The Joyce Theater is thrilled to welcome Emio Greco | PC (directed by Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten) back onto its stage for a one-week season from September 29 - October 4. This internationally renowned Netherlands-based company, last seen at The Joyce in 2006, will present the NYC premiere of [purgatorio] POPOPERA, an evening-length work based on Dante's Purgatorio Tickets, starting at $10, can be purchased through JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or via the internet at www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.
After presenting their highly acclaimed HELL, based on Dante's Inferno, Emio Greco | PC has completed [purgatorio] POPOPERA which will have its NYC premiere at The Joyce Theater. The company takes its inspiration from Dante's literary depiction of a geographical place and feeling of transition that provides the opening for inner transformation. Greco and Scholten have said, "whereas in HELL we let our dancers wander round the same circles each time, in [purgatorio]POPOPERA they break out of them. The will, the need to live and especially the hope for the future are the essential motives. In [purgatorio]POPOPERA we try to show the audience other images than it expects of those overly familiar themes that cling to the concept of purgatory (catharsis, purification through suffering, ...) in order to approach these themes from new angles." The company invites audiences to witness the transformation and synergies between dancers' bodies and the lustrous black electric guitars they carry in this performance that melds dance with rock concert. The piece features original music composed by Bang-on-a-Can founder Michael Gordon, performed live by the dancers and soprano Michaela Riener.[purgatorio] POPOPERA is a co-production of MAPP International Productions and Emio Greco|PC; Théâtre del a Ville/Paris; Holland Festival/Amsterdam; Teatro Duse/Bologna; Maison del al Culture/Amiens; and Torino Danza.
World Premiere:
Holland Festival (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), June 2008
Lead commissioning support:
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
The Joyce Theater's Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New Work
[purgatorio] POPOPERA has received generous support from:
Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
Dutch Fund for the Performing Arts
[purgatorio] POPOPERA was developed during residencies at:
Maison de la Culture d'Amiens (France)
MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA)
Teatro Duse (Bologna, Italy)
Presenters of [purgatorio] POPOPERA include:
Holland Festival (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Festival d'Avignon (Avignon, France)
The Joyce Theater (New York, NY)
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (College Park, MD)
MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA)
Emio Greco | PC
Emio Greco | PC (EG|PC)-founded in 1996-is more than a dance company. The company promotes a broader attitude towards the consciousness of the body. It initiated a series of salons on dance and discourse, established a section devoted to research on recording and notation of body movement and developed an educational program under the name of Accademia Mobile. EG | PC regularly invites artists from their own and other disciplines to take part in a valuable dialogue. Though always maintaining dance as their point of reference, in recent years, Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten have stepped back from making purely dance-centered work to direct their attention to theater, film and opera as well as contemporary music.
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