Gibney Dance Company Performs Work by Joanna Kotze and Reggie Wilson, 5/4-6

Gibney Dance Company is set to perform a newly commissioned work by Joanna Kotze and re-imagined works by Reggie Wilson at Lower Manhattan's Gibney Dance: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center May 4-6. The program marks the second annual edition of GRIT: Gibney Repertory Initiative for Tomorrow, created to simultaneously commission new works from and re-imagine signature works by contemporary dance artists.

With an original sound score by Ryan Seaton, Kotze's new Already Ready challenges both dancers and viewers to be fully present, active and visible. Created through daily investigations of individuality and physicality, the work taps into the multiplicity of life by allowing for the emergence of uniqueness, form and the unknown. For the second half of the program Wilson's PANG, The DEW WET and Big Brick-A Man's Piece have been re-envisioned into a single work specifically for the five members of Gibney Dance Company.

Later in the month, the Company presents its first-ever Company-curated program with performances byColemanCollective, MADBOOTS and Manuel Vignoulle, May 18-20. See below for details.

Program Details:

$15-20. Tickets and additional information available at GibneyDance.org/MakingSpace or 646.837.6809. All performances at Gibney Dance: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center (280 Broadway, entrance at 53A Chambers Street).

Gibney Dance Company
GRIT-Gibney Repertory Initiative for Tomorrow: Joanna Kotze + Reggie Wilson
Thursday, May 4-Saturday, May 6 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 6 at 5 p.m.
Approx. run time: 90 minutes
Studio C at Gibney Dance: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center

Gibney Dance Company's GRIT series "makes space for the future of dance" by commissioning new works and reimagining signature works by contemporary dance artists. GRIT posits the possibility that the present generation's work will be recognized and celebrated in live performance by future audiences. This spring, Gibney Dance Company performs works by Joanna Kotze and Reggie Wilson.

Joanna Kotze will create a new work, Already Ready. With an original sound score by Ryan Seaton, Already Ready challenges both dancers and viewers to be fully present, active and visible. Created through daily investigations of individuality and physicality, the work taps into the multiplicity of life by allowing for the emergence of uniqueness, form and the unknown.

Reggie Wilson of Fist and Heel Performance Group will re-imagine iterations of three of his previous works,PANG, The DEW WET and Big Brick-A Man's Piece, into a single work utilizing the five members of Gibney Dance Company.

ColemanCollective, MADBOOTS and Manuel Vignoulle
Gibney Dance Company-Curated Performance
Thursday, May 18-Saturday, May 20 at 8 p.m.
Approx. run time: 90 minutes
Studio C at Gibney Dance: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center

The Gibney Dance Company-curated program is an outlet for diverse choreographers who share the values of the Company's unique model, viewing dance artists as innovators, generators and activists. Gibney Dance's Artistic Associates have curated this inaugural series prioritizing artists who work with an aesthetic of physical rigor, uncompromising tenacity and a drive to move the dance field forward. The performance "makes space" for entrepreneurial artists who are using their craft to amplify the relevancy of the dance community and position dancers as influential citizens in the world.

ColemanCollective
Retrograde: The American story through the eyes of... (Excerpt)

This work reveals several perspectives on cultural appropriation and is filled with emotionally opaque images along with ironic commentary on the effect that slavery, segregation and general racism have had on the Black American narrative. It describes the correlation between past and future, and hopes to inspire audiences to expand on the conversation and research of culture/ancestry, to learn from history and make it relevant for personal as well as social change.

MADBOOTS
MASC

Considering masculinity universally and through a queer lens, MASC is a loud declaration that puts the "immaculate" American manhood into question. In collaboration with NYC filmmaker Gus Reed, the work features original video projection and text highlighting personal histories and the current social landscape. Objectifying the male form and radically softening its stoic exterior, MASC seeks to re-sculpt the image of maleness and turn stone to flowers.

Manuel Vignoulle
Black & White

Black & White connects two individuals of different sexes, backgrounds, cultures and energies, each living in their own world. In their quest of self-discovery, they are pushed towards each other to understand their singularities. This dialogue allows them to find more colors, nuances and subtleties, expanding their respective inner worlds. Mastering their own qualities and accepting their strength and fragilities, they allow each other's light to shine and fade to create space for something new to arise.

ABOUT GIBNEY DANCE

Gibney Dance, founded in 1991, is a trailblazing organization that brings the possibility of movement where it otherwise would not exist. Through its Center, Company and Community Action, Gibney Dance is "Making Space for Dance" in studios, on stages and in partnership with underserved shelters and schools:

Gibney Dance Centers are a powerhouse of cultural support for the performing arts community and New York City itself. In 1991, Gibney Dance began leasing a studio in the historic 890 Broadway building to house Company rehearsals, and by 2011 the organization's presence at that location had expanded to comprise an expansive eight-studio creative center. Today, with the addition of 280 Broadway, the organization directs a performing arts complex with two facilities: the Choreographic Center at 890 Broadway and the Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center at 280 Broadway. These remarkable spaces enable a robust roster of events designed to meet the needs of the dance field and audiences by fostering the creative process, encouraging dialogue and providing professional development opportunities.

Gibney Dance Company is the Center's acclaimed resident dance ensemble, led by choreographer Gina Gibney. Since its founding in 1991, the Company has steadily developed its reputation for excellence, building a repertory of over thirty works. Gibney Dance re-envisioned the Company in 2016, empowering its dancers as both artists and activists. Known as Artistic Associates, these dedicated partners advance the quality of the organization's artistry through performance, and deepen its community engagement through administrative fellowships, serving as advocates for pressing issues in the dance field.

Gibney Dance Community Action is on the leading edge of mobilizing the arts to address social justice issues. This highly respected program uses dance to help heal and empower survivors of interpersonal violence through multiple platforms, including Movement Workshops for domestic violence survivors; Global Community Action Residencies that share the program's model and practices internationally; the Community Action Hub at 280 Broadway and its resources for social change-minded artists; and Advocacy Initiatives that spread awareness and mobilize artists to respond to social issues.

FUNDING CREDITS

Gibney Dance's Winter-Spring 2017 Season has been made possible with generous support from the Howard Gilman Foundation.

Additional supporters include the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl in partnership with the City Council, the Shubert Foundation, the Jerome Robbins Foundation, the SHS Foundation, and Harkness Foundation for Dance.

Foundation Support

Altman Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, Bossak/Heilbron Charitable Foundation, Dance and New Media Foundation, The David Rockefeller Fund, Dextra Baldwin McGonagle Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Dubose & Dorothy Heyward Fund, The Gramercy Park Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Howard Gilman Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, James E. Robison Foundation, Jerome Robbins Foundation, Jewish Communal Fund, Jody and John Arnhold, Joseph & Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, Liberty Fund, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The New York City Cultural Agenda Fund in The New York Community Trust, The New York Community Trust - Lila Acheson Wallace Fund for the Arts, The New York Community Trust - LuEsther T. Mertz Advised Fund, New York University Community Fund, O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation, The Ready Foundation, The RYL Charitable Fund, The Scherman Foundation's Katherine S. and Axel G. Rosin Fund, the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, The SHS Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Gibney Dance receives additional support through the matching gift programs of Macy's, The Moody's Foundation, Morgan Stanley Foundation and The Open Society Foundations.

Corporate Support

American Australian Association, Aspiriant LLC, Bloomingdale's, BoardLead, Con Edison, Credit Suisse, EILEEN FISHER, Fram Realty LLC/Abro Management Corporation, Goldman Sachs, Kennedy Berg LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Macy's Merchandising Group, MG & Company, Morgan Stanley, New York Health & Racquet Club, Pfizer Foundation, Reed Smith LLP, Spectrum, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation.

Government Support

Gibney Dance has received generous support from The City of New York & The Honorable Mayor Bill De Blasio, The New York City Council & The Honorable Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, The Honorable City Council Member Margaret Chin, The Honorable Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and The Honorable Tom Finkelpearl, Materials for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, the New York Council for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Embassy of the United States, Dar es Salaam.

http://www.gibneydance.org