BALLET VLAANDEREN Celebrates 50 Years With Debut Season At The Joyce

Celebrating 50 years of pushing the boundaries of contemporary ballet, Ballet Vlaanderen marks the momentous season with their Joyce debut. The Joyce Theater Foundation (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) will present the esteemed Belgian company in a triple bill of popular repertoire works at The Joyce Theater from March 3-7. Tickets, ranging in price from $10-$55, 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 West 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

The award-winning Ballet Vlaanderen will celebrate its golden anniversary with their first ever season at The Joyce Theater this spring. The mixed bill taps a trio of works from the company's expansive repertoire, reviving some of their most popular works from past seasons. Ballet Vlaanderen Artistic Director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui creates a sensual, complex game of animal attraction in Faun, a contemporary translation inspired by Nijinsky's legendary choreography set to the music of Claude Debussy. Exploring the shared narratives that live in our bodies, dancers simultaneously navigate the theatricality and intimacy of Crystal Pite's Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue. Rounding out the program is Akram Khan's Kaash, in which the traditional Indian dance form Kathak merges with contemporary ballet vocabulary to create a unique vision of Shiva, the god of both creation and destruction.

Opera Ballet Vlaanderen is the largest cultural institution in the Flanders region of Belgium. Created in 2014 by the merger of Opera Valaanderen, Flanders' only opera company, and the Royal Ballet of Flanders, the company operates the opera houses of Ghent and Antwerp, as well as the dance theatre 't Eilandje in Antwerp. The company tours the world as well with both ballet and opera productions. One of the most active companies in Europe, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen has built a reputation for their extensive and forward-thinking programs. Performing works from the baroque period up to more modern works, the company is committed to bringing a contemporary lens to all of its productions. Prior to its merger with Opera Vlaanderen, the Royal Ballet of Flanders was established in its current iteration by Belgium's federal Ministry of Dutch Culture in 1969. The company has been recognized with the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 2009 and the London Circle Critics National Dance Award in 2012 for Outstanding Company. In September 2015, choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui took over as Artistic Director, along with co-director Tamas Moricz, a former William Forsythe dancer. Under this new co-directorship and reformation of the company under Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, the company repertoire has shifted to a predominantly contemporary mix of works, focusing on the choreography of Cherkaoui and the company's international touring engagements.