The Joyce Theater
Founded in 1982, The Joyce Theater was created by dancers for dance. Today, The Joyce is considered one of the premiere performance venues for dance and attracts an annual audience of more than 140,000. Since its inception, The Joyce has welcomed over 200 New York City-based, national and international dance companies to its stage. It would be difficult to imagine the dance world today without The Joyce Theater. In addition, The Joyce now overseas Joyce SoHo, a dance center in Lower Manhattan that is beautifully equipped with two dance studios for rehearsals and performances.
Converted from the Elgin Theater, a 1941 movie house, the Joyce theater building required a major renovation to create an elegant, intimate home for dance in New York City. The Elgin was originally a revival movie house that was closed by the community when it became a pornographic movie theater. The renovation took two years to complete and was guided by architect Hugh Hardy who preserved and expanded the patterned brick facade of the art-deco building. The entire interior was gutted to create a 472-seat theater with the technical specifications to serve the needs of small and medium-sized dance companies.
The Joyce owes its existence to many dedicated, visionary and courageous individuals. Foremost among them is LuEsther T. Mertz whose leadership support from the outset and her sustained commitment made the Theater and its programs on behalf of the non-profit dance community possible. In appreciation of her generosity, the Theater was named after her daughter, Joyce.
