Martha Graham Dance Company Sets 90th Anniversary New York Season

The world-renowned Martha Graham Dance Company celebrates its 90th anniversary season with four extraordinary programs at New York City Center, April 14?18, 2016. The New York season will feature four of Martha Graham's most important masterworks - Appalachian Spring, Chronicle, Cave of the Heart, and Night Journey - alongside new works created for the Company by internationally acclaimed choreographers Marie Chouinard, Mats Ek, and Pontus Lidberg. Performances will take place Thursday to Saturday, April 14?16, at 8:00pm, with a special gala program at 7:00pm on Monday, April 18, the anniversary of Graham's first public performance with her Concert Group in 1926.

Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Dance Company, stated, "In this special season we pause to marvel at our remarkable 90-year history, but, more than that, we are celebrating our future, exploring the newest ideas in dance spurred by Martha's legacy of curiosity, courage, and creative productivity."

The season will feature a world premiere by Canadian choreographer Marie Chouinard. Known for her imaginative, visually striking choreography, the work will include a commissioned score by her longtime collaborator Louis Dufort.

Esteemed Swedish choreographer Mats Ek has created a duet for the Company based on his film AXE. Set to Albinoni's stirring Adagio, arranged and recorded by Swedish composer Ulf Andersson, the work reflects on the complexities of a long-term relationship. With Ek's inimitable blend of theater and dance, the action becomes a metaphor for the relentless effort of navigating life and love. AXE will premiere at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in August 2015, and will have its New York premiere at NY City Center in April.

The season will also feature a new work by award-winning Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidberg. Set to music by Irving Fine, including his Serious Song: A Lament for String Orchestra, the dance will premiere at the Library of Congress on April 1, 2016, and will have its New York premiere during the Company's City Center season. The work is commissioned by The Verna and Irving Fine Fund in the Library of Congress to celebrate the many historic commissions the Library awarded Graham in the 1940s.

Two works commissioned by the Company in 2013 and 2014: Nacho Duato's dark, provocative work Rust, for five male dancers, and Andonis Foniadakis' work Echo, a contemporary take on the myth of Echo and Narcissus set to an original score by Julien Tarride, will also be presented.

The Graham masterworks scheduled for the season are Chronicle, the antiwar powerhouse from 1936, set to music by Wallingford Riegger; the beloved Appalachian Spring (1944), with music by Aaron Copland; and two works inspired by classic Greek tragedies, Cave of the Heart (1946), with music by Samuel Barber, and Night Journey (1947), set to music by William Schumann. All four works include set design by Isamu Noguchi.

Special support for the revival of Night Journey for this season is provided by New York City Center. The Company's gala program will be announced at a later date.

Tickets for the New York City Center season will go on sale on September 8, 2015. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased through CityTix: 212-581-1212 / nycitycenter.org. New York City Center is located at 131 West 55th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, in Manhattan.

Other highlights of the 90th anniversary season include a partnership with Performa 15. As part of this acclaimed biennial, a Graham dancer will join the cast of Ballet (New York), a new work by experimental French choreographer Jérôme Bel. The work will be performed in November 2015 at three different New York City venues, including the Martha Graham Studio Theater. The Company will also collaborate on a project with choreographer Michael Klïen, cofounder of the Institute of Social Choreography in Frankfurt, and a multigenerational group of Graham dancers. The work will be presented in January 2016.