The Joyce Theater Announces Spring/Summer 2022
The fresh season of dance programming officially kicks-off at the top of March with L.A.-based BODYTRAFFIC in a return engagement.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Dec. 17, 2021
he Joyce Theater Foundation announced today the full lineup of U.S. and international talent that will grace The Joyce's storied stage for its Spring/Summer 2022 season. Nearly two dozen companies and dance creators will bring their unparalleled creativity and astounding artistic innovation to the iconic, intimate home for dance in New York City, ranging in styles from the heart-pounding percussive footwork of tap, Irish step, and flamenco to hip-hop dance theater, athletic and virtuosic modern and contemporary, elegant classical ballet, and new ventures by celebrated ballet superstars. With a vibrant combination of world premieres, Joyce debuts, New York premieres, and long-awaited returns to the stage, The Joyce's Spring/Summer 2022 season commemorates a landmark year of dance with offerings for every audience.
The fresh season of dance programming officially kicks-off at the top of March with L.A.-based BODYTRAFFIC in a return engagement, featuring a world premiere by the collaborative team of Baye and Asa, fusing intricate patterns of rhythm and form, and a rare chance to see Artistic Director Tina Finkelman and Associate Artistic Director Guzmán Rosado dance in Fernando Hernando Magadan's (d)elusive minds. The following week, ballet superstar and New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns takes the stage in her own Joyce Theater Production, pushing her artistic exploration into new territory.
Audiences at The Joyce have come to expect a slate of world premieres each year on the intimate Chelsea stage, and the Spring/Summer 2022 season will not disappoint. Four companies-three of them hailing from New York City-will present never-before-seen works. The Sarasota Ballet will present a triple bill, highlighted by a world premiere Jessica Lang work and anchored by two signature pieces by Sir Frederick Ashton. Two companies, Paul Taylor Dance Company and Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, will present new works in back-to-back weeks in June. The former, making its long-awaited Joyce Theater debut, pairs premieres from contemporary choreographers Peter Chu and Michelle Manzanales with early works from the company's namesake as the first program in Paul Taylor Dance Company's Joyce debut; the latter premieres the evening-length FRONTERAS, co-choreographed by José Maldonado and Karen Lugo. Stephen Petronio Company will transfer New New Prayer For Now , which began as a company work during COVID lockdown, from film to stage, marking the first time this vibrant work will reach live audiences in its fully-developed form.
Tap and percussive dance, always audience favorites, continues this spring at The Joyce with a St. Patrick's Day week of performances from Trinity Irish Dance Company, featuring the New York premiere of the tap-Irish step hybrid American Traffic, co-choreographed by Michelle Dorrance and Melinda Sullivan, as well as works by Founding Artistic Director Mark Howard. Michela Marino Lerman brings her tap expertise in the evening-length Once Upon a Time Called Now, a theatrical fusion of tap dance, recorded narration, and original music by Love Movement that tells of one young woman's quest for self-love and enlightenment. Another tap legend, the singular Dormeshia, will take over The Joyce for a week in July with Rhythm Is Life, a show that is sure to leave audiences breathless.
A pair of international companies will present evening-length works in consecutive weeks at the venerated home for international dance. Australia's Sydney Dance Company returns to The Joyce with ab [intra], a shock of high-voltage dance set to a fusion of classical and electronica music. Compañía Nacional de Danza, hailing from Spain, presents their dance theater reimagining of the Georges Bizet opera Carmen, told through a contemporary lens of a child's eye. Rounding out the season's international roster is New Zealand's Black Grace, bringing their signature blend of Indigenous, modern, and hip-hop dance to the other side of the globe.
Closer to home, several companies that are lucky enough to count The Joyce among their homes for dance in New York will return to the stage for the first time in nearly two years. In their annual Joyce season, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE will present a bill that includes the long-awaited return of the hauntingly beautiful work Ebony Magazine: To A Village with original music by longtime EVIDENCE collaborator Wunmi Olaiya. Celebrating its 75th anniversary season, Limón Dance Company honors founder José Limón in a two-week engagement that features a grand total of five world premieres, and never-before-seen works by the namesake choreographer. Another anniversary, the 50th for Trisha Brown Dance Company, will celebrate the robust artistic relationship between the company's founder and visual artist Robert Rauschenberg. Doug Varone and Dancers returns to The Joyce for the first time in eight years with Somewhere, a reimagining of the classic musical theater work West Side Story, as well as Varone's Rise, presented for the first time in ten years.
Additional U.S. companies round out the outstanding season of dance. Ballet Tech Kids Dance returns with a program honoring Ballet Tech founder Eliot Field, presenting both audience favorites and new works choreographed by faculty members. Making his Joyce debut, Christopher Williams brings queer reimaginings of classical ballets to close out Pride Month, starring New York City Ballet principal dancer Taylor Stanley. The dancer-illusionists of MOMIX reimagine a different kind of classic with ALICE, their endlessly innovative take on Alice in Wonderland. Another literature-inspired work, Rennie Harris: LIFTED, combines live gospel music, hip-hop dance theater, and the tale of Oliver Twist. L.A. Dance Project will once again play The Joyce, focusing on the work of four female choreographers-Bella Lewitzky, Janie Taylor, Madeline Hollander, and Bobbi Jene Smith.
The following is a complete roster of companies who will appear at The Joyce Theater this spring and summer:
BODYTRAFFIC
March 1-6
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Mar 2
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
With a compelling style that reflects the "invention, attitude, and urban edge" (The Boston Globe) of its Los Angeles home, BODYTRAFFIC returns to The Joyce with a program that captures the company's audience-captivating joyfulness. Highlights include former BODYTRAFFIC dancer Micaela Taylor's SNAP, displaying her hip-hop roots, and a world premiere by the collaborative team of Baye and Asa, fusing intricate patterns of rhythm and form. Also on the program-Fernando Hernando Magadan's (d)elusive minds, offering the rare chance to see this theatrical duet performed by Artistic Director Tina Finkelman Berkett and Associate Artistic Director Guzmán Rosado; and Alejandro Cerrudo's PACOPEPEPLUTO, showcasing three dancers who move with abandon to the classic voice of Dean Martin.
A Joyce Theater Production
March 8-13
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Mar 9
Tickets: $65, $45, $20, $10
New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns invites new collaborators in her artistic orbit in this Joyce Theater Production. Continuing her process of creative self-discovery, Sara will challenge herself and her partners in a series of pieces that span mediums and reimagine genres. Works by Beth Gill, Jodi Melnick, Guillaume Côté, and others take center stage as this world-class ballerina reveals herself through the bold act of reinvention.
TRINITY IRISH DANCE COMPANY
March 15-20
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Mar 16
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
Trinity Irish Dance Company (TIDC) is the birthplace of progressive Irish dance, pushing the boundaries of a traditional form. TIDC sends a clear message of female empowerment with a blend of percussive power and aerial grace. Their St. Patrick's Day week run celebrates Founding Artistic Director Mark Howard's unique vision to fuse vibrant Irish traditions with ever-evolving American innovation. The program features Howard's classic pieces including Soles, a tribal and timeless rhythmic study; Push, an explosion of virtuosic footwork; and Johnny, one of Howard's signature works that altered the landscape of Irish dance. New York City premieres include An Sorcas (The Circus), a colorful comment on the battle between substance and spectacle choreographed by Howard and Associate Artistic Director Chelsea Hoy, and American Traffic, a hybrid of Irish step and American tap, choreographed by Michelle Dorrance and Melinda Sullivan.
Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE
March 22-27
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Mar 23
Tickets: $65, $45, $20, $10
Returning to The Joyce for their 2022 home season, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE offers a compelling program, bringing a spiritual awareness that touches the human heart. Acclaimed choreographer Ronald K. Brown utilizes music and movement rich in thematic content drawn from the African and African American diaspora. His works are performed with a depth of physicality that reflects Brown's meditations on cultural legacy, community, and socio-political history. The brilliance of Ron's blended style is revealed in works such as Upside Down and Come Ye, featuring the music of artist-activists Oumou Sangare, Fela Kuti, and Nina Simone; and the long-awaited return of the hauntingly beautiful work Ebony Magazine: To A Village with original music by longtime EVIDENCE collaborator Wunmi Olaiya.
Once Upon a Time Called Now
March 29-April 3
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Mar 30
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
Conceived and led by world-renowned tap artist Michela Marino Lerman, Once Upon a Time Called Now fuses iconic tap dance improvography with live jazz and music performance, featuring her hybrid ensemble, Love Movement. Set largely in a swirling, historic carnival atmosphere, our story depicts a heroine's journey through life's obstacles and lessons. Sent from the afterlife back down to earth, she finds herself amid the wonders of New Orleans' Mardi Gras, on a quest of achieving self love and acceptance to ultimately returna??a?? to life enlightened. Once Upon a Time Called Now smoothly melds superlative tap dance with recorded narrations, performed by the incomparable Anna Deavere Smith, and an all-original score by Michela and world renowned bassist, Russell Hall.
SYDNEY DANCE COMPANY
ab [intra]
April 6-10
Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm & 7:30pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Apr 6
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
Sydney Dance Company returns to The Joyce with the commanding ab [intra], a powerful and electrifying work by the Company's Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela and his award-winning ensemble. ab [intra] envisions Bonachela's signature high octane choreography set to a classical and electronica score. Original music by Nick Wales fuses the lush cello concerto by Vasks with piano, woody percussion, and ambient electronica. In an exploration of our primal instincts, impulses, and visceral responses, set and lighting designers David Fleischer and Damien Cooper craft an ethereal world for the performers to inhabit. A ferociously physical and heartfelt work, ab [intra] resonates long after you leave the theater.
COMPAÑÍA NACIONAL DE DANZA
Carmen
April 12-17
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Apr 13
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
Founded in 1979, Compañía Nacional de Danza, currently under the artistic direction of former New York City Ballet principal Joaquin De Luz, makes its Joyce debut with Carmen, a new reimagining by award-winning choreographer Johan Inger. Set to the beloved music of Georges Bizet, arranged by Rodion Shchedrin, Inger's Carmen strips the classic tale down to its mythic and universal elements of passion and revenge. Returning to the source novel by Prosper Mérimée for inspiration, Inger frames the action through the eyes of a child, re-examining the characters through a contemporary lens.
LIMÓN DANCE COMPANY
April 19-May 1
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Apr 20
Family Matinee: Sat, Apr 23 at 2pm
Tickets: $75, $55, $20, $10
Limón Dance Company celebrates its 75th anniversary season by sharing José Limón's inspiring life story. In two exciting programs, the company brings five world premieres to The Joyce, including never-before-seen works by Limón. The dancers travel through time with a tour of Mexican history inside the reconstruction of Limón's first major solo, Danzas Mexicanas. Further exploring ideas of legacy, the company revisits Doris Humphrey's glorious Air for the G String, Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata as completed by Dr. Daniel Lewis, and Limón's masterpiece Psalm. Celebrating today's voices, a new commission by Burkina Faso's Olivier Tarpaga, whose early life experiences echo those of Limón's, takes the stage to explore the strength of the marginalized. In a new work, Mexico's emerging talent Raúl Taméz brings to life the stories of the colonization of Mexico's Indigenous peoples. Lastly, to honor Limón as the greatest dancer of his time, the company invites today's generation of dancers to perform his iconic solo Chaconne.
L.A. DANCE PROJECT
May 3-15
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, May 4
Family Matinee: Sat, May 7 at 2pm
Tickets: $65, $45, $20, $10
L.A. Dance Project returns to The Joyce Theater with two programs specially curated by Artistic Director Benjamin Millepied. Highlighting the work of four female choreographers, the program includes a dynamic restaging of Bella Lewitsky's 1970 work Kinaesonata, with new set and costume design by artist Charles Gaines, and the New York premieres of Janie Taylor's Night Bloom, Madeline Hollander's 5 Live Calibrations, and Bobbi Jene Smith's 2021 Solo at Dusk, choreographed in collaboration with Or Schraiber.
Stephen Petronio COMPANY
May 17-22
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, May 18
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
Stephen Petronio Company offers this season as a call for connection and hope. Initially conceived as a moving meditation filmed during the Covid-19 lockdown, New New Prayer For Now bursts onto the stage as a newly completed world premiere. A bold and visceral dialogue between bodies, space and the viewer's eye, this work is a collaboration with composer/performance artist Monstah Black, creating music based on the treasured songs 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and 'Balm in Gilead' with The Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC), under the direction of Francisco Nunez. The company also brings a re-staging of Bloom (2006), a joyful and iconic collaboration with Rufus Wainwright and YPC singing compositions based on the poetry of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Rounding out the program is a Bloodlines nod to Petronio's formidable lineage with a re-staging of Trisha Brown's Group Primary Accumulation (1973), a quietly thrilling gestural masterpiece in Brown's signature style.
TRISHA BROWN DANCE COMPANY
May 24-29
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, May 25
Tickets: $65, $45, $20, $10
Trisha Brown Dance Company marks its 50th anniversary with a program celebrating Brown's extraordinary creative partnership with visual artist Robert Rauschenberg. In Foray Forêt, with costumes and lighting by Rauschenberg, Brown employs a vocabulary of movements generated by the subconscious-what she called "delicate aberrations"-juxtaposing athleticism against subtle physical gestures. Set to the music of John Cage, the revived Astral Converted features a mobile set of lighting towers that use motion sensors to detect and respond to the dancers' movements.
Doug Varone AND DANCERS
May 31-June 5
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Jun 1
Family Matinee: Sat, Jun 4 at 2pm
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
Doug Varone and Dancers returns to The Joyce celebrating its 35th year with the New York premiere of Somewhere (2019) and Varone's masterwork from 1993, Rise. Somewhere reimagines Leonard Bernstein's timeless West Side Story by stripping the orchestral score of its narrative connotations. The result: pure choreographic vibrancy, brimming with nuance and emotional heft generated by the musical structure. In Rise, dancers take over the stage in swirls of controlled chaos, with composer John Adam's Fearful Symmetriesunderlying each step.
BALLET TECH KIDS DANCE
June 9-12
Thu-Fri 7pm, Sat-Sun 2pm & 7pm
Family Matinee: Sat, Jun 11 at 2pm
Tickets: $45, $25, $20, $10
Ballet Tech Kids Dance returns to the Joyce with a program honoring Ballet Tech Founder Eliot Feld. The troupe will present excerpts from Mr. Feld's Kids Dance classic 23 Skidoo and his audience favorite Hello Fancy!, as well as Kids Dance premieres by Ballet Tech Faculty Members Michael Snipe and Men Ca. Of course, there will be a few surprises that audiences will not want to miss. Kids Dance 23022 will have you dancing right out of your seats!
Paul Taylor DANCE COMPANY
June 14-19
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Jun 15
Tickets: $75, $55, $20, $10
Long have the dancers of Paul Taylor Dance Company captivated the world with their athleticism, emotion, and fearlessness. The Taylor Company's debut at The Joyce Theater will feature performances of groundbreaking early works from the master choreographer's canon, including Events II (1957), Fibers (1960), and Tracer (1962). World premieres by contemporary choreographers Peter Chu and Michelle Manzanales round out this intimate program, drawing a line from the company's beginnings to its future.
June 21-26
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm & 7:30pm
Curtain Chat: Wed Jun 22
Family Matinee: Sat, Jun 25 at 2pm
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
One of America's leading flamenco companies, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana presents the world premiere of FRONTERAS, choreographed by two of the dance form's most exciting artists, José Maldonado and Karen Lugo. With live accompaniment and an original score by Jose Luisde la Paz, the work asks, "What is stronger: what unites us or what separates us?" Flamenco Vivo's international cast includes Maldonado, alongside Lugo in her New York debut.
June 28-July 3
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Jun 29
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
Christopher Williams offers a program of his own original queer versions of legendary ballets from the Ballets Russes era. In Williams's reimagining of Les Sylphides, acclaimed New York City Ballet principal dancer Taylor Stanley stars as the "Queen of the Sylphs" among a cast of outstanding contemporary dancers and performs the title role in his new version of Nijinsky's The Afternoon of a Faun. All works on the program feature signature fantastical costume designs developed with Williams's longtime collaborator Andrew Jordan and lighting by Joe Levasseur. The Joyce's presentation of Christopher Williams is a HARKNESS FIRST Joyce Theater debut, generously supported by The Harkness Foundation for Dance.
MOMIX
ALICE
July 6-24
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm, Sun 7:30pm (July 10 only)
Curtain Chat: Wed, Jul 6
Family Matinee: Sun, Jul 9 at 2pm
Tickets: $65, $45, $20, $10
Seamlessly blending illusion, acrobatics, magic, and whimsy, MOMIX sends audiences flying down the rabbit hole in Moses Pendleton's newest creation, ALICE, inspired by Lewis Carroll's classic Alice in Wonderland. Join this dazzling company on a mind-bending adventure as Alice encounters time-honored characters, including the undulating Caterpillar, a lobster quadrille, frenzied White Rabbits, a mad Queen of Hearts, and a variety of other surprises.
DORMESHIA
RYTHYM IS LIFE
July 26-31
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Jul 27
Family Matinee: Sat, Jul 30 at 2pm
Tickets: $65, $45, $20, $10
Dormeshia returns to The Joyce reaching for new heights. In her latest work, Rhythm Is Life, the dynamic tap dancer and choreographer creates a sensory kaleidoscope that both moves with the collective pulse of life and invites others to find their own groove. Performed by a group of magnetic dancers and a live band, Rhythm Is Life is a meditation, a voyage, and above all, a celebration of life.
BLACK GRACE
August 2-7
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Aug 3
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
Black Grace brings its distinct style to the United States again for its premiere international tour of 2022. Founding Artistic Director, Neil Ieremia (ONZM) has curated a program of three distinct works, including a world premiere set to a reimagining of Vivaldi's Gloria; a piece inspired by renowned Samoan visual artist Fatu Feu'u; through to a new rendition of the iconic work Handgame (1995), which utilizes aspects of traditional fa'ataupati (Samoan slap dance) and sasa (seated dance) to create live body percussion.
LIFTED
August 9-14
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Aug 10
Family Matinee: Sat, Aug 13 at 2pm
Tickets: $55, $35, $20, $10
According to the gospel of hip-hop dance artist Rennie Harris, "movement is how we worship life." In his latest work, Rennie Harris: LIFTED, spirituality and movement traditions intertwine. Inspired by the tale of Oliver Twist, this story of a young black man's healing and redemption through community is told with live gospel music, hip-hop dance theater, and the rich movement history of house dance, celebrating how these traditions carry our histories and strengthen our reawakenings. Harris constructs landscapes attuned to the vitality of the human spirit, and the stories that carry us through.
THE SARASOTA BALLET
August 16-21
Tue-Wed 7:30pm, Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
Curtain Chat: Wed, Aug 17
Family Matinee: Sat, Aug 20 at 2pm
Tickets: $65, $45, $20, $10
Press Contact: Billy Zavelson / Richard Kornberg & Associates, Billy@KornbergPR.com
The Sarasota Ballet returns to The Joyce Theater with a triple bill featuring two ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton and a world premiere by Jessica Lang. Under the directorship of Iain Webb, The Sarasota Ballet has established itself as not only a company with a diverse and extensive repertoire, but also the main exponent of the choreography of Sir Frederick Ashton. The company presents Ashton's 1956 pièce d'occasion Birthday Offering, originally choreographed in celebration of The Royal Ballet's 25th anniversary, and the once-lost Ashton ballet, Varii Capricci, returning to New York for the first time since its 1983 world premiere.
* * *
CURTAIN CHATS
The Joyce Theater holds free post-performance dialogues with artistic directors and/or company members following designated performances. These dialogues are open to all audience members attending that evening's performance.
FAMILY MATINEES
The Joyce invites young audiences and grown-ups to experience renowned companies together and to enjoy a special opportunity to meet the artists following the performances. Kids' tickets are only $10. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Kids (ages 6-14) attending at least three family matinees automatically become Joyce Junior members and save 40% on the price of their tickets-that's $10 reduced to only $6. Joyce Junior members get a special backstage tour of The Joyce, a t-shirt, and gift coupons, created just for them.
This spring/summer season's Family Performance series is as follows (Kids (ages 6-14) must be accompanied by an adult):
LIMÓN DANCE COMPANY
Saturday, April 23 at 2pm
L.A. DANCE PROJECT
Saturday, May 7 at 2pm
Doug Varone AND DANCERS
Saturday, June 4 at 2pm
BALLET TECH
Saturday, June 11 at 2pm
Saturday, June 25 at 2pm
MOMIX: ALICE
Saturday, July 9 at 2pm
DORMESHIA: Rhythm Is Life
Saturday, July 30 at 2pm
Rennie Harris: LIFTED
Saturday, August 13 at 2pm
THE SARASOTA BALLET
Saturday, August 20 at 2pm
TICKET PRICES AND MEMBER INFORMATION
To become a Joyce Member, ticket buyers simply purchase tickets to four different companies at the same time and they automatically save 25% on tickets (not applicable for $10 or $19 tickets). Joyce Members are entitled to the 25% discount on additional tickets purchased throughout the season - through August 21, 2022. For more information on becoming a Joyce Member, please visit www.Joyce.org or call JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Single tickets go on sale to the general public on January 4, 2022. Single ticket prices range from $10-$75. Tickets can be purchased by calling JoyceCharge at 212- 242-0800, in person at the Box Office (Monday - Sunday 12-6pm), or online by visiting www.Joyce.org. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th Street).
Videos