The 2013 DANCENOW Joe’s Pub Festival

After a decade of successfully presenting dance on New York City’s “best tiny stage,” DANCENOW is honored to kick off The Public Theater’s 15th anniversary celebration of Joe’s Pub with the 2013 DANCENOW Joe’s Pub Festival planned for October.

Noted for its adventurous short-takes format, the annual DANCENOW festival presents some of the most exciting and innovative dance makers in a cabaret-style showcase every fall. The 2013 festival lineup includes 40 performances over four evenings, slated for Wednesday, October 9 to Saturday, October 12. The festival’s encore performance will be presented on Saturday, October 19. All performances start at 7 p.m.

Companies and dancers performing at the festival include: Shannon Gillen + Guests, Jamal Jackson Dance Company, Clare Cook Dance Theater, danceTactics performance group, Harlem Dance Club, Sara Joel, Tze Chun Dance Company, 277DanceProject, Jane Comfort and Company, The Raving Jaynes, Steeledance, The Bang Group, Tricia Brouk, Mettin Movement, Yin Yue and Marni and Ellis Wood, amongst many others.

“Half the fun of smorgasbord events like DANCENOW is going in blind and walking out with a new artistic crush,” wrote dance critic Claudia La Rocco for The New York Times.

This season, all festival participants will take the DANCENOW Challenge, which asks artists to create a clear and complete artistic statement, in five minutes or less, for the specifics of the Joe’s Pub stage. Each evening audience members will be asked to vote for the work that best meets this challenge. The winners, four in total, will receive a weeklong creative residency at DANCENOW Silo on Kirkland Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Additionally, the top 10 works selected from the four shows will be presented at the encore performance on October 19. At the completion of the festival, DANCENOW’s producers and advisors will select one artist whose work overall best meets the DANCENOW Challenge. The winner will receive a $1,500 development stipend in addition to the weeklong creative residency at DANCENOW Silo on Kirkland Farm.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. They can be purchased by calling 212-967-7555, online at www.joespub.com and in person at The Public Theater box office from 1 to 6 p.m. Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street (between East 4th Street and Astor Place). For more information, visit DANCENOWnyc.org.

Photo: Ellis Wood and Marni Wood. Photo by Tom Caravaglia.