Joyce Theater Debuts Season with Royal Ballet's THE METAMORPHOSIS, Now thru 9/29

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. is proud to open its 2013/2014 fall/winter season with the highly anticipated U.S. premiere of the Royal Ballet's production of The Metamorphosis, directed and choreographed by Arthur Pita, and featuring acclaimEd Royal Ballet principal dancer Edward Watson, for a two-week run from today, September 17-29.

Tickets, available through JoyceCharge at www.Joyce.org or by calling 212.242.0800, range in price from $10-$75 (top ticket price for Joyce members is $68). Please note: ticket price is subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street, in Chelsea.

The Joyce's 2013/2014 season opens with the Royal Ballet's production of choreographer/director Arthur Pita's brilliant, highly theatrical dance reinterpretation of The Metamorphosis, based on Kafka's seminal novella, for which he won the 2012 UK National Dance Award for Best Modern Choreography. The production has a cast specially brought together by Mr. Pita, including Royal Ballet Principal Edward Watson (in his 2012 Olivier Award-winning role as "Gregor Samsa"), who, with remarkable technical and emotional skill, captures his character's transformation into a gigantic insect with notable humanity, making The Metamorphosis the must-see, tour de force performance of the fall season. Watson's long legs and strong arms twitch and snap, and his fingers flick like an insect's exploring antennae while his body smoothly and successfully finds unnatural and odd positions. With an atmospheric score created and performed live by Frank Moon and stark, white designs by Simon Daw that create a claustrophobic feeling, the horror of Gregor's physical alteration is graphically evoked by Watson's searing performance. The Metamorphosiswas originally produced by London's Royal Ballet for the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House. The Joyce is pleased to bring this contemporary masterpiece to New York in association with The Royal Ballet.

Arthur Pita

Arthur Pita was born in South Africa and studied dance in Johannesburg. He went to London in 1991, where he trained at London Contemporary Dance School. His choreographic work includes works for Johannesburg's Dance Umbrella Festival, London's The Place, the Royal National Theatre, The Almeida Theatre, The Royal Albert Hall, Los Angeles Opera and The Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House. Pita was an Associate Artist at The Place, and it was there that he launched Open Heart Productions with a double bill Boomeshe Sheboom and Bugger, a Fairy Tale. Most recently, he created God's Garden, a co-commission from DanceEast and ROH2 which premiered at Jerwood Dance House DanceEast and The Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House. Other commissions include Snow White in Black (National Dance Award Modern Repertoire) for Phoenix Dance Theatre performed at Sadler's Wells, And Then Gone for Bare Bones performed at the Linbury Studio Theater at the Royal Opera House, and The Stepfather for CandoCo Dance Company,Mischief (Theatrical Management Award for Achievement in Dance) a collaboration with Theatre Rites commissioned by Sadler's Wells and Dance Touring Partnership recently revived at NYC's The New Victory Theater. Pita continues to create and research work for Open Heart Productions.

Edward Watson

Born in Bromley and trained at The Royal Ballet School, Edward Watson joined the Royal Ballet Company in 1994 and was promoted to Principal in 2005. His repertory includes Romeo, Albrecht, Palemon, Crown Prince Rudolf, Des Grieux, Oberon, Daphnis, Ivan Tsarevich, Brighella, Arthur Troyte Griffith, Boy with Matted Hair, Messenger of Death, Woyzeck, Anubis, Southern Cape Zebra, The Chosen One, Brother (My Brother, My Sisters, Triad), Teacher (The Lesson) and roles in Fool's Paradise, Requiem, Gloria, Judas Tree, Anastasia, Images of Love, Symphonic Variations, Symphony in C, Four Temperaments, Agon, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Afternoon of a Faun, Polyphonia,L'Invitation au voyage, Dances at a Gathering and 'Emeralds' (Jewels). He created roles in Two-Part Invention, Hidden Variables, A Stranger's Taste, Symbiont(s), This House Will Burn, Tryst, Qualia,Castle Nowhere, Chroma, DGV: Danse à grande vitesse, Seven Deadly Sins, Electric Counterpoint,Infra, 24 Preludes, Acis and Galatea (Royal Opera) and Lewis Carroll/White Rabbit in Wheeldon'sAlice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The Joyce Theater

The Joyce Theater Foundation, a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences for three decades. The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, which opened as The Joyce Theater in 1982. The Joyce Theater is 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. One of the only theaters built by dancers for dance, The Joyce Theater has provided an intimate and elegant home for more than 320 domestic and international companies. The Joyce has also commissioned more than 130 new dances since 1992. In 1996, The Joyce created Joyce SoHo, a dance center providing highly subsidized rehearsal and performance space to hundreds of dance artists, as well as special residency opportunities for selected choreographers to support the creation of new work. In 2009, The Joyce opened Dance Art New York (DANY) Studios to provide affordable studios for rehearsals, auditions, classes, and workshops for independent choreographers, non-profit dance companies, and the dance/theater communities. New York City public school students and teachers annually benefit from The Joyce's Dance Education Program, and adult audiences get closer to dance through pre-engagement Dance Talks and post-performance Dance Chats. The Joyce Theater now features an annual season of approximately 48 weeks with over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 135,000.

The Joyce Theater opens its 2013/2014 season with the U.S. premiere of the Royal Ballet production of Arthur Pita's The Metamorphosis for two weeks from September 17-29. The performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Saturday 8pm; Sunday 2pm. Dance Chat, a post-performance discussion with artistic directors and/or company members, will take place following the performance on Wednesday, September 18. This discussion is free and open to all audience members attending that evening's performance. Tickets range in price from $10-$75 and can be arranged through JoyceCharge at www.Joyce.org or by calling 212.242.0800. Please note: ticket price is subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.