Tom Gold Dance To Premiere OASIS And SERVED At John Jay College
By: Molly Tracy Feb. 17, 2017
Tom Gold Dance presents its sixth annual New York City season, Tuesday, March 14 and Wednesday, March 15 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a program of three works from Tom Gold Dance Founder and Director Tom Gold, including the Company premieres of Gold's Oasis and Served.
Scheduled to perform are dancers Daniel Applebaum, Thomas Garrett, Zachary Guthier, Morgan McEwen, Courtney Nitting, Allynne Noelle, Meaghan Dutton O'hara, Kristen Segin, Mary Elizabeth Sell, James Shee, Evan Swenson; and pianist Xak Bjerken.
In 2017, Tom Gold Dance is a City University of New York Dance Initiative (CDI) resident artist, a collaboration that will allow the Company to rehearse and offer additional public activities at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater.
Oasis was commissioned by the St. Louis Ballet as part of its October 8, 2016 Vision: Where Ballet and Fashion Meet program at The Touhill Performing Arts Center pairing three choreographers with three emerging fashion designers. Set to John Zorn's "Lucifer" from the Book of Angels, Oasis explores the composer's exotic and jazz-infused constructions through an imagined group meeting at a desert retreat. Oasis completes Gold's Zorn trilogy, following Shanti (2003) and La Plage (2013).
Gold began to develop Served in July 2016 as a participant in the 13th annual National Choreographers Initiative (NCI) in Irvine, California. While watching a tennis match on television, Gold observed similarities to ballet, not only in the sport's raw physicality and intensity, but also its rhythm, balance, technical discipline, and virtuosity. Set to Schubert's demanding Wanderer Fantasy, Served explores these qualities through the articulated steps of a "dancers' club." Allynne Noelle, Zachary Guthier, and Evan Sweson who appeared in Served at the NCI's culminating public workshop presentation at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, July 30, 2016, will reprise their roles in the Company Premiere at the Lynch. Served will be performed to live accompaniment.
Details about a third work, a World Premiere duet to Steve Reich's New York City Counterpoint, will follow.
"We can't wait to return to the Gerald W. Lynch Theater for our annual New York City season," says Gold. "These works will demonstrate the wide range of traditional classical dancing across multiple and contrasting musical styles in our trademark mix of sophistication and fun. I am especially excited to introduce some of the original dancers from Served to New York audiences, and, as part of our effort to feature live music in all self-produced Tom Gold Dance events, to work with the highly accomplished pianist Xak Bjerken."
"After a productive and fulfilling year that included the Company's European premiere of Tom's adaptation of November Steps," adds Executive Director Alexander Zaretsky, "We look forward to welcoming new and familiar faces to our home city performances. We are especially grateful for the chance to partner directly with the Gerald W. Lynch Theater to enhance the public's awareness of and access to high quality and original dancing through the CDI residency program."
Information
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at 7:30PM
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 7:30PM
Both performances are at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, 524 West 59th St. (between 10th and 11th avenues).
Tickets
Tickets, $25-$50, now on sale, are available online at tomgolddance.org/nyc2017 or ticketcentral.com; by phone at (212) 279-4200, 12-8pm daily; or in person at 416 W. 42nd Street (between 9th and 10th avenues), 12-8pm daily. $10 student tickets with valid ID, in person only. Please note that advance in-person ticket purchase is only available at 416 W. 42nd Street; in person, performance-night ticket purchase is available at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater.
About Tom Gold Dance
The mission of Tom Gold Dance is to bring the past, present, and future of classical dance to audiences in New York and around the world. Founded in 2008 by former New York City Ballet soloist Tom Gold, Tom Gold Dance aspires to the highest level of artistry expressed through a traditional classical dance vocabulary, including in more than a dozen works by Gold, envisioned for and set directly on the Company.
Tom Gold Dance performs regularly in New York City, and has appeared in France, Spain, Italy, Bermuda, Israel, Cuba, and Bulgaria. Recent highlights include the Company's fifth anniversary New York City season, and presentations of Gold's adaptation of November Steps at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, as well as in Italy and Spain. Tom Gold Dance incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2011. Learn more at tomgolddance.org.
About Tom Gold
Internationally recognized dancer, choreographer, and instructor Tom Gold is the Founder and Artistic Director of Tom Gold Dance. A 2016 National Choreographers Initiative participant, Gold has created original works for his eponymous Company, as well as for Vassar College, the Bermuda Arts Festival, Oregon Ballet Theater, the New York City Ballet Choreographic Institute, St. Louis Ballet, and many other dance academies, companies, festivals, television, and special events, including the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Bravo series Odd Mom Out starring Jill Kargman, and the New York City Fringe Festival for which he won the 2016 award for Overall Excellence for his work in the Joey Variations: A Play With Dance. A 21-year member (1987- 2008) of New York City Ballet where he rose to the rank of soloist, Gold is the choreographer and performer of the 2wice Arts Foundation's DOT DOT DOT, an interactive iPad application by Abbott Miller of Pentagram.
About The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College
Since opening its doors in 1988, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at has been an invaluable cultural resource for John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York and the larger New York City community. The Theater is dedicated to the creation and presentation of performing arts programming of all disciplines with a special focus on how the artistic imagination can shed light on the many perceptions of justice in our society. The Theater is also a member of CUNY Stages, a consortium of 16 performing arts center located on CUNY campuses across New York City.
The Theater has hosted events in the Lincoln Center Festival since its first season in 1996, as well as, New York City Opera, Great Performers at Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera Guild and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater/Ailey II. The Theater has also been the site of many television and film specials including A&E's Live by Request, Comedy Central's Premium Blend, RoBert Klein in Concert and VH1's Soundtrack Live.
About the CUNY Dance Initiative
The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI) is a new residency program that opens the doors of CUNY arts facilities to New York City choreographers and dance companies. Developed in response to the shortage of affordable rehearsal space in New York City, CDI aims to support local artists, enhance college students' cultural life and education, and build new audiences for dance at CUNY performing arts centers.
(Photo: Dave Friedman)
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