Dance program revisits formative East Village era
Stephen Petronio Company revives a series of iconic dance solos and duets from Petronio’s formative downtown collaborations from the ’80s and ’90s.
The program includes solos from Full Half Wrong (1993), Stephen’s version of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, with costumes by Leigh Bowery, and Love Me Tender (1993) set to Elvis Presley, performed by the Bessie nominated ‘Outstanding Performer,’ Nicholas Sciscione.
Also transporting us back to that heyday of creativity is the music of The Stranglers, Yoko Ono, Suede, Thom York, Anonhi and Rufus Wainwright.
“Growing up in the East Village, La MaMa was a foundational part of my artistic journey,” said Stephen Petronio. “It is a fitting place to mark our return to the stage. These revivals, reconstructions, and reimaginings are bringing us back together.”
Considered one of the leading talents of his generation, Petronio’s work is a collision of provocative new music, visual art, and fashion, producing modern landscapes for the senses. These solos and duets are golden keys to understanding his aesthetic. Petronio creates a haven for dancers with a keen interest in the history of contemporary movement and an appetite for the unknown.
Stephen Petronio Company has produced over 80 works and performed before tens of thousands of audience members around the world; 2022 will be the Company’s 38th Anniversary Season.
Photo: Sarah Silver 
Photo: Sarah Silver 
Photo: Sarah Silver
Program Details:
and then we hit the boundary where the sun’s wind ceases… (World Premiere) – Directed and Designed by Johnnie Cruise Mercer; Creative Advisor and Video Designer: Torian Ugworji Music by I Am the Earth bu LVDF, Heliopause and Drifting Circles by Anne Huller
Full Half Wrong (1993) – two excerpts. Choreography: Stephen Petronio Music: “Le Sacre Du Printemps” by Igor Stravinsky (Simon Rattle, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) Costume: Leigh Bowery; Lighting Designer: Ken Tabachnick
No More Heroes (1995) – Choreography: Stephen Petronio Commission Partner: Walker Arts CenterMusic: ‘No More Heroes’ by The Stranglers; Costume Design: Manolo; Lighting Design: Ken Tabachnick
Sleeping Pills (1996) Choreography: Stephen Petronio Music: ‘Sleeping Pills’ by The London Suede; Costume Design: Manolo; Lighting Design: Ken Tabachnick
For Today I Am A Boy (2008) – excerpt. Choreography: Stephen Petronio Commission Partner: Dancers Responding to AidsMusic: ‘For Today I Am A Boy’ by Anohni; Costume Design: Tara Subkoff/Imitation of Christ; Lighting Design: Ken Tabachnick
Pre-Weep (2011) – excerpt from Underland Concept and Choreography: Stephen Petronio Music: Nick Cave, Courtesy of EMI Music, Film & TV and Mute Song Ltd, Music Producer: Tony CohenSoundscape: Paul Healy; Costume Design: Tara Subkoff/Imitation of Christ; Visual and Lighting Design: Ken Tabachnick
Are You Lonesome Tonight (2020/2021) – (Stage Premiere) Choreography: Stephen Petronio Commission Partner: Dancers Responding to Aids Music: “Are You Lonesome Tonight” performed by Elvis Presley (BMG, 1960), composed by Lou Handman and Roy TurkCostume Design: H. Petal; Lighting Design: Joe Doran
Love Me Tender (1993/2021) – excerpt from The King Is DeadChoreography: Stephen Petronio Music: ‘Love Me Tender’ by Elvis Presley, Vera Matson, and Ken Darby/Hill & Range PublishingCostume Design: H. Petal; Lighting Design: Ken Tabachnick
Bud Suite (2006) – two excerpts Choreography: Stephen Petronio Music: ‘Vibrate’ by Rufus Wainwright (Published by Put Tit on Music/WB Music Corp. (ASCAP) Music: ‘This Love Affair’ by Rufus Wainwright Costumes: H. Petal; Lighting Design: Ken Tabachnick
Foreign Import (2007) – excerpt Choreography: Stephen Petronio Music: ‘Creep’ by Radiohead Costume Design: Benjamin Cho; Lighting Design: Ken Tabachnick
She Says (1993) – excerptChoreography: Stephen Petronio Music: ‘Telephone Piece’ (1971) and ‘Woman Power’ (1973) by Yoko OnoCostume Design: Manolo; Lighting Design: Ken Tabachnick Dancers: Larissa Asebedo, Kris Lee, Jaqlin Medlock, Tess Montoya, Tiffany Ogburn, Ryan Pliss, Nicholas Sciscione, Mac Twining
Stephen Petronio is a choreographer, dancer, and the Artistic Director of the Stephen Petronio Company. For over 35 years, Stephen Petronio has honed a unique language of movement that speaks to the intuitive and complex possibilities of the body informed by its shifting cultural context. He has collaborated with a wide range of artists in many disciplines over his career and holds the integration of multiple forms as fundamental to his creative drive and vision. He continues to create a haven for dancers with a keen interest in the history of contemporary movement and an appetite for the unknown. Petronio was born in Newark, New Jersey, and received a B.A. from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, he has gone on to build a unique career, receiving numerous accolades, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, an American Choreographer Award, a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award, and a 2015 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award.
Collaborators include some of the most talented and provocative artists in the world: composers Valgeir Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly, Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, and Peter Gordon; visual artists Robert Longo, Cindy Sherman, Anish Kapoor, Donald Baechler, and Janine Antoni; fashion designers Narciso Rodriguez, John Bartlett, Benjamin Cho, and Leigh Bowery.
Stephen Petronio Company was founded in 1984 to support the creative work of modern dance choreographer Stephen Petronio. For more information, visit http://petron.io.
La MaMa in association with Stephen Petronio Company presents Punk Picks and Other Delights in-person from November 18-21, 2021, at 7pm Thursday-Saturday and 2pm Sunday, at La MaMa, 66 E. 4th Street, NYC. Advance tickets are $25 Adults, $20 Students/Seniors, and day-of tickets are $30 Adults, $25 Students/Seniors.
Tickets are available at lamama.org/shows/petronio-punk-picks-2021.
