Complexions Contemporary Ballet Returns to The Joyce Theater, Now thru 11/25

Complexions Contemporary Ballet returns to The Joyce Theater for its annual two-week engagement, today, November 13-25, 2012, featuring two world premieres and two New York premieres.

For its Joyce season, the company performs two New York Premieres by Dwight Rhoden with music ranging from Rockjazz virtuoso ELEW to Michael Nyman. In addition, a New York Premiere of Flight choreographed by Associate Artistic Director, Jae Man Joo and a World Premiere by award winning choreographer, Camille Brown commissioned by The Joyce Theater Foundation in New York City with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.. Also on tap—repertory favorites like Testament, On Holiday, and a new production of Pretty Gritty Suite, set to the music of Nina Simone add to three thrilling programs.

Now in its 18th season, Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Artistic Directors and Co-Founders Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson have announced the official programming for the company’s return to The Joyce Theater, taking place today, November 13-25, 2012. To purchase tickets, please call Joyce Charge at 212-242-0800 or visit www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th Street) in Chelsea.

THE CURVE
(2012, New York Premiere)
Choreography by: Dwight Rhoden
Lighting Design by: Michael Korsch
Music by: Excerpted sounds and manipulated samples of rhythms, melodies,and string lines in addition to Michael Nyman, Hauschka, Hildur Guonadottir, Emil Dedov, Alva Noto, & Ryuichi Sakamoto
Costume Design by: Kelly Brown
Performed by: The Company

The Curve is an abstract, conceptual full company work that looks at ideas, emotions and lines of energy in relation to various settings in time and space. Set to an eclectic score - with a sampling of tones, string lines, piano cacaphonies, percussive rhythmical licks, and ambient textures, lay the ground floor for this energetic soundscape. The Curve is an example of dynamic themes in a continuous state of evolution. Surprising and unexpected turns represent the rise, fall, and shift of ones perspective as the progression of a constant path is altered and bent representing change. The Curve is constructed in various group configurations - which sub divide into solos, duets, trios and quartets. Dancers defy gravity, moving high and low into the space with an internal intensity - athletic and extreme angles morph and arc in out of each other. Movements cut into space, sheer, slide, fold & unfold creating a rapid ever changing physicality - that moves beyond the choreography itself - conjuring emotional connections - ranging from the simple to the bizarre.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE
(2012, World Premiere)
Choreography by: Dwight Rhoden
Lighting Design by: Michael Korsch
Music by: Linkin Park
Music  Performed by: ELEW
Costumes by: Kelly Brown
Performed by: Christina Dooling & Edgar Anido

MEMORIES
(2012, World Premiere)
Choreography by: Camille A. Brown
Assistant to Choreographer: Waldean Nelson, Willie “Tre” Smith, Marlena Wolfe
Lighting Design by: Michael Korsch
Music by: "Improvisation based on "You Taught My Heart to Sing" by McCoy Tyner" and "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper
Music Performed by: Nick Demopoulos
Costumes by: Carolyn Meckha Cherry
Performed by: (Tues, November 13th, Fri., November 16th, Sun. November 18th)
Mark Caserta & D. Gary W. Jeter II
(Wed. November 14th & Sat. November 17th)
Norbert De La Cruz III & Samantha Figgins

"A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen." ~Edward de Bono

MEMORIES was commissioned by The Joyce Theater Foundation in New York City with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

FLIGHT
(2012, New York Premiere)
Choreography by: Jae Man Joo
Lighting Design by: Michael Korsch
Music by: Johann Sebastian Bach
Costumes by: Jae Man Joo
Performed by: Mark Caserta & Norbert De La Cruz III

CHARTER
(2012, Excerpt)
Choreography by: Dwight Rhoden
Lighting Design by: Michael Korsch
Music by: Nicholas Payton
Music Performed live by: Nicholas Payton Quartet
Costumes by: Jae Man Joo
Performed by: Desmond Richardson

Charter has been commissioned by the New Orleans Ballet Association with generous support from Chevron

LUX
(2007)
Choreography by: Dwight Rhoden
Lighting Design by: Michael Korsch
Music by: Eric Whitacre
Music Performed by: Turtle Creek Chorale
Costumes by: DM Design
Performed by: Natalia Alonso, Tercell Waters, Shuaib Elhassen

LUX was commissioned through the generous support of TITAS/Dallas, TX

CHOKE
(2007)
Choreography by: Dwight Rhoden
Lighting Design by: Michael Korsch
Music by: Antonio Vivaldi
Costumes by: DM Design
Performed by: Clifford Williams & Kris Nobles

TESTAMENT
(2011, Excerpt)
Choreography by: Dwight Rhoden
Lighting Design by: Michael Korsch
Music: Amazing Grace/Traditional
Costumes by: Jae Man Joo
Performed by: Natalia Alonso & Tercell Waters

TESTAMENT was commissioned through the generous support of TITAS/Dallas, TX

ON HOLIDAY
(2010, Excerpt)
Choreography by: Dwight Rhoden
Lighting Design by: Michael Korsch
Music: Maurice Yvain Vocals
Performed by: Billy Porter
Arrangements by: James Sampliner & Billy Porter
Costume Design by: Christine Darch
Performed by: Christina Dooling and Edgar Anido

ON HOLIDAY was commissioned in part through the generous support of City Parks Foundation for Summer Stage. Live Music for the New York Premiere of ON HOLIDAY is made possible, in part, through the generous support of the American Music Center Live Music for Dance Program

My Man (Mon Homme) – Composed by Maurice Yvain, Jacques Charles & Albert Willemetz, published by Duran Salabert –Eschig, Universal Music Publishing Group

PRETTY GRITTY SUITE
(2004)
Choreography by: Dwight Rhoden
Lighting Design by: Michael Korsch
Music: Suite of Nina Simone songs
Costumes by: Epperson
Performed by: The Company

Opening Solo

Feelin ' Good
Composers: Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley

Sinnerman
Composer: Traditional

I Put A Spell on You
Composer: Jalacy Hawkins

I'm Gonna Leave You
Composer: Rudy Stevenson

Gimme Some
Composer: Andy Stroud

Mood Indigo
Composer: Duke Ellington

I'm Goin' Back Home

It is artistic directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson’s lifelong appreciation for the artistic & aesthetic appeal of the multicultural that forms the cornerstone of Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s singular approach to reinventing dance. Founded in 1994, Complexions’ groundbreaking mix of methods, styles, cultures has created an entirely new and exciting vision of human movement over the past 18 years.

Complexions has received numerous awards including the New York Times “Critics Choice” Award. It has appeared throughout the US, including The Joyce Theater/NY, Lincoln Center/NY, the Brooklyn Academy Of Music‘s/NY, the Mahalia Jackson Performance Arts Center in New Orleans, the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, the Music Center in Los Angeles, and the Winspear Opera House/Dallas.

The Company has appeared at major European dance festivals including Italy’s Festival of Dance for four consecutive years, the Isle De Dance Festival in Paris, the Maison De La Dance Festival in Lyon, the Holland Dance Festival, Steps International Dance Festival in Switzerland, ?ód? Biennale, Warsaw Ballet Festival, Kraków Spring Ballet Festival, the Dance Festival of Canary Islands/Spain, and Le Festival des Arts de St-Sauveur/Canada, and in Korea, Spain, and Australia.

The company’s foremost innovation is that dance should be about removing boundaries, not reinforcing them. Whether it be the limiting traditions of a single style, period, venue, or culture, Complexions transcends them all, creating an open, continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of our world—and all its constituent cultures—as an interrelated whole.

Together, Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson have created in Complexions an institution that embodies its historical moment, a sanctuary where those passionate about dance can celebrate its past while simultaneously building its future. In the 18 years since its inception, the company has born witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, more changeable, and more culturally interconnected than ever before—in other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself.

DWIGHT RHODEN (Founding Artistic Director/Resident Choreographer of Complexions Contemporary Ballet) has established a remarkably wide-ranging career, earning distinction from The New York Times as “one of the most sought out choreographers of the day.” A na-tive of Dayton, Ohio who began dancing at age  17, Rhoden has performed with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballet Jazz De Montreal and as a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He has appeared in numerous television specials, documentaries and commercials throughout the United States, Canada and Europe and has been a featured performer on many PBS “Great Performances” specials.

Since 1994 Rhoden’s choreography has been the lynchpin in the development of the Com-plexions repertory. He has been praised for his prolific body of work, visionary style and boundary-breaking sensibility. Rhoden has created over 80 ballets for Complexions, as well as numerous other companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Arizona Ballet, The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company, Ballet Gamonet, The Dance Theater of Harlem, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, The Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, New York City Ballet/Diamond Project, North Carolina Dance Theater, The Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadanco, Minneapolis Dance Theater, Phoenix Dance Company, Sacramento Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, The Washington Ballet, and Zenon Dance Company.

Widely known as “a dancer’s choreographer,” Rhoden has worked with, coached and created for some of the most diverse artists spanning the worlds of ballet and contemporary dance. “Rhoden’s work is post- Balanchinean choreography, a new aesthetic in movement, stage, picture, and performance concepts reflecting a post-modern, techno-savvy worldview” (Dance Magazine). He has directed and choreographed for TV, film, theater and live perform ances including So You Think You Can Dance, E! Entertainment’s “Tribute to Style” and Cirque du Soleil. He has also worked with such high-profile artists as Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Kelly Clarkson and Patrick Swayze.

Rhoden is the Resident Choreographer of North Carolina Dance Theatre and has lectured, taught, created works for and served as Artist in Residence at universities around the United States including New York University, Juilliard and The University of Mississippi, where his 2004 Racial Reconciliation Project was credited as a catalyst for dialogue in a community that has been historically divided. Rhoden is a 1998 New York Foundation for the Arts Award recipient and beneficiary of the 2001 Choo San Goh Award for Chore ography. In May 2006 he received The Ailey School’s Apex Award in recognition of his extensive contributions to the field of dance.

JAE MAN JOO is Associate Artistic Director, Ballet Master, Choreographer, Photographer, & Costume Designer which he has been involved with Complexions Contemporary Ballet since 1996. He started classical ballet training at UM Ballet studio in his native Korea, where he also studied modern dance and Korean traditional dance. He studied dance under some amazing teachers, Young-Ja Um, Wan-Soon Yook, Eun-Me Ahn, Ae-Soon Ahn, Byung-Hee Choi, Soo-Nam Song, Hae-Jung Kim, Graciela Kozak and Igal Perry... many of whom are considered almost National Treasures in Korea.

After graduating from Dankook University he danced with a wide range of Korean dance companies including the Korea Contemporary Dance Company. Before moving to New York City in 1996, he received the Best Individual Dance Award in the Bagnolet International Choreographer Festival in Paris, France. He has worked with Shen Wei, Zvi Gotheiner, Igal Perry, Ballet Hispanico, and Michele Elliman, among others. He choreographed his First solo work, “Sorrow”(Frank Schubert), for a showing at Dance Theater Workshop in 2004. The Korea Modern Dance Museum invited Mr. Joo to choreograph and perform his second solo work, “Duet” (Jules Massenet) during their 2006 festival. In 2007 his premiered his work for Complexions Contemporary Ballet “Tears” (Sergei Rachmaninoff) in 2008 “Surface” (Claude Debussy) and in 2009 “Atmosphere”(J.S.Bach) which opened at New York’s Joyce Theater. He is a recipient of 2009 Princess Grace Award for Excellence in choreography. Starting in 1999 during his off hours he started taking photographs as a hobby and it has developed into a more serious undertaking throughout the years to the point where now his abstract landscape and dance photographs are commercially available.

In the past few years he has done all of the portraits of the dance company artists & since 2009 he photographed for Complexions season campaign. Joo also designed many costumes for Mr. Rhoden’s Works.

Along with Mr. Rhoden and Mr. Richardson, Joo founded the worldwide education project ”CODE3- 3 Artistic Director’s Education & Movement creation project.”

In 2011, he was appointed to the position of Associate Artistic Director.

CAMILLE A. Brown is a Princess Grace Award winning Choreographer. She received a 2011 Bessie nomination for Outstanding Individual Performance in her work, The Evolution Of A Secured Feminine, and is 1 of 4 choreographers selected as a Choreographic Fellow for Ailey's New Directions Choreography Lab. Commissions include works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco, Ballet Memphis, Hubbard Street II, Urban Bush Women, among others. She was a guest performer with The Ailey Company in 2008 and 2011, and currently guests with Rennie Harris/Puremovement. Images of Camille (in her signature explosive jumps) were featured in the artwork for both City Center's 2007 Fall for Dance series and Jacob's Pillow's 2011 season.

Her work has been showcased at Sadler's Wells (London, England), The Apollo, The Joyce Theater, Brooklyn Academy Of Music, Central Park's Summerstage, Dance Theater Workshop, Symphony Space, Dancenow Festival, and New York Fall for Dance Festival (City Center). Other performances include Dancing From The Heart and The Fire Island Dance Festival- annual benefits produced by Dancer's Responding To AIDS (DRA). She also choreographed a duet for Tony nominated artist Karine Plantadit and Danny Tidwell for The Youth American Grand Prix Gala (City Center) and for New York Fashion Week for Saverio Paletella's line, WholeGarment 3D (2008).

Camille danced with Ronald K. Brown/Evidence from 2001-2007. She is rapidly making a name for herself in the musical theater world- choreographing the new musical, Fortress Of Solitude, directed by Obie Award Winning Director, Daniel Aukin, and gearing up for her company's first solo season at The Joyce Theater. She graduated from LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts, attended The Ailey School, and received her BFA from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

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 b enefit 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.

Tickets start at $10 (for the front row) and range up to $59 (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 visit at www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.