Dance Brazil, Cincinnati Ballet and More Set for Joyce Theatre in 2014

The Joyce Theater (Linda Shelton, Executive Director), the nation's largest theater devoted to modern dance, announced today programming for its 2014 Spring / Summer Season featuring extraordinary companies, including Joyce debuts and highly anticipated engagements such as a festival of all Brazilian dance, and Wendy Whelan's NYC premiere of Restless Creature.

The spectacular season opens with Jessica Lang Dance, the New-York based contemporary ballet company, and closes with Pilobolus, for its annual widely popular four-week run. As mentioned, audiences can look forward to the New York debut of Restless Creature, the first piece created for theWendy Whelan New Works Initiative, recently launched by the New York City Ballet principal, and a festival devoted to four exciting companies from Brazil. Another New York debut will be Cuba'sMalPaso Dance Company, whose program includes a new work by the acclaimed choreographerRonald K. Brown. Intriguing international dance is also on tap with performances by Switzerland'sBallet du Grand Théâtre de Genève and Pierre Rigal, the musician/choreographer whose company is based in France. A little closer to home - Alonzo King LINES Ballet, from San Francisco, andCincinnati Ballet will travel eastward to appear at The Joyce. The new season also features an eclectic mix of companies who return to The Joyce following many seasons performing to enthusiastic audiences - Stephen Petronio Company, Ballet Hispanico, Limón Dance Company,Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, RIOULT Dance • New York, Savion Glover and Ballet Tech's Kids Dance. Also this spring, Joyce Unleashed, three companies presented by The Joyce in venues outside of its Chelsea home: Zoe | Juniper (at Three-Legged Dog), SuperGroup and Laurie Berg(both at The Invisible Dog Art Center).

The following is a complete roster of companies who will be appearing at The Joyce Theater this fall and winter.

JESSICA LANG DANCE

February 19-23

Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday - Saturday 8pm; Sunday 2pm

Dance Chat: Thursday, February 20

Tickets: $10-$39 (Joyce Members $19; $29)

"A master of visual composition" (Dance Magazine) and a choreographer with more than 80 commissions that have been performed worldwide, Jessica Lang and her dynamic company return to The Joyce after a sold out debut as part of the 2013 Ballet v6.0 festival. The program includes the New York premiere of Lines Cubed, a visually arresting piece inspired by Mondrian's modernist palate, along with a lineup of works showcasing the talent that led to Lang's selection as a 2011 recipient of a prestigious Joyce Theater Artist Residency.

BRAZIL FESTIVAL

The aesthetic sensibility of Brazil is the inspiration for this festival that focuses on four contemporary dance companies and some of the most exciting artists performing anywhere today. Supported by The R. Britton Fisher and Family Gift for International Dance.

MIMULUS COMPANHIA DE DANÇA

February 26-March 1

Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday - Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm

Dance Chat: Thursday, February 27

Tickets: $10-$49 (Joyce Members $26; $37)

"The dancing is superb...the dynamite performers are as charismatic as they are technically facile, exuding personality with every sensual shimmy," says The New York Times about Mimulus Companhia de Dança. For the Brazilian Festival, the company takes the Joyce stage with Dolores, a vibrant evening-length piece inspired by the characters in the movies of the great Pedro Almodóvar. Set mostly to ballads about love and loss, Dolores is a hot and heady exploration of the emotion involved in trying to navigate "the tricky terrain between raw desire and true intimacy." The New York Times

COMPANHIA URBANA DE DANÇA

March 3-6

Monday - Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday 8pm

Dance Chat: Tuesday, March 4

Tickets: $10-$49 (Joyce Members $26; $37)

Artistic Director Sonia Destri Lie discovered her passion for hip-hop and b-boying while working in Germany as a contemporary, classical ballet, and jazz instructor. For its Joyce debut, the company performs two powerhouse works revealing the imaginative handiwork of a choreographer who "has dissected hip-hop and dismantled its trickery...to show how the dance form...could enter into the realm of art." The New York Times. A co-presentation with 651 ARTS.

FOCUS CIA DE DANÇA

March 8-10

Saturday 8pm; Sunday 2pm & 7:30pm; Monday 7:30pm

Tickets: $10-$49 (Joyce Members $26; $37)

One of Brazil's most heralded dance companies makes its U.S. debut at The Joyce with As canções que você dançou pra mim (The Songs You Danced For Me), a romantic romp set to the music of Grammy Award-winning Brazilian singer-songwriter Roberto Carlos, whose fifty-year career, starting with his Elvis Presley-influenced songs, has made him a true Brazilian legend. Spanning the years from the 60's to the 90's, the songs create the perfect backdrop for the four pairs of dancers who act out an enthralling narrative in this musical scene.

DANCEBRAZIL

March 12-16

Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday - Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm & 7:30pm

Dance Chat: Thursday, March 13

Tickets: $10-$49 (Joyce Members $26; $37)

For over thirty years, DanceBrazil has dazzled audiences with its trademark speed, power, precision, and driving original scores by Brazilian composers. "Glowing enthusiastically as they let rip at highest energy," (The New York Times), the dancers show that there is simply nothing quite like DanceBrazil's fusion of contemporary dance, Afro-Brazilian movement, and Capoeira, the traditional martial arts rooted in the streets of Brazil and, before that, in the colonial slave experience.

Alonzo King LINES BALLET

March 18-23

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm

Dance Chat: Wednesday, March 19

Tickets: $10-$59 (Joyce Members $26; $44)

Alonzo King LINES Ballet returns to The Joyce with Constellation, a luminous and lucid, encompassing and intimate evening-length piece featuring a light installation by the internationally-acclaimed electronic artist Jim Campbell. When the dancers glimmer into view, they move the way that ideas move through the mind: synoptically, in pulses and flashes. Sharing the stage is the regal Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Maya Lahyani, whose voluptuous voice enhances a mesmerizing Baroque score.

BALLET DU GRAND THÉÂTRE DE GENÈVE

GLORY

Mar 25-30

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm;

Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm

Dance Chat: Wednesday, March 26

Tickets: $10-$49 (Joyce Members $26; $37)

Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève performs the New York premiere of Andonis Foniadakis's Glory, created in 2012 for this acclaimed Swiss company. With 22 dancers performing to magnificent Handel choral and instrumental works, the piece features precise, lively musical rhythms that form the perfect backdrop for the choreographer's elaborate movement patterns. One of the most beloved pieces in the company's repertory, Glory is a beautiful example of Foniadakis's ability to create intricate, moving work. Supported by The R. Britton Fisher and Family Gift for International Dance.

Wendy Whelan

RESTLESS CREATURE

April 1-6

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Saturday 8pm; Sunday 2pm

Dance Chat: Wednesday, April 2

Tickets: $10-$75 (Joyce Members $38; $57)

Described by The New York Times as "America's greatest contemporary ballerina," Wendy Whelan, the New York City Ballet principal, recently launched the Wendy Whelan New Works Initiative, which begins spectacularly with Restless Creature, a suite of four duets, each created by Whelan with a talented young artist with whom she also performs. This Joyce co-production and co-commission features Kyle Abraham's The Serpent and the Smoke; Josh Beamish's Waltz Epoca; Brian Brooks's First Fall; and Alejandro Cerrudo's Ego Et Tu. Set to music ranging from Max Richter and Philip Glass to Hauschka & Hilder Guðnadóttir, Restless Creature explores each artist's particular movement style and aesthetic while capturing the essence of Whelan's "uncompromising, generous, bold, enthusiastic, adult, at the same time decisive and investigative" (The New York Times) artistry.

Stephen Petronio COMPANY

April 8-13

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Saturday 8pm; Sunday 2pm & 7:30pm

Dance Chat: Thursday, April 10

Gala: Wednesday, April 9. For Tickets: 212-473-1660

Tickets: $10-$59 (Joyce Members $26; $44)

Publicity Contact: Janet Stapleton, (212) 633-0016

Stephen Petronio Company dives into its 30th Anniversary celebration with new work and a look back. The Joyce's first Artist-In-Residence, Petronio continues his adventurous collaborations in new music with two premieres: Stripped, a solo choreographed to music by Philip Glass and performed by Petronio, and Locomotor, a new company work to a commissioned score by electronic/hip-hop innovator Michael Volpe (aka Clams Casino). Exploring extreme locomotive states, these works plunge Petronio's virtuoso company through space in a high-octane remix of past, present, and future. The program also includes a reconstruction of the luxurious Strange Attractors (Part I) from 1999, with original music by Michael Nyman. Petronio's work "surprises you at every ricocheting leap and pitched body flying off on a tangent...the effect is startling, as if time had been suspended."Dance Magazine.

BALLET HISPANICO

April 15-27

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm & 7:30pm(No evening performance on April 27)

Dance Chat: Wednesday, April 16

Tickets: $10-$59 (Joyce Members $26; $44)

Fifteen of "the most technically accomplished and musical dancers you'll find in the contemporary sphere" (The Washington Post) take the Joyce stage for a season featuring icons of Latino culture. Highlights include a world premiere by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano and three Joyce premieres: Eduardo Vilaro's Hogar, created in collaboration with composer Lev Zhurbin; Sombrerísimo, Belgo Colombian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's athletic tour de; and Edgar Zendejas's first work for Ballet Hispanico, an imaginative interpretation of Día de los Muertos. Nacho Duato's Jardi Tancat and repertory favorites by Cayetano Soto and Vilaro complete the program.

LIMÓN Dance Company

April 29-May 4

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm

Dance Chat: Wednesday, April 30

Tickets: $10-$59 (Joyce Members $26; $44)

Limón Dance Company comes back to The Joyce with two world premieres and two Limón masterworks. For one premiere, Dianne McIntyre, the legendary dancer/choreographer, has created a special solo for Roxane D'Orleans Juste, honoring her 30-year tenure with the company. The other premiere features the exceptionally gifted choreographer Seán Curran, who has collaborated with composers/performers Manhattan Camerata to create a full company work. Paired with these new creations will be Limón's musical gem Mazurkas, and Psalm, a ritual of rhythm and song that showcases the company's virtuosic ensemble dancing. Live music is featured on selected performances.

CINCINNATI BALLET

May 6-11

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm

Dance Chat: Wednesday, May 7

Tickets: $10-$49 (Joyce Members $26; $37)

Cincinnati Ballet makes its Joyce debut during its 50th Anniversary Season with three New York City premieres that are as sensuous as they are virtuosic. Performances include Hummingbird in a Box, featuring seven brand new compositions by Grammy Award-winning guitarist Peter Frampton; Chasing Squirrel, an audacious and eccentric work by the ever-surprising Trey McIntyre; and a new ballet by Val Caniparoli which gracefully intertwines live musicians performing Paganini's Violin Caprices into the heart of the choreographer's robust and technically inventive movement style.

PIERRE RIGAL /COMPAGNIE DERNIÈRE MINUTE

MICRO

May 13-18

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm

Dance Chat: Wednesday, May 14

Tickets: $10 - $39 (Joyce Members $19; $29)

A 400-meter hurdler who studied mathematics and economics in Barcelona and graduated with a Master's degree in Cinema, the French-born Pierre Rigal made his transition to contemporary dance after meeting some choreographers whose work intrigued him. For his Joyce debut, Rigal and four musician/dancers perform Micro, an unstructured rock concert in which bass, keyboard, electric guitar, and percussion literally propel the artists into action as the line between music and dance blurs, and the music is not only heard; it's seen. Supported by The R. Britton Fisher and Family Gift for International Dance.

MALPASO Dance Company

May 27-June 1

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm & 7:30pm

Dance Chat: Wednesday, May 28

Tickets: $10-$59 (Joyce Members $26; $44)

Founded in 2013 under the artistic direction of Osnel Delgado, MalPaso Dance Company expresses the passion and uncertainties that define Cuban life and are embodied in the country's rich dance tradition. For its New York debut, the company exhibits its trademark fresh contemporary spirit in a program featuring a work by Ronald K. Brown, commissioned by The Joyce for this delightful engagement. Supported by The R. Britton Fisher and Family Gift for International Dance.

Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE

June 3-8

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm & 7:30pm

Dance Chat: Wednesday, June 4

Tickets: $10-$59 (Joyce Members $26; $44)

This season, Ronald K. Brown / Evidence will present a program that includes the New York premiere of The Subtle One, set to music by the extraordinary jazz pianist Jason Moran. Fusing the form and rhythms of African dance with contemporary choreography, the program features works depicting human struggle and triumph. Among these are Better Days, Brown's 1998 Bessie award winning work, and audience favorites Clear as Tear Water, Torch, High Life, and Ife/My Heart, a piece "catching the elastic twistiness and rhythmic exactitude" of African dance while displaying "a mature gentleness" (The New York Times) that is Brown's alone.

BALLET TECH

KIDS DANCE

June 12-15

Thursday 8pm; Friday 7pm; Saturday 2pm & 7pm; Sunday 2pm

Tickets: $10 - $39 (Joyce Members $19; $29)

Straight from their triumph on the stage of the Delacorte Theater, Ballet Tech's Kids Dance returns to put the spring in your spring and the pop in your soda! Miss them, their verve and their mayhem at your peril. Once again, they'll dance the fabulous A Stair Dance, set to music by Steve Reich; revive the merry hoe-down Apple Pie set to music by Bela Fleck and Joe McCracken; and gallivant with vigor, rigor, and vinegar to a new ballet from Eliot Feld.

RIOULT DANCE • NEW YORK

June 17-22

Tuesday 7:30pm; Wednesday 7pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm & 7:30pm

Gala: Wednesday, June 18

For tickets: 212-398-5901

Tickets: $10-$49 (Joyce Members $26; $37)

Described by The Huffington Post as "captivating" and "intensely musical," the company celebrates its 20th Anniversary with two programs highlighting Pascal Rioult's powerful choreography, profound humanity, and extraordinary dancers. In Program A, Rioult pays homage to his mentors with a performance of May O'Donnell's classic Suspension, created in 1943, and Martha Graham's iconic El Penitente. Program B features a world premiere and Les Noces, a piece set to Stravinsky that follows the wedding-day preparations of four couples.

Savion Glover

June 24-Jul 12

Tuesday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 2pm & 7:30pm(No performance on July 4)

Tickets: $10-$59 (Joyce Members $26; $44)

Savion Glover began receiving acclaim in 1985 when he made his Broadway debut in The Tap Dance Kid. Since then and for good reason, he has gone on to become the reigning king of tap. He is simply extraordinary, and each time he performs, audiences wildly applaud his talents. After selling out last season, he comes back to The Joyce with the world premiere of a show that, once again, will display his ability to combine movement with rhythm and sound, to create contagious joy through astounding virtuosity. His talent is unparalleled!

PILOBOLUS

July 15-August 10

Monday-Wednesday 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm;

Sunday 2pm (August 10 only)

Family Matinees: Wednesday, July 23 & 30 at 1pm

Tickets: $10-$59 (Joyce Members $26; $44)

Pilobolus steps into The Joyce for its annual season with two rollicking programs that exhibit the signature quirkiness and athleticism that leave audiences dazzled year after year. The roster includes a New York premieres created in collaboration with Israeli short story, graphic novelist, and film writer Etgar Keret, described by Ira Glass of NPR's This American Life as "one of the best known writers in Israel, the kind of writer people call 'voice of a generation'." A second premiere is also on tap, as is[esc], last season's wildly popular work created with Penn & Teller, along with Day Two and more favorites from the rich Pilobolus repertory. Having sold out last season's family matinee, the company treats audiences to two family matinees this time around.