Contemporary Dance Series At Bryant Park Picnic Performances Beginning June 6

Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America season of free, live performances continues with the Contemporary Dance series – four summer nights filled with New York City-based dance companies showcasing their work on the Bryant Park stage, curated by Tiffany Rea-Fisher.

The series opens on June 6 with extraordinary tap dancers Naomi Funaki and Jared Alexander with special guest Ayodele Casel, rising choreographer Sidra Bell, and street dance by It's Showtime NYC!. June 7 features the renowned David Dorfman Dance alongside percussive dance ensemble Soles of Duende. On June 14, “modern dance savior” (The New York Times) Ronald K. Brown and his company EVIDENCE close the evening, preceded by a tribute to Kevin Wynn and Robin Dunn's 'SHOUT'.

The series finale on August 31 features the internationally acclaimed Mark Morris Dance Group. Series curator Tiffany Rea-Fisher is the Artistic Director of EMERGE125, a Mellon grant-funded performance company headquartered out of Harlem and the Adirondacks, currently in residence at The Flea Theater.

For the most current performance information please visit bryantpark.org/picnics. 

Performance Details

 

Thursday, June 6 at 7PM

Naomi Funaki + Jared Alexander Featuring Ayodele Casel, Sidra Bell, It's Showtime NYC!, National Dance Institute

Naomi Funaki is a tap dance artist from Tokyo, Japan, currently living in New York City. She has worked for Ayodele Casel, Caleb Teicher & Company, Music From The Sole, and Dorrance Dance and is an alumni of The School at Jacob's Pillow tap program. Other performance credits include Tap Family Reunion, Fall For Dance (New York City Center), Vail Dance Festival, Dance Against Cancer (Lincoln Center), Ayodele Casel and Arturo O'Farrill (Joyce Theater), and Works & Process (Guggenheim), among others. Jared Alexander started dancing at the age of three, and hasn't stopped since. After graduating from PACE University's Commercial Dance Program in 2019, he has collaborated with The Dolo Project, Project Convergence, Ayodele Casel, and The American Tap Dance Foundation. He is the creator of Capture The Tap. Ayodele Casel is an award-winning and critically acclaimed tap dancer and choreographer named one of The New York Times' “biggest breakout stars of 2019.” Born in the Bronx and raised in Puerto Rico, her practice centers highly narrative works rooted in expressions of selfhood, culture and legacy. Her projects include her concert and Bessie Award-winning film Chasing Magic, her one-woman show While I Have the Floor, and her theatrical and film series Diary of a Tap Dancer. She serves as a tap choreographer for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, which garnered her a 2022 Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Choreography. A frequent New York City Center collaborator, she created an interactive show for their inaugural “On the Move” five-borough tour and is one of their 2023 featured “Artists at the Center.” Her collaboration with Grammy award-winning Latin jazz composer and pianist Arturo O'Farrill is hailed by The New York Times as “next level” and “thrilling.”

Sidra Bell is the founder of Sidra Bell Dance New York and a choreographer and educator who is currently a Master Lecturer at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and a recent artist-in-residence at Harvard University. Bell is also the founder and creative director of the award-winning MODULE Laboratory, a New York City based immersive platform for movement and theater artists. Bell has won several awards, including a First Prize for Choreography at the Solo Tanz Theater Festival in Stuttgart, Germany, and a National Dance Project Production Award from the New England Foundation for the Arts. Bell has created over 100 works, notably for BODYTRAFFIC, Ailey II, The Juilliard School, Whim W'Him, among many others. She was the first Black female choreographer commissioned to create work for New York City Ballet, where she created two works for film and the Lincoln Center stage (Fall Fashion Gala 2021 and Innovators & Icons Program).

The mission of It's Showtime NYC! (IST) is twofold. First, to cultivate creative excellence within the next generation of street/club dancers through advocacy, performance opportunities, direct instruction, professional development, and creative collaboration. Second, to advocate for and highlight the recognition of street/club dances as seminal American artforms and folkloric movement cultures in the performing arts sector. IST, founded in 2015, is a program of the Bronx-based non-profit organization Dancing in the Streets. For their performance at Bryant Park, they will perform choreographer and IST Artistic and Program Director Cal Hunt's Movement Therapy (with a special solo performance from Hunt), as well as IST's Battle! Hip Hop in Armor! (except).

National Dance Institute is a non-profit arts education organization that brings children together through inclusive, joyful dance and music programs. Founded by legendary dancer Jacques d'Amboise, NDI has impacted the lives of thousands of children worldwide for nearly fifty years. At Bryant Park, NDI children will perform beloved repertory choreography and a sneak peek of our June Event of the Year, "Earth's Song."

Friday, June 7 at 7PM

David Dorfman Dance, Soles of Duende, Joffrey Concert Group, Frank Sinatra School of the Arts

For almost 40 years, David Dorfman Dance (DDD) has created movement that seeks to de-stigmatize the notion of accessibility and interaction in post-modern dance by embracing audiences with visceral, meaningful dance, music and text. By sustaining a vision to create innovative, inclusive, movement-based performance that is radically humanistic, DDD maintains a core commitment to examine and unearth issues and ideas that enliven, incite, and excite audiences in dialogue and debate about social change and a myriad of other topics. In advocating his mission “to get the whole world dancing,” Dorfman's work has enjoyed broad and diverse audiences nationally and internationally. For their Bryant Park performance, the company will perform “(A)Way Out of My Body,” where song and dance combine for a thrilling effect, highlighting the otherworldly-ness of our dreams, desires, our every day, and new worlds awaiting us. The original score of music will be performed live as well.

A Brooklyn-born Puerto-Rican from New Haven, a Mexican Puerto-Rican Jew from the Lower East Side, and a Bengali Indian from Jersey walked on to the wooden floor, and the rest? History. Bonded by their deep love of music, their crafts, and true connection, Soles of Duende is on a lifelong mission to elevate the joy and music of true collaboration across disciplines and the celebration of the forms they practice. Based in the sounds of Tap (Amanda Castro), Flamenco (Arielle Rosales) and Kathak (Brinda Guha), Soles of Duende's fire is the spirit that lives within each of these women to celebrate their connection given their beautiful differences and to uplift the forms that made them.

Founded by Robert Joffrey in 1981, and currently under the direction of Bradley Shelver, The Joffrey Concert Group is the pre-professional repertory ensemble that provides selected artists from Joffrey Ballet School's year-round Trainee Program the opportunity to experience life as a professional dancer. In the years since its inception, the dancers have toured domestically and internationally, performing the celebrated classical and contemporary repertoire of Gerald Arpino, Robert Battle, George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Dwight Rohden, and Africa Guzman among others. The Joffrey Concert Group is the company in residence of the Joffrey Ballet Center. The Concert Group connects communities in and around the tri-state area by engaging in outreach initiatives, masterclasses through the annual ICONS Dance Festival, and lecture demonstrations. The Concert Group supports up-and-coming ballet and contemporary choreographers through the annual Creative Movers Choreographic Initiative, providing them valuable time and resources to develop a new original ensemble work for the company. Aspiring professional dancers have the opportunity to develop relationships with various choreographers and hone their artistic capabilities.

Friday, June 14 at 7PM

Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, Robin Dunn's 'SHOUT': A Celebration of Hip Hop and Gospel, Kevin Wynn Tribute, Brooklyn Arts

Founded by Ronald K. Brown in 1985 and based in Brooklyn, New York, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, A Dance Company focuses on the seamless integration of traditional African dance with contemporary choreography and spoken word. Through work, EVIDENCE provides a unique view of human struggles, tragedies, and triumphs. Brown uses movement as a way to reinforce the importance of community in African American culture and to acquaint audiences with the beauty of traditional African forms and rhythms. He is an advocate for the growth of the African-American dance community and is instrumental in encouraging young dancers to choreograph and to develop careers in dance. Brown has choreographed work for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Cleo Parker Robinson Ensemble, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Jennifer Muller/The Works, Jeune Ballet d'Afrique Noire, Ko-Thi Dance Company, Philadanco and others. He choreographed Regina Taylor's award-winning play, Crowns, and won an AUDELCO Award for his work on that production. The company has traveled internationally to perform, teach master classes, and conduct lectures/demonstrations for individuals of all ages. EVIDENCE brings arts education and cultural connections to local communities that have historically lacked these experiences. The company reaches an audience of more than 25,000 people per year. At Bryant Park, the company will honor the memory of Kevin Wynn with a performance of Torch, a piece created as a celebration of perseverance and self-determination. Set to the music of various artists, including DJ Zinhle, this dance of celebration also honors the legacy of Beth Young, a phenomenal dance enthusiast and supporter of Evidence, A Dance Company who studied with the company for over 15 years before losing her battle with cancer in 2012.

F.A.C.E. coach, choreographer and producer Robin Dunn has appeared in and choreographed several off-Broadway productions, as well as directing "Amateur Night" at the world-famous Apollo Theater. Her client list includes Saturday Night Live, Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, Missy Elliot, and more. She is also the creator and executive producer of the awards shows Ladies Get Down (A Salute to Women in Hip Hop & more ...) and Fellas Git Dap (A Salute to Men in Hip Hop and more...). Dunn's method for breathing life into a performance is through her patented Robin Dunn's F.A.C.E. (Focus, Attitude, Confidence, Energy, and Eye Contact) method. F.A.C.E. is a tightly constructed method designed to develop and enhance artists, business professionals, and individuals with being more comfortable on stage, camera, the workplace and in their everyday lives. Dunn teaches Hip Hop dance at The Ailey School, The Ailey Extension, Hunter College, and Steps on Broadway.

The dance community pays tribute to beloved dancer and choreographer Kevin Wynn, who passed away late last year. The Kevin Wynn Tribute will celebrate the life of Wynn, a former dancer with José Limón Dance Company and Dianne McIntyre's Sounds in Motion, as well as a dedicated teacher at Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College, where he touched the lives of many dancers.

Brooklyn Arts is a dual-mission high school dedicated to providing aspiring artists and scholars with an academically rigorous pre-college course of study and a comprehensive, four-year pre-conservatory arts program. At Brooklyn Arts, life-long learners use their creativity to enrich their education, learning both the artistic and professional skills required in their field of study. By using the abundant resources of New York City, students are challenged to achieve their greatest artistic and academic potential. Brooklyn Arts fosters meaningful partnerships with parents, families, and the community to holistically develop global citizens who are prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Dance Program strives to offer dance students the opportunity to develop their skills both in school and in professional venues. Through study in the Dance Program, students develop their talents in classical ballet, contemporary and modern dance, and graduate prepared for the rigors of a Liberal Arts or Conservatory college program. Students work with professional choreographers each year to hone their skills and learn their craft.

Saturday, August 31 at 7PM

Mark Morris Dance Group, Blacks in Ballet, Reed Luplau

Founded in New York City in 1980 by artistic director and choreographer Mark Morris, the Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) has been called “the preeminent modern dance organization of our time” (Yo-Yo Ma), its members receiving “highest praise for their technical aplomb, their musicality, and their sheer human authenticity.” (Bloomberg News). Live music and community engagement are vital components of the Dance Group, which has toured with its own musicians, the Music Ensemble, since 1996. The Dance Group provides educational opportunities in dance and music to people of all ages and abilities while on tour internationally and at home at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, NY. For their Bryant Park performance, the company will perform "Gloria," a work for 10 dancers, set to Vivaldi's Gloria in D major.

Blacks in Ballet (BIB) was created from the initiative of Brazilian dancers Ingrid Silva, Ruan Galdino and Fábio Mariano. With the purpose of discovering, disseminating and valuing beautiful black bodies in dance, they created the platform on social media to reaffirm that black classical dancers exist. BIB elevates examples of black dance professionals who were references in the history of dance, highlighting those important names, as well as current dancers and future talents. There are many black dancers from different nationalities with beautiful stories that can inspire many other people. The aim of the founding trio is to make more people aware of the success stories and normalize diversity in the dance world.

Reed Luplau was born in Perth, Australia, and started dancing at 18 months at his mother's studio, Jody Marshall Dance Company. Before graduating from The Australian Ballet School, Luplau was invited by then Artistic Directors Graeme Murphy & Janet Vernon to join the Sydney Dance Company (SDC), where he performed and choreographed for five years. Since relocating to New York City, Luplau has performed for Stephen Petronio Company, Aszure Barton & Artists, and Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. Luplau's theater credits include the original Broadway casts of both Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, among others. Luplau's film and television work include the role of Theo in Alan Brown's Five Dances, HALSTON, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Fosse/Verdon, and more.