CELEBRATING 25 VIBRANT YEARS
HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO RETURNS TO THE JOYCE THEATER, MAY 27ÎJUNE 8, 2003
WITH 8 PREMIERES
Repertory highlights include New York premieres by Jirç Kyli¶n, Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato, among others

     The energy, gritty spirit and feisty imagination of the hulking "City of the Big Shoulders," its determination and smarts, are also part-and-parcel of its major modern dance company, the 25 year-old Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, which returns to The Joyce Theater, May 27–June 8.
     International in reach, Hubbard Street’s Joyce repertory includes New York and world premieres by Trey McIntyre, Jirí Kilián, Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato, Harrison McEldowney, as well as by the company’s artistic director, Jim Vincent. Hubbard Street was last seen in New York in 1994.
    Trey McIntyre’s "Full Grown Man," a world premiere, is set to a selection of songs by rock musician Beck. A work for twelve performers, the dance marks Trey McIntyre’s second dance for the company. Inspired by a small Giacometti surrealistic sculpture of a distorted board-game, Jirí Kilián’s "No More Play" is set to Anton Webern’s intensely modernist "Five Movements for a String Quartet." The work, premiered by the Nederlands Dans Theater in 1988, was first performed by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago this past March.
    Also created for Nederlands Dans Theater – and a recent addition to Hubbard Street’s diverse repertory – is Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato’s "Cor Perdut" ("Lost Heart"). The sensual and lyrical duet is danced to the powerful voice of Majorcan singer Maria del Mar Bonet for whom Duato created the work as a birthday present in 1989.
    Ohad Naharin’s duet "Passomezzo," set to "Greensleeves" from "The Beggar’s Opera," explores an emotionally complex and volatile relationship between a man and a woman. In dramatic contrast is Harrison McEldowney’s 1999 comic duet, "Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off," danced to the jazzy tunes of Gershwin, Allison and Cahn, and McEldowney’s 1999 burlesque, "Group Therapy," also performed to a series of popular show songs.
    Marking his first work for Hubbard Street, Jim Vincent’s "counter/part" is a sexy, witty and balletic ensemble work for ten danced to a selection of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti.
    The Joyce programs will also include two works by Daniel Ezralow: "Lady Lost Found" (1997), a joyous romp performed to Irish folk songs and "SUPER STRAIGHT is coming down" (1989), a fiercely physical dance set to an original score by contemporary Dutch composer Thom Willems.
    Hubbard Street, which was created by Lou Conte in 1977, made its debut as a quartet of women at a senior citizen's home in Chicago in 1978. Fast forward to 2003: The company has twenty-one dancers, a $5 million budget and a brand new, state-of-the-art home in Chicago’s West Loop. It also has a new artistic director, Jim Vincent, who took over after Conte retired in 2000. In the past quarter of a century, the company also acquired a domestic and international reputation as one of the most vital dance troupes in the country with a repertoire that has changed from jazzy, Broadway style dances to work by master choreographers – both cutting edge and classic – from around the world. Add to these accomplishments: Hubbard Street 2, an apprentice company with a repertory and touring schedule of its own.
    Though born and raised in New Jersey, where he began ballet lessons at the age of 5, Jim Vincent’s career was extensively European prior to working at Hubbard Street. He had been a dancer and ballet master with the Nederlands Dans Theater for twelve years before joining Nacho Duato’s Compañia Nacional de Danza in Madrid as a dancer, ballet master and assistant artistic director. He later worked as a rehearsal director for The Lyon Opera Ballet, and then as a concept designer and show director at Disneyland, Paris.
    Following its Joyce Theater’s engagement, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will conclude its 25th Anniversary tour with appearances at the Wolf Trap Festival, Vienna, VA (June 10); and with a week of performance at the Jacob’s Pillow Festival, Lee, MA (August 19-24). In the fall, the company will be seen at the Lied Center, Lawrence, KS (October 4); Kingsbury Hall, Salt Lake City, UT (October 7); Memorial Auditorium, Stanford, CA (October 10-11); Irvine Barclay Theatre, Irvine, CA (October 15-18); and at St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA (November 1). Next, Hubbard Street will travel to Europe with stops in four German cities: Friedrichshafen (November 12-13); Ludswigburg (November 18-19); Furth (November 21-23) and Nuess (November 25) and in Luxembourg (November 28-29).
    At The Joyce Theater, evening curtain times are Tuesday through Saturday at 8pm and Sunday, June 1 at 7:30pm. There are also 2pm matinee performances on both Saturdays and Sundays. Please note: There is no evening performance on Sunday June 8. Tickets are $40 and are available at The Joyce box office, by calling 212-242-0800 or by visiting www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.

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Leadership support for The Joyce Theater's 2002-2003 season has been received from the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.

Generous support for this engagement was provided with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and with private funds from an endowment created by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund to encourage the performances of out-of-town companies at The Joyce Theater.

The Joyce Theater Foundation gratefully acknowledges The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for its generous endowment to support dance performances at The Joyce Theater.

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