Swanky society parties, moonlit nights, desolate churchyards and blood-strewn streets. Set in the contemporary chaos of a Southern city steeped in class and racial conflict, two star-crossed souls collide and fall fast in love, only to take their own lives in a tragic twist of fate. A fresh look at Shakespeare’s cataclysmic romance, The Acting Company’s (Julius Caesar, 2017) Romeo and Juliet is a lesson in hope and healing, as the grudge between the Montagues and Capulets, like so much human strife, is no match for the fire and boundless passion of youth.
The Joyce Theater's Ballet Festival returns this summer with UNITE for a one-week celebration of ballet in all its splendor. Creatively directed and curated by Calvin Royal III, Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre, this year's festival showcases performances by Royal and his community of world-renowned artists and influential choreographic voices. “As The Joyce represents ultimate artistry and dance legacy, it is important to me that the Festival evenings, taken together, honor the past; reflect the present; and reach toward the future of what our art form can be.” United in our collective humanity.
The physically daring Pilobolus returns with re:CREATION, a dynamic collection of works from its over 50-year legacy. Featuring two specially curated programs, Dreams and Memory, the company transports audiences into surreal worlds inhabited by otherworldly characters and fantastical visions. An odyssey of reinvention, re:CREATION presents timeless Pilobolus pieces, celebrated for their enduring impact in dance and theater, alongside two NYC premieres of new works that continue to astonish and captivate.
Dorrance Dance is an award-winning tap dance company based in New York City. Led by artistic director Michelle Dorrance, the company supports dancers and musicians who embody and push the dynamic range that tap dance has to offer. The company’s mission is to engage with audiences on a musical and emotional level, and to share the complex history and powerful legacy of this Black American art form through performance and education. “Blasting open our notions of tap,” the company continues its passionate commitment to expanding the audience of tap dance in its return to The Joyce Theater this season.
Smuin Contemporary Ballet expands the boundaries of ballet with a contemporary style influenced by the company's late founder, Tony Award-winner Michael Smuin. The company returns to The Joyce with the New York premiere of Val Caniparoli’s Tutto Eccetto il Lavandino (2014), “an exacting neoclassical ballet that shows off the company's chops” (San Francisco Chronicle). Choreographer James Kudelka's The Man in Black (2010) is a searing quartet set to music covers by Johnny Cash. Closing the program is a stirring work by Smuin’s incoming Artistic Director Amy Seiwert. Featuring music by the Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble, Seiwert’s Renaissance (2019) honors the power of collective action.
tanzmainz, the contemporary dance company of Staatstheater Mainz in Germany, returns with an encore performance of choreographer Sharon Eyal’s Soul Chain. A work about love, longing, and the great loneliness that lives within, Soul Chain creates mesmerizing rhythmic unison, rooted in the soundscape of electronic composer Ori Lichtik. In Eyal’s signature style, the piece juxtaposes the group and the individual, revealing the intricate variations that arise in the pursuit of harmony and the power love holds over us.
Pushing forth the legacy of modern dance choreographer Paul Taylor, the Paul Taylor Dance Company returns to The Joyce with Extreme Taylor, a program celebrating Taylor’s unparalleled creative vision. Artistic Director Michael Novak has curated two programs from the Taylor Collection that provide a window into Taylor’s interpretations of romance, evil, sublimity, and sensuality. From Airs to Big Bertha, Private Domain to Post Meridian, plus other Taylor classics, Extreme Taylor is a rare opportunity to connect with “America’s most magnificent dancing machine performing America’s most deeply communicative and wildly theatrical modern dance” (San Francisco Examiner).
Celebrating over 40 years carrying forth the flamenco legacy, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana returns to offer the US premiere of EQUILIBRIO (Clásica/Tradición), a new creation by acclaimed flamenco artist Emilio Ochando. The work embraces flamenco tradition while creating a unique environment of sound and creative staging. Shawl, bells, spoons, and castanets interact with an original musical composition by Daniel Jurado featuring multi-instrumentalist Gonzalo Grau.
Celebrating over 50 years of bringing dance to new audiences, the Netherlands-based Introdans makes its first return to The Joyce in over a decade. The company offers a diverse program highlighting the breadth of its choreographic commissions, with treasured dance heritage accompanying innovative new work. London-based choreographer Akram Khan bridges between the worlds of contemporary dance and the Indian classical dance form Kathak in his work, Kaash. Set to Henryk Górecki’s harpsichord concerto, Lucinda Childs' 1993 work, Concerto, exhibits her mastery of formalist architecture. Rounding out the program, the company performs Cantata by Mauro Bigonzetti, a vibrant portrayal of southern Italy through a series of swirling duets and spirited ensemble work.
A rising star in the field of contemporary choreography, Belfast-raised choreographer Oona Doherty makes her Joyce debut with Navy Blue, a thrilling amalgamation of ensemble movement, spoken word poetry, and political candor. Set to an eclectic soundtrack of compositions by Sergeï Rachmaninoff and electronic music composer Jamie xx, the work traces a line from the past to the present while urgently appealing for societal change. “This is a bow to dance, this is a questioning of what to do next,” says Doherty. Navy Blue confronts an existential crisis with a demand for redemption, freedom, and a new future for all. The Joyce’s presentation of Oona Doherty is in association with Irish Arts Center, and a HARKNESS FIRST Joyce Theater debut, generously supported by The Harkness Foundation for Dance.
First on stage in 1994, Ballet Tech Kids Dance continues to “put on a show of courage, discipline, and heart” (The New York Times). This year, the troupe celebrates dance from all over the world, highlighting the rich diversity of cultures and heritages that embody the global community of NYC. In Kids Dance tradition, a classic by founder Eliot Feld also takes the stage. A jaunty hoedown melding ballet vocabulary with rhythmic footwork, Feld's Apple Pie features music by Bela Fleck and Joe McCracken. With plenty of surprises, the show offers something for everyone!
Gibney Company returns to The Joyce with world premieres and historic restagings showcasing its powerhouse group of “strong and versatile dancers, artists who appear to be physically capable of anything” (The New York Times). In a special collaboration with the choreographer Twyla Tharp, the Company debuts two seminal works from the artist’s canon: The Fugue from 1970 and Bach Duet, reconstructed for the first time since its premiere in 1974. A new work by Jermaine Spivey and Spenser Theberge explores time as an instigator, space as a character, and individuality as a path to upholding community. With an original score by Rutger Zuydervelt, Yue Yin’s A Measurable Existence uncovers how our journey of self-discovery begins with an understanding of those around us, observing how our paths parallel, intersect, or collide with others.
Dedicated to cultivating the next generation of ballet dancers, choreographers, and audiences, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company performs masterworks of the ballet canon alongside inventive original commissions. Their return to The Joyce includes New York premieres by Amy Hall Garner, Jamar Roberts, James Whiteside, and ABT Studio Company dancer Brady Farrar. Excerpts from Alexei Ratmansky’s The Seasons and Twyla Tharp’s Brief Fling round out the program, alongside selected classical and neoclassical favorites. Specific repertoire for each performance to be announced.