New York-based Gibney Company showcases its dynamic range with two world premieres by renowned American choreographers Lucinda Childs and Peter Chu, alongside a Company premiere by Roy Assaf, highlighting the eclecticism and depth of its repertory choices.
Roy Assaf’s A Couple is an intimate and evocative exploration of the complex and shifting dynamics between two people. The work emerges from the foundation of Figure No. 16, a 60-minute work developed in collaboration with Ariel Freedman and Avshalom Latucha.
Peter Chu’s Echoes of Sole and Animal draws upon qi gong and taiji principles, inviting dancers to surrender to the intangible and let internal sensations shape their movements. Rooted in traditional Chinese practices that cultivate energy flow, balance, and breath control, these movement philosophies embrace the dynamic interplay of opposition—strength and softness, expansion and contraction, stillness and motion—reflecting the yin-yang concept of harmony. Set against a richly immersive soundscape, Chu’s work deepens the dancers’ connection to their environment, creating a dynamic space where pulse and rhythm intertwine.
Lucinda Childs’ Three Dances (for prepared piano) John Cage embraces the rhythmic intensity of John Cage’s 1944-45 composition Three Dances, exploring the intricate interplay between music and movement. Childs’ signature postmodern minimalist precision and deep reverence for structured repetition take center stage in this stunning new work for eight dancers. This world premiere exemplifies Childs’ lifelong fascination with transdisciplinarity and formalism, harkening back to her Judson Dance Theater roots.
