NY City Center

[Edward]

With all its tickets priced at $10, City Center's second annual Fall for Dance Festival will present 30 dance companies from across the country and around the world during its six-night run, from Sept. 27 through Oct. 2. Among performers in the festival, intended to build new audiences for dance, are the Ballet de l'Opéra National de Lyon, the Limón Dance Company, the Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theater, the Pascal Rioult Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the New York City Ballet, Philadanco, above, the Paul Taylor Dance Company and the Joffrey Ballet. Five companies will perform on each night, and many dances will be accompanied by live music.

[Edward]

http://www.nycitycenter.org/events/e...ent_code=DAN06

New York City Center Fall for Dance Festival

For one spectacular week every fall, experience dance in New York City as you never have before! See world-renowned favorites, and join us in discovering new ones, all on one stage. Celebrate the vitality and breadth of dance in New York City and around the world! The Fall for Dance Festival will showcase 30 dance companies, many featuring the works of young choreographers on the rise. Five companies will perform on each of the six nights of the Festival, with many works performed to live music.

Lounge around with us... During Fall for Dance Festival week, the public atrium from 55th St. to 56th St. (immediately west of New York City Center's main entrance) will be transformed into a Festival Lounge: a gathering place for audience members and artists*. From 6:30pm to 11:30pm, each night of the Festival, you can relax, enjoy some music (a different DJ each night, courtesy of our media sponsor, flavorpill, grab a drink or a snack, and chat with other dance lovers. It's a great way to start or end your evening...and don't forget intermission!

* No reservations or tickets required; the Fall for Dance Festival Lounge will be open to the general public as well as to Festival artists and attendees.

Tickets will go on sale on September 9th.

[Edward]

September 4, 2005
$10 Dance Back at City Center
By SYLVIANE GOLD

There was plenty of hoopla last year - and also a bit of grumbling - when City Center inaugurated its bargain-priced Fall for Dance Festival. The $10-a-night event offered 30 companies, classical to far out, in six eclectic shows meant to bring together audiences and performers who might not otherwise cross paths.

Judging by the sell-out crowds, dance fans loved the idea. But some in the dance community feared that the foundation-supported, rock-bottom ticket price would siphon away both audiences and underwriters from the regular dance season. With the second festival set to begin Sept. 27 - another six nights, another 30 companies and a new batch of $10 tickets going on sale Friday - Arlene Shuler, president of City Center, says the fears were unfounded: "We have not heard of anybody being hurt," she said.

But hard evidence is scanty, she conceded. Some 20 percent of festival ticket buyers claimed in questionnaires that they had been to dance never or rarely; about a third were under 30. But Ms. Shuler couldn't say how many such patrons went on to sample other dance concerts later in the season. The coupon system devised to offer discounts at other dance venues was not easy to track; this year's discount offers, which will be circulated by e-mail, are designed to let City Center analyze how often they are used.

Marie Chouinard, whose contemporary company appears on Oct. 2, the closing night of the festival (along with the Joffrey Ballet and others), is not concerned about diluting ticket sales for her coming Joyce season, which opens Dec. 13. "We're doing a completely different program," she said from her home base in Montreal.

And according to Tina Ramirez, the artistic director of Ballet Hispanico, there's reason to think Ms. Chouinard has it right. After participating in last year's Fall for Dance, Ms. Ramirez said, Ballet Hispanico surveyed some 1,400 audience members at its Joyce appearances in December. Some 50 to 70 people credited Fall for Dance for their presence in the audience. At best, that's 5 percent of the respondents - but Verdery Roosevelt, the Ballet Hispanico executive director, reckons it a triumph. "Every single audience member counts when you're making new fans," she said.