Meryl Tankard's THE ORACLE Performs at NYU Skirball, Now thru 2/9

Australian choreographer Meryl Tankard returns to New York with one of her most gripping works to date. The Oracle is set to Stravinsky's seminal composition for the infamous 1913 ballet The Rite of Spring, which caused riots at its Paris premiere. The Oracleexplores the conflicting forces of nature and man, masculinity and femininity, violence and nurturing, strength and vulnerability. An intense solo for virtuosic performer Paul White, one of Australia's greatest dancers and incoming member of Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal, The Oracle includes haunting visual and set designer by Régis Lansac. The U.S. premiere took place on February 5 at 7:30pm at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ, as part of a seven-city U.S. tour.

Performances of The Oracle will take place tonight, February 7-9 at 8pm at the NYU Skirball Center. The running time is 50 minutes with no intermission. The NYU SKirball center is located at 566 LaGuardia Place in Manhattan. Tickets, which are $30-$49, are available online at nyuskirball.org or by phone at 212.352.3101.

Meryl Tankard is one of Australia's finest contemporary artists. Having leapt to fame in Europe as a member of Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal, Tankard returned to her country to create a dance theatre aesthetic all her own. She has created work for some of the world's finest companies, and her large-scale commissions, such as the opening ceremony for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, are a testament to her imaginative range. In 2010, The Oracle was honored with the Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography.