FJK DANCE RETURNS TO NYC FOR FIFTH ANNIVERSARY SEASON SEPT. 13 AND SEPT. 15 AT JOHN JAY COLLEGE – FADI J KHOURY’S “UNTOLD” TO PREMIERE PLUS Guest Artist Collaborations With Choreographers Gary Pierce and Debbie Roshe

Fadi J. Khoury’s FJK Dance will return to NYC for the company’s FIFTH ANNIVERSARY SEASON with three premieres plus repertory on Thursday, September 13 (7pm) and Saturday, September 15 (7:30pm). Performances are part of the CUNY Dance Initiative and will take place at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 524 West 59th Street. Tickets are $25-$45 ($10 students), and available via www.fjkdance.com.

The program features the premiere of Fadi Khoury’s new work, “UnTold.” The multimedia performance installation, layering ancient Middle Eastern aesthetics with contemporary ballet and ballroom movement, meets at the intersection of visual art and contemporary dance. The work was conceived in two parts: the audience will first walk through sculptures and paintings in the theater lobby inspired by pre-Islamic Arab poetry, the Al Mu’alaqat (a set of seven poems), followed by a performance in which the choreography will intertwine with the shape of the Arabic calligraphy. “Untold” hopes to shed light on the hidden beauty of Middle Eastern culture, at a time when stereotypes govern Western perceptions of the region.

Guest choreographers Gary Pierce (co-founder of American Ballroom Theatre Company) and acclaimed jazz artist Debbie Roshe will also premiere new work, created for FJK’s diverse company of ten dancers.

Led by Iraqi born Artistic Director Fadi Khoury, FJK DANCE presents a distinctive mix of styles including Argentine tango, Middle Eastern movement, classical ballet and ballroom dance. FJK Dance aims to communicate peace, diversity, tolerance and harmony, in support of cross-cultural dialogue. Previous FJK Dance performances include New York Live Arts, Jacob’s Pillow, Battery Dance Festival and Dumbo (NY), as well as international performances in China, Lebanon and Turkey.

FJK company dancers represent eight different nationalities, and the composers featured hail from the USA, Egypt and Persia. FJK’s current and future collaborations with guest artists hope to enhance the conversation between jazz, ballet, Latin dance, and Middle Eastern movement.

According to Mr. Khoury, “what began as a blended choreographic form has become something larger – my role is not to just create fusion choreography, but to use dance as a message of peace for the world at large. At FJK we are offering the freedom to understand our differences artistically.”

FJK Dance “strips away unnecessary glitter from these forms to emphasize the beauty of movement itself.” – The New York Times

Performance lineup:

ECHOES (2015) Five men dance to music by Shamou, a Persian percussionist and composer who fuses Middle Eastern drums and percussion instruments with electric based sounds and rhythms. Inspired by “Dabke,” a folkloric traditional Bedouin dance from the mountains of Lebanon and Syria, the dancers together find unity, mutual support and confidence. “Echoes” offers a prayer for hope and new beginnings. Lighting Design: Calvin Anderson; Music: Shamou

BALLROOM PREMIERE (guest artist) A new ballroom work by former U. S. Ballroom Champion Gary Pierce, co-founder of the American Ballroom Theatre Company, New York City.

JAZZ PREMIERE (guest artist) A new jazz work by Broadway choreographer and dance teacher Debbie Roshe, created in collaboration with FJK Dance.

UNTOLD (2018) (World Premiere) A multimedia performance layering ancient Middle Eastern aesthetics with contemporary ballet and ballroom movement.

FJK Dance’s residency and performances at John Jay College are part of the CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI), which receives major support from The Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Jerome Robbins Foundation, the SHS Foundation, and the Harkness Foundation for Dance. CDI is spearheaded and administered by The Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College. www.cuny.edu/danceinitiative

Fadi J. Khoury, Artistic Director, was born in Baghdad, Iraq, surrounded by the folkloric music and dance of Arab culture. His father was Artistic Director of the National Iraqi Ballet, and through him, Fadi was exposed to diverse approaches to dance in the Assyrian, Syriac, and Bedouin dances of the Middle East.

At the age of thirteen he moved to Beirut, Lebanon, where he trained in classical ballet and folkloric dance, and also in modern, jazz, and ballroom dance. By 17 he was dancing professionally with Rahbani Musical Theater while studying at the Lebanese Fine Arts University. In 2005, Fadi joined the Caracalla Dance Theatre, touring the Middle East and North Africa. He moved to the USA in 2009, and performed with Caracalla at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Awarded a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in NYC, he collaborated with distinguished choreographers such as Gary Pierce, Earl Mosley and Elisa Monte.

Fadi’s versatility and passion for dance allowed him to establish a career as lead instructor and choreographer at the Arthur Murray Dance Center in NYC. He placed first in Top Teacher awards from Arthur Murray International from 2009 to 2013.

In 2014, inspired by a successful collaboration with Sevin Ceviker, he created his own company to continue to refine his distinct personal style.

FJK DANCE co-founder Sevin Ceviker also serves as Company Manager and principal dancer. Born in Istanbul, she trained in classical ballet at an early age, and while still a student performed professionally in Giselle, Nutcracker, La Bayadere and Sleeping Beauty, to name a few. In 1997 she was given the opportunity to study at the Alvin Ailey School in New York. At Marymount Manhattan College she explored an array of dance forms, beginning the eclectic multi-cultural approach that has since characterized her work.

After graduation Sevin performed with a number of companies specializing in diverse forms, from modern dance to classical Chinese. In 2006 she joined the Martha Graham Dance Company, where she spent the next six years performing solo and chorus roles around the world.

ABOUT JOHN JAY COLLEGE: www.jjay.cuny.edu

ABOUT THE GERALD W. LYNCH THEATER: Since opening its doors in 1988, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater has been an invaluable cultural resource. The Theater is a member of CUNY Stages, a consortium of 16 performing arts centers located on CUNY campuses across New York City and the CUNY Dance Initiative.