Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre Presents World Premiere of Awaken at New York Live Arts Theater

Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre presents the World Premiere of Awaken as their 25th Anniversary Performance Season on Thursday - Saturday, May 8-10, 2025 at 7:30pm at Live Arts Theater: 219 W 19th Street, New York, NY 10011. Tickets are $30 for general admission and $20 for students/ seniors. Saturday Performance will be followed by a Gala Reception. Tickets to the Saturday Gala & Performance are $105. All tickets can be purchased at https://newyorklivearts.org/event/independent-works-awaken-world-premiere-25th-anniversary-performance-season/.

Awaken will weave original material with resonant choreography from Selwyn’s 25 years of rich repertory. The piece will explore the struggle between distraction, a quest for certainty, and living in an embodied present. Selwyn’s athletic choreography will dramatize the complexities of staying grounded, connected, and present in a modern world of endless distraction, consumerism, and convenience. Shifting sections of the work will zero in on our relationship with ambiguity, control, trust, overthinking, vulnerability, and resilience. Awaken will unpack Selwyn’s 25 years of choreographic work to create a compelling evening of dance.

Awaken will feature Selwyn’s company of 15 dancers and include live original music by Jojo Soul, Sound Design by Joel Wilhelmi, Scenic Design by Rob Dutiel, Lighting Design by Dan Ozminkowski, Costume Design by Anna-Alisa Belous, and Stage Management by Gina Solebello.

Company Dancers: Torrey Harada, Rehearsal Director; Manon Hallay, Artistic Associate; Ashley McQueen, Artistic Associate; Kevin Avila, Emanuele Fiore, Alexa Garzon, Gianna Guzzo, Misaki Hayama, Minseon Kim Jeun, Isaac Kerr, Madeline Kuhlke, Jack Randel, Ralphie Rivera De Jesús, Oscar Rodriguez

Join us post-show on Saturday, May 10 for our 25th Anniversary GALA: Looking Back, Moving Forward. Click “Performance and Reception” when completing your purchase.

GALA Honorees

Jane Schreck, Former Company Manager

Manon Hallay, Company Dancer & Artistic Associate

PS 177 Queens, Principal Duffy & AP Dickerson

PS 89 Queens/Child Center of NY, Elisa Pimentel

About Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre

Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre presents dynamic dance theatre productions that activate emotional expression. Through an interplay of athletic and articulate motion, we present theatrical and immediate works that engage audiences from start to finish and beckon a response of thought, feeling, and soul. Our education program, Notes in Motion, brings inclusive dance programs to the NYC Public Schools in styles including modern, ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, Latin, African, and more. Programs are united by our singular approach to dance education, The Movement Exchange Method, which combines technical instruction with creative skill-building and collaborative learning. We aim to provide access to the art form of dance to inspire the next generation of dance appreciators.

Founded in 2000, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre has presented 18 original evening length works and dozens of shorter works at NY Performance Seasons and festival engagements, and offers residencies to colleges and universities. We have presented over 130 productions at venues including Baruch Performing Arts Center, New York Live Arts, Mark Morris Dance Center, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, The Kumble Theater, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Danspace Project, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, John Jay College, and Dance New Amsterdam.

— Inside New York: “Amanda Selwyn is a master at illustrating the symbiosis of sound and movement, the romance of motion and emotion – she had me laughing, crying, cringing and gasping all in the short 55-minute production.”

— Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival’s Pillow Pages: “Choreographically, Amanda’s point of departure is not an image or a gesture, but a theatrical imperative felt in her insistence on expression.

Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre/Notes in Motion programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The company is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Collaboration with musician jojo Soul has been supported by the O’Donnell Green Foundation for Music and Dance.