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8 Dance Performances to See This June

By: Susan Reiter
Date: Jun 12, 2019

Catch renowned companies, cutting-edge choreographers and even a few free alfresco events

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Summer may not typically be thought of as a hotbed of dance. But this June is full of movement, with an intriguing range of options for dance lovers to explore. Of the eight performances we're highlighting, two are FREE and, as of press time, a few others are offering discounts to TDF members. It's best to check our offers daily as ticket availability changes frequently.

Women / Create! A Festival of Dance
New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

Runs June 11-16. At press time, TDF member tickets were available for Women / Create!

An enterprising septet of female choreographers has joined forces for the week-long Women/Create! Curated by downtown dance veteran Jennifer Muller, whose company The Works will present the world premiere of her Theory of Color, the fest also includes pieces by Karole Armitage of Armitage Gone!, Jacqulyn Buglisi of Buglisi Dance Theatre, Carolyn Dorfman, Francesca Harper, Helen Simoneau and Katarzyna Skarpetowska. There are seven different programs, each featuring four selections. Several choreographers are showing excerpts from upcoming projects, while others are presenting recently completed works, such as Skarpetowska's Akwarium, performed by 12 members of The Richmond Ballet, and Dorfman's collaboration with Pilobolus co-artistic director Renée Jaworski: Snap Crackle Pop.

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Pilobolus
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street

Runs June 11-29.

Speaking of Pilobolus, the inventive, impossible-to-label troupe returns to the Joyce after a five-year hiatus. Its three-week season offers two alternating programs of work spanning more than four decades, including favorites such as the sensuous Day Two and the witty Untitled, alongside the premiere of Branches, with a score consisting entirely of natural sounds.

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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center at 63rd Street

Runs June 12-16. At press time, TDF member tickets were available for Alvin Ailey.

Alvin Ailey drops by Lincoln Center for a week, offering a generous sampling of its current repertory, including two recent works by acclaimed masters: Rennie Harris' two-act Lazarus and Ronald K. Brown's The Call. The world premiere of Darrell Grand Moultrie's Ounce of Faith is on several programs, and Sunday's closing night celebrates longtime Ailey collaborator Carmen de Lavallade.

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Ballet British Columbia
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Avenue between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street

Runs June 13-15.

Vancouver's Ballet British Columbia is a highly regarded, cutting-edge contemporary company that rarely appears in NYC. Its BAM debut celebrates Emily Molnar's tenth anniversary as artistic director, and bears the imprint of influential American expatriate choreographer William Forsythe. His 1989 work Enemy in the Figure is on the program, along with recent pieces by Molnar and Crystal Pite, both of whom danced in his Germany-based troupe.

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Dances for a Variable Population
Harlem and Long Island City, Queens

Runs June 15 and 22. FREE

REVIVAL3: It's About Time is a FREE outdoor event by Dances for a Variable Population, which showcases dancers and choreographers of multiple generations. Company members will perform alongside 75 nonprofessional senior dancers in this poignant exploration of memory, time and traditions. The June 15 performances take place at Grant's Tomb, at 122nd Street and Riverside Drive; the June 22 performance is in Queensbridge Park, at 41st Avenue and Vernon Boulevard. If you want to get in on the action yourself, there will be FREE on-site All Together Dance workshops on both dates.

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Pam Tanowitz
Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, enter at River Terrace and Warren Street

Runs June 18-19. FREE

Lauded choreographer Pam Tanowitz is also presenting a FREE, alfresco, site-specific work as part of the River to River Festival. Time is forever dividing itself toward innumerable futures stars the ever-adventurous New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns, and the stellar ensemble includes NYCB's Taylor Stanley and Tanowitz regulars Melissa Toogood, Victor Lozano and Jason Collins. Tanowitz places the dancers on multiple small stages throughout the lush green space, juxtaposing their lovely movements against the beauty of nature.

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10 Hairy Legs
New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

Runs June 27-29

The audacious, all-male modern dance company celebrates Pride Month with commissioned world premieres by Larry Keigwin and Adam Barruch. The troupe is also bringing back Stephen Petronio's celebrated duet Bud danced to Rufus Wainwright's "Oh What a World," and Yin Yue's So It Goes.

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American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House, 30 Lincoln Center Plaza at 63rd Street

Through July 6. At press time, TDF member tickets were available for ABT's Manon.

American Ballet Theatre continues its Metropolitan Opera House run through early July. In addition to Tchaikovsky staples Swan Lake (June 24-29) and The Sleeping Beauty (July 1-6), Kenneth Macmillan's three-act period piece Manon (June 17-22), inspired by the iconic French novel, makes a notable return to the repertory. Two of ABT's high-profile male dancers will appear in the romantic role of Chevalier des Grieux: David Hallberg and Roberto Bolle, whose June 20 performance will be his ABT farewell appearance.

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Susan Reiter regularly covers dance for TDF Stages.

Top image: Katarzyna Skarpetowska's Akwarium. Photo courtesy of Women/Create.

TDF MEMBERS: Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.

Susan Reiter covers dance for TDF Stages.