Last year he explored the music of Ravel; this
year it’s Stravinsky.
Pascal Rioult, renowned as one of the most
musical choreographers of his generation, returns to The Joyce Theater,
April 17-20, with two premieres, each set to Stravinsky, and each
exploring different facets of the composer’s neoclassicism.
The music of choice is "Pulcinella Suite" and "Duo
Concertant." The season program will also feature last year’s
hit, "Bolero," as well as one of his first works, "Harvest."
Joyce Herring is the Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre’s associate
artistic director.
In "Veneziana," an octet, Rioult
reveals the subtle undercurrent of dissonance he discovered beneath
the surface of "Pulcinella Suite’s" 18th century
sound. The music helped herald the early neo-classical movement
at the beginning of the 20th century. While asparkle with the light
and playful spirit of commedia dell’arte suggested by Stravinsky,
"Veneziana" has neither a narrative line, nor the character
of the traditional story. Instead, the dance is an abstraction of
the essence, with a witty nudge at the conventions of the period.
"Black Diamond," set to Stravinsky’s
"Duo Concertant," a duet for two women, has a harder edge
with an emphasis on clarity, technique and the challenge of opposition.
Stravinsky’s exploration of the combined use of seeming opposites--bowed
and percussive instruments--inspired Rioult’s response: a
spare dance marked by dramatic tension.
Last year’s "Bolero," set
to the classic Ravel score, reveals another dimension of Rioult’s
imaginative response to music. The dance accumulates in density
as the music gathers in power, its mechanistic drama intensifying
and then surprising by concluding in a series of suddenly stopped
solos.
The program will also include "Harvest,"
an homage to Jean-Francois Millet, the French pre-Impressionist
painter. Created in 1992, the dance one of Rioult’s first,
celebrates life in the fields of a French farm and is set to music
by Dougie MacLean. It was performed by the Martha Graham Dance Company
during its 1993 City Center season.
Pascal Rioult, who was born in Normandy,
France, earned a Master’s Degree in Science Education from
the University of Paris, and in 1981 was awarded a fellowship from
the French Ministry of Culture to study dance in New York City.
He performed with the companies of May O’Donnell, Paul Sanasardo
and Martha Graham with whom he performed as a principal dancer until
1994. He began choreographing in 1989 while still dancing with Graham,
producing his first concerts at the Theatre of the Riverside Church
in 1991 and 1992. He is the recipient of a 1998 and 2002 Choo-San
Goh Award for Choreography, as well as grants from National Endowment
for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, among numerous
other institutions and foundations.
Following its Joyce Theater engagement,
The Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre will make its debut at The American
Dance Festival in Durham, NC (June 17-18); they will then be seen
at The Florida International Festival in Daytona Beach (June 22-23)
and at CAL Performances at the University of California at Berkeley
(November 7-8).
The opening and closing night curtains at
The Joyce Theater are at 7:30pm; Friday and Saturday evening performances
are at 8pm. There are also 2pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets are $35 and are available at The Joyce Theater box office,
by calling 212-242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater
is located at 175 Eighth Avenue.
###
Major Support of the Pascal Rioult Dance
Theatre’s 2003 New York Season has been provided by: The Florence
Gould Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, The Paul Lepercq
Foundation, Richard Korn, The Grand Marnier Foundation, The National
Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts and
The Choo-San Goh & H. Robert Magee Foundation.
The Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre wishes to express its appreciation
to the Theatre Development Fund for its support of this season.
The 10th Anniversary Revival of "Harvest" was made possible
by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and additional
support from Adrian Borneman and the Harkness Foundation for Dance.
"Veneziana" was commissioned by Richard Korn in memory
of Amy Korn.
Additional funding was provided by a 2002 Choo-San Goh Award for
Choreography from the Choo-San Goh & H. Robert Magee Foundation.
"Black Diamond" was commissioned by The Grand Marnier
Foundation. "Bolero" was co-commissioned by Cal Performances
and The Théâtre de Saint Quentin en Yvelines, France.
Additional funding provided by The Florence Gould Foundation, The
Harkness Foundation for Dance and, in part, by an award from the
National Endowment for the Arts and with public funds from the New
York City Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Challenge Program.
Set underwriting provided by The Grand Marnier Foundation.
BACK
TO TOP
250 West 57th Street Suite
2318 New York NY 10107 USA
T: 212.245.5100 F:212.397.1102 eja@ejassociates.org
www.ejassociates.org
ELLEN JACOBS ASSOCIATES
|