The Joyce Theater presents Third Annual American Dance Platform

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) is pleased to kick off the new year with the third annual American Dance Platform, a showcase of eight U.S.-based companies over one week at The Joyce Theater, made possible by a grant from The Harkness Foundation for Dance and dedicated to the memory of Theodore S. Bartwink, from January 9-14. Tickets, ranging in price from $10-$46, 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.

This year's festival, curated by Christine Tschida, Director of Northrop, the dance and theater presenting organization at the University of Minnesota, features an eclectic roster of companies appearing over four different programs, each performing twice throughout the week. The 2018 American Dance Platform will feature the returns of Los Angeles's BODYTRAFFIC, New York City's Jessica Lang Dance, the African-American contemporary dance company PHILADANCO!, and Trinity Irish Dance Company, celebrating the popular reemergence of traditional Irish dance.Each of these returning companies will appear on a program alongside a company making its Joyce debut, including swing, jazz, and tap ensemble Caleb Teicher & Company, Backhausdance of Southern California, the mesmerizing traditional hula group H?lau O Kekuhi, and Chicago's Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, performing flamenco and Spanish folk dance.

Companies & Programs of The Joyce Theater's 2018 American Dance Platform*

Tuesday, January 9 at 7:30pm; Sunday, January 14 at 7:30pm

Caleb Teicher & Company (New York, NY)

Variations (Excerpt) by Caleb Teicher

Meet Ella by Caleb Teicher and Nathan Bugh

BODYTRAFFIC (Los Angeles, CA)

The New 45 by Richard Siegal

Dust by Hofesh Shechter

A Million Voices by Matthew Neenan

Wednesday, January 10 at 7:30pm; Sunday, January 14 at 2pm

Jessica Lang Dance (New York, NY)

Lyric Pieces by Jessica Lang

The Calling (Excerpt from Splendid Isolation II) by Jessica Lang

Glow by Jessica Lang

Backhausdance (Orange County, CA)

The Elasticity of Almost (2013) by Jennifer Backhaus

Thursday, January 11 at 8pm; Saturday January 13 at 8pm

PHILADANCO!(Philadelphia, PA)

Between the Lines by Francisco Gella

Super 8! by Ray Mercer

H?lau O Kekuhi(Hilo, Hawaii)

Hi'iakaikapoliopele - Her battle with the Mo'o of the North

Friday, January 12 at 8pm; Saturday, January 13 at 2pm

Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater (Chicago, IL)

Iroko by Carlos Rodriguez and Angel Rojas

Duende Gitana (Gypsy Soul) by Irma Suarez Ruiz

Bolero by Dame Libby Komaiko

Trinity Irish Dance Company (Chicago, IL)

Communion (New York Premiere) by Mark Howard and Sandy Silva

Soles (World Premiere) by Mark Howard

Push (New York Premiere) by Mark Howard

Curran Event by Sean Curran in collaboration with the Dancers

Black Rose by Mark Howard

*Subject to change

ABOUT THE ARTISTS/COMPANIES

BODYTRAFFIC has performed for sold-out audiences at prestigious theaters and festivals throughout North America, including Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, New York City Center's Fall for Dance, Chutzpah! Festival in Vancouver, Laguna Dance Festival, The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Annenberg Center in Philadelphia, and World Music/CRASHarts in Boston. Recent performance highlights include: The Los Angeles Philharmonic's Opening Night Gala at Walt Disney Concert Hall conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and a collaboration with choreographer Victor Qujida, sculptor Gustavo Godoy, and composer Jasper Gahunia for a site-specific endeavor for Dance Camera West at the Music Center Plaza. In 2015, BODYTRAFFIC engagements include The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, American Dance Festival in North Carolina, as well as Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts.

Caleb Teicher & Company, known for "mixing super-charged energy with tossed-off charm" (The New Yorker), is an acclaimed choreographer, performer, and teacher based in New York City. Caleb began his dance career as a founding member of Michelle Dorrance's celebrated company, Dorrance Dance, in 2011. He was awarded a 2011 Bessie Award for Outstanding Individual Performance for Michelle Dorrance and Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards' A Shared Evening at Danspace Project. He continues to perform a variety of dance forms by dancing with The Chase Brock Experience, Syncopated City Dance Company, The Bang Group, Sally Silvers & Dancers, iLuminate, West Side Story (Int'l Tour and London), and Irma La Douce (City Center Encores). Currently an artist-in-residence at the American Tap Dance Foundation, he makes concert dance work under the banner of Caleb Teicher & Company utilizing various American dance traditions to reflect upon modern American culture. CT&Co has been presented by Works & Process at Guggenheim Bilbao, The Yard on Martha's Vineyard, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Inside/Out Series, Queens College, LaMaMa E.T.C., Jersey Tap Festival, The 92nd Street Y, Gibney Dance, Paris Jazz Roots Dance Festival, and many others.

Jessica Lang Dance (JLD),founded in 2011, is a Long Island City-based dance company 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. Since the company's inception, marked B. Lang's receipt of a Joyce Theater Artist Residency supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, JLD has made rapid success performing at world renowned venues and festivals including Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Brooklyn Academy Of Music's Next Wave Festival, New York City Center's Fall for Dance Festival, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Joyce Theater, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, The Music Center, Northrop Auditorium, Winspear Opera House, and Palacio de Bellas Artes, among others. The company's performances have been named among the best dance events of the year by major publications in Dallas, Chicago, Kansas City, and Boston.

Backhausdance, formed in 2003 by Jennifer Backhaus, is a powerful and entertaining voice in the dance world. The company's repertory offers an eclectic and dynamic vocabulary with a wonderful sense of fluidity and strength. Featuring a diverse body of work that is innovative and artistic, Orange County's critically acclaimed contemporary dance company is the recipient of numerous awards for achievements in choreography, design, and performance, helping propel them to the forefront of Southern California contemporary dance. The repertory includes powerful, athletic dances; emotionally charged dramatic pieces; and whimsical, humorous glimpses at the human experience.

PHILADANCO! (The Philadelphia Dance Company) is a nonprofit organization that presents the highest quality of professional dance performance and improves the skills of emerging and professional dancers and choreographers in a nurturing environment, while increasing the appreciation of dance among its many communities. Across the nation and around the world, PHILADANCO! is celebrated for its innovation, creativity and preservation of predominantly African-American traditions in dance. Founded in 1970, PHILADANCO! has a legacy of breaking barriers and building bridges across cultural divides, consistently performing for audiences representing an amalgamation of people from diverse communities. PHILADANCO! is recognized for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers and electrifying performances. Inherent in our mission is a commitment to empowering youth with crucial leadership and development skills that facilitate achievement and success in the world of dance and everyday life.

H?lau o Kekuhi is celebrated for its mastery of the 'aiha'a style of hula (dance) and oli (chant). The 'aiha'a is a low-postured, vigorous, bombastic style of hula that springs from the eruptive volcano persona Pele and Hi'iaka, characteristic of Hawai'i Island's creative forces. H?lau o Kekuhi has earned local, state, national, and international recognition for its art. The leadership of the dance company is currently transmitted through matrilineal succession and with the passing of Edith Kanaka'ole, her daughters Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele and N?lani Kanaka'ole assumed the role of kumu hula. In 2007, Pualani relinquished her position to her daughters, Kekuhi Keali'ikanaka'oleohaililani and Huihui Kanahele-Mossman, who, along with N?lani, are now the kumu hula of the h?lau. Currently, the h?lau is under the direction of N?lani and Huihui. Also in 2007, the h?lau celebrated an 'aha 'ailolo, graduating several of its dancers and initiating them into the tenure of kumu hula: Kauamakani Elia, K?wala'? Taylor, Kau'i Enoka, Kika Nohara, Heanu Weller, Kalanipua Elia, Kau'ilani Almeida, Mamo Brown, '?'ilipua Kaikaina, Taup?uri Tangar?, Sig Zane, Keonaona Trask, Keala Swain, and Kau'i Kanaka'ole.

Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, founded by Dame Libby Komaiko, is Chicago's world class Spanish dance company under the dynamic leadership of artistic director, Irma Suarez Ruiz and executive director, Jorge Perez. Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater is the premier Spanish dance company and center in the United States to have in-residence status at a university, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago. The Company's mission is the preservation, presentation, and promotion of the classical, folkloric, flamenco, and contemporary dance and music traditions of Spain. The company, now celebrating its 42nd anniversary, is comprised of forty dancers, singers, and musicians representing a mosaic of cultures from around the world. The Company appears in a broad range of television, opera, film, and symphonic formats, including with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and works in cultural and educational arts program throughout the nation. This past season the company served nearly 32,000 students and over 50,000 audience members. From an extraordinary repertoire of over 135 works, the Ensemble has had the good fortune of working with such prominent artists such as Jose Greco, Nana Lorca, Edo, Maria Alba, Victorio Korjhan, Paco Alonso, Roberto Lorca, Juanjo Linares, Manolete, Carmela Greco, Paloma & Raquel Gomez, Jose Barrios, Rojas y Rodriguez, and Juan Mata and Ana Gonzalez, former first dancers and founding members of the National Ballet of Spain. The Company performs throughout the U.S. including Puerto Rico and Hawaii and has performed on four continents in the countries of Mexico, Costa Rica, Poland, Australia, Canada, China, and most recently Spain.

Trinity Irish Dance Company (TIDC) has significantly changed the direction and scope of Irish dance, re-introducing the art form as the phenomenon it is today. TIDC is constantly in search of original means of expression while maintaining a high regard for tradition. This innovative, nonprofit company was created to celebrate the pioneering work of Founding Artistic Director Mark Howard. Howard's uniquely Irish-American company was the birthplace of progressive Irish dance, which opened new avenues of artistic freedom that led directly to commercial productions such as Riverdance. By using Irish dance as an instrument and a metaphor, TIDC redefines the medium with passion, flair, and precision. Through the years, TIDC has collaborated with many noted contemporary choreographers, which has led to an increased vocabulary of movement and the development of a new genre of dance. Considered an American treasure by critics and enthusiasts worldwide, TIDC has performed sold-out tours in Europe, Asia, and North America, appearing in distinguished venues, such as New York's Joyce Theater, Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center, UCLA's Royce Hall, Princeton's McCarter Theatre, Ottawa's National Arts Center of Canada, Tokyo's Orchard Hall, and Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, among many others. The Company has travelled to entertain dignitaries as varied as Monaco's Royal Family, Irish and American Presidents, Japanese Royalty, and Indian meditation masters. TIDC holds an important place in the dance world, offering both a highly skilled presentation of traditional Irish step dance and a brilliantly engaging interpretation of contemporary world vision.

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.

Performances of American Dance Platform will be January 9-14 at The Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street) according to the following schedule: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm; Thursday and Friday at 8:00pm; Saturday at 2:00pm & 8:00pm; and Sunday at 2:00pm & 7:30pm. Tickets range in price from $10-$46 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 West 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

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