2007 New York Season

April 17–21, 2007

Three premieres:
Dvořák Serenade
Little Rhapsodies
Love's Stories
Plus guest performance of Recordare

by the Limón Dance Comany

NYU Skirball Center

for the Performing Arts

The Lar Lubovitch Dance Company celebrates its 39th year with a week-long engagement at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, April 17–21, 2007.  Following a critically-praised season at the Skirball Center in November 2005, the company now returns with two programs – featuring a pair of world premieres (Little Rhapsodies and Dvorak Serenade in E), one company premiere (Lubovitch’s acclaimed Love's Stories from 2005), and a guest performance by the Limón Dance Company in Lubovitch’s 2005 work Recordare.

Recognized as one of this country’s leading modern dance choreographers, Lar Lubovitch brings his internationally renowned Lar Lubovitch Dance Company to the Skirball Center for five performances this spring.  Lubovitch’s rich movement language is imbued with a poetic lyricism, formal rigor and eloquence that stems from a pure dance intellect and clarity of form.  His highly sophisticated formal structures meld seamlessly in and out of action, creating texture and mood through the dancing body in time and space. Noted for his keen musical sensibility, Lubovitch draws from a variety of musical styles from classical to jazz to rock and other contemporary sources. Dance Magazine writes, “Lubovitch continues to be among the world’s most musical makers of dance, investing his work with a compelling lyricism …harmonic and contrapuntal musical nuance inhabit his movements.”

The company’s Skirball Center season includes the world premiere of Little Rhapsodies, a trio for three men that features Rasta Thomas (the lead in the U.S. premiere of Elemental Brubeck during the company’s 2005 season).  Set to music by Robert Schumann and performed live by concert pianist
Pedja Muzijevic, Little Rhapsodies blends a fierce athleticism with a playful and impassioned sensitivity for human interaction. 
The new Dvorak Serenade in E is a full company work set to Antonín Dvorak’s “Serenade for Strings in E”.  A virtuosic tableaux, this highly-stylized romantic work sets sculptural movement patterns within a layered, sweeping structure that continually dissolves and rebuilds.

The season also includes the company premiere of Love's Stories, set to a suite of American standards as interpreted by jazz vocalist Kurt Elling. Created in 2005, and originally performed by Lubovitch partner company Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Love's’ Stories evokes a moody, sensual world marked by lush physicality and unabashed, underlying passion. 

Joining the 2007 season is the Limón Dance Company in Lubovitch’s critically acclaimed Recordare. Created in 2005 as an homage to José Limón, Recordare draws from the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration, creating a vibrant and colorful rendering of ceremonial aspects of this ancient ritual. Set to an eclectic score by contemporary composer Elliot Goldenthal, Recordare blends fragments of folkloric dances with Lubovitch’s signature wit and formal movement language, capturing the vivid flavor and mystery of this spiritual holiday.    

The company of 13 dancers includes: Jonathan Alsberry, Jay Franke, Charlie Neshyba-Hodges, Drew Jacoby, Charlaine Katsuyoshi, Marty Lawson, Karen More, Scott Rink, Kevin Scarpin, Kate Skarpetowska, Sean Stewart, Harumi Terayama, and Rasta Thomas.

Performances are April 17–21, 2007 (Tuesday–Saturday at 8:00pm), as follows:  Program A – Love's Stories, Little Rhapsodies and Dvorak Serenade in E (Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday).  Program B – Recordare, Little Rhapsodies and Dvorak Serenade in E plus excerpts from Love's Stories (Thursday and Friday).

Performances are at New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South, New York.  Tickets are $45 / $35 ($12 NYU students; $20 other students and seniors) and can be purchased in person at the box office of the Skirball Center, by calling Ticket Central at 212.279.4200, or online at www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu.  The season includes a Gala performance on Friday, April 20. Tickets for the Gala are priced at $250, $500 and $1000.  The Honorary Committee for this special event includes: F. Murray Abraham, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Dave Brubeck, Dick Button, Mihail Chemiakin, Constantin Costa-Gavras, Robin Cousins, Kurt Elling, Dorothy Hamill, Bill Irwin, Wynton Marsalis, Terrence McNally and Bernadette Peters.  For Gala tickets or more information, call the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company at 212.221.7909.

As a part of the Skirball season, the company will present a student concert on Thursday April 19 at 12:00pm.  For more information about this event, call 212.221.7909 or e-mail frere@lubovitch.org.

Other Company highlights for 2007 include:
American Ballet Theatre’s revival of Lar Lubovitch’s Othello at the MET, May 22–24, 2007.
ABT recently performed the season premiere of Lubovitch’s full-length Othello in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center Opera House (January 11-14), as part of the “Shakespeare in Washington” festival.  Following the New York performances at the Met, ABT will perform Othello in Los Angeles (July 13-15) as part of its 2007 engagement at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Created in 1997, Othello is a co-production of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet.  Noted as one of Lubovitch’s most gripping works to date, Othello was described by The San Francisco Examiner at the time of its debut as “a milestone in the history of dance in this country.”  This year’s revival of Othello continues a long history of collaboration between the Lubovitch Company and ABT, whose repertoire also includes nine other works by Lubovitch, such as Meadow (set on ABT in 1999 and revived for the company’s fall 2006 season at City Center), A Brahms Symphony and “…smile with my heart.”

The world premiere of Lar Lubovitch’s Cryptoglyph by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
Cryptoglyph includes a vocal score by Meredith Monk and marks Lubovitch’s third company work to be
set on Hubbard Street (the first being Love Stories; the second, the central duet from Concerto Six Twenty-Two).  Cryptoglyph will be performed at the Harris Theater in Chicago, April 11-22, 2007.

The launch of the Chicago Dancing Festival.A native of Chicago, Lubovitch is eager to develop audiences for dance in that city while at the same time increasing the visibility of Chicago as a dance destination.  To that end, he has recently founded the Chicago Dancing Company, which will introduce the Chicago Dancing Festival this summer.  The first Festival, a one night, free-to-the-public celebration of American Dance, will take place on August 22, 2007 in the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.  The event will feature Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet and Muntu Dance Theater, as well as other renowned dance companies and artists, including dancers from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Florida, San Francisco Ballet and more. The Chicago Dancing Festival is co-produced by the Chicago Dancing Company, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) and the City of Chicago Millennium Park Events.

For more information about the company, please visit:  www.lubovitch.org.

Supplementary information is attached.

For press information and/or to receive a press kit, please call 212.633.0016.  Digital images are available on request.

Supplemental background
Lar Lubovitch founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968 and has created more than 100 dances for the company.  Based in New York City, the company has performed in nearly every state in the country, as well as throughout the world.  Dances created by the company have also been performed by many other major companies, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Royal Danish Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet.  Lubovitch’s dance Artemis, based on a Greek myth, was commissioned by the Cultural Olympics, and premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House.  His three-act ballet Othello (an unprecedented three-way collaboration among the Lubovitch company, ABT and San Francisco Ballet) also premiered at the Met to great acclaim in 1997.  Othello was subsequently broadcast throughout the U.S. on PBS’s “Great Performances” and was nominated for an Emmy Award.  The company’s dance for film also includes Fandango (winner of an International Emmy Award) and My Funny Valentine for the Robert Altman film The Company, (for which Lubovitch was nominated for an American Choreography Award).  Mr. Lubovitch has also made a notable contribution to choreography in the field of ice-dancing, having created many dances for Olympic skaters John Curry, Dorothy Hamill, Peggy Fleming, Brian Orser, Jo-Jo Starbuck and Paul Wylie, as well as two one-hour ice-dances for television: The Sleeping Beauty (PBS) and The Planets (A&E) (nominated for an International Emmy Award, a Cable Ace Award and a Grammy Award).  His award-winning work on Broadway includes Into the Woods (Tony Award nomination), The Red Shoes (Astaire Award) and the Tony Award-winning revival of The King and I.  In 2004 he was honored with the Elan Award for his outstanding choreography.

Skirball Center for the Performing Arts provides a large-scale, professional performance space for university productions and events and live professional performances from around the world.  The 860-seat theater (which opened in October 2003) hosts the only major university-based professional performing arts presenting program in Manhattan.  The Center presents theater, dance, music, music theater, and opera, solo performance, comedy, video, film, and public affairs events.  Its mission is to serve the NYU community while building young audiences (age 18 – 40) for live performance by reaching out to them with a broad range of world-class, forward-thinking work at low ticket prices.  For a complete listing of events happening at the Skirball Center, go to www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu.

Special Guests Limón Dance Company:  Acclaimed for its dramatic expression, technical mastery and expansive, yet nuanced movement, the Limón Dance Company illustrates the timelessness of José Limón’s work and vision.  Founded in 1946 by José Limón and Doris Humphrey, the company is now led by Carla Maxwell, who worked closely with Limón before becoming Artistic Director in 1978.  The company’s repertory, which balances classic works with commissions from contemporary choreographers, is of an unparalleled breadth, creating unique experiences for audiences around the world.

Guest pianist Pedja Muzijevic:  One of the most versatile pianists, Bosnian-born Pedja Muzijevic has been widely praised for his interpretations of the standard literature and for his imaginative programming.  He has toured extensively as a soloist with orchestras and as a recitalist throughout eastern and western Europe, Great Britain, Canada, the United States, South America and Asia. Director of Music Programming at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City, Pedja Muzijevic made his New York recital debut in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall as a recipient of the Juilliard School's coveted William Petschek Award, and made his Carnegie Hall debut in January this year.  Mr. Muzijevic has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony, the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, Dresden Philharmonic, Shinsei Nihon Orchestra in Tokyo, Orquesta Sinfonica in Montevideo, Zagreb Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Napa Valley Symphony and the Richmond Symphony, among others.

Programs of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company are funded, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Altria, Atlantic Philanthropies, US Trust Company of NY, Irene Diamond Fund, Brooke Garber & Daniel Neidich Fund, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Carl Jacobs Fund, McMullan Family Foundation, Rodgers Family Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, A. Woodner Fund, and numerous additional generous individuals, corporations and foundations.