The Joyce's Popular BALLET FESTIVAL Returns
By: Stephi Wild Jun. 06, 2018
The Joyce Theater Foundation (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) is thrilled to present the return of its highly anticipated Ballet Festival, a two-week showcase of some of America's most exciting contemporary ballet companies and choreographers with Joyce commissions on each program. The Festival, designed to recognize dancers and choreographers who are creating work outside the traditional large company setting - and, in many cases, forming their own companies - will take place from June 26 - July 7 at The Joyce Theater. This year's festival, supported by an endowment established with major support from the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation, features the Joyce debuts of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami and Barak Ballet, as well as the anticipated returns of Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY, BalletX, and Ashley Bouder Project. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.
Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami
Tuesday, June 26 & Wednesday, June 27 at 7:30pm
Since its 2016 debut, Dimensions Dance Theatre has quickly made a name for itself as a promising new ballet company with a dazzling repertory reflective of the vibrant Latin culture of its home city, Miami. Founded and led by former Miami City Ballet stars Carlos Guerra and Jennifer Kronenberg, the company makes its Joyce debut in the Ballet Festival with a program that includes Gerald Arpino's sensually charged LightRain and Esferas, a striking, sculptural work created by emerging choreographic talent Ariel Rose of Miami City Ballet. Tara Lee's Stepping Into the Blue and Juanita Y Alicia by Septime Webre are additional features on the program.
Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY
Thursday, June 28 & Friday, June 29 at 8pm
Since its last appearance at The Joyce Theater during the 2015 Ballet Festival, Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY has continued to thrill audiences, most recently at Canada's National Arts Centre and at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music's 2017 Next Wave Festival. For this year's Festival, the Vancouver and New York-based company returns with the world premiere of Beamish's new full-length work The Masque of the Red Death, inspired by the eponymous Edgar Allan Poe short story. The work explores the different color palettes, moods, and social contexts presented in Poe's gothic tale.
BalletX
Saturday, June 30 at 8pm; Sunday, July 1 at 2pm & 7:30pm
BalletX, Philadelphia's premier contemporary ballet company, unites distinguished, international choreographers with an outstanding group of dancers to forge new works of athleticism, emotion, and grace. Under the direction of Christine Cox, BalletX has commissioned over 60 world premiere ballets by 35 different choreographers. The program for its Ballet Festival engagement will include The Boogeyman, Trey McIntyre's soulful, spooky and sensational new work, set to a selection of 1970's tracks; Vivir, by Darrell Grand Moultrie, which is inspired by and celebrates the choreographer's childhood neighborhood and the sounds of his youth; and Increasing, an emotional musical new work by BalletX co-founder Matthew Neenan.
Ashley Bouder Project
Monday, July 2 & Tuesday, July 3 at 7:30pm; Thursday, July 5 at 8pm
Ashley Bouder Project returns to The Joyce with a program that includes the premiere of a solo performed by Ashley Bouder and created by Lauren Lovette, principal dancer with NYCB; a new piece by Abdul Latif, current resident at the Broadway Dance Lab, and Bouder's elegant InPursuit of..., which premiered in 2017 at Symphony Space, rounding out the program. The Joyce season features music by female composers, including a piece by astounding young talent Miho Hazama, performed live by the New York Jazz harmonic, headed by Ron Wasserman.
Barak Ballet
Friday, July 6 & Saturday, July 7 at 8pm
Barak Ballet presents contemporary dance pieces that captivate audiences, invoke thought, and expand the art form of ballet. The company thrives on dynamic partnerships among dancers, choreographers, composers, musicians, designers, and media artists, and the resulting collaborative works radiate artistic excellence. For its Ballet Festival debut, the company will perform Cypher and E/SPACE, choreographed by artistic director Melissa Barak, and Nicolas Blanc's Desert Transport.
The Joyce Theater's Ballet Festival, is a sampling of five of the country's most exciting young dance companies whose works represent a range of ballet styles, from neo-classical to contemporary, will be presented at The Joyce Theater from June 26 - July 7 according to the following schedule:
DIMENSIONS DANCE THEATRE OF MIAMI is a new ballet company founded in 2016 by former Miami City Ballet principal dancers Carlos Guerra and Jennifer Kronenberg. Carlos and Jennifer plan to offer audiences a fresh and diverse view of ballet through their direction of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, exploring collaborative avenues that are distinct in their reflection of South Florida. Drawing on 50+ years of cumulative experience working with many of today's most celebrated international choreographers and directors, the two will bring a unique and promising perspective to the procurement of new and existing balletic repertoire. At Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, audiences can expect to see exciting, diverse, cutting edge works performed by world class artists who will keep viewers on the edge of their seats and demand to see more.
Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY aims to further the awareness of, and appreciation for, contemporary dance at local, national, and international arenas. The company places equal focus on youth educational programming, and the creation and presentation of professional theatrical productions. Founded in Vancouver in 2005 by current Artistic Director, Joshua Beamish, MOVETHECOMPANY quickly emerged as one of Western Canada's most prolific dance companies. The company has performed throughout the globe at venues such as Montreal's Tangente, Usine C and Studio 303, NYC's Joyce SoHo (performed at Joyce), Singapore's Odyssey Dance Theatre, the International Ballet Festival in Miami, and the Quinzena de Danca Festival in Portugal. The company has been presented by the Made in BC: Dance On Tour Program, The VIDF, Dancing on the Edge, and the Chutzpah Festival, among others. MOVE: the company was notably selected by curators of Cirque du Soleil for presentation at WORLD EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, China, performing the Closing Gala of the Canadian Cultural Pavilion, and toured an ensemble of 24 Vancouver-based artists for a commissioned presentation at Bangkok International Festival for Dance & Music/Bangkok Opera House. The company also toured Allemande to Nottingham, UK as the Canadian representatives at World Event Young Artist, a satellite of the 2012 London Cultural Olympiad.
BalletX, Philadelphia's premier contemporary ballet company, unites distinguished choreographers with an outstanding company of world-class dancers to forge new works of athleticism, emotion, and grace. Through its founders, Christine Cox and Matthew Neenan, BalletX challenges the boundaries of classical ballet by encouraging formal experimentation while preserving rigorous technique. Since the company's founding in 2005, BalletX has expanded its repertoire with over 60 world premieres by internationally renowned artists including Jorma Elo, Nicolo Fonte, Jodie Gates, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Edwaard Liang, Adam Hougland, Matthew Neenan, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Gabrielle Lamb, Joshua Peugh, James Gregg, Olivier Wevers, Tobin Del Cuore, and Mauro Astolfi, among others. Now recognized worldwide for its unique repertoire, the company participates in a growing number of national and international tours, including performances at prestigious venues and festivals such as The Joyce Theater in New York City, Vail International Dance Festival in Colorado, Laguna Dance Festival in California, Festival de Ballet in Colombia, Ballet EXPO in South Korea, Sweet Pea Festival in Montana, Spring to Dance Festival in St. Louis, and DANCECleveland, among others.
Ashley Bouder PROJECT is inspired by the collaborative energy of Diaghilev's legendary Ballet Russes at the turn of the 20th century, which brought together the best visual artists, dancers, composers, choreographers, fashion designers, and musicians of their day. The works produced were forward thinking and generated a new aesthetic, sending shockwaves throughout the entire art world. The Ashley Bouder Project seeks to revive that spirit and also serves as a platform for young artists, especially female choreographers, who may not have the support of larger institutions. The company also finds new ways to reach audiences. The Project seeks to educate new audiences about the history of dance by presenting introductory videos in conjunction with diverse historical repertory to help audiences understand the creative trajectory of ballet as an art form. Each performance has a focus on connecting the community with the repertory through master classes, lecture demonstrations, and open conversations.
BARAK BALLET Artistic Director, Melissa Barak, was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA and has achieved a multitude of accomplishments as both a professional ballet dancer and choreographer. While dancing with the New York City Ballet (1998 - 2007), she began exploring her choreographic talents. She was invited by Peter Martins, director of the New York City Ballet, to participate in the inaugural NY Choreographic Institute. The piece she created impressed him, so much that he commissioned her to choreograph a ballet for the School of American Ballet's June workshop performance. The ballet she made, Telemann Overture Suite, was met with critical acclaim. Mr. Martins brought Telemann into New York City Ballet's repertoire the very next season and immediately asked her to choreograph again, this time on the company. She was only 22, making her the youngest choreographer at that time in New York City Ballet history to be commissioned to create an original work.
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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