Hudson Hall Presents Stephen Petronio Company

By: May. 24, 2018
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Hudson Hall Presents Stephen Petronio Company

Stephen Petronio Company announces its arrival in the Hudson Valley with a program of signature, show-stopping works at Hudson Hall. For their Hudson debut, the Company perform three dances by choreographer Stephen Petronio including his newest work, Hardness 10, which marked his third collaboration with composer Nico Muhly and first with fashion designer Patricia Field ARTFASHION; an excerpt from Underland (2003), inspired by the dark, sensual music of Australian legend, Nick Cave; and Bud Suite (2006), which muses on the melodic pop-tunes of Rufus Wainwright. Also on the program is a revival of choreographer Steve Paxton's virtuosic Excerpt from Goldberg Variations (1986), a Bessie-nominated restaging from Petronio's Bloodlines project, established to revive works by post-modern dance masters.

Stephen Petronio Company's engagement - which coincides with the recent establishment of the Petronio Residency Center in nearby Round Top, NY - marks a coming of age for dance in the Upper Hudson Valley, solidifying the region as the country's most exciting new epicenter of dance. Together with the recent opening of PS21 in Chatham, the imminent opening of the Lumberyard Contemporary Performing Arts Center in Catskill, DRA's Hudson Valley Dance Festival, and the arrival of several noted choreographers including Jonah Bokaer, Lucinda Childs, and Adam H. Weinert to name a few, Hudson and Catskill are quickly becoming a mecca for dance artists and enthusiasts.

Hudson Hall is delighted to welcome Petronio's artistry as a choreographer in tandem with the Petronio Residency Center's inaugural season of residencies. For the full program, visit hudsonhall.org. Tickets are $35 each and are available online or by phone at (518) 822 1438.

Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, Stephen Petronio is widely regarded as one of the leading dance-makers of his generation. He has collaborated with a wide range of artists in many disciplines over his career; a practice that drives his creativity and vision. He continues to create a haven for dancers with a keen interest in the history of contemporary movement and an appetite for the unknown. Petronio was greatly influenced by working with Steve Paxton and was the first male dancer of the Trisha Brown Dance Company (1979 to 1986). Since then, has gone on to build a unique career, receiving numerous accolades, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, an American Choreographer Award, a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award, and most recently a 2015 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award.

New music, visual art, and fashion collide in his dances, producing powerful modern landscapes for the senses. Founded in 1984, Stephen Petronio Company has performed in 40 countries throughout the world, including numerous New York City engagements and 23 seasons at The Joyce Theater. The Company has been commissioned by Dance Umbrella Festival/London, Hebbel Theater/Berlin, Scène National de Sceaux, Festival d'Automne à Paris, CNDC Angers/France, The Holland Festival, Festival Montpellier Danse, Danceworks UK Ltd, Festival de Danse-Cannes, and in the U.S. by San Francisco Performances, The Joyce Theater, UCSB Arts & Lectures, Wexner Center for the Arts, Walker Art Center, and White Bird, among others.

The 2014-15 season marked the first incarnation of Bloodlines, a project of Stephen Petronio Company to honor and curate a lineage of American postmodern dance masters. To date, the Company has restaged eight works, including work by Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Anna Halprin, Yvonne Rainer, and Steve Paxton, with plans to incorporate others in the coming seasons. The juxtaposition of Bloodlines repertory alongside Petronio's works offers audiences insight into the evolution of post-modern dance in American choreography.

In 2016, Stephen Petronio Company expanded its focus on American postmodern dance to explore the meaning of legacy and its impact on the future and sustainability of this most ephemeral art form. Located at Crows Nest, a 175-acre property in Round Top, New York, the Petronio Residency Center was established as a retreat center where research and the creative process are paramount. The Company announced its first round of residencies in January 2018. The inaugural recipients are Nora Chipaumire, Will Rawls, and Kathy Westwater, whose residencies will take place between July-October 2018. Each receives a dedicated rehearsal space and access to choreographers and their collaborators to develop new work in an environment unfettered by market constraints and away from the daily pressures of urban life. The program joins a growing movement in the U.S. to provide creative and financial support to emerging talent to ensure the future of contemporary dance.

"The Petronio Residency Center is a retreat in which to study, work, and experiment while cutting loose from the overbearing pressures inherent in a choreographer's day-to-day living," says Stephen Petronio. "My dream is to leave the world an intimate place where dance can be made, where history happens, and where the dance community can feel at home," he says.

ABOUT HUDSON HALL

Hudson Hall is a cultural beacon in the Hudson Valley, offering a dynamic year-round schedule of music, theater, dance, literature, workshops for youth and adults, as well as family programs and large-scale community events such as Winter Walk. Located in a historic landmark that houses New York State's oldest surviving theater, Hudson Hall underwent a full restoration and reopened to the public in April 2017 for the first time in over 55 years. The newly restored Hudson Hall reflects Hudson's rich history in a modern facility that welcomes residents and visitors from throughout our local community, across the nation, and around the globe.

Programs at Hudson Hall are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Photo by Sarah Silver



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