From the very beginning, we’ve found ways to serve the larger community at the intersection of music and dance with unique service programs that fill a void in the arts scene in New York City and beyond. Here’s what we’ve been doing:
The Periapsis Open Series
In our early seasons, we’d invite other choreographers to perform new work on our season performances and help them discover music by living, mostly emerging composers. They’d work with their own dancers but use our musicians (and often be in touch with the composers), gaining a collaborative opportunity that was extremely rare in New York City. This program has been discontinued, but it planted the seeds for a new program that has become a major presence in New York.
In the spring of 2016, we initiated the Periapsis Open Series, a paid performance opportunity for New York-based choreographers who are creating work with composers and/or performing with live music. Curated by Jonathan Howard Katz, artists are chosen through an open application process. Through dedicated Open Series programs and by incorporating Open Series guests in our company’s programs, we’re able to showcase a huge range of talent, covering an impressive variety of artistic styles and ways in which the music and dance worlds can be brought together. This is a unique and valuable platform for artists who are creating their own innovative collaborations.
During COVID, the Ipseities program, created by artistic director Jonathan Howard Katz, presented guest choreographers in a similar way to the Periapsis Open Series, but focused around a particular artistic project.
The next call for work will be announced on social media and posted on our opportunities page.
Between the Periapsis Open Series and the other programs, we’ve presented a staggering amount of work, including:
Fernando Acevedo, Samuel Adler, Joachim Andersen, J. S. Bach, Marcos Balter, Armondo Bayolo, Francesco Beccaro, Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, Johannes Brahms, Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, Francesca Caccini, Robert S. Cohen, Mira Cook, Jack Fuller (GypjaQ), Whitney E. George, JC Gonzalez (One Truth), Zachary Green, Trevor Gureckis, James Holt, Jonathan Howard Katz, Keven Keller, Pawel Knapik, Tonia Ko, Steve Kunzman, Pascal Le Boeuf, Moira Lo Bianco, Eugene Marlow, Matt McBane (Build), Tom Morrison, Charlotte Mundy, Tristan Murail, Peter Michael von der Nahmer, Jenna Nicholls, Piotr Nowotnik, Felipe Perez Santiago, Kala Pierson, Tim Prepscius, Steve Reich, Daniel J. Reyes, Dana Dimitri Richardson, Jim Robertson, Carmen Rothwell, Frederic Rzewski, Jeri Silverman, Alexander Sovronsky, Haralabos Stafylakis, Natalia Steinbach, Georg Philipp Telemann, Dmitri Tymoczko, Dorian Wallace, Ron Wasserman, John Yannelli
The Periapsis Open Series is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Emerging Artist Residencies
In June, 2017, at the end of our fifth season, we launched the pilot program of our Emerging Artist Residencies. Over two weeks, two pairs of choreographers and composers created new work on our company members (dancers and musicians), receiving valuable feedback along the way from guest artist Janis Brenner. A culminating works-in-progress showing, with audience discussion, completed the program.
Selection was extremely competitive, with over fifty artists applying for only four spots. The following year was even more competitive; our 2018 program was hosted by NYU Tisch Department of Dance and brought in guest teacher Tiffany Rea-Fisher.
To our knowledge, no other program currently exists that brings the music/dance collaborative creative process into a workshop process like this, with all artists participating for the full process and with the feedback and performance components. It is a powerful example of the need within the artistic community for organizations like Periapsis Music and Dance.
The next call for artists will be announced on social media and posted on our opportunities page.
The Emerging Artist Residencies program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Online Resources
Free resources
We’ve found that there are many ways to help facilitate choreographer/composer collaborations even when we’re not directly producing a performance opportunity, and we’ve been addressing these through our informational resources. They’re free to access but require a login on our site.
The Composer List is a way for choreographers to find composers who are looking for dance collaborations. It’s free, uncurated, and organized by city. Just click on a name to visit that composer’s website, listen to their music, and get in touch with the composer if you so choose. So far, over 500 composers have signed up from 39 different US states/territories and 48 other countries.
We’re also making FAQ-style guides to all aspects of music/dance collaborations, including Working with Musicians, Working with Composers, Licensing Music and Recordings, and For Composers: Working with Dance. These are under construction, but there’s already a wealth of information posted.
Premium resources
Artistic director Jonathan Howard Katz is offering a low-cost, online workshop for choreographers and dancers with an interest in developing a deeper relationship with music. For more information, please see our education page.
Other programs
In addition to the above, we’ve hosted networking events for composers and choreographers, produced occasional live music workshops for choreographers, and offer a variety of educational programs as well. Please see our education page and calendar page, and connect with us to learn about new programs and opportunities!