Johnny Loves Johann    

Violinist Johnny Gandelsman unites with choreographers John Heginbotham, Caili Quan, Jamar Roberts, and Melissa Toogood to create Johnny Loves Johann. Gandelsman and Company will be on island developing this exciting work from September 29 - October 6th.  

This evening-length performance pairs Gandelman’s unique interpretation of Bach’s Cello Suites—performed live on violin—with original choreography, celebrating the humanity and dance at the center of this iconic music. Bringing together communities of listeners and makers/performers, and leaning into the humanistic and folk qualities of the Cello Suites, the artistic team of Johnny Loves Johann invites audiences to an intimate encounter with Bach, offering listeners a memorable and deeply personal experience – filled with joyful lightness of spirit, an embrace of our individual imperfections, and a renewed activation of dance at the music’s core.

October 1st, 10 -11:30 am
Movement Workshop with John Heginbotham
Vineyard Arts Project, 215 Main Street, Edgartown, MA 

$25 

Led by Artistic Director John Heginbotham or company dancers, this class focuses on developing techniques for moving efficiently and expressively, with consciousness, strength, and grace. Special attention is paid to exploring and understanding the role of musicality in dancing. The class begins on the floor, incorporating the anatomically sound movement principles of 20th-century dance pioneers Irmgard Bartenieff and Rudolf Laban. A standing, ballet-informed center follows, and the class concludes with a series of dynamic traveling and jumping combinations.

Buy Workshop Tickets 

October 5th, 5:30-7 pm
Johnny Loves Johann Work-in-Progress Showing 

Vineyard Arts Project, 215 Main Street, Edgartown, MA

$10 & $20 

Limited seating. Please buy tickets in advance. 

Door sales are limited to cash and check only.

Buy Performance Tickets 

The Yard's Johnny Loves Johann residency is presented in collaboration with the Carolina Performing Arts and the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, and the MV Chamber Music Society. 

SPECIAL THANKS to Vineyard Arts Project, Slough Farm.  

Expanded Credits: Carolina Performing Arts and the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts serve as lead co-commissioners for this work.  This work also received commissioning support from The Joyce Theater’s Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New Work (with additional support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund); the Modlin Center for the Arts at the University of Richmond; Works & Process; and The Yard. Additional funding support provided by Jody and John Arnhold, Alva Greenberg, John Mittelman, Marty Peretz, and Ken and Florence Umezaki.  Fiscal sponsorship provided by Producer Hub.

As we welcome fall, we reflect on the amazing people, creativity, and inspiration from this past summer. Here are some highlights, and thank you for joining us!

We are so proud that Danza Orgánica and members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe returned to The Yard this summer to present their creative work, As Nupumukômun/We Still Dance as part of the 2-Day Martha's Vineyard Diversity Coalition's Truth & Joy Celebration. As Nupumukômun/We Still Dance is a multimedia theatrical composition created in close collaboration between members of Danza Orgánica and an intergenerational group of Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal members In collaboration with the Aquinnah Cultural Center.

We had a wonderful turnout at the shell garden for Naomi Goldberg Haas! Patrons from on and off the Island came to meet her and get a signed copy of her book, Moving Through Life: Essential Lessons In Dance. In preparation for the event, Naomi created a beautiful movement piece based on names and identity. This piece was developed through the classes she taught throughout the week.

Jody Sperling and Time Lapse Dance presented a visually stunning performance, highlighting the environment and our human relationship with nature and climate change. They included works from their standard repertoire and a new piece they developed here at The Yard. They performed at The Yard and offsite at the Field Gallery in West Tisbury. Their flowing costumes filled the field with beauty! The program was a partnership between The Yard, the Field Gallery, the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury and the West Tisbury Library.  

We are incredibly thankful for the beautiful and artistic REST.RISE.MOVE.NOURISH.HEAL performances by Red Clay Dance Company here at The Yard. The dancers presented a powerful site-responsive dance ritual that explored the healing and transformative power of reclaiming ancestral traditions of land cultivation. This created fertile ground for healing our bodies and building self-determined communities. Additionally, they performed a compelling work-in-progress piece Freedom Square: The Black Girlhood Altar, which they developed during their second week at The Yard.

Catherine Kirk, a former dancer with A.I.M by Kyle Abraham for 11 years and currently in her second season with the Trisha Brown Dance Company, offered themes of grounding, release, and fantastical storytelling in her movement workshops at The Yard. Fiery spurts and playful misdirections helped participants create a bold dynamic range while supporting precise techniques through movement. Her classes brought so much catharsis to all participants!

For a second year in a row, we are ecstatic to have partnered with Dance Theatre of Harlem! A leading dance institution of unparalleled global acclaim, Dance Theatre of Harlem brought so much joy to our island patrons, especially their dynamic Dancing in the Streets program, held onsite in Oak Bluffs in the historic Ocean Park! It was great to engage multigenerational visitors, residents and guests with this interactive program that features their unique choreography, and a soul train line!

Click here for More Information