New York City Center Inc

THE 2021-22 SEASON HAS BEEN FULL OF TRIUMPHANT MOMENTS FOR NEW YORK CITY CENTER. AFTER NEARLY TWO YEARS WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO WELCOME AUDIENCES INTO OUR THEATER, WE SUCCESSFULLY RETURNED TO IN-PERSON PROGRAMMING IN OCTOBER 2021 WITH FALL FOR DANCE, KICKING OFF A SEASON OF VARIED PROGRAMS AND OFFERINGS THAT CHALLENGED AND DELIGHTED AUDIENCES. CITY CENTER HAS A MANDATE TO PRESENT WORLD-CLASS MUSICAL THEATER AND DANCE PROGRAMMING IN AN ACCESSIBLE WAY TO AUDIENCES ACROSS NEW YORK CITY. WE ARE THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO SHARE OUR WORK WITH A LIVE AUDIENCE ONCE MORE.

PRODUCTIONS & PROGRAMMINGCITY CENTER'S 2021-2022 DANCE SEASON OPENED WITH THE ANNUAL FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL. FOR THE 2021 FESTIVAL, CITY CENTER COMMISSIONED FOUR WORLD PREMIERES, HIGHLIGHTING A DIVERSE COLLECTION OF CREATIVE VOICES, AND SPANNING MULTIPLE GENRES OF DANCE. THE FIRST OF THE FESTIVAL'S FIVE PROGRAMS FEATURED A NEWLY CONCEIVED SUITE OF DANCES CREATED BY BOB FOSSE AND GWEN VERDON FOR FILM, FINALLY ADAPTED FOR PERFORMANCE ONSTAGE WITH ADDITIONAL CHOREOGRAPHY BY LINDA HABERMAN. THIS REIMAGINING OF CLASSIC FOSSE DANCES FEATURED NEW YORK CITY BALLET SOLOIST GEORGINA PAZCOGUIN. THE FOURTH AND FIFTH PROGRAMS IN THE FESTIVAL FEATURED NEW WORKS FROM TWO GREATS OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE: LAR LUBOVITCH AND JUSTIN PECK. THE LUBOVITCH WORK CAME OUT OF THE DARK DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC WHEN ADRIAN DANCHIG-WARING AND JOSEPH GORDON, TWO PRINCIPAL DANCERS AT NEW YORK CITY BALLET, APPEARED IN HIS DUET FROM."CONCERTO SIX TWENTY-TWO".IN THE VIRTUAL 2020 FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL. THE COLLABORATION IGNITED INSPIRATION, AND LUBOVITCH CREATED "EACH IN HIS OWN TIME," FOR THESE DANCERS. PECK'S WORK, "BLOOM," PAIRED CITY BALLET STAR TILER PECK (NO RELATION) WITH AMERICAN BALLET THEATER'S HERMAN CORNEJO, A CROSS POLLINATION OF TALENT THAT IS RARELY SEEN. THE FINAL COMMISSION ALSO APPEARED ON THE FIFTH PROGRAM OF THE FESTIVAL: A NEW WORK FROM AYODELE CASEL, ONE OF CITY CENTER'S MOST BELOVED COLLABORATORS AND IS KNOWN FOR HER NARRATIVE PERFORMANCES ROOTED IN CULTURE AND IDENTITY. THE PIECE, "WHERE WE DWELL," FEATURED LIVE MUSIC BY CRYSTAL MONEE HALL THAT VACILLATED BETWEEN JOYFUL AND PROFOUND. IN NOVEMBER 2021, CITY CENTER CELEBRATED ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST ICONIC LIVING CHOREOGRAPHERS, TWYLA THARP, WITH A SPECIAL DANCE PROGRAM HONORING HER LEGACY AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO MODERN DANCE. ACCLAIMED DANCERS FROM NEW YORK CITY BALLET AND AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE PERFORMED SOME OF HER MOST WELL-KNOWN PIECES, INCLUDING "CORNBREAD", "SECOND DUET", AND "PERGOLESI". THE PERFORMANCE CONCLUDED WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE OF "ALL IN", A NEW YORK CITY CENTER COMMISSION. IN MARCH 2022, CITY CENTER LAUNCHED ARTISTS AT THE CENTER, A NEW INITIATIVE THAT WILL GIVE THE WORLD'S MOST PROMINENT DANCERS A CREATIVE AND CURATORIAL PLATFORM TO CREATE THEIR OWN UNIQUE DANCE PROGRAMMING. THE SERIES DEBUTED WITH ARTISTS AT THE CENTER: TILER PECK, OVERSEEN BY THE ACCLAIMED NEW YORK CITY BALLET DANCER TILER PECK, WHO CURATED A PROGRAM INCLUDING WORKS BY WILLIAM FORSYTHE AND ALONZO KING, TWO RENOWNED CHOREOGRAPHERS WITH WHOM SHE HAD NEVER WORKED. IT ALSO FEATURED PIECES CREATED BY HERSELF AND IN COLLABORATION WITH THE TAP DANCE ARTISTS MICHELLE DORRANCE AND JILLIAN MEYERS. FINALLY, WE LAUNCHED THE CITY CENTER DANCE FESTIVAL IN MARCH 2022, A SPRINGTIME COMPLEMENT TO OUR LONG RUNNING FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL THAT HAS ENLIVENED THE CITY'S CULTURAL SCENE EACH AUTUMN. WHAT SETS THE CITY CENTER DANCE FESTIVAL APART, HOWEVER, IS THAT THIS SPRING ENGAGEMENT WILL BRING ARTISTS TOGETHER AROUND A SINGLE THEME OR GENRE OF DANCE. THE INAUGURAL YEAR FOCUSED ON PAYING TRIBUTE TO ICONIC DANCE COMPANIES AND ARTISTS WHO HAVE BEEN ABSENT FROM THE STAGE FOR SO LONG, SHOWCASING NEW YORK COMPANIES MAKING THEIR TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO CITY CENTER AFTER NEARLY TWO YEARS AWAY: BALLET HISPNICO, DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM, MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY, AND PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY.THE 2022 ENCORES! SEASON MARKED THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA FOR THIS BELOVED SERIES, WITH NOT ONLY A NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM, BUT A NEW MODEL FOR VIEWING HOW ENCORES! SHOULD BE PROGRAMMED. JOINING NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR LEAR DEBESSONET AND ROUNDING OUT THE NEW ENCORES! ARTISTIC TEAM ARE PRODUCING CREATIVE DIRECTOR CLINT RAMOS, AND AN ARTISTIC ADVISORY COUNCIL COMPRISED OF CAMILLE A. BROWN, EISA DAVIS, AND ROBERT O'HARA. MUSIC DIRECTOR AND LEADER OF THE ENCORES! ORCHESTRA ROB BERMAN WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE THROUGH THE END OF THE 2022 SEASON, ANCHORING THE SERIES TO ITS HISTORIC ROOTS AND GROUNDING ITS MASTERFUL ARTISTRY. THE TEAM'S INAUGURAL SEASON HAS FEATURED HENRY KRIEGER AND ROBERT LORICK'S THE TAP DANCE KID, CY COLEMAN, DAVID NEWMAN, AND IRA GASMAN'S THE LIFE, AND WILL END WITH STEPHEN SONDHEIM AND JAMES LAPINE'S INTO THE WOODS..THE TAP DANCE KID WAS DIRECTED BY THE CELEBRATED KENNY LEON AND FEATURED A REVISED LIBRETTO BY LYDIA DIAMOND THAT SHIFTED THE ACTION FROM THE 1980S BACK TO THE 1950S. THE SHOW FOLLOWS WILLIE, A YOUNG AFRICAN AMERICAN BOY WHO LONGS TO FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HIS UNCLE DIPSEY AND BECOME A PROFESSIONAL TAP DANCER, BUT WHO FACES ENORMOUS RESISTANCE FROM HIS CONSERVATIVE FATHER, WILLIAM. THE LIFE RAN FROM MARCH 16-20 AND WAS ATTENDED BY 9,698 INDIVIDUALS. THE TONY AND EMMY AWARD WINNING BILLY PORTER WAS GIVEN CREATIVE FREEDOM TO RECONTEXTUALIZE THE SHOW THROUGH HIS UNIQUE ARTISTIC LENS. THIS INVOLVED MAJOR REWRITES TO THE LIBRETTO TO CREATE RADICAL EMPATHY FOR THE SEX WORKERS AT THE SHOW'S CORE, AND, IN A FIRST FOR ENCORES!, A REORCHESTRATION OF THE SHOW TO HAVE A MORE FUNK- AND DISCO-BASED SOUND. THE 2022 ENCORES! SEASON CLOSED WITH A GALA PRODUCTION OF INTO THE WOODS, WHICH RAN FROM MAY 4-15 AND WAS ATTENDED BY 29,687 INDIVIDUALS. DIRECTED BY ENCORES! ARTISTIC DIRECTOR LEAR DEBESSONET, THIS PRODUCTION FOCUSED ON THE COMMUNAL POWER OF MUSICAL THEATER. THE PRODUCTION FEATURED A LARGE COMMUNITY CHORUS OF NEARLY 80 INDIVIDUALS OF ALL AGES FROM ACROSS NEW YORK CITY, WHO JOINED THE ON-STAGE CAST FOR THE SHOW'S FINALE "CHILDREN WILL LISTEN," CREATING A MOMENT THAT TRULY FELT LIKE A COMMUNITY COMING TOGETHER TO MOVE PAST THE DARKNESS OF THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.

STAGE I & IIMANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB PRESENTED SEVERAL SHOWS ON CITY CENTER'S STAGES I AND II, INCLUDING THE NEW YORK PREMIERES OF SIMON STEPHENS'S MORNING SUN, JOSHUA HARMON'S PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, AND ANCHULI FELICIA KING'S GOLDEN SHIELD.

EDUCATIONCITY CENTER'S EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE AT THE CENTER OF OUR MISSION TO MAKE THE ARTS ACCESSIBLE TO THE BROADEST POSSIBLE AUDIENCE IN NEW YORK CITY. THESE PROGRAMS INCLUDE IN-SCHOOL WORKSHOPS AND RESIDENCIES FOR STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATORS AND EDUCATION ADMINISTRATORS. HISTORICALLY, THESE PROGRAMS HAVE TAKEN PLACE ENTIRELY IN-PERSON, BUT SINCE 2020 WE HAVE ADAPTED THESE PROGRAMS INTO THE VIRTUAL SPACE. AS WE MOVE AWAY FROM COVID RESTRICTIONS, OUR PROGRAMS CONTINUE TO OPERATE IN A HYBRID CAPACITY, OFFERING THE GREATEST POSSIBLE FLEXIBILITY AND EXPANDING THE REACH OF OUR PROGRAMS TO EVEN MORE COMMUNITIES ACROSS NEW YORK CITY. OUR POINT-OF-ENTRY PROGRAM, CITY CENTER'S SPECIAL STUDENT MATINEE PERFORMANCES BRING STUDENTS TO THE PREMIER DANCE PERFORMANCES FEATURED ON CITY CENTER'S MAINSTAGE. PARTICIPATING TEACHERS RECEIVE A STUDY GUIDE AND A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSION THAT HELP THEM LEARN MEANINGFUL TECHNIQUES TO INTEGRATE THE WORK THEY SEE ONSTAGE INTO THEIR CLASSROOMS. DUE TO ONGOING COVID RESTRICTIONS, WE HAD BEEN UNABLE TO OFFER ANY IN-PERSON STUDENT MATINEES SINCE DECEMBER 2019. HOWEVER, THIS PAST DECEMBER WE HELD OUR FIRST EVER VIRTUAL STUDENT MATINEE, A LIVE-STREAMED PERFORMANCE BY ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATRE. CITY CENTER'S DANCE WORKSHOPS OFFER STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE DANCE IN PERFORMANCE WHILE INVESTIGATING THE ART FORM'S CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC PROMINENCE IN THE CLASSROOM. STUDENTS LEARN CHOREOGRAPHY, ENGAGE IN THOUGHTFUL DISCUSSION, AND, WITH THE HELP OF A TEACHING ARTIST, HAVE A CREATIVE CHOREOGRAPHIC EXPERIENCE INSPIRED BY THE PERFORMANCE. OUR DANCE RESIDENCY PROGRAM GIVES STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DELVE MORE DEEPLY INTO THE CREATIVE PROCESS WITH MASTER TEACHING ARTISTS, WHILE DEVELOPING THE LANGUAGE AND CONCEPTUAL SKILLS NECESSARY TO DEMONSTRATE FLUENCY WITHIN THE DISCIPLINE. CITY CENTER'S EDUCATION STAFF WORKS WITH THE PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS TO OUTLINE CUSTOMIZED GOALS AND STRATEGIES UNIQUE TO EACH SCHOOL'S DANCE RESIDENCY. CITY CENTER ALSO PROVIDES A RESIDENCY SPECIFICALLY FOR NEW YORK CITY'S YOUNGEST LEARNERS. KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 2ND GRADE STUDENTS ENGAGE IN 8-TO-32 WEEK IN-SCHOOL RESIDENCIES WITH TEACHING ARTISTS TO BUILD SKILLS IN CREATIVE MOVEMENT AND LANGUAGE. LESSONS FOCUS ON THE USE OF DANCE AS A TOOL FOR COMMUNICATION AND SELF-EXPRESSION. ELEMENTARY RESIDENCIES ARE HIGHLY CUSTOMIZABLE AND CAN BE INCORPORATED IN TANDEM WITH EXISTING CURRICULA OR OFFERED AS A PRIMARY SOURCE OF DANCE PROGRAMMING FOR A SCHOOL. CITY CENTER OFFERS INSTRUCTION IN MUSICAL THEATER THROUGH ENCORES! IN SCHOOLS, A UNIQUE RESIDENCY PROGRAM IN WHICH A TEAM OF THREE TEACHING ARTISTS A DIRECTOR, MUSIC DIRECTOR, AND CHOREOGRAPHER WORK WITH STUDENTS TO STUDY EITHER THE FALL GALA PRODUCTION OR AN ENCORES! PRODUCTION, AND THEN CREATE THEIR OWN THEATRICAL WORK. THIS PAST SEASON, ENCORES! IN SCHOOLS FOCUSED ON OUR PRODUCTIONS OF THE TAP DANCE KID AND INTO THE WOODS. WHILE ENCORES! IN SCHOOLS IS OUR PRIMARY MUSICAL THEATER EDUCATION PROGRAM, WE ALSO OFFER A MUCH MORE FLEXIBLE OPTION IN MUSICAL STORYTELLING. THIS PROGRAM, INTRODUCED DURING THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR WHEN THERE WERE NO ENCORES! PRODUCTIONS, TEACHES THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MUSICAL THEATER TO STUDENTS, INCLUDING PERFORMANCE, CHOREOGRAPHY, AND DIRECTION WHILE ALSO ALLOWING STUDENTS TO CREATE THEIR OWN ORIGINAL WORKS. THIS PAST YEAR, WE EXPANDED OUR MUSICAL THEATER WORKSHOPS INTO COMMUNITY CENTERS AROUND NEW YORK CITY, ONCE AGAIN FOCUSED ON OUR PRODUCTIONS OF THE TAP DANCE KID AND INTO THE WOODS. WE PARTNERED WITH NEW YORK CITY PARKS TO BRING A WORKSHOP FOCUSED ON THE TAP DANCE KID TO SELECT COMMUNITY CENTERS ACROSS ALL FIVE BOROUGHS. THESE WORKSHOPS WERE COMPLETELY FREE AND OFFERED TAP DANCE LESSONS, AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTICIPANTS TO CREATE PERSONAL NARRATIVES INSPIRED BY WILLIE'S CHARACTER ARC IN THE SHOW.

OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES INCLUDE STUDIO AND OFFICE RENTAL PROGRAMS CONDUCTED AS PART OF THE ORGANIZATION'S EXEMPT PURPOSE.CITY CENTER'S THREE REHEARSAL STUDIOS WERE RENTED BY HUNDREDS OF DANCERS, CHOREOGRAPHERS AND COMPANIES, MANY OF THEM TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A SUBSIDIZED RATE OF $10 PER HOUR.