The Joyce Theater Foundation to Welcome Danish Dance Theatre

After its successful 2013 Joyce Theater debut, as part of Ice Hot: A Nordic Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater Foundation (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) proudly welcomes Danish Dance Theatre, one of Scandinavia's leading dance companies, back onto its stage with the US Premiere of Artistic Director Tim Rushton's Black Diamond from October 13 - 16.

Tickets for Danish Dance Theatre range in price from $26-$56 and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, visit www.Joyce.org.

Founded in 1981 by choreographer and pioneer Randi Patterson, in collaboration with Anette Abildgaard, Ingrid Buchholtz, Mikala Bernekow and Warren Spears, Danish Dance Theatre - or Dansk Danseteater, as it is known in Copenhagen, its home based - has grown to be Denmark's foremost contemporary Dance Company. Now under the artistic direction of Tim Rushton, Danish Dance Theatre will present the US Premiere of his latest work, Black Diamond, named "Best World Premiere"by Dance Europe.

Black Diamond begins with a dark stage exploding with silver confetti, evoking thoughts of a harsh landscape made of volcanos, black ash and rock walls. Dressed in futuristic black coats and geometrical accessories, Danish Dance Theatre's company of 16 international dancers perform captivating new choreography that spans from organic pulsating rhythms to angular robotic movements. This acclaimed new piece also features the musical sounds of violinist Alexander Balanescu and composer Philip Glass, as well as the "beat king" Trentemøller. Destruction rules here as Tim Rushton aims to explore the duality of everything - the dark and light sides of man.

Audiences should be aware that Black Diamond contains some nudity, and may not be suitable for young children.

Performances of Danish Dance Theatre's U.S. premiere of Black Diamond will take place from October 13 - 16 at The Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street) with the following schedule: Thursday and Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at 2pm. Tickets range in price from $236-$546 and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, visit www.Joyce.org.

Danish Dance Theatre was founded in 1981 by the English/Norwegian choreographer and pioneer Randi Patterson, in collaboration with Anette Abildgaard, Ingrid Buchholtz, Mikala Barnekow and soon after, Warren Spears. At that time, the company was named 'New Danish Dance Theatre.' Since 2001, Tim Rushton (MBE) has been the company's Artistic Director and has successfully continued Danish Dance Theatre's vision of combining the classical arts with the modern. Today, Danish Dance Theatre is the foremost contemporary Dance Company in Denmark, as well as the largest. The repertoire spans from large stage productions at The Royal Danish Theatre, to open-air events such as Copenhagen Summer Dance in the Copenhagen Police Headquarters and Louisiana Dance in the garden of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Danish Dance Theatre also does an extensive amount of both national and international touring. Danish Dance Theatre receives funding from the Ministry of Culture and the Danish Arts Council's International Performing Arts Exchange. In addition, individual performances receive support from private foundations.

Tim Rushton (Artistic Director, Choreographer ) was born in Birmingham in 1963. He studied at the Royal Ballet Upper School and danced for a number of northern European ballet companies until the mid-1990s. While a dancer at The Royal Danish Ballet he became interested in pursuing a choreographic career and decided to quit dancing. Rushton quickly made his mark as a creator of contemporary dance, using classical ballet technique, and by 2001 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Danish Dance Theatre. During the past decade Rushton has transformed DDT into a multi-award winning company. Under his leadership, the company has established an international presence and today enjoys critical and popular acclaim throughout Europe, North America, Australia and Asia Pacific. Tim Rushton's contemporary choreographic style draws on his vast experience as a dancer and choreographer. His work - described as 'emotionally-led, reflecting the nuances of human relationships' - often mixes live music, stunning lightning and design features. He uses it, he says, as "a means to communicate human emotion." Rushton collaborates with writers, designers, visual artists and composers. He's worked with a range of music spanning diverse genres, from classical masterpieces through to beat, jazz and newly commissioned compositions.

The Joyce Theater Foundation ("The Joyce," Executive Director, Linda Shelton), a nonprofit organization, has proudly served the dance community for over three decades. Under the direction of founders Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, Ballet Tech Foundation acquired and The Joyce renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea. Opening as The Joyce Theater in 1982, it was named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to build the theater. Ownership was secured by The Joyce in 2015. The theater is one of the only theaters built by dancers for dance and has provided an intimate and elegant home for over 400 U.S.-based and international companies. The Joyce has also presented dance at Lincoln Center since 2012, and launched Joyce Unleashed in 2014 to feature emerging and experimental artists. The Joyce operates Dance Art New York (DANY) Studios, making its nine studios available at subsidized rates for nonprofit dance companies. To further support the creation of new work, The Joyce maintains longstanding commissioning and residency programs. Local students and teachers (K-12th grade) benefit from its school program, and family and adult audiences get closer to dance with access to artists. The Joyce's annual season of about 48 weeks of dance now includes over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 150,000.