New York Live Arts Presents Jerome Bel and Theater Hora's DISABLED THEATER, 11/12 - 11/17

New York Live Arts, in partnership with Performa for Performa 13, will present the U.S. premiere of French choreographer Jérôme Bel and Zurich-based Theater Hora's critically acclaimed Disabled Theater, November 12 - 16 at 7:30pm and November 17 at 3:00pm. Dubbed "transcendent art" by Roberta Smith of The New York Times, David Velasco of Parkett 91 called it "a hit, satisfying all of our lukewarm progressive principles...while also providing a satisfyingly cathartic dramatic experience."

"Bringing artists and their productions to our stage that reflect upon and catalyze current lines of contemporary debate continues to be one of the guiding drivers of our curatorial program," says Carla Peterson, Artistic Director of New York Live Arts. "Disabled Theater, by the acclaimed French conceptualist Jérôme Bel working in collaboration with the noted Swiss company Theater Hora, represents this in spades. I'm thrilled once again to be partnering with Performa 13 (our fourth partnership since Performa's inaugural biennial festival in 2005) to bring this work to our stage at New York Live Arts for its U.S. premiere."

Interested since his early works in what stands beyond representation, Bel collaborated with 11 actors from Theater Hora, Switzerland's best-known professional theater company comprised of actors with learning and mental disabilities. With Disabled Theater, Bel opens up a space where disability is not expelled from visual and discursive practices, nor hidden behind the screen of political correctness. Instead, he places it squarely at the center of a discourse that has a bearing on both the aesthetic and political dimensions. Sparking both debate and praise across Europe, the work was a sensation at Documenta 13. In an article for The New York Times, Roberta Smith indicated that she "started shocked and disoriented and ended up completely caught up in it and grateful for what it revealed to me about what is often called 'our common humanity'."Frieze wrote of its "simple, stripped down conceptual clarity" and its "90 minutes of uneasy, preconception probing estrangement and empathy." With dramaturgy by Marcel Bugiel, Disabled Theater features Theater Hora performers Remo Beuggert, Gianni Blumer, Damian Bright, Matthias Brücker, Matthias Grandjean, Julia Häusermann, Sara Hess, Miranda Hossle, Peter Keller, Lorraine Meier and Tiziana Pagliaro.

Performances will take place in New York Live Arts' Theater. Come Early Conversations and Stay Late Discussions will also be featured with two shows. Tickets are $40. Tickets may be purchased online at tickets.newyorklivearts.org, by phone at 212-924-0077 and in person at the box office. Box Office hours are Monday to Friday from 1 to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 8pm.

Listing info:

Jérôme Bel and Theater Hora

Disabled Theater (U.S. Premiere)

Nov 12 - 16 at 7:30pm; Nov 17 at 3:00pm

New York Live Arts Theater, New York Live Arts

Tickets: $40

T: 212-924-0077 | www.newyorklivearts.org

219 W 19th Street, New York, NY 10011

Box Office hours:

Monday-Friday 1 - 9pm | Saturday-Sunday 12 - 8pm

Schedule of Related Events:

Nov 14 at 6:30pm Come Early Conversation: Otherly Abled Bodies in Performance Bill Shannon (Visual Artist and Choreographer) in conversation with Sunaura Taylor (Painter and Activist for Disability and Animal Rights).

Nov 16 Stay Late Discussion: Theater, Discomfort, and the Making of Disabled Theater, Carla Peterson, Artistic Director of New York Live Arts in dialogue with Jérôme Bel.

About Jerome Bel:

Jerome Bel is a French choreographer who lives in Paris and works worldwide. Since his early works, he has been interested in what stands beyond representation. In his choreographies, the rules of dance and theater are treated like the syntax of a language that is analyzed and eventually put into play. Danced and spoken by professional as well as by amateur performers, his choreographies could also be seen as statements in favor of the democratization of dance, which he pursues by way of a non-virtuous approach.

His first piece, nom donné par l'auteur (1994), is a choreography of objects. The second one, Jerome Bel (1995), is based on the total nudity of the performers. The third one, Shirtology (1997), presents an actor wearing many T-shirts. The last performance (1998), in quoting several times a solo by the choreographer Susanne Linke, and also Hamlet or André Agassi, tries to define an ontology of the performance. The piece Xavier Le Roy (2000) was claimed by Jérôme Bel as his own, but was actually choreographed by the choreographer Xavier Le Roy. The show must go on (2001) brings toghether a cast of twenty performers, nineteen pop songs and one DJ. In 2004, he was invited to produce a piece for the Paris Opera Ballet: Veronique Doisneau (2004), on the work of the dancer Véronique Doisneau, from the ballet corps of that company. Isabel Torres(2005) for the ballet of the Teatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro is the Brazilian version of the production for the Paris Opera. Pichet Klunchun and myself (2005) was created in Bangkok with the Thai traditional dancer Pichet Klunchun. In 2009, he produced Cédric Andrieux (2009) dancer in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and then at the Lyon Opera Ballet. In 2010, he created 3Abschied with Anne-Teresa De Keersmaeker, based on The song of the Earth by Gustav Malher. Jérôme Bel received a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award for the performances of The show must go on in New York in 2005. In 2008 Jerome Bel and Pichet Klunchun received the Routes Princess Margriet Award for Cultural Diversity (European Cultural Foundation).

About Theater Hora:

Founded in 1993 in Zurich (Switzerland) by the theatre-pedagogue Michael Elber, the intention of Theater Hora is to support and promote the creative and artistic development of people with learning disabilities. It enables the performers, on a professional level, to show their extraordinary talents to a wide audience. Theater Hora endeavors to offer the actresses and actors surroundings that allow both professional acting and the development of other artistic activities, e,g. visual and figurative creations, costume and mask making, music etc. It is essential that they can express themselves as 'genuine' individuals. Theater Hora believes that people with learning disabilities possess unique talents and creativity enabling them to make an important cultural and social contribution to our society. It is the aim of all the activities of Theater Hora to establish this view in the public opinion.

New York Live Arts is a reserved seating house.

Tickets are available for purchase by calling the box office at 212-924-0077
and will be available online at newyorklivearts.org.

New York Live Arts Members, Associated Artists, Students, and Seniors are eligible for
20% discounts to theater performances.

Box Office hours:
Monday - Friday 1 - 9pm and Saturday-Sunday 12 - 8pm.

Unless otherwise noted, performances take place at New York Live Arts located at
219 West 19th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues.

ABOUT NEW YORK LIVE ARTS

New York Live Arts is an internationally recognized destination for innovative movement-based artistry offering audiences access to art and artists notable for their conceptual rigor, formal experimentation and active engagement with the social, political and cultural currents of our times. At the center of this identity is Bill T. Jones, Executive Artistic Director, a world-renowned choreographer, dancer, theater director and writer.

We commission, produce and present performances in our 20,000 square foot home, which includes a 184-seat theater and two 1,200 square foot studios that can be combined into one large studio. New York Live Arts serves as home base for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, provides an extensive range of participatory programs for adults and young people and supports the continuing professional development of artists. Our influence extends beyond NYC through our international cultural exchange program that currently places artists in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Funding Support for New York Live Arts

Major support for New York Live Arts is provided by: Bloomberg Philanthropies; The Brownstone Foundation; The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; Con Edison; The Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Ford Foundation; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; Florence Gould Foundation; Japan Foundation; Jerome Foundation; Lambent Foundation; MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts; The New York Community Trust; Robert Rauschenberg Foundation; The Rockefeller Foundation NYC Cultural Innovation Fund; The Jerome Robbins Foundation; The Scherman Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. New York Live Arts is supported by public funds administered by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT PERFORMA

Founded in 2004 by art historian and curator RoseLee Goldberg, Performa is the leading international organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live visual art performance in the history of the twentieth century and to generating new directions for the twenty-first century, engaging artists and audiences through experimentation, innovation, and collaboration. Performa's unique commissioning, touring, and year-round education programs, involving all disciplines, forge a new course for contemporary art and culture, and culminate in the Performa biennial in New York City every other November. In 2005, Performa launched the first-ever biennial dedicated to visual art performance, Performa 05, which was then followed by Performa 07 (2007), Performa 09 (2009), and Performa 11 (2011).

Since its inception, Performa has operated as both an urban and international project demonstrating how organizations can collaborate to present major arts programs that are both artistically innovative and internationally relevant. Performa has developed partnerships with major international institutions, commissioning, producing, and touring work from the Performa program from the very beginning. The Performa Institute, a platform for the research and educational components of Performa, presents lectures, panel discussions, and workshops on an ongoing basis that explore critical issues surrounding performance and its history across disciplines, including visual art, dance, film, music, design, and architecture.

Funding Support for Performa

Performa 13 is supported by grants from Toby Devan Lewis, The Lambent Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts, The Potter Charitable Trust, Trust for Mutual Understanding and public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. International support is provided by The Royal Norwegian Consulate, The Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Pro Helvetia, The Polish Cultural Institute New York, The Office for Contemporary Art Norway, The French-American Fund for Contemporary Theater, a program of FACE, and FUSED: French U.S. Exchange in Dance, a program of the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, and FACE (French American Cultural Exchange), with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional funding from the Florence Gould Foundation, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, The Asian Cultural Council, and The Dena Foundation. Generous support is also provided by the Performa Board of Directors, The Performa Producers Circle, Curators Circle, and the Visionaries.

Photo Credit: Michael Bause