The Joyce Theater, New York, NY.
September 26, 2025.
BalletX, the Philadelphia-based contemporary ballet company, celebrated its 20th anniversary at The Joyce Theater in NYC in late September 2025. Four works were on the program, Scales On The Wings Of A Butterfly, Vivir (excerpt), Two People In Love Never Shake Hands (excerpt) and Sojourner. The Joyce Theater is well regarded as an ideal dance theater, as most seats offer excellent views, and the smaller sized house allows for a more intimate experience. The house was nearly filled on the night of my attendance, with audience members clearly excited to see the bill ahead.
The show opened with Scales On The Wings Of A Butterfly, by Noelle Kayser. Kayser is the recipient of the BalletX’s 2025 Choreographic Fellow, in which emerging choreographers are paired with more established mentors to aid in the creation of a new work. This is Kayser’s first work on pointe and was inspired by microscopic photography and the world of the unseen. The piece was highly gestural while honoring more classical ballet lines, and at the same time utilized contemporary shapes. There was a lot to watch; however, occasionally the costumes distracted me from the movement due to the busy patterns and many colors.
An excerpt from Vivir, by Darrell Grand Moultrie, was next with its celebration of Latin music, the soundtrack of the choreographer’s childhood. The solo was beautifully executed by Jerard Palazo, and used layers of gesture and simple details to marry the depths of the music to movement. Often creature-like in tone, the choreography captured both the ease and the passion of Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar by Bebo & Cigala.
Also excerpted was a duet from Two People In Love Never Shake Hands, by Nicola Wills. It pulled me in quickly, and I was lost in the poignant and nuanced world that romantic love commands. Complex partnering with atypical shapes that often appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared into the flow of arms and legs, resembled the inevitable angles that can knock a love off course…or not, depending.
Following intermission was Sojourner, by Gregory Dawson. Performed with a live jazz ensemble, the piece explores the collaborations that happen between musicians and dancers, dancers and choreographers, and dancers and themselves when they discover the unknown and welcome it to the known. This work pulled from both freeform aspects of jazz, and classic aspects of ballet to create a partnership that slips back and forth between each other’s key qualities. The result was a welcome meandering, yet punctuated journey of beauty.
By Emily Sarkissian of Dance Informa.
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