Martha Graham News

Battery Dance, in association with Battery Park City Authority, announces the 36th Annual Battery Dance Festival, with free performances on August 13-18, 2017, from 7pm to 9pm against the breathtaking backdrop of the New York Harbor at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park in Battery Park City, culminating in a closing event and reception on August 19, 2017, from 6pm to 8pm at The Schimmel Center at Pace University.

Multi-award-winning and internationally recognised choreographer Yasmeen Godder will premiere her new work Face In this Autumn, commissioned by Candoco Dance Company and performed by their company of disabled and non-disabled dancers.

Celebrating the power of Jacob's Pillow's natural setting, internationally acclaimed dance company Pilobolus Dance Theater will premiere a new work commissioned specifically for the Pillow's iconic outdoor Inside/Out performance space, set against the Berkshire hills. The program featuring the world premiere and On the Nature of Things will kick off the Festival's 2017 free Inside/Out performance series with an extended three-day run, June 21-23.

Under the auspices of GRoW @ The Wallis, The Wallis Youth Theater Company presents its second theater production of the 2016-17 season, playwright Gareth Jandrell's Thebes, which makes its North American premiere on Saturday, June 10 at 8pm and Sunday, June 11 at 6pm at The Wallis in Beverly Hills. Ravaged by climate change and shaken by political turmoil, the citizens of Thebes must unite in order to revolutionize their democracy. From Oedipus to Antigone, the story of Thebes  remains a fascinating exploration of fate, morality and power, two and a half thousand years after the saga was originally written. Thebes is directed by Madeleine Dahm, with lighting design by Bosco Flanagan, recently named Lighting Designer of the Year by Los Angeles' Stage Raw. The cast includes young actors: Trecey Dory, Malakai Jones, Jayde Kief, Samantha Marino, Kelvin Morales, Jordan Rodriguez, Alexander Sheldon and Clementine Turner.

Eliot Feld's KIDS DANCE, called 'a New York City treasure' by The New York Times, makes its annual visit to The Joyce for six performances, June 8-11.   The remarkably poised, scrupulously schooled, and impeccably rehearsed whiz-kids, numbering 60, ages 11-17, will delight audiences young and old with Feld classics Meshugana Dance and The Jig is Up, along with two Feld works created especially for Kids Dance: Upside Dance and the new Pointing, a premiere for four young ladies en pointe.  And, continuing his commitment to expanding the repertory with works created expressly for youngsters, Feld will present two new dances: The Wild Current by Laura Careless set to a collage of music that ranges from Debussy to the Native Jazz Quartet, and ?It's The Effort That Counts a collaboration by Conner Bormann, Riley O'Flynn, and Stephanie Terasaki, in which the rhythms are provided by a metronome.

“A prolific choreographer of skillfully constructed dances that respectfully mesh with music and striking visual design” (The New Yorker), Jessica Lang and her company return to Jacob's Pillow for the ensemble's first Ted Shawn Theatre engagement, July 5-9. In addition to a Pillow-commissioned world premiere work, the program includes Lang's Thousand Yard Stare, a dance embodying the incredible pride and honor as well as the searing loss experienced by military veterans. The program will also include the East Coast and company premiere of Lang's Lyric Pieces as well as Solo Bach, Sweet Silent Thought, and The Calling. This season, the Pillow has formed a partnership with the Tanglewood Music Center, whereby Tanglewood Fellows and alumni will be providing the music accompaniment for this engagement.

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) presents the 16th annual River To River Festival, Downtown New York City's completely free summer arts festival, June 14-25. The 2017 edition presents an array of performances and events exploring and celebrating diversity in all its forms-often blurring the lines between genres including dance, music, theater and the visual arts-over the course of 100+ performances and events spanning 17 projects at 31 unique sites across Lower Manhattan and Governors Island. The Festival also offers opportunities for audiences to interact with artists, socialize and experience multiple facets of artists' work and the creative process.

Known for its "cutting-edge contemporary work" (Jason Vondersmith, The Portland Tribune), NW Dance Project makes its Jacob's Pillow debut, June 28-July 2 in the Doris Duke Theatre. Based in Portland, Oregon and led by former Royal Winnipeg Ballet principal dancer Sarah Slipper, the company is composed of a cast of classically-trained, versatile contemporary dancers. The program includes works by a range of accomplished choreographers and rising talents: Post-Traumatic-Monster by Felix Landerer, choreographer in residence for Scapino Ballet in the Netherlands; At Some Hour You Return by former Nederlands Dans Theater dancer Ji?i Pokorný; Le Fil Rouge by 2011 Sadler's Wells Global Dance Contest winner and NW Dance Project resident choreographer Ihsan Rustem; and MemoryHouse by Artistic Director Sarah Slipper.

Eryc Taylor Dance (ETD) will join Paul Taylor Dance and seven other dance companies in performance at the second annual "Dancers for Good" benefit at the Ross School in East Hampton, NY, Saturday June 3 at 7:30pm.

Planet Connections changes the landscape of New York theatre this year. The award-winning Planet Connections Theatre Festivity runs June 12 - July 9, 2017 at The Clemente, 107 Suffolk Street, NYC. WWW.PLANETCONNECTIONS.ORG

Eryc Taylor Dance (ETD) will present an original work created by ETD Outreach for dancers living in Lantern Community Services' supportive housing, to premiere during the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance Uptown Arts Stroll on Friday, June 2 with two performances at 4pm and 6pm, Harlem School of the Arts (645 St Nicholas Avenue New York, New York 10032).

Ballet Hispánico, the nation's premier Latino dance organization, announces this year's Ballet Hispánico School of Dance 2017 Summer Programs.

Eliot Feld's KIDS DANCE, called 'a New York City treasure' by The New York Times, makes its annual visit to The Joyce for six performances, June 8-11.   The remarkably poised, scrupulously schooled, and impeccably rehearsed whiz-kids, numbering 60, ages 11-17, will delight audiences young and old with Feld classics Meshugana Dance and The Jig is Up, along with two Feld works created especially for Kids Dance: Upside Dance and the new Pointing, a premiere for four young ladies en pointe. 

The American Dance Festival (ADF) will partner with northeast Ohio's premiere dance presenter, DANCECleveland, to premiere their summer dance festival in Cleveland. The eight-day festival will include performances by three world-class dance companies, a four-day educational workshop series for advanced level dancers taught by ADF faculty, and free community events, as well as dance related special activities throughout the Playhouse Square district.

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will present the New York Premiere of Ms. Chen's CrossCurrent, a collection of new works created on her journey as an immigrant artist attempting to reconcile the two cultures inside her, one she was born into, the other she chose to join.

Pascal Rioult's renowned dance company, RIOULT Dance NY, the American modern dance company with a European sensibility, announces its 2017 season at The Joyce Theater, May 31 - June 4. This year, Rioult unveils two groundbreaking dances: the world premiere of Fire in the Sky and a re-staging of the classic Te Deum.

Fresh from a smashing sold-out debut at the Boca Black Box, Boca Raton, Florida, dancer-singer-entertainer Judi Mark is pleased to bring her new show, I Feel a Song Coming On to Don't Tell Mama! in the Big Apple. This latest one-woman crowd-pleaser is an intimate tribute to Old Broadway and Hollywood, chock-full of classic songs, shimmering dance, and narrative witty, wise and fun.

Producers of Seeing You, a new immersive experience have announced that a new block of tickets have been added through August 31, 2017.

Arlene Shuler, President & CEO, today announced programming for New York City Center's 2017-18 season. The season will open with the annual Fall for Dance Festival, featuring 20 companies in five unique programs.

Joe's Pub at The Public partners, once again, with Philadelphia's renowned Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts for the Kimmel Center Theater Residency. Under the guidance of Jay Wahl, Producing Artistic Director of the Kimmel Center, and Shanta Thake, Director of Joe's Pub, the intensive program serves as an incubator for artists and collaborators to create and develop innovative new musical theater projects and music. The program will be held in the Kimmel Center's SEI Innovation Studio (300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA) from June 5-18 with free public workshops with audience feedback and Q&A on June 16 and 17.