The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc to Welcome BalletBoyz

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) is pleased to present the British all-male, award-winning contemporary dance company BalletBoyz, with an exciting program featuring the New York premieres of two works by acclaimed British choreographers: a Joyce Theater co-commission of Mesmerics, choreographed by Tony Award-winning choreographer of An American in Paris, Christopher Wheeldon; and The Murmuring, a new piece by Sadler's Wells New Wave Associate, Alexander Whitley. Tickets range in price from $10-$60 and 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 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

Tony Award-winner Christopher Wheeldon's bold dance, Mesmerics, was originally created in 2003 for three dancers, two men and one woman, and has since been reworked into a company piece for all ten male dancers of BalletBoyz. Paired with songs "Mishima," "Company," "String Quartet No.5" and "The Secret Agent," by renowned composer Philip Glass, the work showcases complex gymnastics, elegant patterns and revolving lifts in a marriage of classical and contemporary ballet. Set to untitled music created especially for the piece by London-based duo, Raime, Alexander Whitley's The Murmuring is heavily influenced by the image of a mass flight of starlings, a breed of bird that resides in the British Isles. A theme of radical revolution versus organic change is portrayed through movements performed in large groups from which individual dancers are pushed and pulled.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Michael Nunn and William Trevitt (Co-Artistic Directors) met at the Royal Ballet Upper School and joined the Royal Ballet together in 1987. During their twelve years at The Royal Ballet between them, they danced all the Principal roles. In 2000, they co-founded BalletBoyz. They danced all over the world for ten years and won numerous awards and accolades, working with leading dancers, choreographers and designers. In 2010, they both retired from the stage and began the first edition of the groundbreaking project theTALENT. Nunn and Trevitt selected eight young male dancers from a variety of backgrounds and worked with them closely, mentoring and coaching them to create a company of first-class performers. Now in its fifth year, the Company has expanded to ten dancers and regularly tours the UK and internationally. In 2013, BalletBoyz won the National Dance Award for Best Independent Company. Nunn and Trevitt have created numerous arts documentaries for television including BalletBoyz I & II, Strictly Bolshoi, The Royal Ballet in Cuba, BalletBoyz: The Next Generation and BalletBoyz: The Rite of Spring, as well as forty short films for Channel 4's Random Acts strand. They have won numerous awards for their film work including an International Emmy, Rose d'Or and Golden Prague. In 2012, they crossed the Atlantic to make A Chance to Dance, a seven-part TV series for US network Ovation, co-produced by Nigel Lythgoe. Nunn and Trevitt are Ambassadors for His Royal Highness Prince Charles's charity Children and The Arts. They were made OBEs in 2012 for their services to dance.

Christopher Wheeldon (Director & Choreographer) joined New York City Ballet in 1993 and was promoted to Soloist in 1998. He served as NYCB's first-ever Artist in Residence in 2000/01 and was named NYCB's first Resident Choreographer in July 2001. Since then, he has choreographed at least one ballet a year for NYCB. Outside the ballet world, he choreographed Dance of the Hours for the Metropolitan Opera's production of Ponchielli's La Gioconda(2006), as well as ballet sequences for the feature film Center Stage (2000) and Sweet Smell of Success on Broadway (2002). In 2007, Wheeldon founded Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company. In 2009, he worked with Richard Eyre on a production of the opera Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera House and in 2010 his new version of The Sleeping Beautyhad its premiere with The Royal Danish Ballet. His ballet Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was created for The Royal Ballet and was given its premiere at the Royal Opera House in 2011. His awards include the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center, the American Choreography Award, a Dance Magazine Award, the London Critics' Circle Award for best new ballet for Polyphonia, two time Olivier award winner most recently for Aeternum, choreographed in January 2013 for the Royal Ballet.

Alexander Whitley (Choreographer) trained at The Royal Ballet School and has danced with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Sydney Dance Company and Wayne McGregor | Random Dance. In 2014/15, he was commissioned to make works for the Royal Opera House, Sadler's Wells, Rambert Dance, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the BalletBoyz. Whitley was recently nominated for the 2014 Times Breakthrough Award, South Bank Sky Arts Awards and has twice been nominated for the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards. He was an Affiliate Choreographer of the Royal Ballet (2012-14) and is a New Wave Associate at Sadler's Wells Theatre and an Associate Artist at DanceEast. His company (launched in 2014) is an associate company of Rambert.

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