Ballet Memphis began a four night run at the Joyce Theatre in New York City Tuesday. A review in the New York Times called one of the sequences “exceptional” and lauded the “imaginative grit” of founder and artistic director Dorothy Gunther Pugh. The performances echo southern music and literature, including the songs of Roy Orbison, Memphis hip-hop, and the writing of Eudora Welty.

The performance also drew a positive review from the Financial Times of London.

The Joyce invites four dance companies from outside of New York to perform each year.

Ballet Memphis’ 20th anniversary year is turning out to be a big one. The ballet received a $60,000 grant earlier this year form the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to examine intellectual and civic relevance, and operational challenges of regional ballet companies in midsized cities.