Dance, performance, music inspired by Agnes Martin and more made our list of things to do in New York City this week and weekend. After all, not everyone is in Miami for the Art Basel Week.
1. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Opening Night Gala Performance
The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation presents “An Evening of Ailey and Jazz” on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 at 7 p.m. at the New York City Center. A wide array of performances featuring premieres, new productions, and returning favorites will take place over the next five weeks through December 31, 2016.
For this weekend performances will be held on Friday, December 2 at 8 p.m., on Saturday, December 3 at 2 p.m. and at 8 p.m., and on Sunday, December 4 at 3 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. For the full schedule of upcoming performances, click here.
The Opening Night Gala Benefit kicks off Alvin Ailey's annual 5-week winter season in New York City. "An Evening of Ailey and Jazz" – is a special one-night-only program featuring ballets with jazz music as their soundtrack, plus Ailey's signature masterpiece “Revelations” will be performed with a live band and gospel choir. Proceeds from this gala will benefit the creation of new works, scholarships to The Ailey School, and Ailey’s educational programs for children.
Tickets to the gala can be bought here. Performance tickets start at $25. New York City Center is located at 131 w 55th St, New York, NY 10019. www.alvinailey.org. www.nycitycenter.org.
Click here for event details.
2. Sō Percussion: “A Gun Show”
BAM presents the NY Premiere of “Sō Percussion: A Gun Show” from Wednesday, November 30 to Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at BAM Harvey Theater.
Sō Percussion gives the Second Amendment a soundtrack in this foray into America’s fraught relationship with guns. Taking mallets to disassembled sniper rifles and assorted drums, the musicians serve as Greek chorus, commenting instrumentally on sung and spoken texts drawn from the nightmares and nostalgia of armed experiences. Three-time Obie-winning director Ain Gordon and choreographer and performer Emily Johnson give depth to this work. Part of the 2016 Next Wave Festival.
Tickets start at $20. BAM Harvey Theater is located at 651 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11217. www.bam.org.
Click here for event details.
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Sō Percussion. Photo: Stephanie Berger, Courtesy of BAM.
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3. Mary Kelly in Conversation at The Whitney
The Whitney Museum presents “Mary Kelly in Conversation With Rosalyn Deutsche” on Thursday, December 1, 2016 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The conversation will be held on floor three, in the Susan and John Hess Family Theater.
To mark the publication of “October Files: Mary Kelly,” a new anthology of essays and interviews that span the artist’s career, Mary Kelly will discuss her work with the critic and theorist Rosalyn Deutsche. The conversation will highlight Kelly’s sustained engagement with feminism and feminist history and her engagement with themes including labor, war, trauma, and the politics of care. Mary Kelly is known for her project-based work, addressing questions of sexuality, identity and historical memory in the form of large-scale narrative installations. This program is being held in connection with the exhibition “Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney’s Collection,” which includes Kelly’s “Antepartum” (1973).
Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for members, students and seniors. The Whitney is located at 99 Gansevoort St, New York, NY 10014. www.whitney.org.
Click here for event details.
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installation view of "Antepartum" by Mary Kelly, 1973. Super 8 film transferred to video, black-and-white, silent; 1:30 min. looped. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of the artist.
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4. John Zorn: Music for Agnes Martin
The Guggenheim Museum presents “John Zorn: Music for Agnes Martin” on Thursday, December 1 and Friday, December 2, 2016 at 7 p.m.
Composer John Zorn will assemble a cast of musicians for an evening of music performed in the Guggenheim’s rotunda. Agnes Martin inspired Zorn’s “Dark River” from his 1995 album “Redbird,” and this program serves as the premiere of two brand-new compositions also inspired by her work, “Praise” and “Blue Stratagem.” The program concludes with an exhibition viewing of “Agnes Martin.”
Tickets for this concert are now sold out. Standby tickets will be made available at the door beginning at 6:50 p.m. on a first-come-first-served basis. The Guggenheim Museum is located at 1071 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128. www.guggenheim.org.
Click here for event details.
5. Book Signing at Strand Bookstore
Aperture Foundation NY and the Strand presents the Talk & Book Signing “Bruce Davidson at Strand” on Monday, December 5, 2016 from 7 to 8:15 p.m. The talk will be held in the Rare Book Room
Bruce Davidson will be in conversation with Darius Himes, International Head of Photographs for Christie’s and co-author of “Publish Your Photography Book.” Davidson has been a member of the Magnum Photos agency since 1958, with projects like East 100th Street and The Dwarf. He chronicled the events and effects of the Civil Rights Movement around the country, in both the north and the south, receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship for his efforts. One of his pieces from his Brooklyn Gang collection even ended up on an album cover for Bob Dylan. Davidson will also discuss his latest collection, “Survey.”
Admission is $15 and includes a $15 gift card to Strand. Strand Bookstore is located at 828 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. www.aperture.org. www.strandbooks.com.
Click here and here for event details.
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