The sweep of 150 years of history at The 92nd Street Y is nowhere embodied more fittingly – or more vibrantly – than in dance. On March 12, we present one never-before celebration on our stage and unveil another in our art gallery. We hope you’ll join us!
Performance:
DANCING THE 92ND STREET Y: A 150TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
92NY’s transformative legacy in dance takes center stage Tuesday, March 12 with Dancing The 92nd Street Y: A 150th Anniversary Celebration. The evening’s performances pair three of the seminal companies who first broke ground at 92NY more than a half-century ago – Ailey II, The Limón Dance Company, and Martha Graham Dance Company – with three contemporary rising star choreographers – Omar Román De Jesús, Jamar Roberts, and Hope Boykin. “These legendary companies changed the course of dance on this very stage,” says Alison Manning, Co-Executive Director, Harkness Dance Center. “Coupling them with contemporary choreographers now revealing their own voices and carving out their own canons speaks to 92NY’s historic commitment to and support of dance artists at every point of their careers.”
Reflecting on what makes Ailey II, Limón Dance Company, and Martha Graham Dance Company so historically significant, Manning says, “These three pillar companies were born of three distinctly different modern dance voices. The style of modern dance these dancemakers were each working in the middle of the 20th century was tied to the simultaneous creation of a modern dance technique that is now attributed to each of these companies. These were three pioneering choreographers, each of whom (in addition to Doris Humphrey, Paul Taylor, and Merce Cunningham) had an artistic vision that led to work that is unparalleled in history.”
The Limón Dance Company, Omar Román De Jesús
José Limón, a monumental figure in modern dance, created and presented his groundbreaking work at The 92nd Street Y. The program opens with the Limón Dance Company performing his “There Is a Time,” based on the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the sun.” Manning says, “It’s a beautiful work that is so fitting for this occasion, as it really addresses the transience of time and seasons and relationships and love. One section of the work is a duet originally choreographed for a man and a woman. Limón Artistic Director Dante Puleio is restaging this section for two men and “bringing it into a new era,” says Manning. The full work is paired with Omar Román De Jesús’ “Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight,” a duet for two men by, and featuring, the acclaimed queer Puertorriqueño choreographer. De Jesús’ work with his own company, Boca Tuya, is dedicated to creating visibility for emerging LatinX/a/o leaders in the arts, and Manning says, “’Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight’ speaks to themes similar to those in the Limón work.”
Martha Graham Dance Company, Jamar Roberts
Martha Graham Dance Company – the very first dance company in the US, has been an evolving leader in the art form of modern dance, with deep roots at 92NY. The company performs Appalachian Spring Suite – a narrated presentation of highlights from Martha Graham’s masterwork collaboration with composer Aaron Copland, originally performed in Kaufmann Concert Hall 70 years ago. Symbiotically paired with the work is an excerpt from We the People by Jamar Roberts, created for the Graham company and danced by select members. Roberts is a Bessie Award-winning former Resident Choreographer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Additionally, he is currently working on a 92NY 150th-anniversary co-commission for Martha Graham Dance Company.
Ailey II, Hope Boykin
Among the most resonant events in the history of dance at 92NY was the 1960 premiere of Alvin Ailey’s iconic Revelations in Kaufmann Concert Hall. The final pairing of our March 12 event features five selections performed by Ailey II, leading off with an excerpt from Blues Suite, Ailey’s first masterpiece, premiered on our stage in 1958, and the work that launched Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. “There was never a question, in my mind at least, about the pairing of a contemporary choreographer with Ailey II – it had to be Hope,” says Manning. Bessie Award winner Hope Boykin was a star of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 20 years. “Hope’s long history with the company and her rise with her own company and choreographic work make her a natural choice. Added to that is the fact that 92NY gave Hope the first platform for a full-length show of her own work, when she was chosen as part of 92NY’s inaugural Harkness Mainstage Series in 2021.” Boykin is creating a new work for the 150th anniversary celebration – this world premiere marks her history and love of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and pays tribute to the leaders who made room for her to continue to grow as a mover and a maker. Manning says, “In many ways, Hope represents exactly what this entire program is about – supporting artists in the next phase of their careers.”
The 92nd Street Y has been supporting dance – and modern dance – from our earliest years and when no one else gave it a platform. “This institution supported the artists who were creating a new vernacular that was neither popular nor recognized,” says Manning. “We gave these artists a home. The inspiration behind this whole evening is the extraordinary history of dance at The 92nd Street Y and our ongoing commitment to supporting the next generation of artists in the field. That support – evident not only on our stages, but in our studios every single day – is part of what defines The 92nd Street Y.”
Exhibition:
DANCE TO BELONG: A HISTORY OF DANCE AT 92NY
As early as 1874, dance has had a home at The 92nd Street Y, first with Jewish folk dance gatherings for the local community and newly arrived immigrants. “Dance has been part of 92NY from our inception, and it couldn’t be a more vital part of us today,” says Erin Lally, Co-Executive Director, Harkness Dance Center. The story of 92NY’s legacy in dance is one that can’t be told in a single event, however glorious the March 12 one will be – the day also brings the opening of the landmark exhibition Dance to Belong : A History of Dance at 92NY – a 150th Anniversary Exhibition. Launching in Weill Art Gallery and the Hall of Mirrors and running through October 31, the exhibition will have a permanent home in 92NY’s new Arnhold Center.
Through photographs, performance programs, rare film footage, and more, Dance to Belong captures 92NY’s celebrated history as the birthplace of modern dance and the modern dance movement in the 1930s. But it illustrates so much more. “What this exhibition does is widen the lens on dance as a fundamental aspect of The 92nd Street Y,” says Lally.
Manning says, “92NY’s dance history is a microcosm of what this institution does best – lift up and support artists who don’t have a place where their voices can be shared.” That support is evidenced in folk dance for Jewish immigrants in 1874, Katherine Dunham’s 1937 debut in the first-ever concert of “Negro” dance, today’s global Future Dance Festival and so much more. Lally says, “So much of what happened – and continues to happen – in dance here – has happened because of 92NY’s mission as a whole, as a place that is inclusive, and embracing, and a place for artistic, educational, and cultural exploration – Dance to Belong tells that story.”
As dance at The 92nd Street Y leaps into its next 150 years, Manning says, “Our hope going forward is to continue to present major figures in the contemporary dance landscape at the same time as we continue to provide residency opportunities, performance opportunities, choreography and fellowship opportunities for the next generation of dancers and dancemakers who – like the pillar artists we’re celebrating – may at this moment be largely unknown.” Alvin Ailey, José Limón, and Martha Graham were once too.
Learn more at https://www.92ny.org/event/dancing-the-92nd-street-y and https://www.92ny.org/exhibits/dance-to-belong
The March 12 performance is dedicated to the memory of Theodore H. Bartwink of the Harkness Foundation for Dance.