Chris Myers to Recite Shakespeare Sonnets During Jessica Lang Dance's SWEET SILENT THOUGHT

In honor of the 400th Anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, Jessica Lang Dance will present the NY premiere of Sweet Silent Thought, inspired by five of the Master's sonnets. The work features readings of Sonnets 30, 40, 64, 71 and 105, by actors Chris Myers (Obie Award, Octoroon), Chukwudi Iwuji (Shakespeare Festival's King Lear) and Nilanjana Bose-Ciupinska, as part of the company's week-long season at The Joyce, running June 14 - 19, 2016.

The season features five pieces choreographed by Artistic Director Jessica Lang and includes three New York premieres, including Sweet Silent Thought, which takes its name from Shakespeare's Sonnet 30 ("When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past...") and is set to original music by Jakub Ciupinski.

Jessica Lang Dance (JLD) is dedicated to creating and performing the work of Jessica Lang. JLD enriches and inspires global audiences by immersing them in the beauty of movement and music. The Company will move into its first home, the Jessica Lang Dance Center, in September. The new Center, located in Long Island City, Queens, will feature professional dance studios and a school offering classes and workshops for all ages and abilities, reflecting Lang's belief in the importance of education.

The season also includes Solo Bach (2008), a New York premiere set to music by Johann Sebastian Bach; Among the Stars (2010), set to music by Ryuichi Sakamoto; Thousand Yard Stare (2015), a New York premiere honoring wounded veterans and those affected by war, set to music by Ludwig van Beethoven, and i.n.k. (2011), set to a commissioned score by Jakub Ciupinski.

Jessica Lang Dance was formed in 2011, following choreographer Jessica Lang's receipt of a Joyce Theater Artist Residency supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Company has had rapid success performing at renowned venues and festivals throughout the country, and its performances have been named among the best dance events of the year by major publications in Dallas, Chicago and Boston. JLD performed a rare two-week run of The Wanderer at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 2015, marking the company's third Pillow season since its company debut at Festival 2012. In November 2015, JLD made its critically acclaimed Chicago debut with Tesseracts of Time, co-commissioned by the Harris Theater, the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial and the Society for the Performing Arts, featuring aset by world-renowned architect Steven Holl. The upcoming 2016/17 touring season will be the largest undertaking for the company to date. www.jessicalangdance.com

Jessica Lang Dance members include Clifton Brown*, Patrick Coker, Julie Fiorenza*, John Harnage, Eve Jacobs, Kana Kimura*, Laura Mead, Milan Misko, and Jammie Walker. (*indicates founding members)

Jessica Lang was hailed as "a master of visual composition" by Dance Magazine. Lang seamlessly incorporates striking design elements and transforms classical ballet language into artfully crafted, emotionally engaging contemporary works. Since 1999, Lang has created more than 92 works for commissions on companies worldwide including Birmingham Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Japan, Joffrey Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, among many others. American Ballet Theatre has presented her work at the Metropolitan Opera House. She has received commissions from the Dallas Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum for its Works and Process series. Lang received outstanding acclaim for her directorial debut and choreography of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater at the 2013 Glimmerglass Opera Festival. Lang was a New York City Center Fellow for 2015 and the recipient of a prestigious 2014 Bessie Award. Her work has also been performed by numerous educational institutions including The Juilliard School, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, The Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, among others, and for American Ballet Theatre, she was part of the founding faculty of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School where she taught until 2014.

In 2016, Jessica continues to tour and create on JLD, while being in demand as a choreographer with ballet and opera companies all over the world. In the 2016-17 season, Lang will create three world premieres for Birmingham Royal Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and a major NYC-based ballet company yet to publically announce. Ballet West, The National Ballet of Japan, Orlando Ballet, and Cincinnati Ballet will all perform her work this season. In the fall, Lang is also choreographing for San Francisco Opera's production of AIDA, directed by Francesca Zambello. www.jessicalangchoreographer.com.

Jessica Lang Dance will perform on June 14 and 15 at 7:30 pm; June 16 and 17 at 8 pm; June 18 at 2 and 8 pm; and June 19 at 2 pm. Tickets start at $10 and can be arranged by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at www.Joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more info, please visit Joyce.org.

Ticket prices are subject to change.

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