In this conversation with Danish Dance Theatre Artistic Director Tim Rushton, the award-winning choreographer discusses his life and work, focusing most closely on his evening-length dance Black Diamond in advance of its U.S. premiere.
This visually stunning work explores a futuristic universe of darkness and light, and will be performed by Danish Dance Theatre at The Joyce Theater from October 13-16, 2016. The discussion, which will also include time for questions from the audience, will be led by Joyce Theater Director of Programming Martin Wechsler.
About Tim Rushton
Tim Rushton was born in Birmingham in 1963, educated at the Royal Ballet Upper School, and danced with a variety of northern European ballet companies until the mid-1990s. While a dancer at The Royal Danish Ballet he decided to pursue a career as a choreographer.
Rushton quickly made his mark as a creator of contemporary dance using classical technique and by 2001 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Danish Dance Theatre (DDT). Since then Rushton has transformed DDT into a multi-award winning company. Under his leadership the company has gained an international presence and enjoyed critical and popular acclaim throughout Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia Pacific.
Rushton’s contemporary choreographic style draws on his vast experience as a dancer and choreographer. His work, often described as ‘emotionally-led, reflecting the nuances of human relationships,’ mixes live as well as recorded music, stunning lighting and design features, and is, as he himself says, a means to communicate human emotion.
Rushton collaborates with writers, designers, visual artists, and composers. The music he uses has varied from classical masterpieces to jazz, beat, and newly commissioned compositions.
About Martin Wechsler
Martin Wechsler has been the Director of Programming for The Joyce Theater, a 472-seat theater for dance in New York City, since 1996. In this capacity, he selects more than 40 dance companies to perform each season, balancing a diverse range of dance genres, styles and countries of origin. In addition to the programming at The Joyce Theater, Mr. Wechsler also selects the large scale dance companies that The Joyce Theater presents at Lincoln Center, and supervises The Joyce programming at smaller scale and outdoor venues.
He oversees The Joyce’s commissioning and residency programs, which provide dance companies with financial resources, studio time, and technical production support to create new work. Mr. Wechsler currently serves on the New York Dance and Performance (“Bessie”) Awards Steering Committee, and has served on the advisory board of Dance NYC, as well as on numerous funding panels, including the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts.
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Image by Soren Meisner
TUE—10-11-2016—7 PM
free