The Joyce Presents Dada Masilo's GISELLE

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) is pleased to present the return of South African dance troupe, The Dance Factory, under the artistic direction of award-winning choreographer Dada Masilo, performing the New York premiere of the company's acclaimed reimagining of Giselle, from April 3-8. Tickets, ranging in price from $10-$56, can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

Known for her unique and innovative interpretations of classical ballets, Dada Masilo has served as Artist-in-Residence of a Johannesburg-based company The Dance Factory since 2001. Following the company's successful 2016 Joyce Theater debut, the company returns with the New York premiere of Ms. Masilo's acclaimed feminist retelling and reimagining of the classic, Giselle.

Featuring her signature choreographic style that combines classical ballet and contemporary dance with traditional African dance, Masilo's Giselle demonstrates what is possible when mythological figures are imbedded into a different cultural context. By setting her interpretation in rural South Africa and infusing it with African rituals and ceremonies, Masilo is able to further highlight the tale's themes of betrayal, heartbreak, grief, and revenge. Featuring a cast of 12 dancers, Masilo's Giselle is set to an original score by South African composer Philip Miller that compliments Adolphe Adam's original music with African sounds.

This engagement marks the final opportunity this season to Pay What You Decide. On Sunday, April 8 at 2pm, patrons will have the option to participate in the initiative which seeks to promote more adventurous performance selections, encouraging art seekers to take a chance on a show they might not have seen otherwise. Instead of paying a fixed price before coming to the theater, patrons are able to see the show, and decide what to pay afterwards. Tickets for the Pay What You Decide performance can be arranged by visiting: Joyce.org/PWYD.

ABOUT THE DANCE FACTORY

Located in Johannesburg, The Dance Factory is the only dedicated dance venue in South Africa. When The Dance Factory was founded in 1992 by Suzette Le Sueur, it sought to create an accessible space for people from the townships and the suburbs, and also a dance school in New Town, the cultural district of Johannesburg. The Dance Factory focuses on serving very young people through their professional careers. Over the past few years, The Dance Factory has focused on the presentation of the work by Dada Masilo, a rising young South African choreographer, and Artist-in-Residence at the Company. She has become very popular with audiences, with a strong fraternity of supporters who follow her around the country wherever she is performing. The work of Dada Masilo is now internationally recognized for its iconoclastic and mixed heritage vocabulary.

ABOUT DADA MASILO

Dada Masilo was born and bred in Johannesburg, South Africa. She began formal training at The Dance Factory at the age of 11. At the age of 19, she was accepted as a student at the Performing Arts Research and Training Studios in Brussels, where she remained for two years. She returned to South Africa and in 2008, was awarded the prestigious Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance. Three commissions from the National Arts Festival resulted in her Romeo and Juliet (2008), Carmen (2009), and Swan Lake (2010). Since 2012, her works have toured extensively throughout Europe and in 2016, she staged and performed her version of Swan Lake in Ottawa, Montreal, Hannover, Amherst, Pittsburgh, and at The Joyce Theater, for which she received a Bessie Award nomination. She returned to New York that September, to stage her Spring at City Center as part of 'Fall for Dance' and againsix months later to create a gallery work accompanying Romare Bearden's Bayou series. This was performed at the DC Moore Gallery. Masilo performs in her own works, together with some of South Africa's finest dance artists, and serves as Artist-in-Residence at The Dance Factory.

ABOUT THE JOYCE THEATER FOUNDATION

The Joyce Theater Foundation ("The Joyce," Executive Director, Linda Shelton), a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community for over three decades. Under the direction of founders Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, Ballet Tech Foundation acquired and The Joyce renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea. Opening as The Joyce Theater in 1982, it was named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to build the theater. Ownership was secured by The Joyce in 2015. The theater is one of the only theaters built by dancers for dance and has provided an intimate and elegant home for over 400 U.S.-based and international companies. The Joyce has also presented dance at Lincoln Center since 2012, and launched Joyce Unleashed in 2014 to feature emerging and experimental artists. To further support the creation of new work, The Joyce maintains longstanding commissioning and residency programs. Local students and teachers (K-12th grade) benefit from its school program, and family and adult audiences get closer to dance with access to artists. The Joyce's annual season of about 48 weeks of dance now includes over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 150,000.

Performances of Dada Masilo/The Dance Factory will be April 3-8 at The Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street) according to the following schedule: Tuesday and Wednesday at7:30pm; Thursday and Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; and Sunday at 2pm. There will be a post-performance Curtain Chat with Dada Masilo/The Dance Factory on Wednesday, April 4, which is open to all patrons attending that evening's performance. Tickets range in price from $10-$56 and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. There will be a Pay What You Decide (PWYD) option available on Sunday, April 8 at 2pm. Instead of paying a fixed price before coming to the theater, patrons are able to see the show, and decide what to pay afterwards. Tickets for the Pay What You Decide performance of The Dance Factory can be arranged at www.Joyce.org/PWYD.

The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street.

For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

Photo Credit: Stella Olivier

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