Gibney Company: Sonya Tayeh | Johan Inger  

Please, note: on February 28, the program includes works by Sonya Tayeh and Johan Inger 

MART Foundation presents Gibney Company’s first tour to Israel. On February 28 and March 1-2, 2023, this New York City-based contemporary repertory company will perform original works created by internationally renowned choreographers Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, Johan Inger, and Sonya Tayeh.

Founded by choreographer Gina Gibney in 1991 and reinvented in recent years, the Company represents a broad range of aesthetics and techniques working together with renowned and rising contemporary choreographers. The Company has also expanded the role of its dancers, called Artistic Associates, who contribute as community activists in the dance field.

OH COURAGE! by Sonya Tayeh (World Premiere 2021)

OH COURAGE! is a piece about self-reflection, truth and resilience. It is a soul march that navigates what occurs when there is a guttural need for change. In that need, there is a sense of euphoria in possibility, and a vivid mourning for what is being lost along the way. How do we create a sanctuary for both?

This work was made possible by the generous support of Andrew A. Davis and the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation, and the Omomuki Foundation.

Choreography: Sonya Tayeh

Associate Choreographer: Jenn Freeman

Original Music: The Bengsons

Set Design: Rachel Hauck

Lighting Design: Asami Morita

Costume Design: Márion Talán de la Rosa

Costume Construction: Victoria Bek

Run Time: 26 minutes

Intermission: 10 min

Bliss by Johan Inger (2016/Company Premiere 2022)

For this large-scale ensemble piece, Swedish choreographer Johan Inger uses the legendary “Köln Concert” by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett; music that many consider to be the epitome of virtuoso improvisation. Rather than translating the music one-to-one into movement, it is more the feeling of Jarrett’s iconic music — free, soaring and ecstatic — that Inger translates into beautifully crafted dance, sending not only listeners, but audience members into a state of bliss.

Choreography: Johan Inger

Staging by Yvan Dubreuil

Scenery Design by Johan Inger

Costume Design by Johan Inger & Francesca Messori

Lighting Design by Peter Lundin

Music by Keith Jarrett

Run Time: 27 minutes

Q&A with Gina Gibney, Founder, Artistic Director & CEO of Gibney Company, and Gilbert T Small II, Gibney Company Director