FJK Dance Returns To NYC For Fifth Anniversary Season

Fadi J. Khoury's FJK Dance will return to NYC for the company's FIFTH ANNIVERSARY SEASON with three premieres plus repertory on Thursday, September 13 (7pm) and Saturday, September 15 (7:30pm). Performances are part of the CUNY Dance Initiative and will take place at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 524 West 59th Street. Tickets are $25-$45 ($10 students), and available via www.fjkdance.com.

The program features the premiere of Fadi Khoury's new work, "UnTold." The multimedia performance installation, layering ancient Middle Eastern aesthetics with contemporary ballet and ballroom movement, meets at the intersection of visual art and contemporary dance. The work was conceived in two parts: the audience will first walk through sculptures and paintings in the theater lobby inspired by pre-Islamic Arab poetry, the Al Mu'alaqat (a set of seven poems), followed by a performance in which the choreography will intertwine with the shape of the Arabic calligraphy. "Untold" hopes to shed light on the hidden beauty of Middle Eastern culture, at a time when stereotypes govern Western perceptions of the region. VIDEO

Guest choreographers Gary Pierce (co-founder of American Ballroom Theatre Company) and acclaimed jazz artist Debbie Roshe will also premiere new work, created for FJK's diverse company of ten dancers.

Led by Iraqi born Artistic Director Fadi Khoury, FJK DANCE presents a distinctive mix of styles including Argentine tango, Middle Eastern movement, classical ballet and ballroom dance. FJK Dance aims to communicate peace, diversity, tolerance and harmony, in support of cross-cultural dialogue. Previous FJK Dance performances include New York Live Arts, Jacob's Pillow, Battery Dance Festival and Dumbo (NY), as well as international performances in China, Lebanon and Turkey. VIEW COMPANY DOCUMENTARY

FJK company dancers represent eight different nationalities, and the composers featured hail from the USA, Egypt and Persia. FJK's current and future collaborations with guest artists hope to enhance the conversation between jazz, ballet, Latin dance, and Middle Eastern movement.

According to Mr. Khoury, "what began as a blended choreographic form has become something larger - my role is not to just create fusion choreography, but to use dance as a message of peace for the world at large. At FJK we are offering the freedom to understand our differences artistically."

FJK Dance "strips away unnecessary glitter from these forms to emphasize the beauty of movement itself." - The New York Times
FJK DANCE SEASON 2018
THE GERALD W. LYNCH THEATER AT JOHN JAY COLLEGE
524 West 59th Street, New York, NY 10019
(212) 237- 8005

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 at 7PM and SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 at 7:30PM
Tickets: $20-45 ($10 students with ID)
https://www.fjkdance.com/