U.S. Premiere of Amsterdam's HyperISH at The New Victory

Fusing dance styles from the Dutch street scene and club circuit, Amsterdam-based dance company ISH (4-ISH, New Vic 2006) returns to The New Victory Theater for the U.S. Premiere of HyperISH from May 9-18, 2014. Loosely inspired by the words of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, HyperISH explores themes of self-expression and the search for identity through dance, text and music.

The seven dynamic talents of Amsterdam's ISH skillfully mix dance languages, including hip-hop, house, breakdance, acrobatics, modern dance and ballet, into a surprising new vocabulary and thrilling form of expression in HyperISH. Shailesh Bahoran (Dutch National Ballet) fuses hip-hop with traditional Indian dance such as kathak, Martin Barnes mixes modern dance and capoeira and both Arnold Put and Carl Refos specialize in breakdance. For the women, Raquel Tijsterman (Dutch National Ballet, 2010 candidate on Dutch television's "So You Think You Can Dance") combines ballet and hip-hop, Micka Karlsson's past as an aerial acrobat influences her contemporary dance movement and Melanie Van Der Mee is a martial arts and hip-hop performer.

Celebrating the versatility of its performers, the company name is inspired by the spirit of the suffix "ish," signifying something that cannot be precisely defined. Under the leadership of artistic director Marco Gerris, ISH tours its unique fusion of dance and street culture - including spoken word, breakdance, beatbox, in-line skate dancing, martial arts, popping & locking - throughout the Netherlands and abroad. In addition to his work with ISH, Mr. Gerris was a guest judge on Dutch television's "So You Think You Can Dance?" and has choreographed for the Amsterdam School of the Arts, among others. In 2011, at the request of Ted Brandsen of the Dutch National Ballet, Mr. Gerris choreographed a remake ofSymfonieen der Nederlanden by Hans van Manen for their 25th anniversary.

Collaboratively choreographed by Mr. Gerris and the cast, HyperISH is directed by Mr. Gerris and features Shailesh Bahoran, Martin Barnes, Micka Karlsson, Arnold Put, Melanie van der Mee, Carl Refos and Raquel Tijsterman with Lucinda Wessels as swing. The show also features original music by Rik Ronner. The production's design is by Romy Hagenaar and the text is by Dunya Khayame and Horace Cohen. Lighting design is by Mike den Ottolander, lighting is by Mike Kersten and sound is by Crul Geluid.