Jersey City Theater Center November Performances to Feature Pony Box Dance Theater, Alon Nechushtan Ensemble & More

Jersey City Theater Center  will feature Pony Box Dance Theater (11/11; 7PM), the Alon Nechushtan Ensemble (11/11; 10PM) and Slavo Rican Assembly (11/19; 4pm) this November in Jersey City. All performances will take place at Jersey City Theater Center (165 Newark Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07302). Tickets start at just $5.00 and are available at www.JCTCenter.org. 

Pony Box Dance Theater (November 11; 7PM)

Introducing the Latest Sensation from NYC: Unveiling three captivating works showcasing visionary choreographers exploring modern themes of identity, gender, love, and conflict.

• “Am Not My Name” by Pony Box Dance Theatre / Developed in JCTC Residency

• Rena Butler's "Mask4masc": A Profound Exploration of Masculinity's Evolution.

• Norbert de la Cruz III's "Four of Hearts": A Playful Deconstruction of Relationship Dynamics.

• Jamie Carabetta's "The Table": A Contemporary Spin on the Iconic Anti-War Ballet "Green Table" (1932).

Join in for an unforgettable showcase of contemporary movement and innovation as these remarkable choreographers push boundaries and ignite conversations on topics shaping our world today.

Alon Nechushtan Ensemble (November 11; 10PM)

The Alon Nechushtan Ensemble features Alon Nechushtan (US/Israel), Francois and Louis Moutin (US/France) and Sara Serpa (U.S/Portugal). This performance is part of JCTC's Global Music Series.
 

Both the US and France experienced a surge of immigration waves. While the stories of Ellis Island's fresh immigrants struggling to find their first steps in the new world tend to be mellow and positive, outside the city of Callais (France), the refugee camp known as ‘the Jungle' is full of different stories, full of terror, struggles and extraordinary survival stories. 
This ambitious project, led by pianist and composer AlonNechushtan— is aimed to amplify these voices and other inspirational stories centered around ordinary people who make extraordinary voyages, moving their voices as well as their bodies from and to new homes, selecting exemplary poetry by Faiz Ahmad Faiz' (Pakistan) “We who were executed,” Lenrie Peters' (Gambia/Sierra Leone) “We Have Come Home” among other gripping and vivid moving voices. 
AlonNechushtan Ensemble will score and amplify the energy in these vivid and gripping selected works and tell their story through singing and playing, featuring an all-star cast and a transatlantic collaboration between American and French leading musicians from France, Portugal, Israel, and the USA.

Slavo Rican Assembly (November 19; 4pm)

Slavo Rican Assembly uses the international vocabulary of jazz as a springboard to delve deep into the sounds of their own musical roots. Bomba, salsa, and rumba bump up against Slovenian harvest songs, Bosnian lullabies, and Serbian laments in a musical cocktail that's 100% New York. 

Critics and audiences around the world are starting to take notice of Slavo Rican Assembly, the extraordinary new seven-piece band founded by NYC-based Slovenian saxophonist/composer Jan Kus, which unites his experience in the NYC Latin jazz scene with his South Slavic musical roots.

The band's debut album, Intercosmic, has garnered attention from Songlines magazine and was recently featured in a listening party on WNYC's All of It with Alison Stewart. This performance is part of JCTC's Global Music Series.

“As someone who was born in Ukraine and grew up in a Jewish family in Belarus, I have always recognized the tremendous value of building cultural bridges, said Olga Levina,” Producing Executive Director at JCTC. “Today, I believe, it is more urgent than ever. Serving the vibrant and diverse community of Jersey City for over seventeen years, I firmly believe that there is nothing more important today than fostering connections between people locally and globally. Through the arts, we can express and examine the world far deeper than words can. 

When we share our stories through different art mediums, we discover, observe, and recognize differences and similarities between us only to come closer and unite as one human tribe.”

About Pony Box Dance Theater:

The company comprises incredible male-identifying dance artists from all over the world. What sets us apart is our preference for using first-tier male identifying dancers and raw physicality in conjunction with original scores in expressing the challenges of being human in this early 21st century.

Pony Box is not rule-bound. We want to increase the expressive range of choreography for male-identifying performers and not subject ourselves to arbitrary limitations. We are “Theatre” because we are about the audience's experience.

About Alon Nechushtan Ensemble

Nechushtan has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Central Park Summer Stage, The Blue Note Jazz Club and The Kennedy Center with his projects as both a bandleader and composer. He studied composition with Michael Gandolfi, orchestration with Lee Hyla and additional composition lessons with Lukas Foss at Boston University; with John Harbison and Louis Karchin at June In Buffalo; Composition Masterclasses with Fredrick Rjewski and Pierre Boulez; piano with Fred Hersch, Paul Bley, Ran Blake, Danilo Perez; big band and jazz composition with Bob Brookmeyer, and improvisation with Jerry Bergonzy, Bob Moses, George Garzone, Henry Threadgill and Uri Caine.

Nechushtan has released more than ten solo recordings on various leading recording labels including Enja (Germany), MGN (Netherlands), Tzadik (USA), BuckyBall (USA), Creative Sources (Portugal), Between the Lines (Netherland) and Ayler (Sweden).

About Slavo Rican Assembly

At the heart of the Slavo Rican assembly project is the deep, collaborative friendship between Kus and bassist Dan Martinez. Martinez was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and has been playing professionally since the age of 17. While studying at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico he started taking double bass lessons and occasionally studying with bass legend Eddie Gomez. He arrived in New York City in 2011 — just one year before Kus — to pursue his Master degree in Jazz Performance, and soon garnered a reputation as a versatile, in-demand player, performing with many projects with artists from all over the world.

About Jersey City Theater Center

Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) arts organization committed to inspiring conversations about important issues of our times through the arts. Co-founded by Executive Producer Olga Levina, an immigrant from Belarus, Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) produces and presents universal yet locally relevant works, emphasizing social justice and human rights.  Since 2006, JCTC has provided a platform for all artistic voices to be heard in Jersey City, with the aim of sparking meaningful cross-cultural dialogue that helps build a greater understanding, mutual respect and better communities in New Jersey. 

Programming made possible by numerous supporters, including the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development, Hudson County, the City of Jersey City, and the Office of Cultural Affairs. For those who are interested in attending any of the performances, sponsoring any of the upcoming productions, or purchasing tickets for large groups, please email info@jctcenter.org.