New York City: Dance
As with theater, the range of dance offered in the city is vast. New York has five major ballet companies, dozens of modern troupes and untold thousands of soloists, and you would have to be very particular indeed in your tastes not to find something of interest. Events are listed in broadly the same periodicals and websites as music and theater - though you might also want to pick up Dance Magazine or check out www.danceline.com . The following is a list of some of the major dance venues in the city, though a lot of the smaller, more esoteric companies and solo performers also perform at many of the spaces like the Kitchen and P.S.122.
Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette St (between Flatbush Ave and Fulton St), Brooklyn tel 718/636-4100,
www.bam.org
.
One of the busiest and most daring dance producers in New York. In the autumn, BAM's Next Wave festival showcases the hottest international attractions in avant-garde dance and music; in winter visiting artists appear, and each spring BAM hosts the annual DanceAfrica Festival, America's largest showcase for African and African-American dance and culture, now in its twentieth year.
City Center
131 W 55th St (between 6th and 7th aves) tel 212/581-1212 or 581-7907,
www.citycenter.org
.
This large, midtown venue hosts some of the most important troupes in modern dance, such as the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Joffrey Ballet and the Dance Theater of Harlem.
Cunningham Studio
55 Bethune St (at Washington St) tel 212/691-9751 ext 30.
The home of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in the far west reaches of the Village stages performances once a week by emerging modern choreographers.
Dance Theater Workshop's Bessie Schönberg Theater
219 W 19th St (between 7th and 8th aves) tel 212/924-0077,
www.dtw.org
.
DTW boasts more than 175 performances from nearly 70 artists and companies each season. On the second floor of a former warehouse, the theater has an unintimidating, relaxed atmosphere and ticket prices are very reasonable.
Danspace Project
St Mark's-Church-in-the-Bowery, 131 E 10th St (at 2nd Ave) tel 212/674-8194,
www.danspaceproject.org
.
Experimental contemporary dance, with a season running from Sept to June in one of the more beautiful performance spaces.
The Joyce Theater
175 8th Ave (at 19th St) tel 212/242-0800,
www.joyce.org
.
The Joyce hosts short seasons by a wide variety of acclaimed dance troupes such as Pilobolus, the Parsons Dance Company and Donald Byrd/The Group. In a space in SoHo at 155 Mercer St (between Prince and Houston sts) tel 212/431-9233, the Joyce hosts a three-week concert series of collaborating choreographers each spring.
Juilliard Dance Workshop
Juilliard Theater, 155 W 65th St (at Broadway) tel 212/799-5000.
The dance division of the Juilliard School often gives freeworkshop performances, and each spring six students work with six composers to present a "Composers and Choreographers" concert.
Lincoln Center's Fountain Plaza
65th St (at Columbus Ave) tel 212/875-5766,
www.lincolncenter.org
.
Open-air summer venue for the enormously popular offering, "Midsummer Night Swing," where you can learn a different dance en masse each night (everything from polka to rockabilly) and watch a performance all for $12. Tickets go on sale at 5.45pm on the night.
Metropolitan Opera House
65th St (at Columbus Ave), Lincoln Center tel 212/362-6000,
www.metopera.org
.
Home of the renowned American Ballet Theater, which performs at the Opera House from early May into July. Prices for ballet at the Met range from $275 for the best seats at special performances to $12-16 for standing-room tickets, which go on sale the morning of the performance.
New York State Theater
65th St (at Columbus Ave), Lincoln Center tel 212/870-5570,
www.lincolncenter.org
.
Lincoln Center's major ballet venue is home to the revered New York City Ballet, which performs for a nine-week season each spring.
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