Red Bucket Follies 2024

On December 9 and 10, the company was honored to join the roster of Red Bucket Follies, representing Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA) and taking place at Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre. Initiated by our friends at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the show is named for the iconic red buckets that, for six weeks, volunteers hold in Broadway theater lobbies to collect audiences’ post-performance contributions.  For our part in this fantastic display of songs, skits and dances, we staged the last section of David’s Whirlaway, his beloved New Orleans tribute created to an Allen Toussaint soundtrack. Thanks to our dear friends at DRA for including us in these magical and moving afternoons!

Congratulations to the Broadway, Off Broadway and touring productions that raised an astounding $5,320,146 for Broadway Cares and their essential life-saving programs.

Photos by Rebecca J. Michelson, courtesy of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

In The Studio: Italia

Our Milan Intensive

Our Italy Intensives

Our time in Italy has extended beyond the stage to reach aspiring dancers in two Official Parsons Dance Intensives conducted in partnership with Gisella Zilembo-Eventi Danza. The first Intensive took place in Milan from November 1-3, where 93 students and 14 dance teachers were led by David and Abby Silva Gavezzoli, another cherished former Parsons dancer. The second, having taken place in Rome from Nov 15-17, was also taught by David and Abby along with Zoey Anderson, three amazing teachers who helped more than 63 young artists refine their technical skills.

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Moments from our time in Italy

On The Road

"Parsons Dance overwhelms Italian audiences once again with its vibrant and radiant dance,” declared Askanews, the Milan publication, about the opening of the Italian tour in the city’s famed TAM Teatro Arcimboldi. Highlighting the three shows—the presence of Elena D’Amario, the beloved former Parsons dancer, who is now an Italian television star. Her rendition of Balance of Power, the impassioned David Parsons-created solo, simply brought the house down!

We're looking forward to greeting more fans before the tour ends in Genoa on December 3.

Thank You, Hudson Valley Dance Festival!

Parsons dancers performing David Parsons’ Whirlaway at the Hudson Valley Dance Festival 2024. Photo by Elyse Mertz, courtesy of DRA.

On Sunday, October 13 we had the honor of performing at the Hudson Valley Dance Festival –  the 11th annual benefit for Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Taking place at Historical Catskill Point in Catskill, NY, the Festival has always been special because it allows us to re-connect with Denise Roberts Hurlin, DRA’s Founding Director, who, in 1987, was a founding company member of Parsons Dance and continues to be a dear friend. We loved joining other contemporary dance companies for this impassioned show and delighted in Zoey Anderson’s performance of Takademe, created by Robert Battle, another cherished Parsons Dance alum. Also on the program—Whirlaway, David Parsons’ 2014 tribute to New Orleans set to a mesmerizing Allen Toussaint score.

Thank you, Denise and the staff of Broadway Cares for your wonderful efforts in support of such a critical cause and congratulations on raising a record $170,629! Read more about the festival’s success and watch a recap video here.

Zoey Anderson performing Robert Battle’s Takademe. Photo by Elyse Mertz.

Our Lake Placid Residency: September 9-29

From September 9-29, Parsons Dance returned to Lake Placid Center for the Arts (LCPA) for its fourth residency at this stunning venue located in the Adirondack Park of Northern New York.  We thank our dancers for the energy they displayed throughout these weeks and for their skill in training aspiring dancers to learn from them. 

The residency was especially rewarding because it gave us the opportunity to work with commissioned choreographer Rena Butler, who is setting a new piece on the company in collaboration with composer Darryl J. Hoffman.  Commenting on the meaning behind her movement, Butler says, “It’s a lot about the inner child, things we forgot in making progress within ourselves as adults." Read more about the creation in this story from Lake Placid News.

Photos by Grace McIntyre

While in residency, our dancers also led in-person and virtual classes, along with workshops geared towards teaching the Parsons approach to contemporary dance. All workshops and open rehearsals were free and available to everyone, with all experience levels welcome.  In addition, the company staged a public performance that included beloved repertory pieces and recently created works from the Parsons repertory. 

We are incredibly grateful to the Lake Placid community and the Lake Placid Center for the Arts for welcoming us!

Parsons dancers after the first day in residency

Our Performance at the Hamptons Fine Art Fair

Parsons dancers performing Jamar Roberts' Juke (2024) and David Parsons' Shining Star (2004) on July 11 for the VIP opening preview of the Hamptons Fine Art Fair.

Thank you to Rick Friedman of the Hamptons Fine Art Fair for welcoming us, and to the amazing audience for your support.

Thank You To Our 2024 Summer Intensive Participants!

Moments after our 2024 Summer Intensive Final Showcase

Congratulations to the dancers who completed our 2 week Summer Intensive this June!

Highlights from this year’s Intensive:

• Masterclass with David Parsons, with live drums by Pablo Eluchans

• Modern Masterclass with Rehearsal Director and former company dancer, Liz Koeppen Kalosieh

• Mock Audition with feedback

• Lunch time Q&A with David and the company

• Photoshoot with Katie Mollison

• Ballroom with Zoey Anderson

• Floor Work with Luke Romanzi

• Partnering with Joe Cyranski

On Friday, June 28, participants had the opportunity to perform in a final showcase that featured Parsons repertory, in addition to our ballroom, floor work, and masterclass combos. Thank you to all of the parents and friends who attended this year’s showcase! Be sure to check out our Instagram highlight (linked below) for a sneak peek into class:

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Thank you to our sponsors who donated to our 2024 Summer Intensive welcome bags: Tiger Balm, Body Wrappers, GoGo squeeZ, Mamma Chia, and Crispy Green. We are so appreciative of your generosity!

"About Sprouts" At Battery Playscape June 14-15

About Sprouts 2023

On June 14 and 15, the company returns to downtown Manhattan’s Battery Playscape for a second partnership with Ballet Tech — The New York City Public School for Dance. In store is another charming performance of About Sprouts, the David Parsons work featuring over 50 fourth and fifth grade students moving alongside our dancers and aerial puppets.

Performances take place at 2pm and 3pm each day and are free and open to the public. We would love to see you there!

At Home And On The Road

Photo of David Parsons’ The Shape Of Us by Paula Lobo

We loved connecting to New York City audiences during our annual Joyce season and thank so many of you who saw us perform. The two weeks were filled with three world premieres, a lively family matinee, and, as part of our outreach initiatives, a special sensory friendly show featuring modified lights and sounds and designated play and quiet spaces.

After rest, rehearsals, and more New York City based activity, the company will take to the road again in early August when it will make stops in Santa Fe and Aspen before heading to Jacob’s Pillow for the first time in 25 years! Running from August 7-11 at the Pillow’s fabulous Ted Shawn Theatre, the Parsons appearance will feature classic pieces like Swing Shift and Nascimento, along with the duet from Finding Center, featuring art work by Rita Blitt. Another program highlight—Jamar Roberts’ Juke, fresh from its world premiere at The Joyce.

Following the Pillow appearance, the company takes off for an exciting tour through Brazil from August 14 through 25 to perform seven shows across four cities: São Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, and Rio de Janeiro. Stay tuned for more information about the program, and please consider meeting us on the road!

See Us At The Joyce!

Click to enjoy scenes from our previous Joyce seasons. Video by Suspension Productions.

Parsons dancers are gearing up for another fantastic New York City season when we take the Joyce stage from May 14 through 25 with three world premieres:

• The Shape of Us, created by David Parsons and set to music by Son Lux, the experimental group led by Ryan Lott that received an Oscar nomination for its soundtrack for 2023 Academy Award winner Everything All at Once.

• Thick As Thieves, created by Penny Saunders and set to a rhythmic musical score by Michael Wall, performed live and described by Saunders as “mischievous, mysterious, and fun.”

• Juke, created by Jamar Roberts, set to Spanish Key, a piece composed by jazz legend Miles Davis that appeared on his 1970 seminal album, Bitches Brew. 

Rounding out the program are revered repertory works--Caught and Whirlaway, along with Takademe, a solo created by Robert Battle in 1999 when he was a company dancer.

On The Road: March 2024

Parsons dancers during the Q&A of a student matinee in Asheville, NC

Following recent performances in Gainesville, FL and Asheville, NC, our dancers returned to NYC to begin working with students from Ballet Tech—NYC’s Public School For Dance for the third annual performance of About Sprouts. This performance will take place on June 14 and 15 at Battery Playscape.

We are also rehearsing for shows that will find us in Aiken, SC on March 8 for Joye in Aiken, the performing arts festival staged at the University of South Carolina’s Aiken Community Theater. Next stop is Atlanta for a March 10 show at Georgia State University’s Rialto Center for the Arts, and then on to Dallas to appear on March 15 and 16 as part of TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND. Stay tuned for more that includes news about our May 14-25 Joyce season.

In The Studio: Jamar Roberts

A highlight of our upcoming Joyce season will be the world premiere of a work by Jamar Roberts, former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer and Resident Choreographer, and now one of the hottest choreographers around.  Roberts’ work is set to Spanish Key, the piece created by jazz legend Miles Davis, that appeared on his 1970 seminal album, Bitches Brew.  “I’ve always been attracted to jazz for its effect on me as an artist, for how it encourages me to find my choreographic voice,” says Roberts.   And about his collaboration with the Parsons dancers, he declares, “When I watched them rehearse this piece, I wanted to dance with them.  They showed me that they had the tools I needed.  They were inspired by the music, and they know how movement works.” 

Check out the video for some early rehearsal footage of the new Roberts piece. Tickets for our Joyce season go on sale to the general public on January 4.

Video by Suspension Productions

Natalie Lomonte appointed new Associate Artistic Director

New York City-based choreographer, director and teacher Natalie Lomonte will be joining Parsons Dance as Associate Artistic Director, a newly created position. Adding Natalie to our staff means welcoming her home. A Parsons dancer from 2008 to 2009, she eventually pivoted from performer to choreographer.

In 2014, she returned to Parsons Dance in this new role, serving as David’s assistant when he created repertory works Whirlaway and The Introduction. In 2015, she received our first GenerationNOW choreography fellowship to create Within which premiered and The Joyce. In 2018, she spent six months in Japan assisting David in creating the choreography for A Knight’s Tale. "Performing with Parsons Dance is a rush like no other; the movement still lives in my bones,” says Natalie, “I am honored to return once again to work with David and the company."

Her performance experience beyond Parsons includes dancing for MOMIX and Pilobolus, appearances in the film Sex and The City 2 and in the original Broadway cast of Spiderman:Turn Off the Dark. Following her career as a dancer, she served as Assistant Stage Director and Choreographer to Mia Michaels for The New York Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes. Since 2012, she has been the movement director for One Year Lease Theater Company.

A devoted dance teacher, she has taught at Fordham University, and has led movement workshops at Harvard, Vassar, PACE and Marymount Manhattan, where she currently serves as Vice President of the Dance Department Advisory Board.

“We are thrilled to have Natalie join us,” David Parsons declares, “a former member of the company with years of experience in all aspects of our business, she is a great addition to the team.”

Catch Us In Lake Placid When The Company Previews A New Piece!

Parsons dancers rehearse new work with choreographer Penny Saunders.

“I love working with Parsons Dance,” says choreographer Penny Saunders about her experience in creating a new piece on the company during our three week residency at Lake Placid Performing Arts Center. “Feeling trusted is a great place to start,” Saunders goes on to say, praising not only our dancers but also David who, when she began the choreographic process, simply said “do what you want.”

As she digs for her own voice, Saunders has called on Parsons dancers to help her explore what she hopes to be a mischievous, mysterious, and fun piece, one filled with sound generating from a rhythmic musical score by the talented composer Michael Wall. Incorporating piano, trumpet and vocals with the amplified sound of dancers’ breathing and stomping feet, the piece will make its world premiere during our Joyce season next spring.

We’re delighted that Lake Placid audiences will have a chance to catch a preview performance
of this new work on September 1 when it appears on a program that features Parsons repertory
favorites as well.

Parsons dancers enjoying 2023 Lake Placid Residency with choreographer Penny Saunders.

On The Road: July 2023

The incredible group of artists who came together to perform at the Fire Island Dance Festival. Photo by Rory Pottruck.

This month is packed with great gigs! On July 15 and 16, we were thrilled to return to the Fire Island Dance Festival, where, despite the pounding rain, the captivated crowd cheered us on as we performed excerpts from Whirlaway, the 2014 David Parsons work set to a fabulous Allen Toussaint score.  Our thanks goes out to the folks at Dancers Responding to Aids for hosting this annual festival.  We’re always proud to partner with you!

And we won’t be away from water for long! Our next stop is Saturday July 29, when we appear at the Westhampton Beach Project, the annual outdoor free event created by local resident and artist Steven Colucci.  The evening promises to be delightful, featuring Swing Shift and In The End, two of our most engaging repertory works.

August brings us back to NYC and to The Duke on 42nd Street at New 42 Studios to continue our educational outreach efforts by joining Barkha Dance Company and Ballet Hispánico for New Victory Dance, the much applauded series centered on performances curated for young audiences. We will be on stage for four school shows running from August 1 through 4 and one public performance on August 3, with Balance of Power on tap for all. Although David Parsons created the work as a solo, New Victory Dance audiences will have the special treat of seeing Zoey Anderson and new dancer Joseph Cyranski perform it as a duet. Grab your favorite kids and make plans now to see the show!

"Fun and clever" - The New York Times

See the David Parsons premiere of Mr. Withers and more during our Joyce season, running now through March 26, to experience what The New York Times describes as the “freshness” of the entire program, including live music and a new work by Rena Butler, all of which “bring a youthful energy to a company that is approaching 40—one whose co-founder the great lighting designer Howell Binkley died in 2020.  That’s comforting from a group that reliably provides comfort. The shared vision of Binkley and Parsons is still going strong.”

Header photo courtesy of Paula Lobo
Video courtesy of Suspension Productions

20th Anniversary of "Swing Shift" at The Joyce

Swing Shift photo by David Parsons in 2003, its premiere year.

Throughout our upcoming Joyce season, taking place from March 15-26, audiences will not only be treated to two world premieres; they will have the chance to experience Swing Shift, a cherished David Parsons piece built around a series of duets and trios that he describes as “a study of speed and partnering.”  To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of this compelling work, a piano, violin and cello trio, appearing live on evening programs, will perform the original commissioned score created by Juilliard-educated, Oregon-based composer Kenji Bunch. The fervor of the dancing and the jazzy propulsion and “wide emotive appeal” (The New York Times) of Bunch’s music are a perfect match, one that creates what David describes as “just a joyous piece.”