dancers

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE
LAR LUBOVITCH DANCE COMPANY

As we reach the final days of 2007, Lar Lubovitch, our dancers and the entire company would like to thank you for your interest in our work.  We send you our best wishes for the holiday season -- as well as the happiest of New Years.

The year in review

Cross-country collaboration

Chicago celebration
First word on '08
Join our circle of friends

The year in review

Photo: Steven Schreiber.  Lubovitch company in the world premiere of Dvorak Serenade.

Photo: Steven Schreiber.
Lubovitch company in the world premiere of Dvorak Serenade.

-- 3 world premieres created by Lar Lubovitch.
-- 4 of our other dances performed by 6 other leading American companies.
-- 39th anniversary New York season staged at the Skirball Center.
-- and one major new dance event born in Chicago.
That's a partial tally for 2007, but those numbers don't begin to sum up a year when the 14 dancers of the Lubovitch company celebrated "the propulsive power of music" -- to borrow a phrase from the headline of our season's New York Times review. 

Lubovitch packed a year's worth of premieres into a single week in April, launching a trio of new works in a pair of different cities.

Two of the premieres -- Little Rhapsodies and Dvorak Serenade -- debuted in NYC on April 17th, the opening night of our company's spring season at NYU Skirball Center.  The Village Voice described the visceral pleasure of attending our season as akin to "sitting down to a feast of dancers."

The third new work for 2007 -- Cryptoglyph -- was created in partnership with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and it premiered during that company's home season on April 11.  The Chicago Sun-Times praised it as "an enchanted and enchanting dance."

Cross-country collaboration

Photo: Mira.  Rasta Thomas and Ximora Reyes in ABT's production of Lubovitch's Othello.

Photo: Mira.
Rasta Thomas and Ximora Reyes in ABT's production of Lubovitch's Othello.

In addition to creating new dances and performing in New York, the Lubovitch company spent much of 2007 on the road -- sharing our repertoire with other companies.

This year, the Lubovitch company's acclaimed Elemental Brubeck went bi-coastal, with home season performances on the west coast by San Francisco Ballet and Ballet British Columbia, plus an east coast premiere in Palm Beach by Ballet Florida (which also brought our work to the Chicago Dancing Festival).

American Ballet Theatre revived Lubovitch's full-length ballet Othello for performances in three cities -- with our company's own Rasta Thomas making his Met debut in the title role.  ABT also included Meadow in its repertoire for its season in the fall of 2007 at City Center.

The Limon Dance Company, which staged the New York premiere of Lubovitch's "Day of the Dead"-themed Recordare in November 2006, once again performed the dance in 2007, this time as special guest artists of the Lubovitch company during our April season at the Skirball Center.

Overall, more than a dozen Lubovitch works are currently active in the repertoires of almost as many leading North American dance companies.  Our company's dancers are busy teaching all over the continent.
         

Chicago celebration
Photo: Johnny Knight.  Ballet Florida performs Lubovitch's Elemental Brubeck at the Chicago Dancing Festival.

Photo: Johnny Knight.
Ballet Florida performs Lubovitch's Elemental Brubeck at the Chicago Dancing Festival.


On the evening of August 22, a crowd of more than 8,000 people gathered in Chicago's Millennium Park to see a FREE performance by seven of America's finest dance companies. This was the premiere of the Chicago Dancing Festival, an important new cultural event directed by Lar Lubovitch and produced in collaboration with the City of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

The Festival was founded by the Chicago-born Lubovitch and by our Chicago-based dancer Jay Franke as a way of contributing to the dance community in their hometown.  They began discussing the concept with local supporters about this time last year.  In less than nine months, the result was a one-night-only extravaganza, featuring dancers from Alvin Ailey, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Florida, Complexions, San Francisco Ballet and Chicago's own Joffrey Ballet and Muntu.  In his review, Sid Smith of The Chicago Tribune called the evening "a red-hot success: The ovations began early and built like an avalanche."  He added that the program combined "artistic expression with eye-popping showmanship."

Work on the second Chicago Dancing Festival is well underway, with the 2008 edition expanded to three days of programming, including a performance by the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company.  If you are interested in traveling to Chicago with us, send us an email, or click here to visit the 2007 Chicago Dancing Festival web site.   
    

First word on '08
Photo: Jack Mitchell.  Lubovitch company perfoming Concerto Six Twenty Two in 1986.

Photo: Jack Mitchell.
Lubovitch company perfoming Concerto Six Twenty Two in 1986.


Although the company is rightfully proud of all we have accomplished in the past 12 months, we are even more excited by what is about to happen in 2008 -- our 40th anniversary year.  Our official kick-off announcement (with complete details) is planned for February, but we want the company's friends to know in advance that they can look forward to a celebration that will include:

-- three more world premieres (matching 2007's extraordinary creativity),
-- revivals of some of Lar Lubovitch's most-acclaimed dances,
-- a trifecta of New York performances at the Joyce Theater and Dance Theater Workshop and NY CITY CENTER (our week-long 40th anniversary celebration will be in November), and
-- a national tour of 15 cities, running from July 2008 through February 2009.

One of our new works for 2008 has already received important commissioning support from the Joyce Theater Foundation and the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation.  We plan to stage the world premiere of this new work at the Joyce Theater in May 2008 at a gala celebrating the theater's 25th anniversary.

Our company has also been awarded significant support to launch our 2008 national tour -- which will mark the first time since 1995 that we have added a full schedule of engagements outside New York City back into our already busy mix of activities. Last month, the company was honored by being selected as a recipient of touring support by the American Masterpieces: Dance (AMD) program.  This support will assist us in reconstructing and touring Concerto Six Twenty Two -- an acclaimed Lubovitch work from 1986 that has not been performed by our company in over 13 years. The day after our AMD award, we got word of additional funding from the National Dance Project (NDP) to take Men's Stories on tour.  AMD and NDP are both highly competitive grant programs supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Lubovitch company is gratified -- and very grateful -- to receive awards from both programs in the same year (the first time that any dance company has ever been so honored).

Join our circle of friends


Experience the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company's 40th anniversary celebration as an insider. Join our circle of friends by making a donation today, and you will be the first to hear about all of the company's performances -- and get to enjoy privileges including invitations to special programming and behind-the-scenes events, plus advance ticketing privileges, plus access to preferred seating for our New York City seasons.

As an added incentive, our company's board members have offered to match $1-for-$1 all gifts post-marked by January 31, 2008 (doubling your support).  Donations from first-time contributors will matched on a $2-for-$1 basis (tripling your support).

Click here to make a secure on-line donation through NY Charities, or mail your contribution directly to:

Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
229 West 42nd Street, 8th Fl.
New York, NY  10036

You can also call 212.221.7909 to receive a postage-free contribution envelope.


ABOUT THE LAR LUBOVITCH DANCE COMPANY

Mission:
The Lubovitch company was created to realize the artistic vision of Lar Lubovitch, one of the foremost contemporary choreographers in the United States.  The company exists: (1) to create new work; (2) to perform those works (and facilitate the performance of those works by others) both in our home base of New York City and around the world; and (3) to teach people of all ages, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds, in order to increase awareness and appreciation of dance.

History:
Over the past 39 years, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company has gained a reputation as one of the world's leading modern dance companies and has performed in virtually every state of the US and in more than 30 foreign countries.  Lar Lubovitch has been cited by The New York Times as "one of the ten best choreographers in the world," and the company has been called a "national treasure" by Variety.  The company is primarily focused on the creation of new dances, sometimes in collaboration with other top companies.

Contact:
The Lubovitch company is located at 229 West 42nd Street, New York NY 10036.  You can reach us at (212) 221-7909 or lubovitch@aol.com.  Or visit our website at www.lubovitch.org.

Support:
Programs of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company are funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, as well as by Altria, Atlantic Philanthropies, US Trust Company of NY, Irene Diamond Fund, Brooke Garber & Daniel Neidich Fund, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Carl Jacobs Fund, McMullan Family Foundation, Rodgers Family Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, A. Woodner Fund and numerous additional generous individuals, corporations and foundations.

Memberships:
The Lubovitch company is a member of Dance/USA, Dance/NYC, ART/NY and the Arts & Business Council.