ICE HOT: A NORDIC DANCE FESTIVAL Plays the Joyce, Now thru 3/17

The Joyce Theater presents Ice Hot: A Nordic Dance Festival, featuring three of the world's hottest companies for a two-week engagement, from tonight, March 6-17: Tero Saarinen Company from Finland (March 6-9), and the Joyce debuts of Danish Dance Theatre from Denmark (March 11-13) and Norway's Carte Blanche (March 15-17).

Tickets, sold separately for each company, range in price from $10-$49 ($37 top ticket price for Joyce members) and can be arranged by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org. Please note: ticket price is subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.

The Festival opens on March 6 with Tero Saarinen and his company, who, six years after their triumphant Joyce debut, return to perform inventive contemporary choreography, characterized by poetic movement language and masterful use of music and visuals, Saarinen, known for his Butoh-influenced contemporary choreography, will mark the centenary of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring with his widely praised signature solo HUNT, hailed as one of the most significant reinterpretations of this timeless work. The program also includes the US premiere of Scheme of Things, an emotionally charged group work exploring the complexities of human relationships. Tero Saarinen will be at The Joyce from March 6 - 11.

Ice Hot: A Nordic Dance Festival continues with The Joyce debut of Danish Dance Theatre, performing Love Songs, a sensual, evening-length piece by British-born, Artistic Director Tim Rushton (MBE - Member of the order of the British Empire). Inspired by the emotional intimacy of film-noir, this portrait of love is set to cherished classics from the golden-age of jazz, originally sung by legendary artists Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughn and reinterpreted through recordings by Denmark's award-winning jazz recording artist Caroline Henderson. A work that is both warm and profound, Love Songs employs breathtaking imagery and a kaleidoscope of emotions, both lovelorn and humorous, to explore the journey to find love. Danish Dance Theatre will present Love Songs at The Joyce from March 11 - 13.

Also making its Joyce debut is Carte Blanche, the Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance, closing out the Festival with Corps de Walk, choreographed by former Batsheva Dance Company resident choreographers Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar. For this 55-minute piece, commissioned by Carte Blanche, the co-creators focus their attention on the corps de ballet, traditionally the dancers who form the pale backdrop behind the prima ballerina. The 12 dancers, all dressed in flesh-colored costumes with white hair and bright blue contact lenses, pulsate in a raw, organic unit that regularly breaks into military positions. The piece is set to a collage of music that includes work from the classical French composer Claude Debussy, mechanical outbursts of the German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten, and passages from David Byrne, arranged by the acclaimed Israeli musician and DJ Ori Lichtik. With ice cool stares from the alternately striking and grotesque ghosts, Corps de Walk creates a mesmerizing visual and musical experience of pounding beats. The Joyce Theater will host Carte Blanche as it presents the NY premiere of Corps de Walk from March 15 - 17.

Ice Hot: A Nordic Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater's festival of Nordic Dance, featuring three of the area's most renowned companies, will perform the following schedule from tonight, March 6 - 17: TERO SAARINEN COMPANY - March 6-9: Wed at 7:30; Thu-Fri at 8pm; Sat at 2pm & 8pm; DANISH DANCE THEATRE - March 11 - 13: Mon - Wed at 7:30pm; CARTE BLANCHE - March 15 - 17: Fri at 8pm; Sat at 2pm & 8pm; Sun at 2pm & 7:30pm.

Tickets, sold separately for each company, range in price from $10 - $49 ($37 top ticket price for Joyce members) and can be arranged by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org. Ticket price is subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.