There are just a two days left to enjoy the month-long performances by The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center so go see Rennie Harris’ Lazarus Act I and Lazarus Act II, Ronald K. Brown’s The Call and Wayne McGregor’s Kairos.  Although Harris’ Lazarus comes in two parts, it’s presented in one evening with a break between acts, a side A and side B, if you will.  Lazarus is epic with stories about cotton-picking, raising the spirit in church, and straight-up House & Hip-Hop, but most importantly, Lazarus honors Mr. Ailey’s legacy as the Company celebrates their 60th anniversary.  Throughout, in perfectly positioned recorded narrative, Harris dialogs with Mr. Ailey, in one instance he says, “I wanted to get your thoughts on something I was writing…” and in Act I his thoughts come to life through a landscape of African American history—the dancers are barefooted, and they tell his movement story using modern dance inspired steps, urged by the music to “clap your hands and stomp your feet.”  Then in Act II, scuffing the floor in sneakers, Harris’ signature House and Hip Hop movement (really fast footwork, air defying leaps and sleek unison floor work), boost the energy and takes the work to another place, juxtaposing movement, music and the thinking about their world today.  Lead beautifully by Daniel Harder, the cast of dancers are: Jeroboam Bozeman, Jamar Roberts, Hope Boykin, Sarah-Daley Perdomo, Jacqueline Green, Jacquelin Harris, Vernard J. Gilmore, Michael Francis McBride, Yannick Lebrun, Belen Pereyra-Alem, Michael Jackson, Jr. Ghrai DeVore, Akua Noni Parker and Megan Jakel.

Brown’s The Call, another tribute to Mr. Ailey, is too short, but so sweet, and while honoring Mr. Ailey’s love of movement, Brown injects his signature blend of West African, House and modern dance.  This time however, Brown includes classical music by Johann Sebastian Bach alongside jazz from Mary Lou Williams, plus African drums and kora playing from the Brooklyn-based Asase Yaa Entertainment Group.  The dancers, Jacqueline Green, Jamar Roberts, Fana Tesfagiorgis, Danica Paulos and Solomon Dumas are flawless in the way they capture this tryptic of senses. Brown refers to this work as a “Love Letter” to Mr. Ailey.

In McGregor’s Kairos, the Ailey dancers again show their range which is surely a testament to artistic director, Robert Battle’s eye for bringing in choreographers that show them off.  And with personified ease, in all-female or male groups they are gazelles and darting tigers all at the same time.  The season ends on Sunday, December 30th.  Find out more here

Celebrate with us at the 2019 annual Bessies Presenter Gathering!

Bessies Presenter Gathering

Sunday, January 6th, 2018
5:00-7:00pm
La MaMa La Galleria
 
Yoko Shioya of Japan Society will receive the 2019 Bessies Presenter Award for Outstanding Curating.

Come celebrate with us as we honor her contributions to the entire field of dance and performance!  There will be drinks, nibbles, and a much needed chance to relax and enjoy with your colleagues and friends at this invaluable annual gathering. The evening is free and open to all!

RSVP here!

Submissions Accepted January 1 – 10, 2019
 
FROM THE FOLKS AT  10 Hairy Legs, the male repertory dance company, will accept and consider submissions to create new works for the company. The initiative is open to anyone seeking to work with the company. Submissions must include a maximum of 10 words to describe the choreographer’s vision for the work and a link to one sample representing that artist’s dance esthetic.
 
Submissions will be accepted January 1 – 10 only and emailed to Betsy Sobo, Executive Director.
 
Artistic Director Randy James notes, “We continue to be fervently committed to the creation of new works and the abundance of choreographic talent in our field. In our brief seven-year history we have commissioned 13 works from 12 choreographers that challenge our artists and audiences with unique voices. New works chosen will be fully produced in the coming years. Past commissions include works by Julie Bour, Manuel Vignoulle, Doug Elkins, Doug Varone, Megan Williams, Al Blackstone, Raja Feather Kelly, Nicholas Sciscione, Tiffany Mills, Yin Yue and this season Adam Barruch and Larry Keigwin. We are pleased to introduce the breadth of our repertory by engaging and challenging audiences as we continue to expand our footprint with extensive regional, national and international touring.” Current Choreographer Bios.  10 Hairy Legs is an equal opportunity employer.

REGISTER NOW

Friday, February 22 - Saturday, February 23, 2019
Hunter College
695 Park Ave
New York, NY 10065
Visit Dance.NYC for venue details.

Early Bird Rate: $105
(20% off)
Available until Midnight on January 13

Sponsorships, group rates, and advertising options are also available until January 13. For the latest program and speaker information, visit Dance.NYC/dancesymp.

REGISTER NOW

Dance/NYC’s 2019 Symposium will consider the role of New York dance artists and their creativity in a changing United States. It will invite participants to investigate topics of transformative justice, the role of youth in activism and social change, increasing dance education for a thriving workforce, and radical practice, among others, in the context of a changing political climate and following CreateNYC, the City of New York’s first-ever cultural plan.
As the only gathering of its kind for the dance community in the New York metropolitan area, the Symposium aims to share information innovation and to stimulate awareness, interest, and ongoing engagement in dance and dance education. The 2019 Symposium will be hosted campus-style and make use of Hunter College’s expanding dance facilities and performance spaces for panel discussions, case studies, interactive workshops, a networking lunch, and more.

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The Bang Group
The Flea
December 20 – 22
The Bang Group’s Nut/Cracked, an annual and quirky take on the largely celebrated ballet “Nutcracker” to Tchaikovsky’s score returns for its 16th season with an ensemble of 21 dancers.  The Bang Group’s choreographer and co-founder, David Parker’s “…witty choreography is totally unpredictable as he whisks together an array of dance forms inspired by competition, intoxication, greed, Chinese take-out, bubble-wrap, toe shoes, and the perils of ice.   Musically, the choreographer also takes a playful and wide-ranging approach through many incantations of the beloved Tchaikovsky score, including renderings by Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, as well as the traditional orchestral suit,” according to the release.  Special guests for the season are students from The Dalton School, Frank Sinatra high School for the Performing Arts, and e.g. dance.
Find out more here
 
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York City Center
November 28 – December 30
Just two more weeks are left for the annual five-week season.  Included on the programs are world premieres, Lazarus by Rennie Harris, The Call by Ronald K. Brown, En by Jessica Lang, and Kairos by Wayne McGregor (Company premiere), plus new productions by Artistic Director Robert Battle (Juba - 2003), Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (Shelter - 1988), Talley Beatty (Stack Up - 1982), Twyla Tharp (The Golden Section – 1983) and Company member Jamar Roberts (Members Don’t Get Weary – 2017).  Other season highlights include the Family Matinee Series which runs every Saturday afternoon, plus the special season finale. The artistic director is Robert Battle.  Find out more here

AND...MORE VARIATIONS ON THE "NUTCRACKER":

Mark Morris Dance Group’s The Hard Nut
BAM
December 10-23
Morris' The Hard Nut returns to BAM with "...updated classic fairytale [which takes place]...in the swinging 1970s, complete with dancing G.I. Joes, whimsical costumes, gender-bending casting, and a Waltz of the Snowflakes like no other," notes the release."  Find out more here 

The Love Show
(le) poisson rouge
December 22 -23
"Nutcracker: Rated R" returns to NYC! The Love Show brings back the best excerpts of their legendary underground ballet (last seen in Tokyo), "Yule Shul"! "Two delightful evenings of everything naughty and nice, featuring dance, song, burlesque, circus, magic and more! A perfect holiday show for those who love Christmas, Hanukkah, The Nutcracker, and everything in between!," notes the release.  Find out more here

PLUS - PLUS - PLUS:
Zvidance
New York Live Arts
December 19-22
Zvi Gotheiner, artistic director of Zvidance will premiere Bear's Ears aimed at bringing awareness to the current controversy surrounding Bear's Ears National Monument in Southern Utah, and Detour reflecting on “…ways to get where you’re going,” notes the release.  Find out more here
 
Various Artists
Theater for the New City
December 22
Alessandra Belloni, artistic director brought together vocalists, dancers and percussionists for a new version of "Drums of Illumination," celebrating Native American, African, and Southern Italian traditions.  Special guests are Murielle Borst, Josephine Tarrant and Kevin Tarrant of the SilverCloud Singers and Dancers (Native American) and Kevin Nathaniel (African percussion).   Find out more here

Raja Feather Kelly, the performer, choreographer and artistic director of the feath3r theory the dance-theater company he formed in 2009, has been recognized with five prestigious awards:

The Breakout Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, The Harkness Promise Award, a residency in The Watermill Center’s Artists-in-Residence program, and the 2019-20 Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist (RCA) award.

“It’s not lost on me just how hard it is to get support, to be seen, and to make the work you want to make.  I’m humbled and scared (for real, for sure), but more than anything I am thankful to my mentors, friends, and especially my collaborators for trusting and sticking with me,” says Kelly.  Since forming the feath3r theory his work has been recognized as cross-disciplinary theatre, and often challenge audiences to look at relationships, human empathy and personal ethics as expressed in popular media.  Of his work, The New York Times wrote “Mr. Kelly’s fusion of dance and theater shifts seamlessly from absurd to cheeky to the unexpectedly and piercingly sincere.”