What’s the relation of
the dancing of Canadian soloist Margie Gillis to the transformative
work of John Kelly? Or to Peter Pucci’s musicality? Or for
that matter, to the wit of Ben Munisteri or to Rebecca Stenn’s
dramatic humor? Actually, they are Altogether Different.
Which is part of the reason why they
are in the 2004 festival at The Joyce Theater, January 6–18.
“What distinguishes The Joyce Theater’s Altogether Different
festival is that it includes a mix of artists at different stages
in their careers, from younger artists who are emerging on the scene,
to mid-career artists who might be experimenting with new directions
in their work,” said Linda Shelton, Executive Director of
The Joyce Theater.
Two of the choreographers – Rebecca Stenn and Ben Munisteri
– are Joyce Theater first-timers and three are returning alums:
Peter Pucci, Margie Gillis and John Kelly. All, however, will present
new works, many of which will be highlighted by original and live
music.
The two-time Obie Award winner John Kelly opens the festival with
“The Skin I’m In,” a multimedia evening of new
and old works that suggest the career trajectory of this multitalented,
multifaceted artist. Performed by a cast of six including Kelly,
the show features re-staged excerpts from six works from repertoire
dating back to 1984 including “The Dagmar Onassis Story,”
“Pass the Blutwurst, Bitte” and “Love of a Poet,”
among others. Kelly’s own uncanny ability to inhabit his characters
will be showcased in his classic and riveting portrayals of Dagmar
Onassis, Cesare, Egon Schiele, Barbette and Orpheo.
Not only her six-member dance company, Rebecca Stenn/PerksDanceMusicTheatre
– but all her family including her composer husband, Jay Weissman
and fourteen-month-old baby – will perform in Rebecca Stenn’s
“The Seventh Wave,” a world premiere. Set to music by
Jay Weissman and Dave Eggar, the dance presents the cycle of life,
from our first to last breath. Another highlight of the show will
be Stenn’s 11-minute, darkly imaginative riff on “Sacre
du Printemps,” entitled “Left of Fall.” The music
is a blend of Stravinsky’s primal modernism with the throbbing
energy of a rock band, while the choreography offers athletic and
geometric variations on Nijinsky’s archaic classicism. Stenn’s
otherworldly imagination will be showcased the dreamy, floating
quality of “Ocean” (1994). Also on Stenn’s program
will be “Embrace,” “Zimzum” and her hilarious
“The Carmen Suites.”
Peter Pucci’s “To Begin Again,” his first venture
into a full-evening solo, is a semi-autobiographic dance drawing
on his 25 years of choreographic and performance experience. It
is performed to live music. In addition to several Chopin “Nocturnes”
(referring to Pucci’s mother’s Polish roots), an original
score – inspired by the musical form – features new
compositions and performances by Brent Michael Davis, Charlie Giordano,
Beata Moon, Nana Simopoulos, Sloan Wainwright and Michael Wolff.
The resulting music is a mix of jazz, blues, folk and rock. Each
“Nocturne,” which introduces another facet of Pucci’s
story, features a different musical style and instrument, including
accordion, Greek mandolin, wurlitzer, crystal flute, harmonica,
classical piano, toy piano and voice.
Canadian performer Margie Gillis, whose
almost spiritual sense of drama has riveted audiences for thirty
years, will also present an evening of solo work. On the boards
will be four New York premieres, each of which vividly showcases
a different aspect of her imagination. The new dances include: “Elimination,”
which explores Gillis’s healing process after a serious shoulder
injury, set to Doreen Bray and Josée Dandurand; “A
Complex Simplicity of Love,” which explores the joy/sadness
of love and its absence, set to Handel; “Breathing In Bird
Bone,” at times elegant and soaring, at others, an awkward
and funny musing on the possibilities of flight, set to music by
Gaétan Leboeuf; and “Viridian” by Irene Dowd,
described as a “crossword puzzle of dance,” set to Bach.
The program will also include “Blue,” “What the
Wind Whispers” and “Waltzing Mathilda.” (Don’t
worry at their number, the dances are quite brief.)
And last, but certainly not least, is Ben Munisteri Dance Projects,
which makes its Joyce Theater debut with its Altogether Different
engagement. Highlights include the world premiere of “Turbine
Mines,” a work for seven dancers set to the score from “Blade
Runner.” Formally structured, the work’s emotional expression
emerges from movement, which is a synthesis of styles and vocabularies
including ballet. Also scheduled is an excerpt from “Muse
of Fire” (2002), set to the soundtrack of “Run, Lola,
Run;” “Smash Through to Sunlight” (1999) created
to an original score by Evren Celimli; Munisteri’s ever-popular
“Late-Night Sugar Flight” (1998) set to music by Donizetti,
Cornershop and Satie; and his 2003 “Earthly Perch,”
created to excerpts from Benjamin Britten’s cello suites,
Op. 72 and 80.
Altogether Different began in 1986 as The Joyce Sampler. To date,
over 146 premieres have been presented by 104 different dance companies
led by such choreographers as Stephen Petronio, Doug Varone, Ralph
Lemon, Neil Greenberg, Karole Armitage, John Jasperse and Donna
Uchizono.
Tickets for the individual performances are $20, and are available
at the box office, by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800, or online
at www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue
at 19th Street.
###
Altogether Different is sponsored by Altria Group, Inc.
Leadership support for The Joyce Theater’s 2003-2004 season
has been received from the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.
Altogether Different is supported, in part, with public funds from
the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council
on the Arts, a state agency, and with private funds from The Gladys
Krieble Delmas Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the
Québec Government House. Commissioning support provided to
Altogether Different artists by the Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund
for New Work and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Performances by New York City-based companies have been funded,
in part, by The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation. Support
for out-of-town companies has been received from the Lila Wallace-Reader’s
Digest Endowment Fund.
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