Works & Process at the Guggenheim Continues Fall 2021 Season

Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, continues its fall 2021 Season with more evening performances in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Peter B. Lewis Theater this November and December at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128. Following a spring season featuring robust in-person rotunda performances at a time when theaters remained dark, this fall Works & Process will resume its signature behind the scenes Artist-driven programs, uniquely blending performance highlights with insightful artists discussions all prior to premiere. Tickets on sale now for November and December programs at http://www.worksandprocess.org. 

Works & Process programs will be 60 minutes, ticketed at full capacity, and require everyone to be fully vaccinated. All individuals will be required to wear a face mask at all times. At this time, children under the age of 12, for whom there is currently no available vaccination, will not be permitted to attend.

The Metropolitan Opera: Matthew Aucoin / Libretto by Sarah Ruhl; Eurydice

Monday, November 1, 7:30 pm

The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who attempts to harness the power of music to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the underworld, has inspired composers since opera's earliest days. Composer Matthew Aucoin carries that tradition into the 21st century, adapting a play by Sarah Ruhl, who also crafted the libretto, that examines the story from Eurydice's point of view. The intelligent and entertaining new work arrives at the Met this fall, with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting a staging by Mary Zimmerman, and prior to its premiere, this program invites you to learn more about the creative process through a discussion with Aucoin moderated by Met General Manager Peter Gelb. Cast members will also present highlights. 

Harris Theater and English National Ballet: Creature by Akram Khan

Sunday, November 7, 7:30 pm

Direct from the English National Ballet world premiere at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London and ahead of the February 2022 U.S. premiere at the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater in Chicago, lead principal Jeffrey Cirio and junior soloist Anjuli Hudson will perform highlights from Creature, dancer and choreographer Akram Khan's third creation for the English National Ballet. Following the powerful impact of Khan's earlier works Dust and Giselle, Creature features an unearthly tale of exploitation and human frontiers inspired by Georg Büchner's expressionist classic Woyzeck, with shadows of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. 

For one night in New York—just days before Khan performs his 2019 Olivier Award–winning production XENOS at the Harris Theater and the Kennedy Center—Works & Process will present excerpts from Creaturealongside a discussion with Khan moderated by Meghan McNamara, Vice President, Programming and Audience, Harris Theater.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Season Preview with Robert Battle and Jamar Roberts

Sunday, November 14, 7:30 pm

Ahead of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's return to their home stage at New York City Center, Artistic Director Robert Battle, celebrating his tenth anniversary with the company, will participate in a discussion with dancer and resident choreographer Jamar Roberts prior to Roberts's farewell performance. Moderated by filmmaker Jamila Wignot (director of the acclaimed documentary AILEY), the conversation will illuminate Battle's and Roberts's choreography and the process of adapting dance from film to the stage. The newly appointed artistic director of Ailey II, Francesca Harper, will also join the discussion to share her story and vision for Ailey II. The company's acclaimed dancers will perform highlights from Battle's For Four, ahead of its premiere, capturing the pent-up energy of a world cooped up during the pandemic. Also featured will be excerpts from Roberts's Holding Space, a work about healing and the quest for sustainable pathways towards wholeness. Highlights from digital works will be screened, including Roberts's A Chronicle of a Pivot at a Point in Time, commissioned by Works & Process for premiere in 2022 at the Guggenheim. 

Dance Theatre of Harlem: Higher Ground by Robert Garland, music by Stevie Wonder

Monday, November 15, 7:30 pm

In 1971 Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) made its official New York debut in the Guggenheim's rotunda. As part of the re-opening of the Peter B. Lewis Theater after its closure due to the pandemic, DTH will return to Works & Process this fall with highlights from Resident Choreographer Robert Garland's Higher Ground, set to a selection of songs by Stevie Wonder. Initially intended to premiere just days ahead of the shutdown in March 2020, Higher Ground will now premiere in Detroit and later come to New York in spring 2022 at City Center Dance Festival. As part of this special preview at the Guggenheim, Imani Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, will moderate a conversation with Garland. Company dancers will perform highlights, and join the discussion to share how their own understanding of Higher Groundand Stevie Wonder's music has transformed over the past 18 months.

"In Higher Ground Mr. Garland has created something rare in classical dance: a ballet with a message. Seen during a rehearsal just days before the citywide shutdown, it is a marvel of a work that shows off Mr. Garland's many choreographic gifts, from his sparkling musicality to his ability to seamlessly weave classical ballet with influences from modern and social dance." – The New York Times

Miami City Ballet: Claudia Schreier and Durante Verzola

Sunday and Monday, November 21 and 22, 7:30pm

Preview new work created for Miami City Ballet, prior to its world premiere in Florida in spring 2022. For their new commission, choreographer Claudia Schreier and filmmaker Adam Barish blend ballet with technology to explore a landscape of shifting perspectives. Also presented is a pas de deux by choreographer Durante Verzola that examines and challenges the traditional gendered structure of partner dances, and takes inspiration from the process of creating work virtually during the pandemic. Verzola is the 2021 Artistic Partnership Initiative Fellow at the New York University Center for Ballet and the Arts, a position for which he was nominated by Miami City Ballet. Linda Murray, Curator, Jerome Robbins Dance Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, will moderate a discussion with Barish, Schreier, and Verzola and company dancers will perform highlights of their new work.

Leadership support for this Works & Process program provided by Charles and Deborah Adelman, and Jeffrey Davis and Michael T. Miller.

2021 Dance Magazine Awards

Monday, December 6, 7:30 pm, Pre-show starts at 7 pm

Honoring the living legends of dance, the ceremony will gather the dance community after a challenging 18 months to recognize demonstrated resiliency and integrity, and to celebrate awardees Robert Battle, Andy Blankenbuehler, Dormeshia, Akram Khan, and Tamara Rojo. Works & Process will be honored with the Chairman's Award with special citation for Dr. Wendy Ziecheck.

Alethea Pace and Yin Yue will be recognized with the Harkness Promise Awards. The Harkness Promise Awards, which offer a $5,000 grant and 40 hours of rehearsal space for innovative choreographers in their first decade of professional work, is funded by net proceeds from the Dance Magazine Awards ceremony. In partnership with Works & Process, this year's awardees will be featured in a shared evening as part of the 2022 Works & Process season in the Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim. Presentations and performance highlights will honor the awardees.

Rotunda Solstice Concert: Eyal Vilner Big Band

Monday and Tuesday, December 20 and 21, 7:30 pm

Celebrate the season with festive music and a Works & Process commission. The seventeen-piece Eyal Vilner Big Band will perform as part of this beloved annual tradition, filling the museum's iconic Frank Lloyd Wright–designed rotunda with joyous sound.

Leadership support for this Works & Process program provided by Kerry Clayton and Paige Royer.

TICKETS & VENUE

With the exception of the Dance Magazine Awards, all programs in the Peter B. Lewis Theater are $25, $15 partial view, available for purchase online only.

Rotunda Solstice Concert ticketing $50-$25.

House seats may be available for $1,000+ Friends of Works & Process. To purchase house seats, email friends@worksandprocess.org. House seats may be released to the public before performances.

For more information, call 212 758 0024 or visit worksandprocess.org.

Peter B. Lewis Theater

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

1071 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street

Subway: 4, 5, 6, or Q train to 86th Street

Bus: M1, M2, M3, or M4 bus on Madison or Fifth Avenue

Heath and Safety Information

Your health and safety are important to us.

• Every audience member must be fully vaccinated and will be required to show proof in person of vaccination authorized by the FDA or WHO, against COVID-19 before entering the theater. Proof of vaccination may include a CDC Vaccination Card (or photo), NYC COVID Safe app, New York State Excelsior Pass, NYC Vaccination Record, or an official immunization record from outside New York City or the United States. Full vaccination is defined as being two weeks or more after receipt of the second dose in a two-dose series, or two weeks or more after receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine. Visitors over the age of 18 will also be asked to show a photo ID. Full vaccination is defined as being 2 weeks or more after receipt of the second dose in a 2-dose series, or 2 weeks or more after receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine.

• At this time, children under the age of 12, for whom there is currently no available vaccination, will not be permitted to attend this performance regardless of the vaccination status of their guardian.

• Bring your three-ply face mask, N-95, or equivalent to keep yourself and one another safe. All individuals will be required to wear a face mask at all times.

• There is no coat check; please do not bring bags.

• Do not attend if in the ten days leading up to the performance, you have tested positive or experienced COVID-19 symptoms or come into close or proximate contact with a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case. If you are unable to attend due to COVID-19 exposure, please contact boxoffice@guggenheim.org in advance of the performance.

• An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public environment where people are present. Those visiting the museum do so at their own risk of exposure.

Lead funding for Works & Process is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the Booth Ferris Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, Christian Humann Foundation, Leon Levy Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Evelyn Sharp Foundation, The Geraldine Stutz Trust with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim 

Described by The New York Times as "forward thinking" and "an exceptional opportunity to understand something of the creative process," since 1984 Works & Process has welcomed New Yorkers to see, hear, and meet the most acclaimed performers and creators of the performing arts. Led by Producer Caroline Cronson and General Manager Duke Dang, Works & Process nurtures and champions new works, shapes representation, amplifies underrepresented voices and performing arts cultures, and offers audiences unprecedented access to generations of leading creators and performers. Artist-driven programs blending performance highlights with insightful discussions are, when permitted, followed by receptions in the rotunda, producing an opportunity for collective learning and community building, while also helping to cultivate a more inclusive, fair, and representative world. Approximately fifty performances take place annually in the Guggenheim's Frank Lloyd Wright–designed, 273-seat Peter B. Lewis Theater. Every summer Works & Process produces a program at the Guggenheim Bilbao as well. In 2017 Works & Process established a residency program inviting artists to create newly commissioned performances made in and for the iconic Guggenheim rotunda. In 2020 Works & Process Artists (WPA) Virtual Commissions was created financially support 84 new works and over 280 artists and nurture their creative process during the pandemic. To forge a path for artists to safely gather, create, and perform during the pandemic, from summer 2020 through spring 2021 Works & Process pioneered and produced 250 bubble residencies supporting 247 artists, made possible through the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. On March 20, 2021, after over a year of shuttered indoor performances, with special guidance from New York State's Department of Health, Works & Process, in the rotunda of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, was the first cultural organization to reopen live indoor ticketed performances. worksandprocess.org Works & Process has received support from the U.S. Small Business Administration Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and Paycheck Protection Program and NYC Employee Retention Grant Program.