Combining voluptuous physicality with classical technique created by the most provocative dance makers in the world, Cedar Lake is one of the most exciting companies performing today. Returning to The Joyce for two weeks this spring with its sixteen magnificent dancers, led by Artistic Director Benoit-Swan Pouffer, the company will perform two programs of highly anticipated New York premieres, including Violet Kid, the latest work for the company by UK based choreographer Hofesh Shechter, and Grace Engine by Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite. Also highlighting the Joyce season--New York premieres by Sweden's Alexander Ekman and the Netherland's Regina van Berkel. read more »

The Festival returns for two weeks with programs featuring cutting-edge artists, world premieres, and Joyce debuts. Week One begins with Brian Brooks Moving Company in the premiere of BIG CITY, a work that examines the concept of rebuilding after a destructive event. The week also highlights choreographer Jodie Gates, who will set work on Ballet X and Colorado Ballet. Sharing the program with Gates will be Peter Quanz, whose Canadian-based company Q Dance/Quanz Danse will perform two works, including In Tandem, set to a score by Steve Reich.

Week Two opens with a special one-night celebration featuring multiple artists (see below) and continues with the Los Angeles-based BODYTRAFFIC performing a world premiere as well as Stijn Celis' Fragile Dwellings, with a light installation by Erwin Redl. The Festival concludes with Gallim Dance, under the direction of Andrea Miller, performing SIT, KNEEL, STAND, an evening-length world premiere that deconstructs the border between harmony and chaos.

One Night Celebration Program: Working Women
On Tuesday June 5th, Gotham Dance Festival celebrates the choreographic work of American women, in a special concert to benefit the programs of Gotham Arts Exchange. This program will include new works and audience favorites. Scheduled to perform are: BalletX performing the work of Jodie Gates (duet from Delicate Balance), Jane Comfort & Company (excerpt from Beauty), Loni Landon (world premiere of don't forget to go home), Camille A. Brown & Dancers (premiering an excerpt of Mr. Tol E. Rance), Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company (New York premiere of Keystone), Kate Weare Company (premiere of a new version of The Light Has Not The Arms to Carry Us). Pam Tanowitz Dance (premiere of Recorded forever in between the cracks with real passion), and a special encore presentation from Monica Bill Barnes & Company performing an excerpt from The Snow Globe Show.

Premium seating ($100 & $75) for Working Women includes center orchestra seats and a special post show reception with the artists.
Call 212-928-6517 or visit gothamarts.org
Regular tickets start at $10 read more »

Pop culture fuses with high art in KEIGWIN + COMPANY's electrifying brand of contemporary dance. K+C returns to The Joyce in 2012 with two world premieres that combine Larry Keigwin's theatricality and wit, ranging from a work for 12 dancers set to a score by electronic composer Jonathan Pratt to a quartet for the company's male dancers. Trio (2011), a playful, whimsical dance that originally premiered as Balloon Dance at Works & Process at the Guggenheim last fall, will be re-staged. Celebrated by The New York Times as "divinely well-structured," Megalopolis will round out the program. This is a dazzling work that blends a futuristic urban vision with nightclub camp to a mash up of minimalism and hip-hop. read more »

As part of its 65th anniversary celebration, Limón Dance Company, under the direction of Carla Maxwell, will perform the world premiere of Come With Me, (inspired by the music "Ladies in White," "Bombardino," "Dreams," and "Freedom") , a collaboration between world-renowned Cuban composer/performer Paquito D'Rivera and Rodrigo Pederneiras, the principal choreographer of Grupo Corpo, Brazil's leading contemporary dance company. This full-company work, Paquito's first dance commission and Rodrigo's first commission for a US dance company, will stretch the boundaries of Limón's legacy by uniting extraordinary music and dance. The program will also include a revival of Limón's 1956 masterwork The Emperor Jones, based on the powerful Eugene O'Neill play and set to the resonant music of Heitor Villa-Lobos. Chaconne, (1942) Limón's passionate solo featuring music by J.S. Bach and La Cathedrale Engloutie (1975), Jiří Kylián's virtuosic and tranquil full-company work set to music by Debussy, will complete this abundant program. Select works during all evening performances will be performed to live music. read more »

Born in India and raised in Paris, the "divinely gifted" (The New York Times) Shantala Shivalingappa combines elements from the Southern Indian traditional dance characterized by flowing lines and intricate footwork with a western contemporary dance sensibility. For her Joyce debut, Shantala performs Namasya, a work celebrating her diverse choreographic influences that consists of four solos including one created by Ushio Amagatsu, Sankai Juku's renowned artistic director, and another choreographed during her residency with Pina Bausch. Filled with elegant movement that sheds light on interior thoughts, Namasya clearly establishes Shantala Shivalingappa as one of the most intriguing artists on the international scene. read more »

Emmy Award winning choreographer Jason Samuels Smith celebrates his first season of full-length programming at The Joyce with a performance that feature two world premieres, repertory works from his company ACGI (Anybody Can Get It), and excerpts from Chasing The Bird - a project developed from his tribute to Charlie Parker and danced by "exquisite stylists" (The New York Times) Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Chloe Arnold and Michelle Dorrance. The piece combines a diverse mixture of tap as both a musical and visual art form enhanced by the artistry of live musicians, as well as some of Charlie Parker's original tunes that Smith transcribed and choreographed. read more »

Applauded by The New York Times his "highly developed craft" and music choices that are "irresistible for their sly sensuality and humor and even more for gut-wrenching rhythms that feel both elemental and intricately woven," Ronald K. Brown and his company, Evidence, return to The Joyce with two programs of dance, music, and storytelling. Program A features the New York Company premiere of Gatekeepers, a work that tells a story about caretaking and waiting at the door of heaven for those on their way. Also on the program—the New York premiere of Everybody at the Table, Act II of On Earth Together, set to music by Stevie Wonder. Program B features Walking Out the Dark, Seeking Healing, Come Ye, and Upside Down, compelling pieces performed to music ranging from Cutumba Folklorio do Santiago, Nina Simone, Oumou Sangare, and Fela Anikulapo Kuti. read more »

A fungus that grew into an international dance phenomenon, Pilobolus performs a season full of "stunning physical feats and visual surprises, a peek or two into the crannies of the heart, and lots of humor, both awful and sublime." (The New York Times). Highlights include premieres created in collaboration with Michael Moschen and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, two artists whose work takes the very definition of dance to new frontiers. The collaboration with physicist, juggler, dancer Moschen unites the underlying spirit of Pilobolus's work--support, humanity, connection—with an artist similarly fascinated with the emotional and physical properties governing human interaction. And the collaboration with Cherkaoui, a "bright young star of contemporary European dance," (Los Angeles Times), equally promises to defy the established boundaries of visual and kinetic artistry. Set against the gritty, saturated colors of LA's Eastside streets, Skyscrapers explores the melancholy, understated elegance of the tango, quintessential street dance, drenched in overtones of love, romance, and loss. Pilobolus once again joins Trish Sie (co-creator of last year's Grammy-nominated Pilobolus/OK Go video and live dance, "All Is Not Lost") to imagine Sie's brilliant new video for OK Go's Skyscrapers as a work for the live stage. This quick-change duet follows a never-ending, always-changing journey in search of connection. Sandwiched in between are audience favorites gleaned from Pilobolus' repertory, a bag of tricks embracing forty-one years of fun. read more »

"One of the country's most entertaining, original ballet troupes," (Dance Magazine), San Francisco's Smuin Ballet returns to The Joyce with its signature bold, sexy, and innovative dance. The program includes founder Michael Smuin's Medea, a powerfully hypnotic work created during his tenure as artistic director of San Francisco Ballet; Oh, Inverted World, a piece by Trey McIntryre set to music by indie-rock band The Shins; and Soon These Two Worlds, an effervescent ballet by Choreographer in Residence Amy Seiwert and set to pulsating music from the Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet's Pieces of Africa. read more »

Bessie Award winner Soledad Barrio, heralded by The New York Times as "one of today's great dancers of any genre," and her company Noche Flamenca played to sold out houses last year at The Joyce. This season, they return with a New York premiere and a two week engagement, giving audiences even more chances to experience these astounding artists deliver flamenco in its most authentic and glorious form, one that creates fierce and haunting work through the vivid interplay of palmas, song, guitar, and dance. read more »

Founded by the esteemed Joan Myers Brown in 1970, Philadanco, a Joyce favorite, performs a characteristically rousing program that includes a world premiere by the magnificent Matthew Rushing and the New York premiere of Wake Up, created by North Philly's own celebrated choreographer Rennie Harris. This intricate, propulsive work seeks to define Hip Hop from its birth to its profound impact on the communities from which it sprung. read more »

Whether creating whirlwinds of movement that dazzle with complexity or tracing the interior landscape of terse gesture, Doug Varone places indelible humanity at the core of his work. For its 25th Anniversary season, the company will perform the New York premiere of Carrugi, set to Mozart's mythic oratorio "La Betulia Liberata," as well as another new work. The season also includes Boats Leaving, Varone's 2006 Bessie Award winning work; Ballet Mécanique, which he set to George Antheil's iconoclastic score from 1925, and his hallmark solo, Nocturne. read more »

"Simply breathtaking," proclaims the Chicago Sun Times about Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, whose Joyce season features a new program of contemporary ballet that exemplifies its commitment to commissioning dance by both world-renowned and emerging choreographers. Born in the American West and now touring internationally, this tiny troupe of eleven classically trained dancers has developed a large following worldwide. The Joyce program includes the New York debut of choreographic discovery Norbert De La Cruz III's ballet Square None, as well as a new piece, commissioned by The Joyce, by Spanish choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo, and OVER GLOW by Jorma Elo. read more »

After last season's sold out gala performance, Ballet Next–the new classical ballet company founded by former American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet luminaries Michele Wiles and Charles Askegard—returns to The Joyce for its first week-long run. The acclaimed dancers perform two programs that feature classical works by Petipa and Balanchine and highly-anticipated contemporary premieres by choreographers Margo Sappington and Brian Reeder. Another highlight is Ballet Next's original work La Follia, created by Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti, with performances by renowned dancers from major companies, including New York City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. The Ballet Next Ensemble will accompany the dancers with live music led by acclaimed Israeli cellist Elad Kabilio. read more »

Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal takes on the sounds, rhythms, and music of the city in Night Box, its high-voltage new piece by provocative choreographer Wen Wei Wang. Combining contemporary ballet with street dance, Night Box explores love, loss, sexuality, and joy. The work is "brilliantly theatrical, in turns witty, poignant and unsettling." (The National Post) Wen Wei Wang collaborates with Montréal fashion design duo UNTTLD to reveal the full spectrum of the city at night—its private spaces, clubs, and streets—against a backdrop of darkness that bathes these spaces in light to evoke a refreshing perspective inspired by urban street life. The program also includes a new work by internationally acclaimed choreographer Barak Marshall, and Zero in On by Cayetano Soto, an innovative piece highlighting the Spanish choreographer's energetic style. read more »

Morphoses returns to The Joyce with the New York premiere of WITHIN (Labyrinth Within) by Swedish choreographer and filmmaker Pontus Lidberg that is inspired by and expands on Lidberg's award winning 2010 film "Labyrinth Within." Playing with perceptions of reality by weaving together film, live performance, interconnected relationships, and music by David Lang, Lidberg creates a mysterious and powerful experience. On stage is a cast of five dancers, including New York City Ballet's Sara Mearns and Adrian Danchig-Waring, who gradually relinquish performance space to the filmed images of Wendy Whelan, Giovanni Bucchieri, and Lidberg himself. read more »

"Explosive energy, ferocious technique, and eye-watering hyper flexibility," proclaims The New Zealand Herald about Complexions Contemporary Ballet, whose celebrated dancers, innovative works, and pioneering spirit have made it a leader in American contemporary ballet. For its Joyce season, the company performs three New York premieres, including a work set to Rockjazz virtuoso ELEW that features unique renditions of songs by the Foo Fighters and Linkin Park; Threshold, set to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1; and a duet set to music by New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Payton. Also on tap—repertory favorites like Testament, On Holiday, and a new production of Pretty Gritty Suite, set to the music of Nina Simone. read more »

Grabbing well-deserved international attention, former Ballet Frankfurt dancer Crystal Pite fuses classical dance with structured improvisation and a strong theatrical sensibility. In The Tempest Replica, she uses the island setting of Shakespeare's The Tempest as a metaphor for isolation, captivity, and desire. She juxtaposes this setting to a nostalgic cityscape that evokes longing. This is an intriguing work in which chalk-white replicas deliver the story's essential plot, while its underlying tensions are fleshed out by real characters who articulate powerful emotion through dance. read more »

Following his Olivier Award-nominated and Critics' Circle National Dance Award-winning AfterLight, Russell Maliphant comes to The Joyce with The Rodin Project, a Sadler's Wells/Russell Maliphant production inspired by the works of the great French sculptor, Auguste Rodin. For this work, Maliphant draws on the high energy talents of extraordinary performers and a commissioned score by Russian composer Alexander Zekke to create a movement vocabulary influenced by popping, breaking, and contemporary dance, which he integrates with his own language of flow, form, and dynamics. "Dancing bodies rarely look more beautiful than in the work of Russell Maliphant," proclaims The Guardian, and The Rodin Project is no exception.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim Sneak Peek
Mon, Dec 3, 7:30pm
For one night only, prior to the Joyce premiere, go behind the scenes with choreographer Russell Maliphant. Maliphant will share insights and dancers will perform excerpts from his body of work, including The Rodin Project. A reception with the artists follows in the rotunda of the Museum.

Special $50 ticket package includes a Sec. B ticket to the performance of your choice at The Joyce and a ticket to the Works & Process sneak peek performance.

Ticket package available only through Works & Process at www.worksandprocess.org or 212-423-3587 starting May 21. read more »

Take the chill out of winter with the Trocks, the all-male troupe whose brilliant pointe work and hilarious parodying produce paroxysms of giggles and wild applause throughout the world. A highlight of the company's Joyce season is the New York premiere of an excerpt from the final act of Laurencia, a 1939 piece about a peasant revolution, originally choreographed by Vakhtang Chabukiani. The programs also feature favorites like Paquita and Go For Barocco, and a star turn by prima ballerina Ida Nevasayneva (aka Paul Ghiselin), whose "Dying Swan, with its molting feathers and funky chicken interpolations, may well by now have eclipsed Anna Pavlova's original." Chicago Tribune read more »

An exciting week-long celebration, now in its second season, FOCUS Dance is a partnership between Gotham Arts Exchange and The Joyce Theater that promotes American dance to the national and international community. This year's curator, Jodee Nimerichter of the American Dance Festival has assembled four programs featuring some of the most captivating companies performing today. read more »

"One of modern dance's greatest living dance-makers" (New York Magazine), David Parsons brings Parsons Dance back to The Joyce with a program that includes two world premieres. David Parsons will debut a new work set to music by contemporary American folk artists. Katarzyna Skarpetowska, last season's guest choreographer and former Parsons' dancer, will explore her Polish romantic roots in a piece featuring the music of Poland's greatest composer, Frédéric Chopin. The program also includes the Mozart-inspired work, Wolfgang and David Parsons' stroboscopic masterwork, Caught. read more »