Compagnie Philippe Saire Presents LONESOME COWBOY, Closes 1/9

Freud famously asked: "What do women want?" The question has never been satisfactorily answered. However, Swiss choreographer Philippe Saire tackles the question of what men want in his emotionally charged, hour-long dance, "Lonesome Cowboy," which received its American premiere at The Joyce Theater and will close on January 9, 2011. 

Performed by five male dancers from Compagnie Philippe Saire, the 2009 work imaginatively explores man's contradictory needs for separation and fusion and the attendant emotions. Gregarious, militant, brotherly, erotic, tender, and challenging by turns, the movement expresses feelings of intimacy, tenderness, violence, fear, and courage as the five men physically argue for dominance.

The choreography, which uses the physicality of sports to express the emotional complexity of male bonding, was based on a series of Muybridge's photographs of men wrestling ("Wrestling: Graeco-Roman"1884-85) and drawings of a series of self-enclosed knots. Saire's stated cinematic influences include Claire Denis's "Beau travail," Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" and Stuart Rosenberg's "Cool Hand Luke," while his literary references include Elisabeth Badinter's "XY: On Masculine Identity," Elias Canetti's "Crowds and Power" and Anne Dufourmantelle's "Blind Date: Sex and Philosophy."

Originally a duet, "Lonesome Cowboy" was created as a commission for the Dance Theater of Ireland in 2004. Saire restaged the piece for 5 dancers of his company in 2009.

The new version, which premiered at La Bâtie-Festival in Geneva in September, has been
subsequently performed at various venues throughout Switzerland as well as the Teatri di
Vita in Bologna, Italy in January 2010, and most recently in Sao Paolo and Porto Alegre,
Brazil this past September.

Philippe Saire spent the first five years of his life in Algeria before moving to Lausanne, Switzerland. In 1986, after training in contemporary dance abroad, including extensive studies in Paris, Saire returned to Lausanne to create Compagnie Philippe Saire.

The company, which performs in art galleries, gardens and urban spaces as well as conventional theaters, now boasts an extensive repertoire of 25 full evening works, while continuing to play a major role in promoting contemporary Swiss dance. Saire's contributions to the art form extend beyond the stage. Since 1989, he has directed and collaborated on 14 films inspired by the work of his company. In 1995, he established the Théâtre Sévelin 36, a performance venue in Lausanne that is committed to promoting and stimulating contemporary dance on regional, national and international levels.

Among the highlights of the theatre's annual program are two festivals created by Saire: the Lausanne International Dance Festival, which began in 1997, and the Printemps
de Sévelin Festival, which began in 1998 and is dedicated to the work of young,
contemporary choreographers. In 2006, as director of the Lausanne Centre for
Contemporary Dance, Saire created CARGO 103, a rehearsal studio that offers creative
residencies and contemporary dance training.

Among his many major awards, Saire received the 1998 Grand Prix from the Vaud Foundation for artistic promotion and creation. That year, he also received the Prix d'auteur du Conseil general de Seine-Saint-Denis (France) at the International Choreographic Meeting for his piece, "Étude sur la Légèreté." In 2004, he received the Swiss Dance and Choreography Prize, awarded by ProTanz, Zurich.

The evening curtains at The Joyce Theater for "Lonesome Cowboy" are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7:30pm. There are 2pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday. A post-performance "Dance Chat" will take place Friday, January 7.

Tickets are $39, $25 and $19 and can be purchased online at http://joyce.org, by calling
212-242-0800, or in person at The Joyce Theater box office, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. A limited number of $10 tickets are available by calling 212-242-0800.

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