Join us for a transformative evening as Gibney Company, one of New York’s leading contemporary dance ensembles, makes its debut at Guild Hall. With a powerful mix of athleticism, artistry, and thought-provoking storytelling, this debut performance showcases a carefully curated program of new and reimagined works by three visionary choreographers: Roy Assaf, Lucinda Childs and William Forsythe.

PROGRAM

Roy Assaf – A Couple
Perhaps you are a couple. Perhaps you are lifelong friends, perhaps soulmates, perhaps you have history, perhaps you had an affair, perhaps you once fought together for a greater purpose, perhaps you fight every day over little things but share a love that survives them all.

William Forsythe – Trio (of six) (1996, reconfigured for Gibney Company)
Trio (of six) is a reconfiguration of William Forsythe’s celebrated 1996 work, which had been a staple of his repertoire in Frankfurt, Germany. Restaged several times in its original trio form, including at the Paris Opera Ballet, Forsythe requested the opportunity to adapt the work for Gibney Company, whose small ensemble offered a unique level of organizational flexibility. This six-person staging reflects Forsythe’s practice of evolving works over time, adapting them to different environments and creative contexts.

INTERMISSION

Lucinda Childs – Three Dances (for prepared piano) John Cage 
Lucinda Childs’ Three Dances (for prepared piano) John Cage explores the rhythmic intensity of John Cage’s 1944-45 composition Three Dances through a lens of movement. Childs’ signature postmodern minimalist precision and deep reverence for structured repetition shine in this world premiere for eight dancers. The work exemplifies Childs’ lifelong engagement with transdisciplinarity and formalism, while also nodding to her roots in the Judson Dance Theater. It is a stunning exploration of how sound and movement can intimately coexist.

Tiler Peck, one of America’s most celebrated prima ballerinas, brings together five world-class artists from diverse artistic disciplines for an extraordinary, one-night-only performance. Curated by Peck, this innovative program blends music and dance in a bold exploration of artistic synergy and genre. Featuring masters of their craft alongside rising stars, the evening highlights the power of collaboration and the beauty of stepping beyond creative boundaries.

Joining Peck for the evening are her New York City Ballet colleagues Roman Mejia and India Bradley, Violinist Amaryn Olmeda, Pianist Jacek Mysinski, and Cellist Miles Levine.

Program to feature new choreography by Tiler Peck with works by J.S. Bach, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Arturo Márquez, Max Richter, Domenico Scarlatti, Franz Schubert, Carlos Simon, and Eugène Ysaÿe.

Guild Hall proudly presents the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company, one of the most influential and innovative dance companies of our time. Founded in 1982 by the legendary duo Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane, the company has consistently redefined the boundaries of contemporary dance, blending movement with narrative, visual art, and spoken word.

For this special performance, the company presents Story/Time, a mesmerizing work inspired by legendary artist and composer John Cage’s Indeterminacy—a performance of one-minute stories interrupted by a chance musical score. In Story/Time, Jones creates a collage of dance, music, and his own short stories, arranged anew for each performance through chance procedure. The result is a dynamic fusion of movement and meaning, where audiences are invited to find their own connections in a sweep of randomized, disparate elements—much like a busy streetscape or a crowded room.

Jones’ short stories, drawn from his own life and generations of family narratives, layer traditional storytelling against avant-garde composition, questioning the tension between high and low art. The piece also marks the first collaboration between the Company and composer, musician, and intermedia artist Ted Coffey, Ph.D., whose acoustic and electronic score incorporates chance procedure and interactive technologies.

Join us for an evening of innovative movement, layered storytelling, and artistic experimentation as Bill T. Jones and his company continue their groundbreaking legacy.

The performance environment is shaped by long-time Company collaborators Robert Wierzel (lighting design), Bjorn Amelan (décor), and Liz Prince (costume design).

Story/Time had its world premiere in January 2012 at Peak Performances @ Montclair State University (NJ). Co-commissioned by Peak Performances @ Montclair State and the Walker Art Center, the work was developed in residence at Arizona State University Gammage Auditorium, Bard College, Montclair State University’s Alexander Kasser Theater, the University of Virginia, and the Walker Art Center.