Why We're Falling for City Center's Fall for Dance 2016 Lineup

August 14, 2016

New York City Center has just announced the details of their 2016 Fall for Dance Festival, and there is a lot to get excited about. The two week festival, now in its 13th year, will present five unique programs this September, each boasting multiple premieres showcasing an incredible range of performers. Plus, tickets are only $15. Excited yet? Here are a few reasons that we can’t wait for this year’s iteration.

Cornejo and Ferri in Romeo and Juliet, photo by Rosalie O’Connor

World Premieres.
 
Fall for Dance has commissioned new works from two daring choreographers. The first is Elizabeth Streb‘s AIRSLICE, which will be performed by her company STREB Extreme Action and, based on previous work, it will undoubtedly have audiences holding their breath. The second is a new duet by Wayne McGregor for Alessandra Ferri and Herman Cornejo—McGregor and Ferri previously worked together for The Royal Ballet’s Woolf Works, while Cornejo has joined the ballerina on a number of projects recently (perhaps most notably for Romeo and Juliet this summer at ABT). Plus, Dada Masilo’s company The Dance Factory will be presenting her new interpretation of The Rite of Spring for the first time.

Royal Ballet of Flanders in Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Fall. Photo by Filip Van Roe, courtesy Dance Salad.

The international lineup. 
Hong Kong Ballet, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Nederlands Dans Theater—we’re already drooling over the multi-national selection, and that isn’t even the half of it. Add in U.S. premieres by Jorma Elo, Richard Alston, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Marco Goecke, and…okay, is it September yet?

Favorite stars in unexpected places. 
Wendy Whelan
and Edward Watson dancing a tango? Alina Cojocaru guesting with a Florida-based ballet company? The former is Arthur Pita’s The Ballad of Mack and Jenny, a product of the “Whelan/Watson: Other Stories” program that never made it to its US premiere. The latter will be Sarasota Ballet’s presentation of Sir Frederick Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand, for which Cojocaru will be joined by Stuttgart’s Friedemann Vogel and Johan Kobborg.

Shantala Shivalingappa. Photo by Elian Bachini.

An epic mix of styles. 
One program goes from hip-hop to contemporary to ballet. Another opens with Kuchipudi dancer Shantala Shivalingappa and closes with Taiwan’s Cloud Gate 2. American Ballet Theatre is followed by flamenco artist Farruquito. Ailey, Jessica Lang or Aszure Barton might be found in between. No matter what style is your favorite, odds are that you’ll find something to your taste—and you might just discover something new.

Fall for Dance
starts September 26 and runs through October 8.

 

Get more 
Dance Magazine.