Spring 2023 Brochure

SPRING 2023

Our Spring begins with the long-awaited home season of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, our first since 2014. Live Artery returns in person to showcase the works of our residency artists and curated guests during the performing arts conferences in January. Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist Faye Driscoll’s much anticipated new work premieres in April, as will Touch of RED by Live Feed artist Shamel Pitts | TRIBE. The next edition of the Live Ideas Festival, Planet Justice, co-curated with the Slow Factory, will explore the intersection of climate change, environmental justice, human rights and collective healing. We hope to learn and grow — as an organization, as a community, as artist/citizens, as individuals — and to embody the change we want to see, not as a sacrifice, but as a way forward. In these times of upheaval, both man-made and natural, does Spring still enter with the promise of regeneration, re-membering and renewal? It is not a given. But there is still hope.

–Bill T. Jones & Janet Wong

Cover photo: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company member Nayaa Opong in Curriculum II and portraits at left by Maria Baranova

“I have oscillated between two or more polarities my entire career: love, mortality, and what it means to be human.” -Bill T. Jones

Curriculum II

Tickets start at $40

Curriculum II applies the ideas of Cameroonian historian and political theorist Achille Mbembe, Nigerian-born writer and scholar Louis Chude-Sokei, and Jamaican writer and cultural theorist Sylvia Wynter. Curriculum II explores the historical and persistent connection between race and technology and the pursuit of what is human.

In The Sound of Culture: Diaspora and Black Technopoetics, Louis Chude-Sokei quoted Sylvia Wynter: “The other must be understood as not just that which is oppressed or marginalized or rendered inhuman, subhuman, or animal; it also must be understood ‘as that which is to come.’” A poetic quilt of text, narration as philosophical lecture, live singing, and soundscore.

Jones’s title is an ironic reference to Achille Mbembe’s 2018 interview by the Norwegian journalist Torbjorn Tumyr Nilsen, in which he said “For me, this is a matter of common sense. I am in favor of expanding the archive, reading the different archives of the world critically, each with and against the others. There can’t be any other meaning to a planetary curriculum.” This fertile notion inspired Bill T. Jones to undertake a series of works entitled Curriculum, juxtaposing formal exploration with a range of today’s urgent topics as expansive as Jones’s artistry. The series attempts to embrace formal directness and clarity while allowing it to be intruded upon by word fragments, imagery, and the stuff of Mbembe’s “planetary curriculum.”

Photo by Maria Baranova

LIVE ARTERY

IN THE THEATER

BILL T. JONES/ ARNIE ZANE COMPANY CURRICULUM II

JAN 10-13, 730PM

JAN 14, 2PM

Tickets start at $25, theater/$15, studio

SHAMEL PITTS | TRIBE BLACK HOLE: TRILOGY AND TRIATHLON

JAN 15, 2PM

JAN 16, 730PM Photo

Presented during the annual Association of Performing Arts Professionals conference (APAP), the 2023 edition of Live Artery features the recent work of New York Live Arts residency artists and curated guests. Live Artery will present in-person performances and excerpt showings in the studio and theater at New York Live Arts.

Live Artery has evolved to become a space for artists to network and share their work with presenters from around the world which has led to commissions, tours and the building of long-term relationships.

JOANNA KOTZE 'LECTRIC EYE

JAN 15, 830PM

JAN 16, 2PM

Photo by Maria Baranova

Photo by Maria Baranova

by Adeboye Brothers

IN THE STUDIO (Excerpts and work in progress showings)

FAYE DRISCOLL

JAN 13, 9PM

JAN 14, 1PM

SHAMEL PITTS | TRIBE

JAN 14, 6PM

MX OOPS

JAN 14, 8PM

Photo courtesy of the artist

LACINA COULIBALY

JAN 15, 1PM

Photo courtesy of the artist

JUMATATU M. POE

JAN 15, 3PM

VANESSA ANSPAUGH

JAN 15, 6PM

Photo courtesy of the artist

HOLLAND ANDREWS

JAN 15, 8PM

Photo courtesy of the artist

KYLE MARSHALL CHOREOGRAPHY

JAN 16, 1PM

PEARLYN LII

JAN 16, 3PM

Photo courtesy of the artist

NETTA YERUSHALMY

JAN 16, 6PM

Photo by Maria Baranova

Photo by Tayarisha Poe

Photo by Marina Levitskaya

Photo by Grace Kathryn Landefeld

Photo by Alex Apt

BILL CHATS

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEW SCHOOL

With

Kamilah Forbes, Niegel Smith, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Jacqueline Woodson, and Howard W. French

Tickets Start at $15

This season, the popular Bill Chats series will be presented in partnership with The New School, where Jones has been named a 20222023 Presidential Visiting Scholar.

The New School’s Presidential Visiting Scholars program brings major thinkers of the highest standing to the university to teach unique courses, collaborate on creative or research initiatives, deliver lectures, and participate in public programming and other special projects. As part of this prestigious appointment, Live Arts and The New School will collaborate on a series of events including public conversations, performances, classes, etc, that explore urgent and intersectional questions in these unsettling times, including identity, artist/ citizen, community, climate justice.

JAN 30 7PM WITH KAMILAH FORBES & NIEGEL SMITH OFF-SITE AT THE NEW SCHOOL

FEB 28 7PM WITH REGINALD DWAYNE BETTS AT LIVE ARTS

MAR 21 630PM WITH JACQUELINE WOODSON OFF-SITE AT THE NEW SCHOOL APR 17 7PM WITH HOWARD W. FRENCH AT LIVE ARTS

Bill Chats is supported in part by Partners for New Performance.

HOWARD W. FRENCH

Photo courtesy of the artist

JACQUELINE WOODSON

Photo courtesy of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

REGINALD DWAYNE BETTS

Photo by Mamadi Doumbouya

NIEGEL SMITH

Photo courtesy of the artist

KAMILAH FORBES

Photo by Lelanie Foster

BECOMING: AT HOME IN THE WORLD

@ Meany Center for the Performing Arts

Produced by Meany Center for the Performing Arts (Seattle, WA) in partnership with New York Live Arts

Tickets on sale at meanycenter.org

World-renowned choreographer, dancer, writer and Artistic Director of New York Live Arts Bill T. Jones joins Meany Center this season as a guest curator for this bold new series of events. Featuring five artists working at the cutting edge of their disciplines, the Becoming events are inspired by Jones’ deep interest in “what it takes to be a wellrounded citizen of the world in these fractious times.” “What unites these artists is perhaps a desire to redefine what is and was, to push against the status quo, crack it open and let the light come through.”

No one event will be like any other. The commonality that unites them is work that is intersectional, inclusive and unapologetic in its call for social justice — and the fierce originality of the artists who created it.

ALEXANDER

Photo courtesy of the artist

THE MOTHERBOARD SUITE WITH SAUL WILLIAMS, MARIA BAUMAN, JADE SOLOMON CURTIS, KAYLA FARRISH, MARJANI FORTÉ-SAUNDERS, D. SABELA GRIMES, JASMINE HEARN, AND SHAMEL PITTS APR 1, 2023

Photo by Maria Baranova

Photo by Maria Baranova

Untitled New Work

Tickets start at $25

Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist

Faye Driscoll’s newest work is a multi-sensory performance-sculpture made of bodies, sounds, scents, liquids and objects. Ten people (dancers/singers/crew) enact a glacially morphing tableau vivant on a moving raft-like stage. Their voices generate a score that crescendos and resonates as they clutch, careen and cleave, in a space too small to contain them, spilling off the edges. The audience embanks the performers, close enough to smell the sweat and feel the steam of the central, spiraling scenes. The work is symphonically active and luminously living: a breathing, leaking, choreography of micro events taking place inside a momentum thrusting from just beyond the perceivable. It is a choreography of presence and attention, a sensitization to bodies in a catastrophic state of dependency. Driscoll and her team of collaborators ask: How do we feel the impact of events moving through us which are so much larger? Yet are animating and activating our bodies all the time? How do we get closer to the impact? Can we slow down enough to feel the dust, hurt, howl, absence, spill, plume?

Apr 13 Stay Late Conversation

Untitled

The

made possible

is commissioned by New York Live Arts as part of the Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist Program, which is made possible with lead funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and has been named for lead donors Jon Stryker and New York Live Arts board Vice-chair Slobodan Randjelović; and co-commissioned by Theater der Welt and The Joyce Theater Foundation’s Artist Residency Center, made possible by lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional commissioning support provided by Wexner Center for the Arts and members of Faye Driscoll’s Commissioners Circle.

work is

with generous support from New York State Council on the Arts, Café Royal Cultural Foundation and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and developed with residency support from Carolina Performing Arts at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University, Pillow Lab at Jacob’s Pillow, and Dancers’ Workshop.

The Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist (RCA) awardee receives two years of full-time salary, healthcare benefits, full-time access to dedicated office space during the entire residency period, commissioning funds, a technical theater residency and fully-produced production. Since the creation of the program in 2011, artists selected were Yasuko Yokoshi , Kyle Abraham (MacArthur Genius Fellow 2013), Okwui Okpokwasili (MacArthur Genius Fellow 2018), RoseAnne Spradlin , and Raja Feather Kelly

Photo by Maria Baranova

“Utterly original work. It doesn’t look like anything you’ve ever seen before, nor can you imagine thinking it up.” - The New York Times

SHAMEL PITTS | TRIBE

Magazine

TOUCH OF RED

Tickets start at $25

Touch of RED is a new evening-length performance work consisting of a duet for two men inside a contemporary ring. The work investigates how Black men can allow themselves to soften, even under extreme pressure and heat. The confined space references a futuristic and voyeuristic gladiator entertainment site in which a heat path between the two performers builds, not out of aggression or combat, but within an enhanced electrifying effeminacy that heals.

Bold. Boiled. Blood.

APR 27-29

Touch of RED is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow, YoungArts, Miami Light Project, UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, New York Live Arts Live Feed Creative Residency Program, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and NPN. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, Office of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). Touch of RED is also made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Mellon Foundation; developmental support and the world premiere presentation is made possible by co-presenters Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) and Jacob’s Pillow. We would also like to thank the Consulate General of Israel in New York, Trust for Mutual Understanding, GIBNEY, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, and Artis. Bubble residency guidance provided by Duke Dang and medical consultant Dr. Wendy Ziecheck. For more information: www.npnweb.org

Additional TRIBE commissioning, development and core operating support is provided by the Mellon Foundation; Arison Arts Foundation; the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; Dance/NYC’s Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by the Howard Gilman Foundation and Ford Foundation; 92Y Harkness Dance Center; National Performance Network (NPN) Creation, Development & Artist Engagement Fund Project. The Creation, Development & Artist Engagement Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency); New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Photo by Alex Apt

"So often I felt like my vulnerability and sensitivity and fragility was a weakness. But I wish to share with people, particularly other Black boys and men, that there is power within vulnerability"

- Shamel Pitts, DANCE

FRESH TRACKS

New Works

Tickets Start at $20

This season’s Fresh Tracks artists present their new work in a shared evening in the theater. Fresh Tracks Residency & Performance program is a season-long residency for emerging movement-based artists in support of new work creation and professional development. This season marks the 58th year of Fresh Tracks, which was a signature program of Dance Theater Workshop to bring new choreographic artistry to the forefront.

The Fresh Tracks Residency & Performance program is supported in part by Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Partners for New Performance.

KRISTEL BALDOZ

Photo courtesy of the artist

MALCOLM X BETTS

Photo courtesy of the artist

MIGUEL ALEJANDRO CASTILLO

Photo courtesy of the artist

JADE CHARON

Photo courtesy of the artist

ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ

Photo courtesy of the artist

LIVE IDEAS 2023: Planet Justice Are you here

for it? *

*It: Social & environmental justice for collective liberation. Racial justice and human rights for all living beings on Mother Earth.

Co-curated with Slow Factory, a nonprofit working at the intersection of climate justice and human rights for collective liberation by changing narratives, systems, and culture.

MAY 17-21

Dances

by Very Young Choreographers

$10 Student/$15 Adult Tickets

A mélange of witty and intriguing original dances created and performed by students of Ellen Robbins, ages 8-18. The dances can be hilarious, dramatic, lyrical, or abstract, but always surprising. This showcase is a not to be missed opportunity to inspire children by exposing them to live performances created and performed by their peers.

On January 28 @ 7:30pm, Alumni of Dances by Very Young Choreographers, will present works by dancers who studied with Ellen as children. Spanning three decades, they are: Marina Chan, Chanda Cragnotti, Morgan Cragnotti, Saskia Globig with Michael Ipsen, Krista Jansen, Alison Moy, Jessica Poletti Love, Amelia Sanders, and Lou Sydel.

NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program Exhibition

Initiated in 2019, In/Between is an annual immigrant artist group exhibition curated by artists Yanira Castro and Martita Abril. Developed in partnership with New York Live Arts and New York Foundation for the Art’s (NYFA) Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, In/Between supports and showcases the work of immigrant artists from the NYFA program by exhibiting their work and sharing it with the public, thereby increasing visibility and conversation around their work. In/Between reflects on the multiplicity of immigrant artists’ experiences, identities, practices, and politics, while also speaking to the liminal experience of home/residence/community.

Photo by Julie Lemberger

Live Arts’ Pride is an epic LGBTQIA+ pride extravaganza! NYC’s queer nightlife and art scene come together under one roof to serve up the city’s most colorful and fierce performance, music, queer marketplace, installations and more for a multi-space, nonstop celebration for the ages.

JUN 25

Lead support from Tito’s Handmade Vodka

Papi Juice, Photo by Santiago Felipe

Photo by Maria Baranova

LIVE CORE

DONATE

Enrollment in Live Core is $100 for a full year of unlimited access to the program’s offerings, including the Fiscal Sponsorship Program, discounts on tickets and workshops, professional development services, and more!

For more information on joining Live Core, please visit newyorklivearts.org or contact Bianca Bailey at bbailey@newyorklivearts.org.

Artists play a distinct role in our communities, especially in times of upheaval and change. We are honored to play a small part in ensuring artists are supported, seen, and heard. Live Arts is sustained by the generosity of individuals, and your presence and participation is vital to our ability to continue the important work ahead of us.

Your tax-deductible donation of any amount provides vital resources to artists at every career stage in the form of commissioning funds, residencies, studio space, and professional services.

We thank our Trustees, Patrons Circle, Advisory Council, and Members for their generous support.

To learn about ways to support New York Live Arts and the artists we serve please visit newyorklivearts.org/support.

Are you an artist working to connect with larger audiences and raise funds to support your work?

Photos (above) by Jesse Anders and Rebecca Smeyne

SUPPORT

Support for New York Live Arts is provided by the Arnhold Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ed Bradley Family Foundation, The Brant Foundation, Inc., Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, Dance/NYC, Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Marta Heflin Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Alex Katz Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Alice Lawrence Foundation, Samuel M. Levy Family Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Muriel Pollia Foundation, National Performance Network, New England Foundation for the Arts, NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund in the New York Community Trust, One World Fund, The Poss Family Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, The Semel Charitable Foundation, Scherman Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Tides Foundation

Corporate support for New York Live Arts includes Con Edison, Google, Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Public support for New York Live Arts is from Humanities New York, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and special thanks to Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and the New York State Council on the Arts with support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature Dance/NYC’s New York City Dance Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program, made possible by Mellon Foundation.

The creation of new work by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company is made possible in part by the company’s Partners in Creation: Anonymous (2), Anne Delaney, Zoe Eskin, Eleanor Friedman, Ruth & Stephen Hendel, Michael P.N.A. Hormel in Loving Memory of Jim Hormel, Suzanne Karpas, Ellen Poss, Jane Bovingdon Semel, in memory of Linda G. Shapiro, Slobodan Randjelović & Jon Stryker.

We thank our Partners for New Performance for supporting the Live Feed, Fresh Tracks, Live Ideas, Open Spectrum, Bill Chats, and humanities programming: Alexes Hazen, Linda Hirschson, Julie Orlando, Andrea Rosen, Nina Stricker, Robyn Trani.