JESSICA LANG DANCE
Launches 5th Anniversary Season
Including
Three New York Premieres by Jessica Lang
June 14 – 19 at The Joyce Theater
New York, NY, April 26, 2016 –Jessica Lang Dance, under the artistic direction of choreographer Jessica Lang, will celebrate its 5th Anniversary season with a week-long engagement at The Joyce Theater on
June 14 – 19, 2016, featuring five pieces, including three New York premieres. There will be a post-performance Curtain Chat discussion with Lang and dancers from the company following the performance on June 15.
“Beginning our 5th year at the Joyce is really fitting and meaningful since the company was first formed here as part of a Joyce Theater Artist Residency in 2011,” says Lang. “It was the original seed of opportunity that made JLD possible.”
Jessica Lang Dance members include Clifton Brown*, Patrick Coker, Julie Fiorenza*, John Harnage, Eve Jacobs, Kana Kimura*, Laura Mead, Milan Misko, and Jammie Walker. (*indicates founding members)
Jessica Lang Dance (JLD) is dedicated to creating and performing the work of Jessica Lang. JLD enriches and inspires global audiences by immersing them in the beauty of movement and music. The Company will move into its first home, the Jessica Lang Dance Center, in September. The new Center, located in Long Island City, Queens, will feature professional dance studios and a school offering classes and workshops for all ages and abilities, reflecting Lang’s belief in the importance of education.
*Solo Bach (2008), a New York premiere, is a solo work set to Partita No. 3 in E Major, Gavotte and Rondeau by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Among the Stars (2010), was originally commissioned by Texas International Theatrical Arts Society (TITAS), with music by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
*Thousand Yard Stare (2015), a New York premiere generously underwritten by Geoff Fallon, co-commissioned by Iowa’s Des Moines Performing Arts, honors wounded veterans and those affected by war. The piece, set to Beethoven’s late string quartet, was voted “Best of 2015” by the Chicago Sun-Times when it was previewed at the Harris Theater Center in Chicago. ”
*Sweet Silent Thought (2016), a New York premiere, is inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnets and set to original music by Jakub Ciupinski. Sweet Silent Thought commemorates the 400-year anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
i.n.k. (2011), set to a commissioned score by Jakub Ciupinski, was inspired by Japanese visual artist Shinichi Maruyama’s work entitled KUSHO. i.n.k. was the first piece Lang choreographed for her new company, JLD in 2011; it was created with the support of The Joyce Theater Artist Residency program.
ABOUT JESSICA LANG DANCE
Jessica Lang Dance formed in 2011, following choreographer Jessica Lang’s receipt of a Joyce Theater Artist Residency supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Company has had rapid success performing at renowned venues and festivals throughout the country, and its performances have been named among the best dance events of the year by major publications in Dallas, Chicago and Boston.
JLD performed a rare two-week run of The Wanderer at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 2015, marking the company’s third Pillow season since its company debut at Festival 2012. In November 2015, JLD made its critically acclaimed Chicago debut with Tesseracts of Time, co-commissioned by the Harris Theater, the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial and the Society for the Performing Arts, featuring a set by world-renowned architect Steven Holl. The upcoming 2016/17 touring season will be the largest undertaking for the company to date. Presenting venues include the Dallas Winspear Opera House, Kauffman Center in Kansas City, the Meany Center in Seattle, the Music Center in Los Angeles, Celebrity Series in Boston, Society for Performing Arts in Houston, with many more to be announced. www.jessicalangdance.com
JESSICA LANG: Artistic Director
Jessica Lang is a choreographer and the artistic director of Jessica Lang Dance. Hailed as “a master of visual composition” by Dance Magazine, Lang seamlessly incorporates striking design elements and transforms classical ballet language into artfully crafted, emotionally engaging contemporary works. Since 1999, Lang has created more than 92 works for commissions on companies worldwide including Birmingham Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Japan, Joffrey Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, among many others. American Ballet Theatre has presented her work at the Metropolitan Opera House. She has received commissions from the Dallas Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum for its Works and Process series. Lang received outstanding acclaim for her directorial debut and choreography of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater at the 2013 Glimmerglass Opera Festival.
Lang was a New York City Center Fellow for 2015 and the recipient of a prestigious 2014 Bessie Award. Lang’s work has also been performed by numerous educational institutions including The Juilliard School, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, The Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, among others and for American Ballet Theatre, she was part of the founding faculty of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School where she taught until 2014.
In 2016, Jessica continues to tour and create on JLD, while being in demand as a choreographer with Ballet and Opera companies all over the world. In the 2016-17 season, Lang will create three world premieres for Birmingham Royal Ballet (May premiere of Wink), Pacific Northwest Ballet (August premiere) and a major NYC-based ballet company yet to publically announce (October premiere). Ballet West (Lyric Pieces), The National Ballet of Japan (Escaping the Weight of Darkness), Orlando Ballet (To Familiar Spaces in Dream), and Cincinnati Ballet (A Solo in Nine Parts) will all perform her work this season. In the fall, Lang is also choreographing for San Francisco Opera’s production of AIDA, Directed by Francesca Zambello. www.jessicalangchoreographer.com.
Jessica Lang Dance will perform on June 14 and 15 at 7:30 pm; June 16 and 17 at 8 pm; June 18 at 2 and 8 pm; and June 19 at 2 pm. Tickets start at $10 and can be arranged 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. For more info, please visit Joyce.org.
Ticket prices are subject to change.
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