-Coastal" and "Siren Unsung"
Doors open at 7:30pm, 

For more details and a link to buy tickets online: 
www.theroversoho.com
Tickets: $15 General, $12 Students w ID, $10 Seniors, $8 Children under 12 
Tickets for "Big Octopus"

The Rover Soho 
41 Wooster Street
Floor 2
(between Grand and Broome)
(A/C/E/R/W/B/D/V/F trains nearby)
Pictured: Yarden Raz and Genna Baroni
Photographed by Kevin McCullough

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AVI SCHER & DANCERS

presents the World Premieres of
Two Pieces

Utopia Variations and Inner Voice

and Four New York Premieres

featuring Marcelo Gomes, Sara Mearns and Veronika Part

April 3-5, 2010

at The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater

AVI SCHER & DANCERS presents its debut New York Season with a program including two World Premiere productions and four New York Premieres from April 3-5, 2010 at The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 W. 55th Street, NYC (at Ninth Avenue).  Performances: Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 3pm, Monday at 8pm.  Tickets are $22 (students $12) and are available at www.smarttix.com or by phone at 212-868-4444.

The program features six works with appearances by star dancers Marcelo Gomes, Sara Mearns and Veronika Part.  Singer Genevieve Labean performs live with musicians Wes Hutchinson and Chris LoPresto for the final piece of the evening.

The program begins with the New York Premiere of Mystery in the Wind, danced by Marcelo Gomes, Sara Mearns, Veronika Part, Abi Stafford and Elizabeth Walker.  The piece gives an eerie feeling, as three women create a small community, then a mysterious couple appears among them, unsettling the peace that the trio had developed.  The New York Premiere of Little Stories uses the pop-poetics of Jason Mraz’s songs to tell three stories of modern-day relationships.   The work is danced by Robert Colby Damon, Kelsey Converty, Jennifer Goodman, Savannah Lowery, Shane Ohmer, and Christian Tworzyanski.  No Matter What, a New York Premiere, delves into ideas of community and unity by depicting groups of people in various dilemmas and moods – good and bad, scary and peaceful – showing that their commitments to each other can take them through anything.  The dancers for the piece are Kelsey Coventry, Robert Colby Damon, Jennifer Goodman, J’aMalik, Victoria North, Nancy Richer, and Arron Scott with music by Aphex Twin.  The New York Premiere of Touch, with music by Alles Wie Gross and Alarm Will Sound, danced by Ralph Ippolito, Savannah Lowery, Veronika Part, Arron Scott, and Eric Tamm, explores our digital age and the lack of human connection imposed by it.  The World Premiere of Utopia Variations, danced by Marcelo Gomes and Sara Mearns, offers the unique opportunity to see these two star dancers from American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet dancing together.  The piece depicts people dancing at worlds end, as this slowly creeps into their insulated world.  Inner Voice, a World Premiere with live music performed by Genevieve Labean, will be danced by Elysia Dawn, Ja’Malik, Victoria North, Shane Ohmer, Nancy Richer, Arron Scott, Abi Stafford, Eric Tamm, Christian Tworzyanski, and Elizabeth Walker.  Through the music and presence of Ms. Labean, the dancers play with the idea of a guardian among us, with Ms. Labean, recently a dancer with NYCB, appearing as a dancer and singer.  The program is appropriate for children ages seven and above.

AVI SCHER & DANCERS was formed in August of 2008 by emerging choreographer Avichai Scher.  The company’s mission is to build a young audience for neo classical and contemporary ballet by presenting top quality dancers and new works in small, affordable venues.  The company has been seen at Jacob’s Pillow, American Dance Guild, Previews, Choreography Under the Stars in Palm Desert, CA, and in 2010, the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Symphony Space and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Photo by Jade Young

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in their Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts.

MSF/Doctors Without Borders has been working in Haiti for 19 years, most recently operating three emergency hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and is mobilizing a large emergency response to the Haiti/earthquake disaster.

Can you please help them provide medicine, surgeons, nurses,
and supplies to victims in this crisis?
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 Some Very Good Years

an evening of dance by Jessica Danser/dansfolk

Friday, March 19, 8 pm
Sunday, March 21, 5 pm

Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance-BAAD!
841 Baretto St., Bronx NY
6 train to Hunts Point or 2 train to Simpson St.

General Admission $15

Featuring the premiere of “mixtape for some pretty good years”
a celebration of coming of age in the ’90s created through workshops with the youth of Odyssey House, a girls-only treatment center for young women

As well as the best of JD/df 2005-2010 including 2009’s “Opposite of War”

Dancers: Jenny Boissiere, Ashlee Buckley, Jessica Danser, Kristin Dexnis, Nora Hickman, Abraham Jarrell

For more info or reservations please contact

718-842-5223

www.bronxacademyofartsanddance.org

Jessica Danser/dansfolk
dance for the people
www.facebook.com/dansfolk
www.myspace.com/dansfolk
www.fracturedatlas.com/donate

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in their Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts.

MSF/Doctors Without Borders has been working in Haiti for 19 years, most recently operating three emergency hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and is mobilizing a large emergency response to the Haiti/earthquake disaster.

Can you please help them provide medicine, surgeons, nurses,
and supplies to victims in this crisis?
Click Here to Send a Direct Donation to Doctors Without Borders

The iDANZ Commitment
For every new person
who signs-up to be a member of the
iDANZ Social Network, iDANZ will donate $1 to
Doctors Without Borders January 18 – March 1.
Go to www.iDANZ.com To help save lives by 
Becoming a Member of iDANZ Today!

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Season includes Premieres by Ángel Corella, Russell Ducker, and María Pagés as well as works by Leonid Lavrovsky, Christopher Wheeldon, Vladimir Vasiliov and Natalia Kasatkina With Angel Corella, Herman Cornejo, Joseph Gatti, Adiarys Almeida, Carmen Corella, Natalia Tapia, and Kazuko Omori

March 17 – 20 at New York City Center

New York, NY, February 24, 2010 – Choreographer Ángel Corella has announced the complete repertoire his company, Corella Ballet Castilla y León, will perform during its U.S. debut,

March 17 – 20 at New York City Center.  In addition to the U.S. premieres of Mr. Corella’s String Sextet, and Russell Ducker’s Epimetheus, the four-performance engagement will feature Leonid Lavrovsky’s Walpurgisnacht and Vladimir Vasiliov & Natalia Kasatkina’s Sunny Duet featuring Adiarys Almeida and Herman Cornejo. The debut will also include the world premiere of Soleá, pas de deux by the flamenco dancer and choreographer María Pagés, featuring Angel Corella and Carmen Corella; and Christopher Wheeldon’s DGV .

Corella Ballet dancers who will be performing at City Center include Principals: Adiarys Almeida, Carmen Corella, Natalia Tapia, Ángel Corella, Herman Cornejo and Joseph Gatti; First Soloist: Kazuko Omori; Soloists: Cristina Casa, Ashley Ellis, Mª José Sales, Fernando Bufalá, Kirill Radev and Yevgen Uzlenkov.

Ángel Corella’s String Sextet (2009), inspired by Tchaikovsky’s String Sextet, "Souvenir of Florence" Op. 70, 1892, is choreographed for the full company in four movements. The piece had its world premiere on July 30, 2009 at the Peralada Festival in Barcelona. 

Russell Ducker’s Epimetheus (2009), set to The Music of the Spheres by Mike Oldfield (who is known for Tubular Bells, featured in the film The Exorcist) was inspired by the fifth moon of the planet Saturn.  The piece had its world premiere on August 1, 2009 at the Noches Mágicas Festival in La Granja-Spain. 

Leonid Lavrovsky’s Walpurgisnacht (1956) set to music by Charles Francoise Gounod from his Faust opera, is a pas de trois created for the Bolshoi Ballet. It is based on Walpurgis Night, a holiday celebrated on April 30 or May 1 in large parts of Central and Northern Europe.

María Pages’ Soleá ,(2010), with music by Rubén Lebaniegos, was choreographed especially for Principal Dancers Ángel Corella and Carmen Corella. A soleá is one of the basic pillars of flamenco, rich with melodic richness and depth of execution.

Vladimir Vasiliov & Natalia Kasatkina’s Sunny Duet (1973), with music by Arno Babajanyan, will be danced by Principal Dancers Adiarys Almeida and Herman Cornejo.

Christopher Wheeldon‘s DGV (Danse à Grande Vitesse, 2006) is a meditation on travel set to Michael Nyman’s MGV : Musique à Grande Vitesse Musique.  The piece premiered at London’s Royal Ballet in 2006 and was nominated for an Oliver Award. DGV is performed by kind permission of The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, UK.

About The Choreographers:

Ángel Corella was born in Madrid in 1975.  He was awarded First Prize in the National Ballet Competition of Spain in 1991, and the Grand Prix and Gold Medal at the Concours International de Danse de Paris in 1994. Mr. Corella joined the American Ballet Theatre as a soloist in 1995 and in 1996 was promoted to Principal Dancer. His repertoire includes all the principal roles of the major classical, neoclassical and contemporary ballets. Mr. Corella has also been a guest star with the worlds’ leading dance companies, including The Royal Ballet, Australian Ballet, Ballet of Georgia, Bolshoi Ballet, New York City Ballet and Kirov Ballet. In 2000, Mr. Corella received the Benois de la Danse Award for his work in Other Dances by Jerome Robbins, and in 2002 he was awarded The National Dance Prize of Spain as "an exceptional dancer and representative of a generation which enhances Spanish dance in the most outstanding international companies. In 2001 he formed a foundation to promote classical dance in Spain and to provide the finest professional training to all dancers, regardless of their economic or social condition.

Russell Ducker began his training at the Royal Ballet of London, joining the Royal Ballet Upper School in 2004. He has been awarded the MacMillan, De Valoais and Ursula Morton Prizes and has received an award from the NFL Choreographic Foundation.  Mr. Ducker is also a dancer with the Corella Ballet.

Leonid Lavrovsky (1905 – 1967) a Russian dancer and choreographer, was Artistic Director of the Kirov Ballet from 1935 – 1944 after which he was named chief choreographer of the Bolshoi Ballet.

María Pagés is internationally renowned for her personal esthetic concept of the art of flamenco. She started her professional career as a member of the Antonio Gades Company and in 1990 established the María Pagés Company, which has toured the most prestigious stages throughout Europe, Asia and the United States.

Vladimir Vasiliov and Natalia Kasatkina: Vladimir Vasiliov joined the Bolshoi Ballet in 1958 and performed as principal dancer for the next twenty years. He began choreographing the 1970 and his works have been seen at the Bolshoi and major companies around the world.  He was named Artistic Director of the Rome Opera Ballet in 1993, and in 1995 returned to the Bolshoi Ballet as Director. He has choreographed many works with his wife, Natalia Kasatkina. Ms. Kasatkina joined the Bolshoi Ballet in 1954. She began to choreograph with Mr. Vasiliov in 1962. She and Vasiliov subsequently became directors of the Moscow Classical Ballet, an international touring company for which they have created many works.

Christopher Wheeldon has created ballets for companies all over the world, including The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and Boston Ballet, to name a few.  He co-founded Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, and served as Artistic Director from 2007 – 2010. Mr. Wheeldon was Resident Choreographer New York City Ballet from 2001 – 2008, where he created 17 ballets.

About the Company:

Corella Ballet Castilla y León was founded in April 2008 at the Royal Palace of La Granja in Segovia-Spain. Corella Ballet, under Ángel Corella’s artistic direction, is currently the only classical ballet company in Spain. Corella Ballet’s wide repertoire incorporates classical, neoclassical and contemporary choreography. The company consists of 60 dancers from 12 countries: Spain, Cuba, United States, Brazil, Ukraine, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Russia, Argentina, the Republic of Georgia and Kazajstán. Corella Ballet Foundation projects include the creation of a dance school which will also be the base for future Corella Ballet dancers. One of the company’s missions is to provide a professional career for classical dancers in Spain, so that Spanish born dancers do not have to leave the country to further their careers, as Corella and many others have done. The Spanish National Heritage Department has granted the Foundation Ángel Corella use of the Santa Cecila Palace in the Royal Place of La Granja de San Ildefonso, Spain. This location will be the future home of the company as well as the boarding school.

Corella Ballet will play for four performances, at New York City Center, 55^th Street, between 6^th and 7^th Avenues, according to the following schedule: March 17 at 7:30, March 19 at 8 pm and March 20 at 2 & 8 pm.  (no performance Thursday, March 18) Tickets range from $25 – $75 and can be purchased by calling CityTix® at 212-581-1212, online at www.nycitycenter.org or at the City Center Box Office (West 55^th Street between 6^th and 7^th Avenues).

The Performance Schedule

Wednesday, March 17 at 7:30 pm; Friday, March 19 at 8 pm; Saturday, March 20 at 8 pm

STRING SEXTET (U.S. Premiere, 2009)
Choreography: Ángel Corella
Music: Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, String Sextet, "Souvenir of Florence" Op. 70
WALPURGISNACHT (1956)

Choreography: Leonid Lavrovsky

Music: From Faust (1859, ballet music added in 1869) by Charles Francoise Gounod

Pas de Trois performed by Kazuko Omori, Joseph Gatti & Kirill Radev

(Yevgen Uzlenkov replaces Radev on March 19)

SUNNY DUET (1973)

Choreography: Vladimir Vasiliov & Natalia Kasatkina

Music: Arno Babajanyan

Pas de deux performed by Adiarys Almeida and Herman Cornejo

SOLEÁ (World Premiere)

Choreography:  María Pagés
Pas de deux performed by Ángel Corella & Carmen Corella

DGV: DANSE À GRAND VITESSE (2006)
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Music: Michael Nyman, MGV: Musique à Grande Vitesse

Saturday, March 20 at 2 pm

STRING SEXTET (U.S. Premiere, 2009)
Choreography: Ángel Corella
Music: Peter Tchaikovsky, String Sextet, "Souvenir of Florence" Op. 70

EPIMETHEUS (U.S. Premiere, 2009)
Choreography: Russell Ducker
Music: Mike Oldfield, The Music of the Spheres

SOLEÁ (World Premiere)

Choreography:  María Pagés
Pas de deux performed by Ángel Corella & Carmen Corella

DGV: DANSE À GRAND VITESSE (2006)
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Music: Michael Nyman, MGV: Musique à Grande Vitesse

iDANZ Supports Doctors Without Borders
in their Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts.

MSF/Doctors Without Borders has been working in Haiti for 19 years, most recently operating three emergency hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and is mobilizing a large emergency response to the Haiti/earthquake disaster.

Can you please help them provide medicine, surgeons, nurses,
and supplies to victims in this crisis?
Click Here to Send a Direct Donation to Doctors Without Borders

The iDANZ Commitment
For every new person
who signs-up to be a member of the
iDANZ Social Network, iDANZ will donate $1 to
Doctors Without Borders January 18 – March 1.
Go to www.iDANZ.com To help save lives by 
Becoming a Member of iDANZ Today!

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FIVE PERFORMANCES WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24 – SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2010

IN JUILLIARD’S PETER JAY SHARP THEATER

Juilliard Dance, under the artistic direction of Lawrence Rhodes, presents Juilliard Dances Repertory, five performances Wednesday, March 24 – Sunday, March 28, 2010, performing classic works from the repertoire: Merce Cunningham’s Summerspace; Juilliard alumnus Paul Taylor’s Last Look; and Jerome Robbins’ N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz. Second, third and fourth-year dancers perform on this program. The Juilliard Orchestra, conducted by George Stelluto, and Juilliard Jazz musicians perform the live music for the dancers. Shows take place Wednesday, March 24, Thursday, March 25, Friday, March 26 and Saturday, March 27, all at 8 PM, with a matinee performance on Sunday, March 28 at 3 PM in The Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Juilliard (155 West 65^th Street).

Tickets at $20 are available at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard or through CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500. Half-price tickets for students and seniors and TDF are accepted only at the Box Office. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.

Summerspace, was created in 1958 for Mr. Cunningham’s dance company and had its premiere on August 17, 1958 at Connecticut College in New London. The work is set to Morton Feldman’s Ixion, with backdrops and costumes by renowned artist Robert Rauschenberg. The work is set for 6 dancers (2 men and 4 women). Juilliard faculty member, Banu Ogan, a former member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (1993 to 2000), and Carolyn Brown, a Juilliard alumna and one of the founding members of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, have been working closely with Juilliard dancers on the piece.

Paul Taylor’s Last Look set to a score by Donald York, with a set and costumes by Alex Katz, features 9 dancers (4 men and 5 women). Last Look had its premiere in 1985 by the Paul Taylor Dance Company at New York City Center. While Last Look has been in the Taylor repertoire a longtime, it has rarely been given to other dance companies. The work has an apocalyptic feel to it, is physically-demanding and theatrical. There is no partnering and very little touching in the work, as the dancers fling themselves about. Juilliard faculty member and alumna, Linda Kent, who danced with the Paul Taylor Dance Company from 1975 through 1989 in more than 40 works of originally created and existing dances, is leading Juilliard’s dancers during the rehearsal period.

(more)

Jerome Robbins’ N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, sometimes referred to as the ballet in sneakers, had its premiere by the Jerome Robbins’ dance company, Ballets: U.S.A., on June 8, 1958 at the Festival of Two Worlds, Spoleto. Set to a jazz score by Robert Prince with urban backdrops by Ben Shahn, N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz about disaffected teenagers blends ballet, jazz and ballroom dancing with Latin, African and American rhythms. The work features 18 dancers (2 principal men and 2 principal women, 7 men and 7 women). The original costumes by Florence Klotz will be changed to modern day attire – black jeans and t-shirts, with sneakers with soles. Gary Chryst, who has danced with the Joffrey Ballet and the Nederlands Dans Theater and on Broadway in Guys and Dolls, Dancin’ and Nureyev, is working with Juilliard dancers on the piece.

During the run, Juilliard Dance will conduct an education outreach program to accompany Juilliard Dances Repertory, bringing several hundred New York City students in grades four through eight to attend an hour-long outreach performance on Friday, March 26 at 11 AM. The program introduces students to modern dance concepts, movements, and the choreographic process, as well as the role of an audience member and great dance works of today’s choreographers.

iDANZ Supports Doctors Without Borders
in their Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts.

MSF/Doctors Without Borders has been working in Haiti for 19 years, most recently operating three emergency hospitals in Port-au-Prince, and is mobilizing a large emergency response to the Haiti/earthquake disaster.

Can you please help them provide medicine, surgeons, nurses,
and supplies to victims in this crisis?
Click Here to Send a Direct Donation to Doctors Without Borders

The iDANZ Commitment
For every new person
who signs-up to be a member of the
iDANZ Social Network, iDANZ will donate $1 to
Doctors Without Borders January 18 – March 1.
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92ND STREET Y HARKNESS DANCE FESTIVAL

From The Horse’s Mouth: Celebrating 75 Years of Dance and Community

Fri & Sat, Feb 26 & 27 at 8 pm; Sun, Feb 28 at 3 pm

Performances take place at the 92nd Street Y

(1395 Lexington Ave at 92nd Street)

Tickets & Information: www.92y.org/HarknessFestival or 212.415.5500

New York, NY, January 21, 2010 — Everyone loves a good story. Not only do they entertain and enlighten, they link our past, future and present, reminding us of our common humanity. Fortunately, there will be plenty of stories at the opening of the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival on the weekend of February 26-28 in Tina Croll’s and Jamie Cunningham’s “live dance documentary,” From the Horse’s Mouth. Close to 75 performers including Donald McKayle, Carmen deLavallade, Martine Van Hamel, Tina Ramirez, Yoshiko Chuma, Monica Bill Barnes, Christine Dakin, Suki John, Ze’eva Cohen, Gus Solomons, Jr., Bill Young, and Charles Reinhart, along with dance students, faculty and staff will share their thoughts about working and studying at this historic home of dance in three different programs (Fri, Sat and Sun).

In honor of the 75th Anniversary season of dance at the 92nd Street Y, this year’s five-week festival (running through March 28) moves back to the 92nd Street Y’s beautiful Buttenweiser Hall, the site of legendary performances by dance giants as well as two current dance performance series, weekly dance classes and socials.

About From the Horse’s Mouth:

Funny, thoughtful and poignant, the stories and diverse movement styles that comprise this version of From the Horse’s Mouth reflect and portray the inclusiveness and diversity of dance at the 92nd Street Y, which has long embraced and supported dance and dancers in all their myriad forms and styles. Each of the Horse’s Mouth performances at the 92Y Harkness Festival features a different cast of 25 dancers, all united by their connection to the 92nd Street Y which has served as a home and starting point for many of them. “So many dancers feel that this is the original home, the well-spring of dance,” notes Cunningham. “It’s good to be part of the Y community and to be part of what the Y has done.”

Like the community at 92Y, “From the Horse’s Mouth is totally democratic…It’s like a big family picnic,” says Cunningham, who along with Croll first created From the Horse’s Mouth in 1998 as a way to get dance friends to tell their stories. Since then, over 700 dance artists, as well as set designers, musicians, critics and presenters have participated in 35 different stagings of the work.

From the Horse’s Mouth generally consists of three sections. “We ask the performers to share something important about their life,” explains Croll. “Once they’ve told their story, performers have a chance to dance, using whatever movement they choose.” Croll and Cunningham never impose any of their own movement, leaving the possibilities open. The second section is more theatrical. Dancers may use costumes–either from favorite works or something they’ve always wanted to wear, but never had an opportunity to do so. The final section brings all the participants together in a procession where they can share in each other’s styles and celebrate the broad field of dance across backgrounds and genres.

About Tina Croll and Jamie Cunningham

Croll and Cunningham have known each other and worked together for more than 40 years–in fact they live across the street from one another. Cunningham, who started acting and dancing with the Toronto Children Players at age seven, attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts before coming to New York City on a scholarship to the Martha Graham School. After majoring in dance at Bennington College and returning to New York to study and perform, Croll left dance for awhile. Encouraged by her spiritual teacher, she returned to the city where she reconnected with Cunningham. Since creating From the Horse’s Mouth in 1998, they have presented the work with organizations such as the Martha Graham Dance Company, the American Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow, including artists such as Mary Anthony, Sara Rudner, Douglas Dunn, John Jasperse, Jane Comfort, Carol Lawrence, Nicholas Leitner, Stuart Hodes, Wendy Perron, Yvonne Rainer, Don Redlich and Marcia Siegel.

Photography by David Levy, The Limon Company

92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival

PERFORMANCE LOCATION:  92nd Street Y (1395 Lexington Avenue)

DATES & TIMES: Fri & Sat, Feb 26, & 27 at 8 pm; Sun, Feb 28 at 3 pm

BOX OFFICE: Tickets at $15 ($12 for students/seniors) can be purchased at  www.92Yorg/HarknessFestival | 212.415.5500 

Coming up in the Festival:

WEEK 2 | Mar 5-7

THE LIMON COMPANY: Revivals of La Malinche and There is a Time, excerpts from works by Anna Sokolow, Donald McKayle and Daniel Nagrin.

WEEK 3 | Mar 12-14

DOUG VARONE PRESENTS:  Related/Unrelated (world premiere), featuring works by former company members Nancy Bannon and Gwen Welliver and current DOVA artist Daniel Charon.

WEEK 4 | Mar 19-21

YOSHIKO CHUMA AND THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS: Premiere of Hold the Clock, new works by accompanying artists

WEEK 5 | Mar 26-28

MOLISSA FENLEY: Old and new works by Fenley and friends

The Harkness Dance Center is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this season with major funding from The Harkness Foundation for Dance; Jody and John Arnhold; Daphne Recanati Kaplan and Thomas S. Kaplan; and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation. Additional funding is also provided by The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation; Capezio/Ballet Makers Dance Foundation Inc; and Bernard Laterman, among others.

The Harkness Dance Center is made possible, in part, by public funds from: the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius; the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; and the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development and the New York City Council.

About the 92nd Street Y

The 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center has been called “the cradle of modern dance.”  In the decades after the dance program began in 1935, every great American dancer and choreographer–visionaries including Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, Jerome Robbins, Agnes de Mille, Robert Joffrey and Donald McKayle–spent time at 92Y. Through the support of the Harkness Foundation for Dance, the Y continues to offer classes for adults and children; teen dance troupes; professional development programs; and performances. Doug Varone and Dancers is currently the Dance Center’s company-in-residence. For more information, please visit www.92Y.org/Harkness.

Founded in 1874 by a group of visionary Jewish leaders, the 92nd Street Y has grown into a wide-ranging cultural, educational and community center serving people of all ages, races, faiths and backgrounds–about 300,000 people annually. For more information about 92Y’s programs, visit www.92Y.org.

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Elegant and Extraordinary Contemporary Dance Company
Makes its Bronx Debut

Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 6pm
All students and seniors pay only $10 for any seat!

Bronx, NY – Lehman Center for the Performing Arts delivers the world of dance to the Bronx with Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet of San Francisco.
This celebrated contemporary ballet company offers a unique global artistic vision that includes rich collaborations with composers, musicians, and visual artists.  Alonzo King’s visionary choreography is renowned for its ability to connect audiences to a profound sense of shared humanity — of vulnerability and tenderness, but also of furious abandon and exhilarating freedom.   The Company has been featured at several prestigious festivals, including Montpellier Danse and the Holland Dance Festival.  The extraordinary quality of the dancers continues to receive glowing reviews in the US and abroad: in France, Le Monde described the performance as “a vision that remains inscribed in memory” as dancers “glide from one halo of light to the next… with distilled grace,” while The Village Voice compared the dancers to “diamonds — twisting in the light or rapidly scratching complex codes on glass.”

Tickets for ALONZO KING’S LINES BALLET are $35, $30 & $25 (tickets for all students and seniors are only $10, any seat) and can be purchased through 24 hour online access at www.LehmanCenter.org or by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833 (Mon. through Fri. 10am-5pm; Tues 10am-7pm and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert).  Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd., and is right off several major highways, including the Henry Hudson Parkway, the Saw Mill River Parkway and Major Deegan Expressway.  Free on-site parking is available.
Lehman Center, the Bronx’s premier concert hall for international dance, continues its stellar season with the BALLET FOLKLÓRICO DE MÉXICO DE AMALIA HERNÁNDEZ appearance (Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 4pm) and many more future events.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.  Lehman Center also receives support from the New York State Council on the Arts.  “Signs and Wonders” was made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts’ American Masterpieces: Dance initiative, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts.

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SLIPPAGE: Performance|Culture|Technology Presents NYC Premiere Of

Monk’s Mood: A Performance Meditation on the
Life and Music of Thelonious Monk

Joyce SoHo
December 11 – 13, 2009

SLIPPAGE: Performance|Culture|Technology, in residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, presents Monk’s Mood: A Performance Meditation on the Life and Music of Thelonious Monk at Joyce SoHo on December 11 – 13, 2009. Conceived by and featuring Thomas F. DeFrantz, this solo performance explores tap dance as a narrative form of storytelling, augmented by digital technologies. New Jersey-based poly-media artist Eto Oro provides programming and visual environment.

Monk’s Mood explores Thelonious Monk’s life and music as well as personal relationships with his wife, Nellie, and the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, who befriended Monk and other jazz musicians of the bebop era. The work approaches his isolation, melancholy, creative genius, and ultimately, his madness. The improvisational nature of the work allows DeFrantz to interpret Monk’s chord progression, rhythms, tone and feeling – enhancing the audience’s exploration of jazz, tap dance and emergent technology blending together as a theatrical story.

"One of my concerns is how to use technology to enhance theatrical storytelling, improvisation and artistic performance," said DeFrantz, a Professor of Music and Theater Arts at MIT. “In a way, my steps are analogous to Monk’s piano keys; I’m interpreting his rhythms and collaborating with my feet. The performance is spontaneous and original."

The 50-minute work employs high-tech floor pads, conceptually designed by MIT and Stanford graduate students, to trigger sound and video images during the performance. A digital archive of related content is manipulated within each of the ten scenes, resulting in a one-of-a-kind improvisational and emotional narrative. The use of technology in such a unique performance capability, displays the exploration and educational possibilities of creating new performance platforms.

DeFrantz began developing Monk’s Mood during a summer residency at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Study and Conference Center in Italy. He developed it further in residencies at Stanford University and Hampshire College. Sections of the work have been performed at New Haven International Festival of the Arts (2002), Centre National de la Danse, Paris (2005), American Dance Festival (2007), Capetown South Africa International Ballet Gala (2008), and in residency at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (2009).

Performances start at 8:00 PM Eastern. Tickets are $15 or $12 for students and seniors; tickets can be purchased in advance at www.joyce.org, or by calling (212) 352-3101. Tickets will also be sold on site one-half hour before curtain. Post-performance discussions will take place on December 11-12, 2009.

Venue Information

Joyce SoHo
155 Mercer Street (Houston/Prince)
New York, NY 10012

B/D/F/V to Broadway-Lafayette, R to Prince, 6 to Bleecker

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NEW YORK SEASON AT THE JOYCE THEATER DECEMBER 1 – 13

Features Two World Premieres, One New York Premiere, Two Revivals
and One Repertory Favorite

Ballet Hispanico, recognized as the preeminent Hispanic-American dance institution in the United States, presents its annual New York Season at The Joyce Theater December 1 – 13, 2009.  The season marks the company’s first New York engagement under the leadership of Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro, who took the reigns from Founding Artistic Director Tina Ramirez in August.

Vilaro has assembled an extraordinary season of dance, featuring Tríptico, a world premiere by choreographer Ron De Jesús, in collaboration with GRAMMY Award-winning composer Oscar Hernández, performed to live music; and the world premiere of Nací by emerging American choreographer Andrea Miller.

In addition, Vilaro will offer the New York premiere of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s duet, Locked Up Laura, the revivals of Vicente Nebrada’s Batucada Fantástica and Ramon Oller’s Goodnight Paradise, and Ballet Hispanico repertory favorite Club Havana by Pedro Ruiz.

“I’m thrilled to be presenting an incredible roster of works by some of the finest Latino/a choreographers of our time,” said Vilaro.  These new ‘voices’ in Ballet Hispanico’s  repertory meld classical, contemporary and traditional Hispanic dance forms to collectively showcase powerful fusions of the Latino diaspora.”

Ballet Hispanico at The Joyce Theater December 1 – 13, 2009

WORLD PREMIERES

Nací

(2009)

Choreography by Andrea Miller

Music by A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Capilla Antigua De Chinchilla,

Tony Gatlif, Francoise Atlan, Aïcha Redouane, & Montserrat Figueras

Drawing from the duality of her Spanish and Jewish-American background, choreographer Andrea Miller explores Sephardic culture with her distinctive voice. This work, created for three women and five men, reflects the eclectic religions and origins found in Spain interpreted through her personal identity. Miller takes audiences on a journey through a series of vignettes set to stirring echoes of folkloric music layered with a modern sensibility.

Tríptico

(2009)

Choreography by Ron De Jesús

Music by Oscar Hernandez

Choreographer Ron De Jesús challenges traditional Latin social rhythms with the power, speed, and control of contemporary partnering. This daredevil interpretation of GRAMMY Award-winning Oscar Hernandez’ commissioned score takes an athletic approach to the romantic pas de deux. Three couples fold and unfold into one another, transforming the standard triptych into a dynamic expression of energy, silhouette and composition. 

NEW YORK PREMIERE

Locked Up Laura

(2008)

Choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

Music by Bart Rijnink

A longstanding partnership, forged through the daily discipline of dance, faces the moment when one partner loses artistic focus.  Ochoa fractures classical ballet technique to capture the wry humor and poignant emotion of this final pas de deux, as Rijnink’s spare soundscape takes the duo from offstage to the spotlight and back.

REVIVALS

Goodnight Paradise

(1994)

Choreography by Ramon Oller

Music by Eduardo Rodriguez and Marina Rosell

Catalan lyrics, haunting tableaus, and relationships that stem from the dark side of the heart shape this powerful and highly physical piece of dance theater. This piece was last performed by the Company in 1999.

Batucada Fantástica

(1982)

Choreography by Vicente Nebrada

Music by Luciano Perrone

Batucada Fantástica evokes the essence of Brazilian Carnival through eight electric solos, culminating in a riotous ensemble finale. Batucada Fantástica rejoins the repertory after 12 years.

RECENT REPERTORY

Club Havana

(2000)

Choreography by Pedro Ruiz

Music by López, Gonzáles, Salim, Prado, and Repilado

The intoxicating rhythms of the Conga, Rumba, Mambo, and Cha Cha are brought to life by Cuban-born choreographer Pedro Ruiz. Echoing the memory of an important era from his heritage, he creates his very own “Club Havana.”

TICKET PRICES AND MEMBER INFORMATION

To become a Joyce Member, ticket buyers simply purchase tickets to four different companies at the same time and they automatically save 25% (not applicable for $19 or $10 tickets).  Joyce Members are entitled to the 25% discount on additional tickets purchased throughout the season – until August 14, 2009. For more information on becoming a Joyce Member, please visit www.Joyce.org or call JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Single ticket prices are $10, $19, $35, $59 and go on sale July 27. Tickets can be purchased by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800, in person at the Box Office (Monday – Friday 12-6pm), or online by visiting www.Joyce.org.   The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th street).

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