New Zealand's Black Grace to Return to The Joyce Theater This August

The Joyce Theater Foundation will welcome the return of New Zealand's Black Grace for a much-anticipated follow-up to their acclaimed 2019 Joyce debut. The company brings their boundless energy and distinct blend of contemporary and Indigenous South Pacific dance to a triple bill that will play The Joyce Theater from August 2-7. Tickets, ranging in price from $10-$55, can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street. For more information and to read about The Joyce Theater's detailed health and safety protocols, including required face-coverings and proof of vaccination policies, please visit www.Joyce.org.

Guided by the rich creative past of Founding Artistic Director Neil Ieremia (ONZM), Black Grace makes a triumphant return to The Joyce nearly three years after their debut at New York's home for international dance. Part of the company's 2022 tour, the bill of three works highlights Ieremia's distinct ability to fuse together power and sophistication to create a style wholly unique to Black Grace. A new work, inspired by the art of Samoan painter Fatu Feu'u reflects the vast array of influences used by both the artist and the company itself. Alongside a reimagining of Vivaldi's religious cantata Gloria, the bill is completed by a new rendition of one of the company's original works, Handgame, which shines a spotlight on live body percussion with the use of fa'ataupati-Samoan slap dance-and sasa, seated dance. Rich in tradition yet always with an eye toward innovation in movement, Black Grace is primed to take the Joyce stage by thunderous storm once more.

ABOUT BLACK GRACE

Black Grace is one of New Zealand's leading contemporary dance companies, founded by Neil Ieremia in 1995. Neil draws from his Samoan and New Zealand roots to create innovative dance works that reach across social, cultural, and generational barriers. The work itself is highly physical, rich in the storytelling traditions of the South Pacific and expressed with raw finesse, unique beauty, and power. The company features some of New Zealand's finest dancers and has toured internationally to Europe, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Australia, and New Caledonia. In 2004, Black Grace made its USA debut, performing a sold-out season at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, with a subsequent return to the Festival in 2005. Since then, the company has performed regularly throughout North America, earning audience and critical acclaim.

ABOUT The Joyce Theater

The Joyce Theater Foundation ("The Joyce," Executive Director, Linda Shelton), a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community for almost four decades. Under the direction of founders Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, Ballet Tech Foundation acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea. Opening as The Joyce Theater in 1982, it was 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 build the theater. Ownership was secured by The Joyce in 2015. The theater is one of the only theaters built by dancers for dance and has provided an intimate and elegant home for over 400 U.S.-based and international companies. The Joyce has also expanded its reach beyond its Chelsea home through off-site presentations at venues ranging in scope from Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater, to Brooklyn's Invisible Dog Art Center, and to outdoor programming in spaces such as Hudson River Park. To further support the creation of new work, The Joyce maintains longstanding commissioning and residency programs. Local students and teachers (K-12th grade) benefit from its school program, and family and adult audiences get closer to dance with access to artists. The Joyce's annual season of about 48 weeks of dance now includes over 340 performances - both digital and in-person - for audiences in excess of 150,000.

The Joyce Theater presents the return of New Zealand's Black Grace from August 2-7. The performance schedule is as follows: Tue-Wed 7:30pm; Thu-Sat 8pm; Sun 2pm. Tickets, ranging in price from $10-$55, can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street. For more information and to read about The Joyce Theater's detailed health and safety protocols, including required face-coverings and proof of vaccination policies, please visit www.Joyce.org.