From dance to opera to multimedia performance art, this spring the city plays host to performances sure to suit any taste, no matter how classical or avant-garde. Touring companies and artists from around the country and around the globe take the stage, in world premiere performances and restagings of old favorites.
Listings
Ivy Baldwin Dance premieres “It’s Only Me,” a theatrical production that explores the animal side of human nature. Scored by Justin Jones, “It’s Only Me” plays Dance New Amsterdam March 28-31. dnadance.org
Multimedia artists Kelley Walker and Seth Price, both known for sampling images from popular culture, premiere a new collaborative at the Kitchen. Expect performance fused with video elements. March 29. thekitchen.org
The New Dance Alliance presents the 21st Performance Mix Festival, a blend of dance, performance, video and live music from artists around the world. March 29-April 1 at the Joyce Soho. joyce.org
The Metropolitan Opera celebrates its 40th season at Lincoln Center with a gala event. Fully-staged performances include selections from “La Bohème,” “Manon,” and “L’Elisir d’Amore” by the opera’s glamorous stars Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón. April 3. metoperafamily.org
Ballet Memphis makes its debut at the Joyce Theater, with the performance of five new works including “The Awakening,” choreographed by Julia Adams and “The Naughty Boy” by Trey McIntyre. Other works blend classic technique and contemporary tastes with dances to hip-hop, spoken word and music by Roy Orbison. April 3-8. joyce.org
Tami Stronach’s internationally-flavored multimedia performances bring narrative drama, art and design to dance, including the new performance, “No. Yes, Maybe…can I have some water?” and “Pinchas the Fish-People and the Great Flood,” the biblical story retold from the perspective ofmermaids. At Dance New Amsterdam. April 12-15. dnadance.org.
Dance on a Shoestring at the New York Theatre Ballet, gives new, emerging and established choreographers and dancers a chance to try out new ideas. And with a relaxed atmosphere and reduced-price tickets, newcomers (and children) are invited to try out dance. April 13 and 14.
To celebrate the corps’s 30th anniversary, the Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg brings Russian favorites “Anna Karenina,” “Russian Hamlet” and “Red Giselle” for a three-week stay at the New York City Center. The Ballet will also perform the American premiere of “The Seagull,” an adaptation of the play by Anton Chekhov, set to the music of Rachmaninoff. April 13-29. nycitycenter.org
The Nothing Festival at Dance Theater Workshop, started when curator Tere O’Connor asked dance artists to create a new work from nothing – no music, no story, no explanations. Eight stepped up to the challenge, including dance duo HUACK, Luciana Achugar and Dean Moss. Post-performance discussions and panels will explore the role of marketing in dance. April 18-21, 25-28. dtw.org
While the acclaimed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Company is out on tour, the young artists of the Ailey II dance troupe perform “Ailey Highlights,” a selection of favorites choreographed by the late master. April 19 and 21. alvinailey.org
Throughout April, Dance New Amsterdam honors women as part of Leading Ladies Month. The celebration culminates with “OB.ject-ob.JECT,” a collaborative, multimedia event that mixes dance, theater, music and new media. Classic and modern Indian dance from Preeti Vasudevan/Thresh and experimental work from Jesse Johnson and Hana van der Kolk are just some of the program’s dynamic productions. April 19-22. dnadance.org
On the centennial of Lincoln Kirstein’s birth, his organization, New York City Ballet, presents an all-new production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” NYCB Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins created the lavish staging, which honors Kirstein, the Ballet and the School of American Ballet, which Kirstein co-founded with the legendary George Balanchine. The Spring Gala and Premiere is on May 1, with performances through May 13.
The Metropolitan Opera presents the first new production of Christoph Willibald von Gluck’s early tour de force, “Orpheo ed Euridice,” in 35 years. Young stars David Daniels and Maija Kovalevska shine as the title pair of Greek lovers, under the direction and choreography of virtuoso Mark Morris, with costumes by Isaac Mizrahi. May 2- 12. metoperafamily.org
The future of New York dance performs “The Young Moderns” at the 92nd Street Y. The new work was choreographed by high school dancers selected through an application process judged by dance professionals. May 6. 92Y.org
The Danspace Project presents “Food For Thought,” three evenings of new work curated by Iréne Hultman, Jonah Bokaer and Gina Gibney. The performances feature young local talents and proceeds benefit the AIDS service center with reduced admission for those who bring two canned food items. May 8-10. danspaceproject.org
Moses Pendleton and his company, MOMIX, have been twisting their bodies into unlikely, and surreal, contortions since the early 1980s. Using light, props and a healthy dose of humor, his “dancer-illusionists” transform the human body. Now, the company brings the best from the past 25 years to the Joyce Theater. May 22-June 10. joyce.org
The tragic love story of “Romeo and Juliet” is performed by the American Ballet Theater, starring Xiomara Reyes and Jose Manuel Carreño as Shakespeare’s pair of star-crossed lovers and choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan. June 18-23. abt.org
SPOTLIGHT
The New York City Opera’s season features the Giacomo Puccini masterpiece “Madama Butterfly.” The backbone of the company’s repertoire, classic Italian opera meets traditional Japanese music in this story of an American naval officer’s tragic romance with a woman in Japan. With tickets starting at $25, this simplified staging is sure to woo opera newcomers. March 11-April 22. nycopera.org
Photo: "Madame Butterfly" by the New York City Opera. Photo credit: Carol Rosegg
