Fall Preview 2003

Fall Classical & Dance Calendar

Look ahead: Classical | Opera | Dance

DANCE

The Boyz From Britain
George Piper Dances-a.k.a. the Ballet Boyz-go from hip British TV to the New York stage.

Michael Nunn, 36, and Billy Trevitt, 34, may call themselves “the Ballet Boyz,” but these two renegades seem as comfortable with classics like Sleeping Beauty and Giselle as they do in the avant-garde. Having leapt through the classical canon with the Royal Ballet in London, they took off for Japan’s K Ballet before founding George Piper Dances, in 2001. They’ve awed British TV audiences with their Ballet Boyz documentary series, in which jock straps and bad hair figure prominently. You’d think that, striking out on their own, they’d have trouble drawing collaborators. But at the Joyce this November, they’ll dance fellow Royal Ballet alumnus Christopher Wheeldon’s Mesmerics, scored by Philip Glass. “Choosing repertoire has been relatively easy,” says Trevitt, explaining that their independence means “we can be flexible, traveling to choreographers to fit in with their schedules-you’d be amazed at the people who are prepared to work with you if you go that extra mile.” —Alicia Zuckerman

• Details: George Piper Dances, November 4-9 (Joyce Theater).

A Year To Remember
Three of the city’s most important dance anniversaries collide in one very rich season.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company Twentieth Anniversary
The Kitchen, September 9–20
“Arnie and I came into the dance world in a rebellious way,” Jones says today. “We had something to prove.” Since Zane’s death in 1988, Jones has tirelessly built on their vision. This year, a rare program will re-create early work, including Blauvelt Mountain (A Fiction), Continuous Replay, and Floating the Tongue.

Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theater Forty-fifth Anniversary City Center, starting December 3
The season starts with the ever-popular Revelations and continues with artistic director Judith Jamison’s Hymn; Donald McKayle’s 1959 Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder, a portrait of the men on a chain gang and their dreams; and, by the late master himself, Cry, Night Creature, and Memoria.

George Balanchine’s 100th Birthday
New York City Ballet, starting November 25
Balanchine defined ballet as New York knows it, and NYCB is telling us to “save the year” for regular tributes. Also, stop by the New York Public Library’s centennial exhibit (opening December 3), and in March, keep an eye out for “Wall-to-Wall Balanchine,” a twelve-hour free performance marathon at Symphony Space.

The Best of The Rest

Twyla Tharp Dance
Tony-winning choreographer (Movin’ Out) reinvents her 1970 The One Hundreds with a cast of 100, including writers, artists, and politicians, in a free performance. September 9, Battery Park.

Ballett Frankfurt

Ballett Frankfurt
In American choreographer William Forsythe’s final season at the German company he’s headed for almost twenty years, he presents four U.S. premieres of his works. September 30 and October 2–4, Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Ronald K. Brown/Evidence
Premieres Come Ye, a celebration of the late legend Nina Simone. October 21–26, Joyce Theater.

American Ballet Theatre
Fall season includes the world premiere of Robert Hill’s Dorian, based on Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, and William Forsythe’s workwithinwork, with music by Luciano Berio and Thom Willems. October 22–November 9, City Center.

Reggie Wilson/First & Heel Performance Group
The world premiere of Black Burlesque (revisited) features Trinidad’s Noble Douglas Dance Company and the Zimbabwe-based a cappella group Black Umfolosi, in a project drawing on African, Caribbean, and southern culture. October 22–November 1, Dance Theater Workshop.