The Joyce Theater Foundation Presents Encore of STATE OF DARKNESS By Molissa Fenley

The Joyce Theater Foundation announced today plans to stream encores of its recent digital presentation of Molissa Fenley's dynamic and exhilarating 1988 work State of Darkness, performed by seven extraordinary dancers -- Jared Brown, Lloyd Knight, Sara Mearns, Shamel Pitts, Annique Roberts, Cassandra Trenary, and Michael Trusnovec. The performances will be available for streaming at www.Joyce.org beginning Sunday, December 13 at 5pm until Sunday, January 10 at 11:59pm. Tickets, priced at $13 (inclusive of a $1 processing fee) per performance, are now on sale and can be arranged at www.Joyce.org.

Choreographer Molissa Fenley's celebrated solo work, State of Darkness, found new life at The Joyce Theater where it was revived earlier this fall, and performed by a new generation of New York dancers, each receiving enthusiastic acclaim for their singular interpretations. Originally commissioned by the American Dance Festival in 1988, State of Darkness challenges Stravinsky's cacophonous "Le Sacre du Printemps" (The 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 live stream 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. Filming was produced and directed by Nel Shelby Productions.

Over the course of three months, the dancers worked separately with Fenley through virtual workshops and socially distanced rehearsals on The Joyce stage.

The Joyce is presenting an extraordinary collection of exclusive digital content this month. The world premiere of Finally Unfinished: Part 1, the latest by renowned choreographer Pam Tanowitz, performed by the artists of Pam Tanowitz Dance, live streaming from The Joyce Theater on Saturday, December 12 at 5pm and available through December 26. Also, streaming performances by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Hip-Hop Nutcracker, Indigenous Enterprise, Rennie Harris, STREB EXTREME ACTION, and Vanessa Sanchez & La Mezcla, available through January 3.