BATSHEVA DANCE COMPANY Returns to The Joyce 9/1-10/3

The Joyce Theater is proud to welcome back onto its stage Israel's Batsheva Dance Company, who will present the New York premiere of Project 5, an evening-length work by Artistic Director Ohad Naharin, for two-weeks: September 21 - October 3. During this engagement, Project 5, originally danced by an all-female cast, will be performed by alternating all-female and all-male casts, allowing audiences to witness the work in two completely different ways. Tickets for Batsheva Dance Company at The Joyce start at $10 and can be purchased through JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.

Batsheva Dance Company, Israel's national dance company, brings esteemed Artistic Director Ohad Naharin's Project 5 to New York for the first time. This evening-length work, performed on a bare stage with simple lighting and costumes, features an artful combination of excerpts from earlier pieces by Naharin that include Moshe, a trio created in 1999; George & Zalman, a quintet set to a text by Charles Bukowski and minimalist composer Arvo Pärt's "Für Alina," created in 2006; Black Milk, an extremely athletic ceremonial piece, created in 1985 and revised in 1991; and B/olero, a duet with hypnotizing loops of movement that is the only work created specifically for Project 5. For its world premiere in 2008, Project 5 showcased five female dancers. Joyce audiences, however, will be able to experience two different perspectives on the piece by seeing it performed not only by the all-female cast (for five performances: Sept 21-22 at 7:30pm; 23 at 8pm; 25 at 2pm; 26 at 7:30pm), but also by an all-male cast (for nine performances: Sept 24-25 at 8pm; 26 at 2pm; 28-29 at 7:30pm; 30-Oct 2 at 8pm; Oct 3 at 2pm).

ABOUT BATSHEVA DANCE COMPANY AND THE GAGA TECHNIQUE
Batsheva Dance Company has been critically acclaimed and popularly embraced as one of the most exciting contemporary dance companies in the world since its creation in 1964 by the Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild, who enlisted Martha Graham as artistic adviser. Now, along with its junior Batsheva Ensemble, the organization boasts a roster of 40 dancers drawn from Israel and abroad and presents over 250 performances annually.

Ohad Naharin assumed the role of Artistic Director in 1990 and was instrumental in creating a distinct vision and choreographic voice that led the company away from its strongly-influenced roots in American contemporary dance. Since the 1990s, Gaga, Oharin's revolutionary movement language and training method, has been cited as the reason why Batsheva dancers are so remarkably present throughout performances. In executing the Gaga technique, dancers in a mirrorless studio respond to verbal movement instructions and explore the energy stored in specific body parts and actions. This exploration arms the dancers with an extraordinary range of movement that stretches beyond traditional training methods.

ABOUT The Joyce Theater
The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences since 1982. The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, which opened as The Joyce Theater in 1982. The Joyce is named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to establish the theater. One of the only theaters built by dancers for dance, The Joyce Theater has provided an intimate and elegant New York home for more than 300 domestic and international companies. The Joyce has also commissioned more than 130 new dances since 1992. In 1996, The Joyce created Joyce SoHo, a dance center providing highly subsidized rehearsal and performance space to hundreds of dance artists. New York City public school students and teachers annually benefit from The Joyce's Dance Education Program, and adult audiences get closer to dance through pre-engagement Dance Talks and post-performance "Dance Chat" discussions. The Joyce Theater now features an annual season of approximately 48 weeks with over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 135,000. Additionally, for the last six years The Joyce has co-produced Evening Stars as part of the River To River Festival in Lower Manhattan.
Batsheva Dance Company presenting the New York premiere of Project 5, an evening-length work by Artistic Director Ohad Naharin, can be seen at The Joyce Theater for two-weeks from September 21 - October 3. The performance schedule is as follows:

FEMALE CAST: Sep 21-22 at 7:30pm; 9/23 at 8pm; 9/25 at 2pm; 9/26 at 7:30pm
MALE CAST: Sep 24- 25 at 8pm; 9/26 at 2pm; 9/28-29 at 7:30pm; Sep 30-Oct 2 at 8pm; 10/3 at 2pm
Please note: There will be NO 2pm performance on Saturday, October 2 and NO 7:30pm performance on Sunday, October 3. Dance Chat, a free post-performance talkback with the artists, will take place on Wednesday, September 22, and is open to all attending that evening's performance. A video illustrated Dance Talks presentation, moderated by Dance Magazine Editor-in-Chief Wendy Perron, will take place at Joyce SoHo (155 Mercer Street, between Houston and Prince Streets) on September 13, from 6pm-8pm. A series of three Master Classes in the Gaga technique and in company repertory will take place at DANY Studios (305 West 38th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues) on September 24, 27 and October 1. The October 1 Master Class will be led by Ohad Naharin.

Tickets start at $10 (for the front row) and range up to $75 (top price for Joyce Members is $44). Please note: Ticket prices are subject to change. Tickets and subscriptions can be purchased by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.