Arena Dances NYC Debut Performances October 30, 2008

Led by Artistic Director/Choreographer Mathew Janczewski, ARENA Dances brings its fearless, abstract and compelling choreographic style in the New York premiere of Ugly, a theatrical, evening-length, multimedia piece by Janczewski. Combining his supple, lithe choreography and inventive partnering with the ensemble’s muscular and languorous movement, Ugly showcases the company’s signature blend of intelligence, thoughtfulness, humor, and grace.

Guided by a non-traditional “narrative” by playwright Kira Obolensky, Ugly stems from successful collaborations with various artists including an architect, and the electronic-music icon Morton Subotnick, who performs the score live and onstage. Like Subotnick’s complex compositions, Ugly is modern and impressionistic in its movement style. Commissioned by and premiered at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 2007, Ugly explores society’s demand for artifice and physical perfection through purely, kinetic abstract movements that draw from martial arts, gymnastic athleticism, and court dance. “The piece begins with the façade of the human form in its physical state and surroundings,” explains Janczweski. “This state crumbles, stripping away and breaking through the surface of our technologically advanced society revealing water, dirt, and grass of the earth, signaling a return to a natural human state.” In three distinct, provocative parts - Baroque, Technology/Disco and Nature- the piece’s trajectory ranges from “mannered and mad, to graphically and violently sexual, to peaceful and androgynous, (Star Tribune).”

Thursday, October 30th – Saturday, November 1st @ 8:00 pm; Sunday, November 2nd @ 3:00pm

$20 General Ticket. $15 for Students/Seniors. To purchase tickets, call 212.352.3101 or visit http://www.joyce.org

Official Website: http://www.joyce.org