The Joyce Theater Debuts of Aparna Ramaswamy and Dance Heginbotham

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. is proud to present the highly anticipated Joyce debuts of two of the world's most exciting forces in contemporary dance: Aparna Ramaswamy from October 6-8, with the solo work They Rose at Dawn; and Dance Heginbotham presenting two New York premieres, from October 10-11. Tickets for both companies range in price from $10 to $40 and can be purchased through JoyceCharge at www.Joyce.org, or by calling 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.

Aparna Ramaswamy, the Bharatanatyam dancer / choreographer who makes her Joyce debut with They Rose at Dawn, is known internationally as the rare artist who seamlessly and successfully merges traditional Indian dance with contemporary artistry. The beauty of her work is seen in the full evening solo piece, They Rose at Dawn, in which women are depicted as carriers of ritual who navigate inner and outer worlds as they invoke a sense of reverence, of unfolding mystery, of imagination. A stellar live Carnatic musical ensemble accompanies Ramaswamy as she explores the spontaneous interplay between music and movement and the dynamic contours created by the artists onstage.

Dance Heginbotham, founded and helmed by Brooklyn-based choreographer and former member of the Mark Morris Dance Group, John Heginbotham, will make its Joyce debut with the New York premiere of Easy Win, a work highlighting the company's commitment to collaboration. Featuring a commissioned score by pianist Ethan Iverson, performed live by the composer, Easy Win is inspired by the choreographer and pianist's shared experiences with formal ballet class, which range from dramatic to humorous, mundane to disturbing, with the piece dissecting the ritual with equal amounts of humor and sincerity. Also on tap will be the New York premiere of Angels' Share, a piece featuring live music performed by a string quartet that was created in acknowledgement of the portion of whisky or wine that evaporates into ether during maturation.

The schedules for Aparna Ramaswamy and Dance Heginbotham at The Joyce Theater are as follows:

• Aparna Ramaswamy: October 6-8; Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm, Thursday at 8pm*
• Dance Heginbotham: October 10-11; Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2pm* and 7:30pm

*Both companies will have a Curtain Chat event, the free post-performance talkback with members of the company. The Curtain Chat for Aparna Ramaswamy will take place on Thursday, October 7 and the Curtain Chat for Dance Heginbotham will take place following the 2pm performance on Sunday, October 11.

Tickets for The Joyce Theater debuts of Aparna Ramaswamy and Dance Heginbotham range in price from $10 to $40 and can be purchased through JoyceCharge at (212) 242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org. 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.

Known for her sculptural and powerful movement style and striking musicality, Aparna Ramaswamy has from a young age worked in a creative partnership with her mother, Ranee Ramaswamy, with whom she is Co-Artistic Director / Choreographer / Principal Dancer of Ragamala Dance Company. Raised both in India and the United States, Aparna spent four months every year studying and performing in Chennai as senior disciple and protégé of legendary dancer/ choreographer Alarmél Valli while building her own body of work as an artist in the U.S. This cultural hybridity has given her the perspective to approach her idiom - the South Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam - as a living language through which to create works that speak to the contemporary experience. Aparna's choreographic work has been supported by the NEA, National Dance Project, MAP Fund, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, New Music/USA, and USArtists International, and commissioned / presented by the Walker Art Center, Lincoln Center, Krannert Center, Clarice Smith Center, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, Opening Nights Performing Arts at FSU, and Magee Allesee National Center for Choreography. She has toured extensively, highlighted by the Kennedy Center, American Dance Festival, Music Academy (Chennai), and National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai).

Founded in 2011, Dance Heginbotham (DH) has quickly established itself as one of the most adventurous and exciting new companies on the American contemporary dance scene. The Brooklyn-based ensemble has been celebrated for its vibrant athleticism, humor, and theatricality, as well as its commitment to collaboration. DH has shared the stage with music icons including Alarm Will Sound, Brooklyn Rider, Gabriel Kahane and Shara Worden, and is beginning a new evening-length work with beloved author and illustrator Maira Kalman. In recognition of his unique artistic vision, Artistic Director John Heginbotham, well-known for his 14-year tenure as a dancer with Mark Morris Dance Group, received the 2014 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award. DH had its world premiere in January of 2012 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and has since been presented by Baryshnikov Arts Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Carolina Performing Arts, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences for three decades. The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, which opened as The Joyce Theater in 1982. The Joyce Theater is named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to build the theater. One of the only theaters built by dancers for dance, The Joyce Theater has provided an intimate and elegant home for more than 320 domestic and international companies. The Joyce has also commissioned more than 130 new dances since 1992. In 2009, The Joyce opened Dance Art New York (DANY) Studios to provide affordable studios for rehearsals, auditions, classes, and workshops for independent choreographers, non-profit dance companies, and the dance/theater communities. New York City public school students and teachers annually benefit from The Joyce's Dance Education Program, and adult audiences get closer to dance through pre-engagement Dance Talks and post-performance Dance Chats. The Joyce Theater now features an annual season of approximately 48 weeks with over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 135,000.

Leadership support for The Joyce Theater's 2015-2016 season has been received from the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.

Generous support for the presentation of Dance Heginbotham was provided through a grant from The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc. to encourage the performance of New York City-based companies at The Joyce Theater.

The presentation of Aparna Ramaswamy is underwritten by Rajika & Anupam Puri.

The presentation Dance Heginbotham is underwritten by Steven & Michèle Pesner.

The Joyce Theater's Dance Presentation Program is supported by a grant award from the National Endowment for the Arts; and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; as well as supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council with special thanks to Council Member Corey Johnson. Additional support has been provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund to encourage the performances of out-of-town companies at The Joyce Theater.

Major support has been provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Pasculano Foundation, The SHS Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation. Additional major support has been provided by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, First Republic Bank, Northern Trust, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, and the Windhover Foundation.