The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI), an expansive program providing New York City choreographers and dance companies with creative residencies on CUNY campuses, announces Jon Lehrer Dance Company on March 8, 2025 at 7:30pm at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers Street, New York, NY, 10007. General admission tickets are $40 and student tickets are $30. Tickets can be purchased online at https://tribecapac.org/event/jon-lehrer-dance-company/ or by calling (212) 220-1460.
Jon Lehrer Dance Company (JLDC), led by Queens-native Jon Lehrer, will present an evening of world-renowned repertory, including the world premiere of Foster, and the NYC premiere of Volt.
JLDC began in 2007 in Buffalo, NY and Jon moved the company to his hometown of NYC in 2019. Under Jon Lehrer’s artistic direction, the company showcases his unique choreography and definitive style. His extensive background in both modern and jazz dance idioms fosters choreography that is organic, athletic, artistic, and often humorous, with themes rooted in human experiences.
Program Details
Foster (World Premiere): In 2016, Jon’s younger brother, Michael Foster Lehrer, developed ALS – a degenerative disease that causes the progressive loss of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Michael passed away on January 17, 2023. Foster is a window into those six difficult years, as Jon watched his brother slowly yet too quickly succumb to this horrible disease.
Volt (NYC Premiere): Set to five high-octane percussive songs, this new work brings the company’s signature blend of artistry, athleticism, and entertainment to a new level.
mingos! (2023): A raucous and wild comedic romp set in a classic Las Vegas revue, where a Flamboyance of Flamingos are transformed into an Ostentation of Peacocks!
La Follia (2022): The madness and musicality of Vivaldi combined with the physical and athletic ingenuity of the dancers.
Here In This Eden (2013): Breathtaking and beautiful, this duet depicts two individuals who are completely lost in their love for each other.
“Almost divine, Here In This Eden was a wonderfully harmonious and dreamy
pas de deux with great charisma.” – Onetz – Amberg, Germany
A Ritual Dynamic (2007): The company’s very first piece, which laid out its signature aesthetic.
​ “Surprise landings and tableaux that sliced space into unexpected geometrics kept the
audience on the edge of their seats.” – Dance Magazine
Bridge and Tunnel (2001)
Jon’s playful and joyous homage to growing up in Queens, NY – specifically his high school years in Flushing. Originally created on Giordano Dance Chicago, this celebratory work is set to the music of Paul Simon (another Queens native).
“Jon Lehrer’s delightful Bridge and Tunnel is a playful hymn to the sidewalks of the outer boroughs. It’s a first rate sample of American vernacular dance. – Chicago Reader
Jon Lehrer Dance Company (JLDC) was founded in 2007 in Buffalo, NY, and moved to NYC in 2019. Under the artistic direction of Jon Lehrer, JLDC showcases Jon’s unique choreography and definitive style. His extensive background in both modern and jazz dance idioms fosters choreography that is organic, athletic, artistic, and often humorous. JLDC’s signature style is based on three main elements of movement – Circularity, 3-Dimensionality, and Momentum – creating a form that is best described as “Organically Athletic” – fusing the principles of physics with dance technique. JLDC has made a name for itself in the dance world by striking the elusive balance between art and entertainment, creating a true spectacle onstage which can be enjoyed by dance experts and novices alike.
The company tours extensively, receiving critical acclaim worldwide. Dance Magazine praised “the company took the house not so much by storm as by quantum physics,” and Galerie Ortenau in Offenburg, Germany declared, “Dynamic, Powerful, Elegant – brings an absolute passion for the dance.” JLDC has toured to Europe every two years since 2014. For their latest tour, JLDC created a full evening to the music of Leonard Bernstein, called “Bernstein Celebration”. JLDC was honored to be one of only a handful of dance companies worldwide ever given the rights to use Bernstein’s music. From 2012-2016, JLDC toured to Russia as cultural ambassadors, sponsored by the US State Department in order to “bring the best in American modern dance to the people of Russia.”
In 2024, the CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI) marked a decade of supporting the NYC dance field. The program was developed in response to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s 2010 report, “We Make Do,” which cited how destabilizing the shortage of affordable rehearsal space in New York City is to the dance sector. A successful pilot supporting residencies on four CUNY campuses in 2013 led to CDI’s formal launch in 2014. Since then, CDI has become key player in New York City’s performing arts ecosystem, leading a consortium of 13 CUNY colleges and three arts organizations to host 20+ residencies for NYC choreographers and dance companies each year. In the past 10 years, CDI has granted 247 residencies to emerging and established choreographers, providing invaluable resources to artists, while enhancing CUNY students’ education and cultural experiences. The CUNY Dance Initiative’s 10th Year Impact Report can be seen at https://www1.cuny.edu/sites/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2024/01/cdi_impact_report.pdf.
The CUNY Dance Initiative receives major support from the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture program, SHS Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, and the National Endowment for the Arts. www.cuny.edu/danceinitiative
BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, the longest operating performance venue in lower Manhattan, is dedicated to identifying, supporting and presenting established and emerging artists in a variety of disciplines, including music, dance and children’s theatre to the diverse Metropolitan audience.
Located at 199 Chambers Street in a burgeoning downtown business and residential district and within a city-owned college facility (serving over 24,000 students), BMCC Tribeca PAC is Downtown Manhattan’s premiere presenter of the arts, reaching audiences from the college community, Downtown residential and business communities, schools, and audiences of all ages.
BMCC Tribeca PAC strives to present a broad global perspective through the presentation of high quality artistic work in music, theater, dance, film and visual arts. We support emerging and established artists who create, inspire creativity and imagination, celebrate diversity and change, as well as instill emotional, social, and political awareness.