by Maureen Cavanaugh, Development Officer for Individual Giving and Events

Each spring, The Joyce Theater celebrates another fantastic season with The Joyce Theater Gala. This year, as we are celebrating our 25^th Anniversary, this event is going to be more spectacular than ever. And as someone who has been spending their days preparing for this monumental evening (mark your calendars, May 5^th!), I know just how amazing this Gala is going to be. We are just a few weeks out, and with everything coming together so well, we are really ready to celebrate!

I am personally very excited for the special Gala performance that will happen at The Joyce Theater that night. As many of you know, during our 25^th Anniversary season, The Joyce Theater awarded 25 artists grants of $25,000 each to create new work. At the Gala, we will see the world premiere of one of those newly commissioned piece by choreographer Lar Lubovitch. Those of you who are familiar with Mr. Lubovitch’s work know that we are sure to see a program full of passionate musicality and stunning imagery. We will also the endlessly intriguing and fun choreography of Decadance, created by Ohad Naharin and performed by Cedar Lake (in their Joyce debut!). This company has such enormous presence when performing this piece that it is almost impossible not to be absorbed completely in Mr. Naharin’s choreography. With both Lubovitch and Naharin/Cedar Lake on one program, this one-night-only event is definitely going to be unforgettable!

As if that weren’t enough, after the performance is over, the guests are going to be whisked away to the IAC Building on 18^th Street and the West Side Highway. In case you are not familiar with the IAC Building, I recommend that you drive down the West Side Highway some evening and keep an eye out for the fun-shaped, frosty building with a beautifully colorful lobby. Those beautiful colors come from the world’s largest, highest resolution video wall that spans the length of the 120’ long lobby with panels that are 11’ high. For those of you who aren’t good with measurements, that is HUGE. And that amazing building full of diagonal lines and white frosted glass is pretty amazing as well. The architect, Frank Gehry is known for his innovative designs and genius ideas. Our party is taking place inside one of those innovative designs! Really, we wanted to make the 25^th Anniversary Gala something special. Can YOU think of a better way to celebrate?

I won’t even tell you about the menu that has been planned, because it will only make you hungry (and you wouldn’t even believe it if I told you!). But believe me, we have some good stuff coming our way, all the way from the hors d’œuvres to the desserts. Besides, who wouldn’t love to sip a silver signature cocktail while dancing the night away after a great Gala?

If you are interested in joining us for the 25^th Anniversary Gala in May 5^th, just contact the Development Office at (646) 467-8556. Tickets are on sale now! If you want to bring your friends and family, we have tables of 10 available for sale. If you want to come check it out on your own, or with a smaller group, we have single tickets available also. If you need to be part of the one-night-only performance of the new piece by Lar Lubovitch and The Joyce debut of Cedar Lake performing Ohad Naharin’s Decadance, there are a limited number of performance only tickets available as well.

Don’t miss out on The Joyce Theater’s 25^th Anniversary Gala on May 5^th! I will be there, I don’t you why you wouldn’t want to be there too!