the joyce theater

Finis: Falling In Love With Dance

December 31, 2012 by 4dancers

by Christopher Duggan

One of my very first jobs in New York City was working at the box office at The Joyce Theater. Ballet Hispanico performed that season. The company danced Good Night Paradise by Ramon Oller, and I was totally taken away. It swept me off my feet.

It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it now, because that’s when I really fell in love with dance. There was something so sexy and romantic and ordinary at the same time. The dance showed that human connection you make when you bump into each other in the kitchen—when you’re going for a napkin and the other person is throwing away the coffee grinds. There’s something that dance does that no other art can. I stood in the back of the audience every night to watch.

And now I have the privilege of capturing some of the magic in dance through photography. Here are some photos from Ballet Hispanico’s recent New York premiere of Danzón, choreographed by Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro at The Apollo Theater, performed with live music by the Paquito D’Rivera Ensemble. (Danzón was originally created on Luna Negra, a company I photographed at the Pillow last summer.)

DANY (Dance Art New York) Studios Get A Facelift

November 28, 2012 by 4dancers

dany lobby — DANY Lobby Before, photo by Cathryn Lynn

Interior designer Vicente Wolf recently took part in a pro-bono redesign of several areas of the DANY (Dance Art New York) Studios (305 West 38th St.) which is operated by The Joyce Theater Foundation. Wolf collaborated with Eric Paeper, a recent MFA graduate of the New York School of Interior Design on the project, which features 11 studios.

The redesign incorporates things such as an updated color scheme (lacks, grays, and whites, with vibrant pear green highlights), better lighting, and stencil work featuring the DANY Studios name (as well as the names of dance companies) on the walls. New furniture and decor was donated by companies such as Crate and Barrel, and the entire project was documented by SPACEStv channel.

Wolf, a lifelong patron of the arts and one of Architectural Digest’s AD100 designers, was approached by a friend that is affiliated with The Joyce Theater Foundation to help give the space a much-needed facelift. 4dancers corresponded with the designer via e-mail and asked a few questions about the design process…

There are so many projects that you could have chosen to lend your talents to–what was it specifically that drew you to working with the space at DANY?

My great respect for dance and the amount of energy that dancers put into art needed to be rewarded with a wonderful space where they can relax after a hard day of rehearsal.

What did you want the space to feel like when it was finished?

I wanted it to have a uplifting sense of comfort and design.

Can you highlight a few of the design elements that you think transformed the space the most?

The paint donated by PPG gave it a facelift; the convex mirrors which alter the space of its reflections; painting the wood, which helped to unify the space; the clean lines of the upholstery that blended well with the existing floors.

Take a look at the space now:

The official “unveiling” of the new studios was October 25, 2012.

new york dance space — New furniture helps update the DANY space

DANYphoto1 — A new color scheme modernizes the look and brightens the atmosphere

Finis: Gotham Dance Festival

June 30, 2012 by 4dancers

by Christopher Duggan

My wife Nel and I have been filming and photographing dance for years, and we can’t seem to get enough of the dance festival experience. Festivals offer a different kind of excitement that you don’t always see during one company’s week-long run in the theater. They’re jam-packed with different dancers, styles and choreographic voices over a short amount of time. With so much happening, the festival set-up creates a huge buzz that keeps everyone excited and on their toes. It’s a fun vibe, and it seems to encourage new audiences – fresh faces that are game for seeing something new and being exposed to art they aren’t familiar with.

Behind the scenes, I get to see how that variety is created, and sometimes, I see the same dancers and choreographers on different nights with completely different programs. It shows how incredibly diverse the dance world is, how much talent exists in the field and how lucky we are as fans to have access to it all.

Gotham Dance Festival is getting better each year, and I’m always psyched to photograph the companies Producer Ken Maldonado brings to The Joyce Theater. This year, there was a one-night only celebration featuring choreography by a fantastic group of U.S.-based female choreographers to benefit Gotham Arts Exchange. The show included: BalletX performing the work of Jodie Gates, Jane Comfort & Company, Loni Landon, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company, Kate Weare Company, Pam Tanowitz Dance, and a special encore by Monica Bill Barnes & Company.

The festival also included California-based BODYTRAFFIC and Gallim Dance. Nel and I first saw Gallim perform Blush at White Wave Festival in Brooklyn, and we’ve been hooked ever since. In fact, Nel and I have worked with a lot of these choreographers and dancers over the years. We are so proud to see them achieving such great success and filling The Joyce Theater, and it was really fun to share this festival experience with them.

And now I’d like to share it with you…

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