The Joyce Theater Presents the NY Debut of Scotland's National Dance Co., Scottish Ballet, 4/11-16

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) is pleased to present the New York debut of Scotland's national dance company, Scottish Ballet, from April 11 - 16, featuring a mixed bill including the U.S. premieres of Motion of Displacement and Ten Poems. Tickets range 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. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

Originally founded by Peter Darrell and Elizabeth West as Western Theatre Ballet in Bristol, England in 1957, Scottish Ballet is now Scotland's national dance company. After its creation in England, the company moved to Glasgow, Scotland in 1969 and was renamed Scottish Theatre Ballet, prior to changing to Scottish Ballet in 1974. With strong classical technique at the root of all its work, the repertoire ranges from new adaptations of classic titles, seminal modern works from 20th century choreographers, and new commissions. Scottish Ballet presents a wide range of high-quality dance to audiences both at home and abroad.

For its New York debut, supported by The Joyce Theater's 2016 Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance,Scottish Ballet will present a mixed bill including the U.S. premieres of Motion of Displacement andTen Poems. Created by New York native Bryan Arias for this company in 2015, Motion of Displacement is inspired by memories of his mother's journey in her pursuit of love, and set to the music of John Adams and Johann Sebastian Bach. In Ten Poems, Christopher Bruce sets his work to various Dylan Thomas poems read by Richard Burton, creating a unique work focused around on themes of humanity, loss, war, and peace. The program also features Scottish Ballet Artistic DirectorChristopher Hampson's Sinfonietta Giocosa, which is set to the joyous and rhythmically complex score of Bohuslav Martinu.

Performances of The Joyce Theater's presentation of Scottish Ballet will take place April 11 - 16at The Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street) according to the following schedule: Tuesday & Wednesday at 7:30pm; Thursday & Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; and Sunday at 2pm. Curtain Chat, a free post-performance talkback with the artists, will take place on Wednesday, April 12. This enlightening discussion is open to all patrons attending that evening's performance. Tickets range 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. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

ABOUT SCOTTISH BALLET

Scottish Ballet presents a wide range of high-quality dance to audiences across Scotland, the UK, and abroad - employing 36 professional dancers, 41 staff, and a part-time freelance orchestra of up to 70 musicians. The company presents a broad repertoire, ranging from new versions of the classics (The Nutcracker, Cinderella ), through to seminal pieces from 20th century modern ballet repertoire (work by George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton), and extending into signature pieces by living choreographers (William Forsythe, Hans van Manen, Siobhan Davies) and new commissions. The company provides dance classes and a huge variety of education initiatives, including work with children and adults of all ages and abilities, and the Associate Program which encourages aspiring young dancers to train for a career in the industry. The Company also has close links with Royal Conservatoire Scotland, partnering the BA Modern Ballet and M. Mus (Pianist for Dance) degree courses. Scottish Ballet was the first dance company in Europe to offer live audio description for the visually impaired, and maintains a program of regular audio described performances throughout Scotland.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Christopher Hampson (Chief Executive and Artistic Director/Choreographer) Christopher Hampson joined Scottish Ballet as Artistic Director in August 2012 and was appointed Artistic Director / Chief Executive of Scottish Ballet in June 2015. Christopher trained at the Royal Ballet Schools. His choreographic work began there and continued at English National Ballet (ENB), where he danced until 1999 and for whom he subsequently created numerous award-winning works, including Double Concerto, Perpetuum Mobile, Country Garden, Concerto Grosso and The Nutcracker. Christopher'sRomeo and Juliet, created for the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB), was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award (Best New Production 2005) and his production of Giselle for the National Theatre in Prague has been performed every year since its premiere in 2004. Christopher created Sinfonietta Giocosa for the Atlanta Ballet (USA) in 2006 and after a New York tour it received its UK premiere with ENB in 2007. He created Cinderella for RNZB in 2007, which was subsequently hailed as Best New Production by the New Zealand Herald and televised by TVNZ in 2009. His work has toured Australia, China, the USA, and throughout Europe. Other commissions include, Dear Norman (Royal Ballet, 2009); Sextet (Ballet Black/ROH2, 2010); Silhouette (RNZB, 2010), Rite of Spring (Atlanta Ballet, 2011), Storyville (Ballet Black/ROH2, 2012) nominated for a National Dance Award 2012, andHansel and Gretel (Scottish Ballet 2013). Christopher is co-founder of the International Ballet Masterclasses in Prague and has been a guest teacher for English National Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Matthew Bourne's New Adventures, and the Genée International Ballet Competition. Christopher's work now forms part of the Solo Seal Award for the Royal Academy of Dance. Christopher most recently gave a talk on 'Creative Thinking' for TEDx Glasgow and is developing and leading the inaugural Young Rural Retreat for Aspiring Leaders, in association with Dance East in summer 2016.

Bryan Arias (Choreographer) was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and raised in New York City, choreographer and dancer Bryan Arias is a former company member with Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Netherlands Dance Theater. He has originated roles in and performed works by notable choreographers including Jirí Kylián, Ohad Naharin, and Crystal Pite. Currently, Bryan is a member of KiddPivot. As a choreographer, Bryan is the recipient of the First Place and Audience Choice awards for his work Without Notice at the Sixth Copenhagen International Choreography Competition (CICC), and a winner of the Hubbard Street Dance International Commission Project. He has choreographed for dancers at the Juilliard School, The Peridance Company, Hubbard Street 2, and NDT's Switch. In November of 2013, Bryan created THE ARIAS COMPANY and premiered his full-evening productiona place where something flourishes. The company has performed internationally in festivals such as Festival Siguientescena (Mexico), Pietrasanta Music Festival (Italy), and CICC Gala (Copenhagen). Recently, the company was awarded a Creative Development Residency at Jacob's Pillow. In 2015, Bryan created the new work Motion of Displacement for Scottish Ballet.

Christopher Bruce (Choreographer ) was born in England in 1945 and started studying dance at 11 years old. After studying at the Rambert School, Christopher Bruce joined Rambert Ballet in 1963, where he became the leading male dancer. Bruce appeared in works such as Don Quixote in 1964 and Coppelia in 1966. In 1977 Christopher was appointed Associate Director of the company and was Associate Choreographer from 1979-87, where he created over twenty works for the company. From 1986-91, he acted as associate choreographer for London Festival Ballet, later English National Ballet, and resident choreographer for Houston Ballet in 1989. In 1994 he became artistic director for RDC. Often political in his work, he integrates classical ballet and modern dance, often set against popular music by artists like Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones. His productions include Cruel Garden, Ghost Dances, Swansong and Rooster. At Edinburgh International Festival 2013, Scottish Ballet presented Dance Odysseys, a festival within a festival, in which the Company performed Christopher Bruce's Shift among 16 other works - 6 world premieres, 3 UK premieres and 6 Scottish premieres. In 2014, Scottish Ballet presented the UK premiere of Christopher Bruce's Ten Poems as part of a double bill with Helen Pickett's The Crucible.

ABOUT THE JOYCE THEATER FOUNDATION

The Joyce Theater Foundation ("The Joyce," Executive Director, Linda Shelton), a nonprofit 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.

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Lead support for The Joyce Theater Foundation has been received from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.

Scottish Ballet is the recipient of the 2016 Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance. Underwriting support for The Joyce's presentation of Scottish Ballet provided by Kathleen A. Scott.

Support for The Joyce's presentation of international dance provided by the R. Britton Fisher and Family Gift for International Dance. Additional support has been provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund to encourage the performances of out-of-town companies at The Joyce Theater.

The Joyce Theater's Dance Presentation Program is supported by a grant award from the National Endowment for the Arts; and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; as well as supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council with special thanks to Council Member Corey Johnson.

Major support has been provided by Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, The Pasculano Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The SHS Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation. Key support has been provided by First Republic Bank, The Florence Gould Foundation, The Hearst Foundations, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, and The Jerome Robbins Foundation.

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