Though Michael Nunn and William (Billy) Trevitt may look
like regular motorcycle-riding blokes, don’t be fooled for
a minute. These cheeky London lads are really Royal Ballet alums
who have started their own independent, pocket-size company, George
Piper Dances. Also known as the Ballet Boyz, Nunn and Trevitt are
determined to take high risks and turn ballet into a non-elitist
sport. Not yet two years old and already the commissioner of dances
by a slew of international names, the company makes its New York
debut at The Joyce Theater, November 4–9.
At The Joyce, what’s in store? First of all, the premiere
of "Mesmerics" by another young Royal alum, Christopher
Wheeldon, currently resident choreographer at New York City Ballet.
Set to cello music by Phillip Glass, the dance achieves its radiant
sensuality through its highly condensed structure and twinning duets
and trios. Besides Nunn and Trevitt, the cast includes Hubert Essakow,
Oxana Panchenko and Monica Zamora.
Also new to New York City will be "Torsion," by Russell
Maliphant, also a Royal alum. The twenty-minute dance is filled
with capoeira-inspired moves, daring lifts and risky balances that
result in breath-taking feats of sculptural fluency. Set to music
by Richard English, this dazzling tour de force of male energy is
performed by Nunn and Trevitt.
William Forsythe’s "Steptext," completes the bill.
Set to music by Johann Sebastian Bach, this now classic of deconstructed
classicism will be performed by Hubert Essakow, Michael Nunn, Oxana
Panchenko and William Trevitt. Nunn and Trevitt were first cast
in "Steptext" when the piece was performed by The Royal
Ballet at the Royal Opera House in 1995. Oxana Panchenko won the
2001 Time Out Live Award for her performance in the ballet.
William Trevitt, 34, and Michael Nunn, 32, have been chums since
they were boys at the Royal Ballet School. They both joined the
Royal in 1987. (Each married a "ballet girl" of the company).
In 1999 they joined Royal Ballet dancer Tetsuya Kumakawa to set
up a new ballet troupe in Japan, K Ballet. In January 2001, Nunn
and Trevitt created George Piper Dances, named after their respective
middle names.
During their last year at the Royal, they became involved in video
and made "Ballet Boyz" about their final days with the
company, eventually creating a sequel, "Ballet Boyz II –
The Next Step," which focused on the creation of K Ballet.
The video-diaries introduced the public to these "bad boys"
of ballet; their on-screen antics depict them as charming and endearing
characters, who, while clearly devoted to their work, are playful
and irreverent. A third documentary is in the works, portraying
the creation of George Piper Dances, which was nominated for the
2001 South Bank Show Dance Award in its first year. "Critics’
Choice *****," created by the pair in March 2003 and premiered in London, combined
short dances by Matthew Bourne, Michael Clark, Akram Khan, Russell
Maliphant and Christopher Wheeldon with video footage of each explaining
his approach to the work.
Before performing at The Joyce Theater, George Piper Dances will
have been seen in Los Angeles, CA (October 3–4); Gainesville,
FL (October 18); Washington, DC (October 21); Philadelphia, PA (October
23–25); Albany, NY (October 30); and Pittsburgh, PA (November
1).
Following its Joyce season, the company will perform at the Grand
Opera House in Belfast, Ireland (November 14–15); the Sydney
Opera House in Sydney, Australia (January, 2004); and at the end
of February, George Piper Dances will return to the U.S. to perform
in St. Louis, MO and Chicago, IL.
The evening curtain for George Piper Dances at The Joyce Theater,
Tuesday through Saturday, will be at 8pm, and on Sunday at 7:30pm.
There will be also be a 2pm matinee on Sunday. Tickets are $36 and
are available at The Joyce Theater 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.
###
Leadership support for The Joyce Theater’s 2003-2004 season
has been received from the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.
This Joyce presentation is made possible, 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 Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund to encourage
the performances of out-of-town companies at The Joyce Theater.
This tour of George Piper Dances is made possible by a grant from
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment
for the Arts Regional Touring Program.
Funded in part by the British Council and the National Dance Project
(NDP) of the New England Foundation for the Arts. Lead funding for
NDP is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and Doris
Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding is provided by The
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Altria Group, Inc.
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