May 23, 2013 – For the Purchase Dance Company, opening night at its first full New York City season was nothing but a huge success. Performing in front of a full house at New York Live Arts in Chelsea, the company opened last night and will also perform tonight through Saturday.
“It was a historical moment for the Purchase College Conservatory of Dance,” said Wallie Wolfgruber, director of the conservatory. “The experience was exhilarating for our student performers. They did a wonderful job in front of a full audience, including many distinguished members of the dance world, such as choreographers Bill T. Jones and Purchase College alumnus Kyle Abraham ‘00.”
During its season at New York Live Arts (http://www.newyorklivearts.org) Purchase Dance Company is performing works by nine choreographers, including Bill T. Jones’s Spent Days Out Yonder (2000), George Balanchine’s Valse-Fantaisie (1967), and new works created specifically for the company by Ori Flomin, Loni Landon, and Claire Porter.
The company is also presenting four solo performances by 2013 graduates—one each evening. Chris Hernandez performed Untitled Surrender by Kyle Abraham on opening night, Morgan Anderson will perform Science of the Mind and Secret Bye Bye (excerpts from The Island of Misfit Toys) by Stephen Petronio this evening; Matthew Perez will perform In Medias Res by Andrea Miller tomorrow evening; and Natalia Bizinha will perform In a Roofless Room by Sarah Mettin Saturday evening.
In addition to performing in front of a full house, Wolfgruber noted the dance company enjoyed a post-performance opening night reception, mixing with notable Purchase College alumni, including members of the Mark Morris Dance Group and Rena Butler ’11, a rising star in the dance world and the newest member of the Bill T. Jones Dance Company. The reception also drew choreographers, like Lawrence Goldhuber, Martin Lofnes, and Colleen Thomas, along with parents, faculty, and dance supporters.
The Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College’s School of the Arts is one of the premier professional dance training programs in the world. Members of the Purchase Dance Company are selected from the BFA program and represent the most talented performers of the next generation of dance artists.
Located in the heart of Chelsea in New York City at 219 W. 19th Street, New York Live Arts is an internationally recognized destination for innovative movement-based artistry offering audiences access to art and artists notable for their conceptual rigor, formal experimentation and active engagement with the social, political and cultural currents of our times. At the center of this identity is Bill T. Jones, Executive Artistic Director, a world-renowned choreographer, dancer, theater director and writer.
