Michelle Dorrance and 7 Other Dance Events on Tap at the Guggenheim
Though New York City’s Guggenheim Museum is principally a destination for modern- and contemporary-art enthusiasts, its dance programming seems to be getting beefier each season. This week, details were released for two site-specific events we’re practically drooling over. Tapper extraordinaire Michelle Dorrance and American Ballet Theatre pyrotechnic wonderboy Daniil Simkin will perform in the museum’s iconic rotunda. Though the commissions won’t happen until 2017, we can’t wait to see how they use the towering, circular, multi-level space designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Here’s a look at what you can expect dance-wise at the Guggenheim within the next year—and how you can relive past events online.
Michelle Dorrance is at it again. Photo by Ian Douglas, Courtesy Dorrance.
Plan Ahead:
As part of the Guggenheim’s Works & Process Rotunda Projects, Dorrance is choreographing a piece that will turn the space’s spiraling ramp into a stage. Picture tap dancers scattered throughout the ramp, and just think how those percussive rhythms will resonate. Premieres February 16, 2017.
Simkin’s self-directed side troupe INTENSIO will perform in the same space in a work by Alejandro Cerrudo, but you’ll have to shift your perspective for this one. The audience will be dispersed along the ramp so they can view the dance from above. Special projections will accompany the choreography and appear on the rotunda’s floor and white spaces. Premieres September 2017.
Coming Soon:
The Guggenheim’s regular Works & Process series, which presents conversations with artists and excerpts of new works at the museum’s Peter B. Lewis Theater, has several notable dance events on its fall lineup. If you’re a student under 25, you may be able to snag $10 rush tickets an hour before each show.
September 18, Kate Weare Company in Marksman. Six dancers explore the intuitive senses that help us survive.
October 31, Jonah Bokaer‘s Rules Of The Game. Preview the multidisciplinary work, which features a score by Pharrell Williams, in advance of its November New York premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
November 13 & 14, Jodi Melnick‘s Works & Process Commission. New York City Ballet dancers Sara Mearns, Tyler Angle and Gretchen Smith go modern in Melnick’s new work joining movement and spoken word.
NDT dancers in León and Ligthfoot’s Stop-Motion. Photo by Rahi Rezvani, Courtesy NDT.
November 15, Nederlands Dans Theater. Choreographic duo Sol León and Paul Lightfoot discuss their craft, and NDT performs excerpts of U.S. premieres by León and Lighfoot, Marco Goecke, and Crystal Pite.
November 20, Juilliard Dance Division. Preview new works that John Heginbotham, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Pam Tanowitz and Matthew Neenan have created for students from The Juilliard School. The dancemakers will be on hand to chat about their creative process.
December 3–5, 9–11, Peter and the Wolf. Fashion maven Isaac Mizrahi returns to narrate the classic tale set to imaginative choreography by Heginbotham and live music.
Look Back, Watch Now:
If you’re not in the New York area or just can’t wait until these dance events ramp up, check out the Works & Process at the Guggenheim’s YouTube channel. From Broadway to ballet, it’s stocked with footage from the past several years’ events.
