Philadanco Returns to Manhattan's Joyce Theater in February

Philadanco will return to Manhattan’s Joyce Theater for the 32nd time, and first since 2018, with “InTangible,” a program of New York premieres by four emerging choreographers, from February 6 through February 10, 2024. Performances are Tuesday, February 6th and Wednesday, February 7th at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, February 8th and Friday, February 9th at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, February 10th at 2 p.m. (a family matinee) and 8 p.m. Tickets, starting at $10, are available online. 

   

The works on “InTangible” are Nijawwon K. Matthews’s From Dystopia to Our Declaration; Christopher Rudd’s Mating Season; Ray Mercer’s Balance of Power; and Tommie-Waheed Evans’s Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth, made in collaboration with the Philadanco dancers.

The award-winning Philadanco, led by Artistic Director Kim Y. Bears-Bailey, is the resident company of Philadelphia’s Kimmel Cultural Campus and is one of the most sought-after modern dance companies in the United States. Founded in 1970 by Joan Myers Brown, the company is celebrated for its innovation, creativity, and preservation of predominately African American traditions in dance.  Recognized for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers and electrifying performances, Philadanco is committed to empowering young dancers with crucial development skills that facilitate achievement and success in the world of dance and everyday life. 

Nijawwon Matthews, an internationally acclaimed director, choreographer, educator and dancer, is the founding artistic director of the XY Dance Project, a pre-professional company. He was selected as The Director’s Choice for the 2019 Dallas Black Dance Theatre season. Matthews has performed in the films “In the Heights” and “Black Nativity.” His concert career highlights include legacy works by Donald McKayle, George Faison, Otis Sallid, Milton Myers, Kevin Iega Jeff, Gary Abbott, and Christopher Huggins, and such companies as Philadanco, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, and Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company. A faculty member of Broadway Dance Center and The Joffrey Ballet School, Matthews was featured in the October 2016 issue of Dance Teacher.

Christopher Rudd’s work is informed by his experiences as a queer Black man in dance and blends contemporary dance, circus, and theatricality to speak to relevant issues. The Jamaican-born choreographer created the groundbreaking works Touché and Lifted for American Ballet Theatre. He has also created works for the Alvin Ailey School, Duke University, and UNC School of the Arts, and received residencies from CUNY Dance Initiative, Vendetta Mathea’s La Manufacture, Tofte Lake Center, Kaatsbaan, and STREB. A 2019 Guggenheim Choreography Fellow, Rudd was the inaugural New Victory LabWorks Launch Artist. A current resident artist for BAM and Chelsea Factory, he was named one of 2023’s “six to watch” by American Theater Magazine. As founder of RudduR Dance, he is a two-time US State Department Exchange Alumni, having presented his works in Canada, France, Trinidad & Tobago, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, and Italy. Rudd’s performing career includes Carolina Ballet, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens de Montréal, and Cirque du Soleil. 

Omaha native Ray Mercer has set works on Philadanco, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, New Jersey Ballet, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Ballet Pensacola, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, and DRA (Dancers Responding to Aids), and has been commissioned to choreograph a work for the Smithsonian Museum. He has performed with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and as a guest artist with Boston Ballet and is currently in the Broadway production of The Lion King. Mercer is resident choreographer for the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program. A five-time winner of Broadway’s Gypsy of the Year Award for best onstage performance, his achievements include a 2012 Joffrey Ballet Choreographers of Color Award and a Pensacola Ballet Choreographers Award. He was recently acknowledged for his choreography in The New York Times, Chicago Sun Times, and Movement Magazine. 

Guggenheim Fellow Tommie-Waheed Evans’s work explores blackness, spirituality, queerness, and liberation. His training began with Karen McDonald; he later won an Ailey School fellowship, and received an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University. A former company member of Lula

Washington Dance Theater, Complexions, and Philadanco, Evans has created works for BalletX, Dallas Black, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and Ballet Memphis. His awards include Resident Fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts, Princess Grace Award in Choreography, and Joffrey Ballet Winning Works. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Arts and Artist in Residence at Philadanco.

Founded in 1970, The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) is a 501© 3 organization that is celebrated for its innovation, creativity, and preservation of predominately African American traditions in dance.  Recognized for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers and electrifying performances, PHILADANCO is committed to empowering youth with crucial development skills that facilitate achievement and success in the world of dance and everyday life.

 

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