In 2017 Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company celebrates the tenth anniversary of the hit show Encore with The Encore Project, a year-long event of live performances and films of never-before-published footage. For more info: visit: gwirtzmandance.org/encore
Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company made history with the premiere of Encore, an evening-length theatrical dance show that premiered in New York City at the Joyce Theater's Joyce SoHo in June of 2007. Encore lives at the intersection of concert modern dance and the contemporary musical theater. With an infectious score of classic jazz, Encore's exuberant cast entertains the audience in humorous and earnest fashion with the conceit that the audience is observing a final dress rehearsal. Encore is thus a show about a show, the ultimate reality show, giving audiences a peek behind the curtain into the inner workings of a dance company. An official selection of The New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF) in 2009, where it enjoyed a sold-out run, Encore has consistently toured by Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company and been licensed by numerous other professional companies, pre-professional training programs, and college and high school dance departments. It has always remained active in the repertory.
The stellar original production team:
Choreography and Direction: Daniel Gwirtzman
Lighting and Set Design: Julie Ana Dobo
Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company Dancers: Jonathan Alsberry, Daniel Gwirtzman, Madeline Hoak, Stacy Martorana, Cary McWilliam, Preston Miller, Michael Novak, Jamie Scott, Jessica Vokoun, Christian von Howard, Corey Wright.
"Encore is both the title of Gwirtzman’s new dance suite and the response it’s likely to inspire. The name refers to the repetitions of rehearsal, as a fictional troupe of Broadway dancers prepares to go on the road, but there’s little tedium in Gwirtzman’s choreography, set to classic jazz recordings. Executing his tricky syncopations and intricate patterns at breakneck tempos, the dancers can’t help but smile." Brian Seibert, The New Yorker
"No matter how many dark pieces Daniel Gwirtzman has turned out since starting to choreograph in 1995, he’s clearly a not-so-secret jazz baby who’s also a fan of Broadway…I’m a pushover for dancers who can play themselves in unaffected ways-as these do extremely well."
Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice
I found myself grinning from one of the piece to the other. Gwirtzman has made a spring fling, showing us the underside of the dancer’s world, letting us feel the sensuality of the studio and glory in the music of the first half of the 20th century.
Elizabeth Zimmer, Gay City News
