The Joyce Presents First Live Performance Since March: STATE OF DARKNESS With Sara Mearns & More

In March, The Joyce Theater Foundation (Linda Shelton, Executive Director), along with other New York City performing arts venues, shut its doors to help stop the spread of Covid-19. Since then, The Joyce has presented scores of recorded performances by the world's most acclaimed artists - both established and emerging - available to dance audiences all over the globe. In an announcement today, The Joyce will present the first live performances from its iconic Chelsea home since the mandated shut-down began alongside its popular Choreographers & Cocktails series of events, celebrated for bringing together dance lovers and artists. Although there will be no on-site audience, from October 24 - November 1, seven remarkable dancers -- Jared Brown, Lloyd Knight, Sara Mearns, Shamel Pitts, Annique Roberts, Cassandra Trenary, Michael Trusnovec - will each separately perform State of Darkness, the dynamic and exhilarating 1988 work by Molissa Fenley, live from The Joyce stage.

Tickets for the full Choreographers & Cocktails experience - all seven live performances with access to view them through November 7; a special interview with choreographer Molissa Fenley and dancers, moderated by Peter Boal, Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and an past performer of the work; a live Q&A discussion with dancers about the creation of this spectacular event; and a signature cocktail recipe created by celebrity chef Peter Kelly on Saturday, October 24 at 7pm - are $150 per household; tickets for individual performances with viewing access through November 7 - are each $12 per household. Tickets are available for purchase through November 6. To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

"It has been truly inspiring and uplifting to see the dancers and Molissa tackle State of Darkness during this difficult and unprecedented interruption to our lives," said Executive Director Linda Shelton. "To me, this piece is about emerging from the darkness we have been coping with since March."

"In 1988, environmental, political, and social unrest inspired me to create State of Darkness. Today, a response to similar influences affecting us feels even more urgent and necessary," said choreographer Molissa Fenley. "Revisiting the work thirty-two years later at The Joyce, amidst a worldwide pandemic, with this wonderful group of dancers, to embody the movement again myself in order to teach them, to observe them take the dance within their own sensibilities - from their training, with their humanity, with their beliefs - has been profoundly rewarding."

Choreographer Molissa Fenley's celebrated solo work, State of Darkness, finds new life at The Joyce Theater this fall, performed by a new generation of New York's acclaimed dancers. Originally commissioned by the American Dance Festival in 1988, State of Darkness challenges Stravinsky's cacophonous "Sacre du Printemps" (Rite of Spring) with an intense 35-minute solo performance of relentless fervency, technical precision, and fearless abandon. Fenley reimagined the commanding score as the sonic landscape for a solo journey, rather than the usual ensemble interpretations.

Adapting her creative process to our emergent world of social distance, Fenley restaged her solo for a series of livestream performances by seven dancers: 2020 Juilliard grad Jared Brown; Lloyd Knight of Martha Graham Dance Company; Sara Mearns of the New York City Ballet; Shamel Pitts, former Batsheva Dance Company member; Annique Roberts of Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE; Cassandra Trenary of American Ballet Theatre; and former Paul Taylor American Dance Company member Michael Trusnovec. State of Darkness features original lighting design by David Moodey, and costume supervision by Marc Happel.

Over the course of three months, since the first rehearsal in mid-August, the dancers worked separately with Fenley through virtual workshops and socially distanced rehearsals on The Joyce stage.

Each dancer's interpretation of the Fenley's original solo, State of Darkness, will be streamed live from The Joyce as per the following schedule. (Subject to change.)

Saturday, October 24

5pm: Michael Trusnovec

7pm: A special behind-the-scenes conversation about recreating State of Darkness with choreographer Molissa Fenley and dancers, moderated by Peter Boal

8pm: Jared Brown

Sunday, October 25

5pm: Annique Roberts

8pm: Shamel Pitts

Saturday, October 31

5pm: Lloyd Knight

8pm: Cassandra Trenary

Sunday, November 1

5pm: Sara Mearns

State of Darkness will be hosted on The Joyce's online platform, JoyceStream, a digital collection of performances, classes, workshops, films, podcasts, and more.

Tickets for the full Choreographers & Cocktails experience - all seven live performances with access to view them through November 7; a special discussion with choreographer Molissa Fenley and dancers about the creation of this spectacular event, moderated by Peter Boal, Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and an past performer of the work; and a signature cocktail recipe created by celebrity chef Peter Kelly on Saturday, October 24 at 7pm - are $150 per household; tickets for individual live performances of State of Darkness only, without access to the exclusive discussion, are $12 each per household and available for viewing through November 7. Tickets are available for purchase through November 6. To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.