RIOULT Presents THE GREAT MASS, Running 4/14-19 At The Joyce

RIOULT will present the world premiere of The Great Mass along with three acclaimed repertory pieces during its 2009 New York season, running April 14 - 19, at The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. The Great Mass is a full-evening work set to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Mass in C Minor, and will be joined on the schedule by Mr. Rioult's Wien (1994), Views of the Fleeting World (2008) and Les Noces (2005). The season will include a Gala Fundraiser honoring two-time Emmy Award-winner Sonya Hamlin, president of Sonya Hamlin Communications, to be held at the Altman Building in Chelsea on Wednesday, April 15th (*formerly The Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre).

In speaking of The Great Mass, Mr. Rioult said, "I have long been interested in choreographing to Mozart's masterpiece, Mass in C Minor, because of the inspiring beauty of the music and the touching spirituality of its singing. The choral element of the piece, so light and so deep at the same time, reflects the spirit of life itself. It is the largest and most complex work I have undertaken, and represents a milestone both in my work and in the history of my company. Choral works and the human voice have been a great source of inspiration throughout my life."

The Great Mass explores the range and spiritual and emotional tones embedded in the 18th century Salzburg traditions of the Roman Catholic mass and conveyed through this masterful score. As a monument of the classical canon, Mozart's Mass in C minor provides the ultimate canvas - and challenge - for Mr. Rioult to express his personal affinity for this musical masterpiece through the lens of his neo-modern style. On a personal level the piece will represent a return to his roots as the son of a classical choir director, and will be dedicated to Mr. Rioult's mother who passed away in September.
Faithful to Maurice Ravel's intentions, Wien, set to Ravels' La Valse, is a fantastic and fatal swirling of tragic dimensions. The Viennese waltz, the very image of social refinement, becomes the symbol of a disintegrating society taken into a whirlpool of violence and humiliation. The piece has the poisoned atmosphere of despair and fatalism. It is the trail of failed humanity; a premonition of triumphant evil.
Views From the Fleeting World is set to Bach's The Art of Fugue. As one of the great structural masterpieces in music it is an apt challenge for Rioult's architectural choreography. The dance is a meditative piece which integrates the musical form of the fugue (fugere: to flee, to run away from), the scenic design (slowly, subtly moving projections on the backdrop), fugal and contrapuntal choreographic devices and movement content to make a complete theatrical concept. The dance is composed of nine short sections: Orchard, Gathering Storm, Wild Horses, Dusk, Rain, Night Ride, Summer Wind, Moonlight, and Flowing River.

Les Noces is Rioult's bold re-imagining of Stravinsky's classic. The piece, which revisits Stravinsky's concept of a wedding, is a sexually charged deconstruction of the marriage ritual, exploring the primal instincts behind this traditional rite of passage.
RIOULT dancers include Brian Flynn, Penelope Gonzalez, Charis Haines, Patrick Leahy, Michael Spencer Phillips, Robert Robinson, Jane Sato, John Sorensen-Jolink, Anastasia Soroczynski and Marianna Tsartolia.

Former track and field star in France, Pascal Rioult came to the United States on a fellowship from the French Ministry of Culture to study modern dance in 1981. After performing with the companies of May O'Donnell and Paul Sanasardo, he was invited to join the Martha Graham Dance Company. As a principal dancer, he interpreted many of the most prestigious roles in the Graham repertory and in 1990 Ms. Graham created the central role (Death Figure) in her ballet The Eye of the Goddess for Mr. Rioult. He performed opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov and Joyce Herring in El Penitente and was featured in two television specials: Martha Graham in Japan and Five Dances by Martha Graham at the Paris Opera.

Since starting his own company in 1994, Mr. Rioult has dedicated his energies to forging and perfecting a choreographic style of his own, nurturing a robust ensemble of dancers, and growing his company, RIOULT. Mr. Rioult's works have been commissioned by the American Dance Festival; Cal Arts (Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, CA); the Ballet du Nord in Roubaix, France; the Geneva Ballet, Switzerland; The Orchestra of St. Luke's; the Harriet and Gordon Greenfield Foundation; the Grand Marnier Foundation; the Théâtre de Saint Quentin en Yvelines, France; and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA among others. He is a two-time recipient of the Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography.

RIOULT was founded in 1994 and fast became an established name in modern dance with a reputation for creating and presenting the sensual, articulate, and exquisitely musical works of Pascal Rioult. Born into the American modern dance tradition, RIOULT is creating its own legacy of contemporary dance that speaks to the mind as well as the heart of the global community. The company of ten dancers is based in New York City and presents an annual New York season, tours nationally and internationally.

RIOULT prides itself on its commitment to its dancers. Among the primary goals of the organization is to provide steady employment, health care, and foster the artistic development of its performers by offering training classes, teaching opportunities, challenging repertory and extended rehearsal and performance schedules.

Education and community outreach have been integral to RIOULT since its inception. The company's arts-in-education program DanceREACH offers an interactive approach to introducing students to the world of modern dance. It has impacted thousands of students and community members in New York City and around the world. Ongoing relationships with schools in New York City and the metropolitan area allow RIOULT to inspire new generations of dancers and audiences.
The schedule is as follows: Tuesday, April 14 at 7:30 pm; Wednesday, April 15 at 7:00 pm (Gala Evening); Thursday April 16 & Friday, April 17 at 8pm; Saturday, April 18 at 2 pm (FAMILY MATINEE) and 8 pm; and Sunday, April 19 at 2 pm and 7:00pm. Tickets are $19 - $49 and are available at The Joyce Theater Box Office, by calling JoyceCharge at (212) 242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org. Prices subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For further information about the Company or the April 15 Gala, visit www.prdance.org.

Major supporters of RIOULT's 2008-2009 season include Air France, Shana Alexander Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, Crédit Industriel et Commercial, The Grand Marnier Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Harriet & Gordon Greenfield Foundation, The Niki and Joe Gregory Charitable Foundation, Donald L. Holley, The Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation, GMCG, LLC, Jana Foundation, Kenneth French Fund for New Works, LePercq deNeuflize, The Lepercq Foundation, The Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund of the New York Community Trust, Memorix, Inc., NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Parker Kandall, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Shubert Foundation, Sidley Austin LLP, and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Program A:
April 14, April 17, April 18 (evening), April 19 (evening)
World Premiere:
The Great Mass

Program B:
April 16 and April 19 (matinee)
Les Noces
View of the Fleeting World
Wien

Gala and Family Matinee
April 13 and April 18 (matinee)
Views of the Fleeting World
Les Noces (excerpts)
Bolaro

To post a comment, you must register and login.