According to the New York Times, The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund has pledged to donate $10 million to fund arts programs about mental health issues. The initiative is put into place to help improve the lives of those with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, as well as to combat the stigma around mental illness.
For the Saturday 7:30 PM performance, Company alum will return to appear in 'Still Night': Artists and other company affiliations - pre and post Mao Dance * Kevin Predmore (also danced with Martha Graham Dance Company) * Virginie Mecene (Graham) * Lisa Viola (Paul Taylor) * Kristin Draucker (Paul Taylor) * Penny Freeh (James Sewell) * Greg Nuber (Cliff Keuter, Mark Morris companies) * Alan Hineline (Cincinnati Ballet) * Lauren Jaeger (Buglisi Dance, Momix) * Karen Nicely ('Color Purple' on Broadway, and Keith Lee) * Donna Schenherr (Hubbard Street Dance)
Dance We Must: Treasures from Jacob's Pillow, 1906-1940 explores the contributions of Jacob's Pillow founder Ted Shawn and the iconic Ruth St. Denis to American modern dance. Gathering over 350 materials, including more than 30 costumes and accessories, over 200 photographs, five original antique costume trunks, and a dozen original artworks from both the Jacob's Pillow Archives and Williams College Special Collections, the exhibition contextualizes the pioneering work of Shawn and St. Denis within the scope of American art history through artifacts that have never been seen before. Dance We Must will be on view at Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) from June 29 through November 11, 2018. The opening celebration will take place on July 2, featuring performances by Adam H. Weinert and Williams College Artist-in-Residence in Dance Erica Dankmeyer.
Spanning 1915 to 1919, set against the backdrop of Boston's Italian North End Immigrants, MOLASSES IN JANUARY is a charming historical fiction musical that tells the story of Anna, a single mother doing her best to raise her children in a world caught up in the turmoil of the first World War. As rumors grow about the potential construction of an enormous molasses tank that will be used to make liquor and gun powder for the war, so do the hopes for potential prosperity. But suddenly on an unusually warm January day, the tank bursts and two million gallons of molasses come crashing down around Anna and her family discovers that life can change in a moment. The music of MOLASSES IN JANUARY is performed in the traditional style of the Great American Song Book, similar to Fiddler on the Roof and Gypsy.
Green Space is pleased to announce a diverse roster of new/emerging artists for its signature programs this May. Take Root will present an evening of work by Brush/McGrath (works) and Brynne Billingsley & Artists on May 18th and 19th, and Fertile Ground showcases the creative output of multiple dance artists on May 20th.
Merce Cunningham is widely considered one of the most important choreographers of all time. Throughout his 70-year career, he continued to innovate, helping to drive the evolution of the American avant-garde and expanding the frontiers of contemporary visual and performance arts.
Annenberg Center Live and NextMove Dance have announced a new co-presenting partnership that will consolidate contemporary dance productions under one roof at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania. In the 2018-19 season, Annenberg Center Live and NextMove Dance will present 11 dance ensembles for Philadelphia audiences: Circa, Spectrum Dance Theater, Jessica Lang Dance, Caleb Teicher & Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dance Heginbotham, Union Tanguera + Kate Weare Company, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, BODYTRAFFIC, and Parsons Dance. Subscriptions to the 2018-19 season dance series are on sale now at AnnenbergCenter.org or 215.898.3900. Single tickets will go on sale in July.
Juilliard announced today that Alicia Graf Mack, former leading dancer of Dance Theatre of Harlem and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, will become director of the Juilliard Dance Division on July 1, 2018. Juilliard Dance is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious training programs in the world, offering instruction in both ballet and modern techniques designed to create true contemporary dancers and choreographers.
Hook & Eye Theater is proud to present the world premiere of She-She-She, a vibrant new devised play with writing by Cynthia Babak that centers on six women whose lives intertwine across generations against the backdrop of one great mountain. Directed by Chad Lindsey, She-She-She is inspired by the real-life friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and leading black activist Pauli Murray.
Following a well-attended and critically-acclaimed inaugural year, Corkscrew Theater Festival returns for a second annual season, running July 9 - August 5 at the Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street, Manhattan). This summer theater festival provides early-career artists with a high level of production support and features five world premieres and four readings performed in repertory over four weeks. Special attention has been given to theater makers who are developing work through robust and innovative collaborative models.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced its internationally and culturally rich 2018 - 2019 Dance Series, a season marked with important World, American, West Coast and Center premieres to be discovered by audiences throughout California and nationwide.
Meany Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Washington announces its 2018/19 Season, presenting 24 visionary artists and ensembles that are pushing artistic boundaries, blending genres and redefining the meaning of creative mastery. The lineup includes international artists and ensembles from thirteen countries and cultures, including India, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Italy, France, Mexico, South Korea, Ukraine, Canada, Taiwan, Colombia, Spain and the USA.
Faye Driscoll, hailed as “a postmillenium postmodern wild woman” (Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice) for her work that is a “tour de force of performance and direction” (Brian Seibert, The New York Times), receives the 12th Annual Jacob's Pillow Dance Award. The Bessie Award-winning choreographer, director, and alumnus of The School at Jacob's Pillow joins a group of honorees that includes Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar of Big Dance Theater, Kyle Abraham of Abraham.in.Motion, Michelle Dorrance of Dorrance Dance, Camille A. Brown of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and Liz Lerman of Dance Exchange. The Award will be formally presented as part of the Jacob's Pillow Season Opening Gala on June 16, 2018 followed by the presentation of Driscoll's work at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival for the second consecutive summer, August 1–5.
A classic from Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato alongside world premieres by Danielle Rowe and James Sofranko highlight SFDanceworks' third season June 8 - 10. Rounding out the program is a duet by Penny Saunders, a recent recipient of the Princess Grace award for choreography. SFDanceworks' Season Three takes place at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture. Tickets, $20 - $60, are now on sale via sfdanceworks.org/season-three or by phone at (415) 345-7575.
Don't be fooled by all of the bright colors. The Mark Morris Dance Group's (MMDG) newly commissioned Layla and Majnun, which opened last night at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, lacks the necessary energy to elevate this tragic yet formulaic love story. It's evident from the start that all of the performers on stage are immensely talented, which is why the lack of cohesion throughout the evening becomes frustrating.
MOLASSES IN JANUARY, an original new musical about a struggling family of Italian immigrants who are literally swept up in the Boston Molasses disaster of 1919, will make its full Off-Broadway premiere on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 and have an open run in the Jerry Orbach Theatre at The Theater Center, located at 1627 Broadway. Written and composed by Francine Pellegrino and directed by Whitney Stone with musical direction by Michael Wittenburg, this spirited new musical will have its official opening on Thursday, May 24th at 5PM.
Choreographer Michael Mao presents the 25th Anniversary Season of Michael Mao Dance with a program of company favorites and guests Virginie Mecene, Kevin Predmore and other artists who are Mao Dance alumni (at the Saturday 7:30 PM performance only).