Fall 2016 Dance Discussions & Performances in NYC
By Alison Durkee
From the New York City Ballet to the Broadway greats, New York City is home to some of the world’s most incredible dance offerings. Here are our picks of the fall’s best dance performances and discussions.
Grupo Corpo, photographed by Jose Luiz Pederneiras
City Center’s Fall for Dance festival features five different programs of works by choreographers and companies from all over the world. Participants in this year’s festival, which will run from September 26-October 8, include tapper Ayodele Casel, Nederlands Dance Theater, Hong Kong Ballet, and world premieres of new pieces by STREB Extreme Action and British choreographer Wayne MacGregor, whose piece will be performed by renowned ballet dancers Alessandra Ferri and Herman Cornejo. City Center’s dance-filled fall season will also include three programs from Damian Woetzel’s Vail International Dance Festival (November 3-6) and Russian ballerina Natalia Osipova & Artists (November 10-12).
Ballet fans, of course, also know to also head to Lincoln Center, where the New York City Ballet will kick off fall on September 20. Their season will include such classic Balanchine works as Firebird, Jewels, Stars and Stripes, and Serenade, along with a program of new works by 21st Century Choreographers.
NY Quadrille, photo by Len Prince
New York City’s other major home for dance is The Joyce Theater, whose fall dance offerings include NY Quadrille (September 27-October 9), which will transform the Joyce and feature programs by four contemporary choreographers that span all four sides of the theater; Danish Dance Theatre (October 13-16), Denmark’s leading contemporary dance company; Paris-based choreographer Jérôme Bel (October 20-22); and renowned contemporary company Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company (October 25-November 6).
Also this fall is a series of performances by companies in the CUNY Dance Initiative, which takes place throughout the city. Companies performing this fall include Caleb Teicher & Company (September 29), who blend traditional American dance forms ranging from contemporary to tap; tap company Apartment33 (September 30); and Dzul Dance (September 24), who blend dance with aerial and circus arts. Jazz dance fans can check out the New York Jazz Choreography Project’s fall program. Taking place on October 22 and 23, the performance includes pieces by choreographers and companies that span all styles of jazz, from musical theatre and swing dance to contemporary jazz.
For dance lovers who want to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes, this fall will also feature a number of discussions with dancers and choreographers. On September 20, Dance NYC will host a Town Hall discussion on Disability, Race, and the Practice of Dance. Part of a larger conversation series about the intersection of disability and dance, the town hall will explore how systemic forces of oppression have affected dance practice and scholarship.
Rules of the Game
Over on the Upper East Side, the Guggenheim Museum’s Works and Process series will return this fall, featuring dance-based discussions and performances by Kate Weare Company (September 18), Jonah Bokaer and Daniel Arsham’s Rules of the Game (October 31), and Nederlands Dans Theater (November 15). A few blocks away, the 92nd Street Y’s Harkness Dance Center will continue their Fridays at Noon series of discussions and performances, with sessions focusing on Flamenco dance; the male dancer and choreographer; Jean Erdman, a dancer and choreographer who explored mythical themes with her husband Joseph Campbell; and tap dancer Kazu Kumagai.
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