GIBNEY COMPANY

Join us for a transformative evening as Gibney Company, one of New York’s leading contemporary dance ensembles, makes its debut at Guild Hall. With a powerful mix of athleticism, artistry, and thought-provoking storytelling, this debut performance showcases a carefully curated program of new and reimagined works by three visionary choreographers: William Forsythe, Lucinda Childs, and Peter Chu.

PROGRAM

William Forsythe – Trio (of six) (1996, reconfigured for Gibney Company)
Trio (of six) is a reconfiguration of Forsythe’s celebrated 1996 work, which had been a staple of his repertoire in Frankfurt, Germany. Restaged several times in its original trio form, including at the Paris Opera Ballet, Forsythe requested the opportunity to adapt the work for Gibney Company, whose small ensemble offered a unique level of organizational flexibility. This six-person staging reflects Forsythe’s practice of evolving works over time, adapting them to different environments and creative contexts.

Lucinda Childs – Three Dances (for prepared piano) John Cage Lucinda Childs’ Three Dances (for prepared piano) John Cage explores the rhythmic intensity of John Cage’s 1944-45 composition Three Dances through a lens of movement. Childs’ signature postmodern minimalist precision and deep reverence for structured repetition shine in this world premiere for eight dancers. The work exemplifies Childs’ lifelong engagement with transdisciplinarity and formalism, while also nodding to her roots in the Judson Dance Theater. It is a stunning exploration of how sound and movement can intimately coexist.

Peter Chu – Echoes of Sole and Animal 
Peter Chu’s Echoes of Sole and Animal draws inspiration from the principles of qi gong and taiji, inviting dancers to surrender to the intangible, allowing internal sensations to guide their movements. Rooted in traditional Chinese practices that cultivate energy flow, balance, and breath control, this work explores the interplay of opposites—strength and softness, expansion and contraction, stillness and motion—embodying the yin-yang concept of harmony. Set to an immersive soundscape, Chu’s choreography deepens the connection between dancers and their environment, creating a space where pulse and rhythm intertwine, revealing the complexity of energy and flow.