As you tally up the reasons to be grateful this Thanksgiving, take a moment to reflect on a few of the world premieres that broke new ground this year. Some changed our perspective on dance, and others were just plain fierce, but they all got our attention and inspired our work as dance teachers.
Will Johnston and Marissa Osato’s PEEL: This piece won the 2017 Capezio A.C.E. Awards, and for good reason! The dancers demonstrated superlative synchronicity during feats of mind-blowing control on the floor (with glass bowls!).
Lauren Lovette’s Not Our Fate: The New York City Ballet principal’s second ballet featured an intimate duet for two men—company dancers Taylor Stanley and Preston Chamblee. A rare occurrence in the ballet world, this choreographic choice made both a social statement and an artistic one.
View an excerpt of Not Our Fate here.
Monica Bill Barnes’ The Museum Workout: One part museum tour and one part workout routine, this site-specific work led by Barnes and her longtime performance partner Anna Bass has participants experiencing New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in a whole new way.
Restless Creature: Though not a live dance premiere, we’re just as thankful for this documentary about ballet icon Wendy Whelan. The film captures the former NYCB principal as she shifts from her three-decade-long career in ballet to uncharted territory as a freelance contemporary dancer.
Didn’t see your favorite 2017 premiere on the list? Tell us which dance works you’re grateful for this year.
