State of Darkness

Choreographer Molissa Fenley’s celebrated solo work, State of Darkness, finds new life at The Joyce Theater this fall, performed by a new generation of New York’s acclaimed dancers. Our audiences are virtually invited to watch this unique collection of solo performances of Fenley’s tour de force work, broadcast live each weekend from The Joyce stage. 

Originally commissioned by the American Dance Festival in 1988, State of Darkness challenges Stravinsky’s cacophonous “Sacre du Printemps” (Rite of Spring) with an intense 35-minute solo performance of relentless fervency, technical precision, and fearless abandon. Inspired by the Joffrey Ballet’s production of Nijinsky’s Rite of Spring, Fenley reimagined the commanding score as the sonic landscape for a solo journey.

Adapting her creative process to our emergent world of social distance, Fenley restaged her solo individually with seven dancers: 2020 Juilliard grad Jared Brown; Lloyd Knight of Martha Graham Dance Company; Sara Mearns of the New York City Ballet; Shamel Pitts, former Batsheva Dance Company member; Annique Roberts of Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE; Cassandra Trenary of American Ballet Theatre; and Michael Trusnovec of Paul Taylor American Dance Company. State of Darkness features original lighting design by David Moodey, and costume design by Marc Happel. 

Performance Schedule

Saturday, October 24
5pm: Michael Trusnovec
8pm: Jared Brown

Sunday, October 25
5pm: Annique Roberts
8pm: Shamel Pitts

Saturday, October 31
5pm: Lloyd Knight
8pm: Cassandra Trenary

Sunday, November 1
5pm: Sara Mearns