Company

Gibney Company, led by Artistic Director Gina Gibney and Director Gilbert T Small II, commissions and performs works by renowned and rising international choreographers who are committed to exploring connections between the rigorous physicality of contemporary dance alongside responsive, humanistic storytelling. 

Presenting a broad range of aesthetics and techniques, Gibney Company has an unrelenting focus on artistic excellence and social integrity.

About

Gibney Company’s model for a 21st century dance company supports sustainable careers for dancers and healthy working relationships for artists and collaborators. 

Company members are full-time Artistic Associates who contribute not only as impeccable performing artists but also as activists and cultural entrepreneurs. The Artistic Associates advance the quality of the organization’s artistry through performance and deepen its community engagement through Moving Toward Justice Fellowships designed to address social issues and inequities in the dance field.

Gibney Company History

Gibney Company is a world-class contemporary dance company that presents a breadth of works by emerging and renowned choreographers. Based in New York City at Gibney, a dance and social justice organization founded by Gina Gibney in 1991, the Company underwent an ambitious expansion and reinvention in 2020 following a major donor gift. Over the past few years, Gibney Company has commissioned new works and is building a repertory for performances in New York and around the world. Gibney Company dancers, known as Artistic Associates, support the Gibney organization’s mission as both artists and activists, advancing artistry through performance while also leading entrepreneurial advocacy projects.

Gibney’s story began in 1991, when choreographer Gina Gibney founded her socially active dance company with a single dance studio to call home. Almost three decades later, throughout the organization’s many expansions, Gibney’s acclaimed resident dance ensemble, Gibney Company, remains at the core of its work.

Gibney Company grew alongside and within the Gibney organization as it became home to thousands of artists and community members across two New York City locations, totaling 23 studios, 5 performance spaces, and 52,000 square feet of space. Within a few years of Gibney acquiring its second location 280 Broadway in 2014, Gina Gibney expanded the Company’s directorial team.

Following its 25th anniversary in 2016, the organization re-envisioned Gibney Company in an intentional effort to empower its dancers as both artists and activists. Now known as Artistic Associates, Gibney Company members advance the quality of the organization’s artistry through impeccable performance and deepen its community engagement through dynamic change and advocacy for issues in the dance field such as diversity, mental health, and economic empowerment. Gibney Company Artistic Associates receive 52-week contracts, health insurance, on-site physical therapy, an annual artistic sabbatical, and paid vacation.

As Artistic Associates’ roles became more robust, the Company also began commissioning creation-based repertory in addition to performing Gina Gibney’s rich, evocative works. In the spirit of its namesake leader’s artistic sensibility, Gibney Company embarks on relationships with artists who are committed to exploring connections between the rigorous physicality of contemporary dance alongside responsive, humanistic storytelling.

GIBNEY COMPANY EXPANSION

In January 2020, the Company announced a transformative gift from Andrew A. Davis and  the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund. With new possibilities for commissioning original works, Gibney Company has retained its longstanding spirit of experimentation while taking a leading role in shaping a more robust landscape for contemporary dance in New York, and beyond.

Gibney Company is led by Artistic Director Gina Gibney and Director Gilbert T Small II. Since its expansion, the Company has commissioned eight new works from a wide range of choreographers including Rena Butler, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Sonya Tayeh, and Yue Yin; and performed acclaimed repertory Johan Inger and Ohad Naharin.

Gibney Company’s evolution has been inspired by our vision of creating a contemporary dance company whose artists reflect a diversity of experiences and backgrounds. Our aim is to chart a path for the future of dance as a powerful art form and an act of meaningful expression, and to connect with audiences in New York and beyond. – Gina Gibney

Over the last two years, we’ve brought some of New York’s and the world’s most renowned choreographers into our studios to create new work, or to explore fresh dimensions in existing pieces. We are inspired by their dedication to excellence and excited to share our artistry with new and diverse audiences.Gilbert T Small II

In the 2020-2021 season, the Company doubled in size and made its debut at The Joyce Theater. In the 2022-2023 season, the Company commissioned and premiered Ghost Town by Tiffany Tregarthen and David Raymond at its second season at The Joyce Theater; restaged and premiered Ohad Naharin’s work YAG 2022 at New York Live Arts; embarked on an eight city U.S. tour including performances at DANCECleveland and TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND; and premiered Johan Inger’s Bliss  at New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival. The 2023-2024 season features two new commissions, the first by the Brazilian choreographer Fernando Melo, and the second by the choreographic team of Jermaine Spivey and Spenser Theberge; featured performance of Sonya’s Tayeh’s OH COURAGE! at the 20th Fall for Dance Festival; and international tour stops at prestigious festivals including Fall for Dance North in Toronto, Holland Dance Festival, and Dance Victoria in British Columbia. The Company returns to New York City for its season finale in the spring of 2024. 

Performance

Experience Gibney Company on Stage in New York City, Toronto, British Columbia, The Netherlands, and prestigious performing arts centers across the U.S.

Gibney Company 2023-2024 Performance Schedule:

20th Fall for Dance Festival
September 27 & 28, 2023 @ 8:00 PM
New York City Center
Program:
OH COURAGE! by Sonya Tayeh | NYCC Premiere

Fall for Dance North
October 4-7, 2023 @ 7:30 PM
Toronto, Canada
Program:
OH COURAGE!
by Sonya Tayeh | OCT 4 & 5
Bliss by Johan Inger | OCT 6 & 7
This engagement is supported in part by Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtists International, a program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding.

Dance Victoria
November 17 & 18 @ 7:30 p.m.
Victoria, British Columbia
Program:

Bliss
by Johan Inger
SARA by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar
A Measurable Existence by Yue Yin

Holland Dance Festival
February 6 & 7
The Hague, Netherlands
Program:

The Fugue by Twyla Tharp
OH COURAGE! by Sonya Tayah
A Measurable Existence by Yue Yin
Tickets on sale now!

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
March 16 @ 8:00 p.m.
Scottsdale, Arizona
Program:

Bliss by Johan Inger
SARA by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar
A Measurable Existence by Yue Yin
Tickets on sale now!

The Joyce Theater

May 7-12
Tue-Wed @ 7:30 p.m.
Thu-Fri @ 8:00 p.m.
Sat @ 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sun @ 2:00 p.m.
Curtain Chat: Wed, May 8
Program:
The Fugue and Bach Duet by Twyla Tharp (Gibney Company premieres)
New work by Jermaine Spivey and Spenser Theberge (World Premiere)
A Measurable Existence by Yue Yin (Tour Favorite)
Tickets on sale now!

Repertory

Gibney Company is a creation-based repertory company commissioning work by choreographers who are committed to exploring connections between the rigorous physicality of contemporary dance alongside responsive, humanistic storytelling.

Curation

Passionate artists, activists, and advocates, Gibney Company Directors and Artistic Associates are also curators, showcasing the work of burgeoning choreographers with visions that we believe deserve to be more visible in the NYC performance scene.

 

Meet the Company

Gibney Company’s full-time dancers, known as Artistic Associates, embrace a broad spectrum of activities—in the studio, on stage, within our organization, and throughout the community.
Collaborators

Gibney Company is a creation-based repertory company commissioning work from both internationally renowned and emerging choreographers who are committed to exploring connections between the rigorous, often superhuman physicality of contemporary dance alongside responsive, humanistic storytelling.

Commissioned Artists Since 2021
Rena Butler, Fernando Melo, Alan Lucien Øyen, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Jermaine Spivey & Spenser Theberge, Sonya Tayeh, Micaela Taylor, Tiffany Tregarthen & David Raymond, and Yue Yin. 

Repertory Artists Since 2021
Sharon Eyal, Johan Inger, and Ohad Naharan

Meet our Partners

Symbio Physiotherapy

Symbio Physiotherapy is Gibney Company’s Exclusive Physiotherapy Partner

Moving you to health as we mutually grow into our best selves, insistent upon cultivation of each other and our community. Through education and empowerment, and by leading a growing movement of wellness and preventative care, we are changing the face of healthcare in our country.

The Symbio Team is a collection of the best in their fields, all personally identifying with their patients because we are just like our patients. Each provider specializes with a population they know and love because we know being part of your tribe is the fastest way to understanding what you need to get back to it.

News

Education

Artistic Associates Jacob Thoman and Leal Zielinska

Gibney PRO

Gibney PRO prepares emerging dance artists to thrive in a dynamic artistic landscape and facilitates a global network of professional relationships, including an intrinsic connection with Gibney Company.

School Programs

School Residencies

Education Residencies bring Gibney Company, Gibney’s acclaimed resident dance ensemble, to your city to work directly with your students and community.

Residencies are adaptable to support pre-existing community and educational goals. We will work with you to develop a plan that meets your needs and your budget. Gibney Company has partnered with Adelphi University, Brown University, Connecticut College, Jacksonville University, Marymount Manhattan College, New York University, Texas State University, and others on training residency programs.

To inquire about planning your residency, please contact Karen Kitchen, Executive Producer, at karen@gibneydance.org.

University Partnerships

Both acknowledging and pushing against the often transactional nature of university residency exchanges with non-profits, Gibney creates multi-year partnerships with academic institutions dovetailing together our individual resources, expertise and lived experiences in hopes of offering more comprehensive interplay between students, faculty, and university audiences with our Gibney Company Leadership and Artistic Associates. 

To inquire about university partnerships with Gibney, please contact Karen Kitchen, Executive Producer, at karen@gibneydance.org.

Gibney Company Touring & Residencies

Gibney Company is available for national and international touring opportunities including performances, community action residencies, and teaching engagements.

Contact

Contact Global Touring Representative Barbara Frum, Outer/Most, for all booking inquiries.

Email: bfrum@outermostagency.com
Tel.: +1 416-727-0725

School Residencies

Education Residencies bring Gibney Company, Gibney’s acclaimed resident dance ensemble, to your city to work directly with your students and community.

Residencies are adaptable to support pre-existing community and educational goals. We will work with you to develop a plan that meets your needs and your budget. Gibney Company has partnered with Adelphi University, Brown University, Connecticut College, Jacksonville University, Marymount Manhattan College, New York University, Texas State University, and others on training residency programs.

To inquire about planning your residency, please contact Karen Kitchen, Executive Producer, at karen@gibneydance.org.

Partners

Symbio Physiotherapy

Symbio Physiotherapy is Gibney Company’s 2021 Exclusive Physiotherapy Partner.

SYMBIO’S MISSION

Moving you to health as we mutually grow into our best selves, insistent upon cultivation of each other and our community. Through education and empowerment, and by leading a growing movement of wellness and preventative care, we are changing the face of healthcare in our country.

THE SYMBIO TEAM

A collection of the best in their fields, all personally identifying with their patients because we are just like our patients. Each provider specializes with a population they know and love because we know being part of your tribe is the fastest way to understanding what you need to get back to it.

Learn More

FREE 1:1 SESSIONS

Gibney Company and Symbio Physiotherapy are thrilled to offer two months of FREE physiotherapy sessions to the Gibney community! Every Thursday in August and September, a Symbio clinician will offer free 45 minute sessions at Gibney’s 280 and 890 Broadway locations.

Sign Up Here

Moving Toward Justice Initiatives

MTJ CURRICULUM

Gibney’s Moving Toward Justice (MTJ) Curriculum cultivates spaces for ‘artist entrepreneurs’ to build skills and foster dialogue and exchange at the intersection of arts and social justice. Geared toward artists, educators, administrators and activists alike this discussion-based curriculum centers somatic awareness and makes space for the exploration of the ‘new choreographies’ at play in social and interpersonal justice, all while expanding the definition of ‘community’ to include those right around us. Sessions could include sharing Gibney’s time-tested Model and Methods; self-management best practices; skill-building toward facilitation techniques, program development, persuasive writing, business practices in entrepreneurship; as well as the personal stories of Gibney Company’s Artistic Associates embarking on their fellowship projects addressing gaps in the dance field.

Sessions build awareness about a myriad of social justice issues and are rooted in Gibney Community’s long history in addressing gender-based violence alongside survivors and social workers. This curriculum is inspired by Gibney’s organizational-wide model valuing reflection, expression, collaboration and sustainability while intentionally progressing from internal ideas to external action, and from individual work to collective care. This four part framework aims to move from the abstract toward the tangible, internal to external, from the individual towards the collective.

Learn More

MTJ COHORT

Gibney Company’s full-time dancers, known as Artistic Associates, embrace a broad spectrum of activities—in the studio, on stage, within our organization, and throughout the community. Artistic Associates give back to the dance field through individually-crafted Moving Toward Justice Fellowships. Each Artistic Associate pinpoints a pressing issue in the dance field then leverages the resources and mentorship of the larger organization to develop, implement, and co-create new programs in response to the evolving needs of the field.

Learn More

MTJ RESOURCES

A repository of current and past Moving Toward Justice Fellowships, updates and curriculum sharing.  Check back for updates on annual convenings to further cohort relationships and share project developments.

 

Hone your technique, develop socially-engaged practices, and learn repertory in an intensive led by Gibney Company Artistic Associates. With a focus on artistic excellence and social integrity, Gibney Company activates dance artists toward their full artistic, entrepreneurial, and socially-minded selves through rigorous physical, intellectual, and interpersonal practices.

Social Engagement

Gibney Company’s full-time dancers, known as Artistic Associates, embrace a broad spectrum of activities—in the studio, on stage, within our organization, and throughout the community.

Moving Toward Justice Fellowships

Artistic Associates engage the community through individually-crafted Moving Toward Justice Fellowships.  Each Artistic Associate pinpoints a pressing issue in the dance field then leverages the resources and mentorship of the larger organization to develop, implement, and co-create new programs in response to the evolving needs of the field.

Gibney Company’s Moving Toward Justice Fellowship program is supported by the Bay and Paul Foundations and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation.

Read more about each fellowship below.

Alexander Anderson

In his Moving Toward Justice Fellowship Revive, Anderson aims to address mental health and mindfulness in the dance community to enable longevity and sustainability in dancers’ careers. In a time when artists in the field are struggling and more isolated than ever, Revive welcomes facilitators who have also been professional artists of the dance field to offer practices such as meditation and Ilan Lev Method integrated into institutional daily structures. Anderson also aims to create a yearly retreat model that will provide artists with holistic tools and mindful practices — including Reiki and hypnotherapy — to move through trauma within and outside of the dance community at little or no cost.

Rena Butler

Rena Butler is Gibney Company’s Choreographic Associate. This is a new position created to allow Butler, who joined Gibney Company as an Artistic Associate in 2020, to continue her career as a professional dancer while further developing her talent and experience as a choreographer and leader in the dance field. The three-year, full-time position will provide time and space for research and travel as Butler develops new works for Gibney Company and for dance companies in the U.S. and abroad, while she continues to rehearse and perform with Gibney Company.

Nigel Campbell

In 2015, with support from Gibney’s Moving Toward Justice Fellowship program, Campbell co-founded MOVE|NYC| with his partner Chanel DaSilva. MOVE|NYC|‘s mission is to cultivate greater diversity and equity in the dance field and beyond. The cornerstone of MOVE|NYC| is its tuition-free, Young Professionals Program which provides year-round access to 1-on-1 mentorship & college/conservatory prep for a diverse roster of gifted New York City teenagers. MOVE|NYC| aims to empower the next generation of leaders in our field by celebrating each young artist’s unique cultural identity.

Website

Instagram

Zui Gomez

Gomez’s Moving Toward Justice Fellowship aims to provide dancers/artists with the resources and support to advocate for themselves while feeling more confident in their own skin. Developed for dance professionals to students, CONFIDANZ offers photography workshops and services from a photographer’s perspective, focusing on lighting basics, movement coaching, and informative legal guidance all while valuing healthy dialogue throughout the process.

CONFIDANZ workshops create a safe and supportive environment for dance artists to learn tangible tools and build ‘confidanz’ that will support them in participating in safe, successful, and empowering photo shoots. CONFIDANZ published a 2021 calendar featuring members of Gibney Company.

CONFIDANZ is additionally supported by the Ready Foundation.

Website

Instagram

Amy Miller

Miller focuses on Gibney’s Community Action initiatives through facilitating movement workshops with survivors of trauma, conducting both local and international trainings for artists interested in engaging in social action and raising awareness about the role of the arts in violence prevention. Committed to performance as advocacy, she also works alongside Gibney’s Move to Move Beyond Storytellers. Now advocates after experiencing gender-based violence, the Storytellers activate the stage as a supportive container to reclaim a sense of agency and to move more fiercely in the direction of the shared liberation each one of us deserves.

Jesse Obremski

Obremski’s Moving Toward Justice Fellowship project OUR PATHS envisions and cultivates an ethos where WHY is at the forefront of how we see each other, ourselves, and our global community towards communal empathy. Through an online platform featuring video, written interviews, podcasts, and workshop models, OUR PATHS creates space for dialogue, highlighting artists from across the field and exploring individual motivations and ideas in an effort to foster communal empathy.

OUR PATHS is additionally supported by the Ready Foundation.

Website

Instagram

Kevin Pajarillaga

Pajarillaga’s Advocacy Fellowship project, EVERGREEN, is a platform for diverse creators to produce socially relevant and impactful new works on film. In response to the lack of in person performance opportunities during this time, this project will also serve as an online archive and database of artistic films that will be open and accessible to the public. Curated films will challenge artists to reflect on their sense of purpose in a unified and collaborative space.

In April 2021, Kevin Pajarillaga partnered with Portland school/organization “Open Space” to conduct a virtual workshop with six teachers over three days in honor of Earth Day, with all proceeds going to the environmental organization, Asian Pacific Environmental Network.

Instagram

Marla Phelan

Feeling the need to create more opportunities for dancers later in their performance careers, Phelan’s Advocacy Fellowship project, Movement Museum, aims to support mid-career and established artists in building upon their artistic portfolios. By widening participants’ skillsets within the field, the project’s ultimate goal is to promote sustainable longevity in dance. The project will provide dancers with tools, resources, and guidance from leaders in the field to support their journeys in developing multifaceted career opportunities while still performing.

Currently, Movement Museum is in production on a series of short films featuring Gibney Company’s Artistic Associates in collaboration with Movement Museum commissioned choreographers.

Jie-Hung Connie Shiau

Shiau’s Advocacy Fellowship, BODYHUES, exists to challenge harmful body stereotypes that have been fostering a culture that nurtures hierarchy, exclusion, and supremacy based on how one looks; and to remind culture that not one body is the same, and different is absolutely beautiful. It is time to dismantle body-shaming culture, deconstruct body stereotypes, and create spaces for all. BODYHUES believes that when loving and celebrating our miraculous bodies and building confidence in our bodies, we are truly thriving by unlocking the full potential, pleasure, and creativity from within.

BODYHUES, launched in August 2021, features four guest speakers presenting workshops that center nurturing self-love, self-care, self-confidence, and creativity within participants.

Instagram

Jacob Thoman

As a member of the ever-expanding LGBTQIA+ family, Thoman’s Advocacy Fellowship is a multi-prong biannual magazine featuring intergenerational artists across mediums. This publication will be dedicated to community care and self-practices that highlight senses of validation and grounding calmness.

Jake Tribus

Tribus’ Advocacy Fellowship, Converge2Emerge, (“C2E”) aims to magnify emerging choreographic voices in New York City through resource allocation, professional mentorship, career development, and artistic collaboration. We curate dance performances that seek to showcase a wide range of dance forms while challenging the Eurocentric placement of dance solely on a theatre stage by activating unconventional spaces. An application process will reward selected choreographers with the resources to create work and cultivate their voice, mentorship in self-production to continue building their portfolio, and a network to draw upon in the future.

The first selected emerging choreographer Rachel Harris and cinematographer Aidan Gibney will collaborate to create a virtual dance film set to premiere in September 2021.

Website

Instagram

LEAL ZIELIŃSKA

Zielińska’s OKAY, LET’S UNPACK THIS aims to normalize the conversation on mental health in the dance community. When the pandemic caused the cancellation of shows, tours, and rehearsals the OKAY, LET’S UNPACK THIS collective quickly realized that many artists who rely on mental health services would struggle to access critical support systems due to significant loss of income. Over the past several months, OKAY has cultivated a community of therapists and counselors who are offering free services to dancers during this unprecedented crisis. Their services are listed on OKAY’s website, www.okayokayokay.org, alongside other mental health resources. The website also shares dance artists’ own mental health stories in written and video form and offers comprehensive resource lists for anyone who might need additional support.

OKAY, LET’S UNPACK THIS launched a free 8-week Online Support Group for dance students, open to all dancers currently attending a college, conservatory, or pre-professional dance program. This marks the first expansion of Zielinska’s fellowship into this age demographic.

OKAY, LET’S UNPACK THIS is additionally supported by the Joseph and Bernice Tanenbaum Foundation, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, and Virginia & Timothy Millhiser.

Website
Instagram

Community Action

Artistic Associates receive specialized training to design, facilitate, and participate in Gibney’s Community programs.

Move to Move Beyond

Move To Move Beyond brings 365 free movement workshops annually to individuals and families who are on journeys to healthier futures.

Learn More

Hands are for Holding

Hands Are For Holding® is a school-based assembly program that uses dance to address bullying, equity, and choice in everyday interactions.

Learn More

TOURING

Gibney Company is available for national and international touring opportunities including performances, community action residencies, and teaching engagements.

Gibney Company is also available to lead digital workshops, classes, and discussion series. 

Contact Global Touring Representative Barbara Frum, Outer/Most, for all booking inquiries:

Email: bfrum@outermostagency.com
Tel.: +1 416-727-0725

Residencies

Education Residencies bring Gibney Company, Gibney’s acclaimed resident dance ensemble, to your city to work directly with your students and community.

Residencies are adaptable to support pre-existing community and educational goals. We will work with you to develop a plan that meets your needs and your budget. Gibney Company has partnered with Adelphi University, Brown University, Connecticut College, Jacksonville University, Marymount Manhattan College, New York University, Texas State University, and others on training residency programs.

To inquire about planning your residency, please contact Karen Kitchen, Executive Producer, at karen@gibneydance.org.






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