Limón Dance Company returns to The Joyce with works by José Limón, Kate Weare and Colin Connor
Company:
Limón Dance Company
LIMON DANCE COMPANY IN WORKS BY JOSÉ LIMÓN, COLIN CONNOR and KATE WEARE, THE JOYCE THEATER, MAY 2-7
May 2-7 (Tuesday & Wednesday at 7:30 PM; Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8 PM, Saturday & Sunday at 2 PM)
Tickets start at $10
Reservations: 212.242.0800 or www.joyce.org
Artistic Director: Colin Connor
The Company: Kathryn Alter, Bradley Beakes, Leon Cobb, Elise Drew Leon, Kristen Foote, David Glista, Ross Katen, Logan Frances Kruger, Alex McBride, Brenna Monroe-Cook, Jesse Obremski, Savannah Spratt, Mark Willis
The Limón Dance Company returns to The Joyce with two programs of works by José Limón, all staged by former principal dancers with the Company, as well as new dances Kate Weare and company artistic director Colin Connor, May 2-7.
In a program highlighted by musicality, athleticism, and drama, the contemporary emerges out of the classics in the Company's first Joyce season under its new artistic director. Limón's legendary works will be performed alongside the dramatically luminous and sharply etched Night Light, created for ten dancers by Kate Weare, and Connor's driving sextet Corvidae, inspired by the ferocity of crows and ravens.
The innovative Connor will present two distinct productions of Limón's The Exiles, a haunting duet that uses the biblical story of Adam and Eve thrust out of the Garden of Eden, evoking today's experiences of immigrants and refugees forced to leave their homelands. On May 2 & 3, the haunting duet will be danced to the original music by Schoenberg, while the May 6 & 7 performances will be performed to a new commissioned score for The Exiles by Aleksandra Vrebalov, performed live by six vocalists.
PROGRAMS
PROGRAM A - Concerto Grosso, Corvidae, The Exiles, Suite from A Choreographic Offering, Night Light
May 2, 3 (7:30 PM), May 6 (8 PM), May 7 (2 PM)
PROGRAM B - Concerto Grosso, Corvidae, Chaconne, Suite from A Choreographic Offering, Night Light
May 4, 5 (8 PM), May 6 (2 PM)
CONCERTO GROSSO - Limón/Vivaldi. Staging and direction by Risa Steinberg
To Vivaldi's great Concerto #11 in D Minor, Opus 3, the majesty and formal beauty of the high baroque is evoked in this three-part choreographic invention. Concerto Grosso was first performed May 19, 1945 at the Humphrey-Weidman Studio in New York City.
CORVIDAE - Connor/Phillip Glass, Violin Concerto #1, 1st movement
Considered the most intelligent of birds, Corvids, especially ravens and crows, have been seen as messengers throughout the ages.
THE EXILES - Limón/Schoenberg - Limón/Vrebalov. Staging and direction by Colin Connor
"they, looking back, all the eastern side beheld of paradise, so late their happy seat." PARADISE LOST, John Milton
The Company presents the duet to the original music by Schoenberg on Tuesday and Wednesday, and, for the first time, to a new score for six singers by composer Aleksandra Vrebalov at the Saturday and Sunday performances. The Exiles was first performed August 11, 1950 at the American Dance Festival in New London, Connecticut.
CHACONNE - Limón/J.S. Bach, Chaconne from Partita #2 in D Minor for Unaccompanied Violin. Staging and direction by Gary Masters
The Chaconne as a dance form originated in New Spain, now Mexico. Bach employed the strict musical form of the Chaconne but enriched it with powerful emotional implications. Limón captured in his dance both the formal austerity and the profound feeling of the music. Chaconne was first performed December 27, 1942 at the Humphrey-Weidman Studio Theater, New York City.
Suite from A CHOREOGRAPHIC OFFERING, For Doris Humphrey - Limón/JS Bach. Staging and Direction by Kurt Douglas
This work, in memory of Doris Humphrey, is based on variations, paraphrases, and motifs from her dances. A Choreographic Offering premiered August 15, 1964 at the American Dance Festival.
NIGHT LIGHT - Kate Weare/from album Victoire-Cathedral City
The work was originally commissioned by The Juilliard School in 2014 and premiered December 10, 2014. The Limón Company premiere took place in September 2016 at Hope College, Michigan.
Brenna Monroe-Cook in 'Carlota' by José Limón, photo by Beatriz Schiller
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