Paul Taylor Dance Company Runs for Special Engagement at the Joyce Theater

Paul Taylor Dance Company (PTDC) will come to The Joyce Theater June 14-19, 2022, offering audiences a unique series of programs that showcase early works choreographed by Paul Taylor including Tracer, Fibers and Aureole, along with a World Premiere by Michelle Manzanales and the New York Premiere of A Call for Softer Landings by Peter Chu, both of which were commissioned by PTDC. Tickets start at $10 and are available at joyce.org.

"In creating these special performances at the Joyce, I wanted to contrast our usual seasons at Lincoln Center by giving audiences new perspectives on the Company's past and future by pairing Paul Taylor's groundbreaking, rarely seen early works with premieres by Taylor Commissioned Choreographers Michelle Manzanales and Peter Chu," said Artistic Director Michael Novak. "Performing at the Joyce gives dance lovers an opportunity to see one of the world's great modern dance companies in this wonderfully intimate venue."

The Company's Joyce repertoire includes Paul Taylor's Events II (1957), Images and Reflections (excerpt) (1958), Fibers (1961), Aureole (1962), Tracer (1962) and Profiles (1979), plus the two premieres, both made this year.

Performances are on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Program A - June 14, 16 and 18 (matinee)

Fibers (1961)

Music: Arnold Schoenberg

Choreographer: Paul Taylor

Sets and Costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian

Images and Reflections (excerpt) (1958)

Music: Morton Feldman

Choreographer: Paul Taylor

Costumes by Robert Rauschenberg

Title TBD*

Music: TBD

Choreographer: Michelle Manzanales
Lighting by James F. Ingalls
Costumes by Santo Loquasto

Profiles (1979)

Music: Jan Radzynski

Choreographer: Paul Taylor

Costumes by Gene Moore

Aureole (1962)

Music: George Frideric Handel
Choreographer: Paul Taylor

Lighting by Thomas Skelton

Program B - June 15,*** 17, 18

(evening) Tracer (1962) Music: James Tenny Choreographer: Paul Taylor Sets and Costumes by Robert Rauschenberg

Events II (1957) Music: Rain sounds Choreographer: Paul Taylor Lighting by Tharon Musser Costumes by Robert Rauschenberg

A Call for Softer Landings** Music: Liquid Liquid, Anthony Brown's Asian American Orchestra, Julia Wolfe & Bang on a Can All-Stars, Joan Armatrading Choreographer: Peter Chu Lighting by Christopher Chambers Costumes by Clarion Overmoyer

Profiles (1979) Music: Jan Radzynski Choreographer: Paul Taylor Costumes by Gene Moore

Aureole (1962) Music: George Frideric Handel Choreographer: Paul Taylor Lighting by Thomas Skelton

Program C - June 19

Title TBD*

Music: TBD

Choreographer: Michelle Manzanales
Lighting by James F. Ingalls
Costumes by Santo Loquasto

A Call for Softer Landings**

Music: Liquid Liquid, Anthony Brown's Asian American Orchestra, Julia Wolfe & Bang on a Can All-Stars, Joan Armatrading

Choreographer: Peter Chu

Lighting by Christopher Chambers

Costumes by Clarion Overmoyer

Aureole (1962)

Music: George Frideric Handel
Choreographer: Paul Taylor

Lighting by Thomas Skelton

*World Premiere
**New York Premiere

***A Curtain Chat with Mr. Novak and PTDC dancers will be held following the June 15 performance

Ticket prices start at $10. To purchase tickets and for additional information, please call JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or visit their website. Groups of eight or more will receive a 20% discount for any performance. For additional information about Group ticket sales, please email groups@joyce.org or call 212.691.9740, ext. 255.

The Joyce requires audiences to be fully vaccinated and to wear masks at performances. For additional health and safety protocols, please click here.

Leadership funding provided by Stephen Kroll Reidy. Lincoln Center Season made possible by Marjorie S. Isaac. Major support provided by The SHS Foundation, Jody and John Arnhold, the Howard Gilman Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation. Additional major funding provided by S&P Global, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. Support for the creation of new work provided by Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Public support provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional public support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paul Taylor Dance Company gratefully acknowledges the estates of Harlan Morse Blake and Mary J. Osborn for their transformational gifts.

About the Paul Taylor Dance Company:
One of the most iconic and dynamic modern dance ensembles of our time, the Paul Taylor Dance Company has been innovating and transforming the artform of modern dance since 1954. With a history of multidisciplinary collaborations, passionate expression and thrilling athleticism, the Company is known worldwide for its vast repertory, performing work from the Founder's canon; new works created by some of
today's most engaging and established choreographers; and important historical dance from the 20th and 21st centuries. Dedicated to sharing modern dance with the broadest possible audience, the Company tours annually, both domestically and internationally, with performances and a variety of educational programs and engagement offerings. paultaylordance.org

About Michelle Manzanales:

Michelle Manzanales is a choreographer and dedicated dance educator originally from Houston, TX. Her most recent work, If by Chance... was created for and performed at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts 75th Anniversary Gala in December 2019. She created Con Brazos Abiertos for Ballet Hispánico, which premiered in the 2017 spring season at The Joyce Theater and was included in New York City Center's Fall for Dance Festival, and has since toured worldwide. In 2010, Ms. Manzanales paid homage to Frida Kahlo with Paloma Querida. She was invited to the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in 2008 as co-choreographer for the site-specific work entitled Muscle and Mortar: Animating Architecture at the National Building Museum for the Capital Fringe Festival. Before being named Director of the School of Dance in December of 2016, Ms. Manzanales was in her seventh season as the Ballet Hispánico Company Rehearsal Director and Artistic Associate.

About Peter Chu:
Peter Chu was born in the Bronx, NY, and raised in Cocoa Beach, FL, where he began training as a competitive gymnast and later furthered his artistry at Dussich Dance Studio. After graduating from The Juilliard School, he performed with BJM Danse, EZdanza, Aszure Barton & Artists, Kidd Pivot and in Celine Dion's in Las Vegas spectacular, A New Day. In 2008, he formed a Las Vegas project based dance company, chuthis., which showcases his work and that of his collaborators. Mr. Chu has created works for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Staatstheater Augsburg, Charlotte Ballet II, Orlando Ballet Theatre, Hubbard Street 2, Giordano Dance Chicago, SYTYCD, Naomi Stikeman's Çaturn, Houston MET Dance, New Dialect, SALT Contemporary Dance, HSPro and The Juilliard School, among others. This year, Mr. Chu will be premiering new works for Giordano Dance Chicago, Gibney Dance Company and a creation for his own company, chuthis.

About The Joyce Theater Foundation:
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.a??

Pictured: Paul Taylor in Aureole

Photo Credits: Jack Mitchell