NEW YORK THEATRE BALLET presents Keith Michael's The Nutcracker at Florence Gould Hall

New York Theatre Ballet will perform Keith Michael's The Nutcracker from December 11-13, 2015 at Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street, NYC (between Park and Madison Avenues). Performances are Friday at 12pm; Saturday at 11am, 1pm, and 3:30pm; and Sunday at 11am, 1pm, and 3:30pm. Tickets are $24 for children 12 and under and $34 for adults, and are available online at www.nytb.org, via Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787, or in person at the Florence Gould Hall box office at (212) 355-6160. For group sales: 212-679-0401 or email groups@nytb.org.

New York Theatre Ballet (NYTB) returns for a fifth year of Keith Michael's The Nutcracker, an enchanting holiday ballet. From clockwork imps to a luminous owl that flies above the audience, mice dressed in polka dots and dancers dancing with huge chopsticks, this timeless re-imagined classic bursts with energy and excitement. This holiday ballet, danced to Tchaikovsky's beloved score, is set in Art Nouveau style circa 1907 with innovative choreography by long-time NYTB choreographer, Keith Michael, set design by Gillian Bradshaw-Smith, and costumes by Metropolitan Opera's Resident Costume Designer Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan. This one-hour ballet is perfect for ages 3 and up! 

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

  • Friday, December 11, 2015 at 12 pm
  • Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 11am, 1pm, and 3:30pm
  • Sunday, December 13, 2015 at 11am, 1pm, and 3:30pm

For more information, visit: www.nytb.org

NYTB's BALLET SCHOOL NY announces 2015-16 training program beginning Monday, Sep 21

Ballet School NY, the official training school of New York Theatre Ballet, is pleased to announce its 2015-16 training program, beginning Monday, September 21, 2015 at NYTB's home studio, located at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, 131 E. 10th Street, 2nd Floor, New York City. Classes will be offered Monday through Saturday. Cost ranges from $1,075 to $3,940 per year, depending on the age and level of the student. An annual recital on June 11, 2016 will conclude the 2015-16 training program.

Qualified children will perform with New York Theatre Ballet throughout the year in special roles created for student dancers. The studio trains in the Cecchetti method, a technique founded by Italian ballet master Enrico Cecchetti. The school teaches dance as a total art form, developing strong technical skill and discipline. Following the Cecchetti syllabus, classes emphasize music, theatricality, gesture and style. Well-trained Cecchetti dancers have purity of line and simplicity of style, which enables them to take their place in dance companies throughout the world. For the advanced students, a once-a-week workshop is part of the curriculum. Offerings, including jazz, theater dance, modern dance, partnering, change every six weeks.

"There is always a teaching assistant in every class and we teach to the individual child," said Diana Byer, Founder and Artistic Director of NYTB. "Every child gets personal attention in each class."

The Company's 2015/2016 season will include repertory performances at the Schimmel Center Pace University (September 19-20, 2015), Danspace (October 1-3, 2015), and New York Live Arts (February 24-27, 2016). NYTB maintains its association with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall (December 20, 2015), and the Company's Once Upon A Ballet series for children will continue at Florence Gould Hall throughout the year. NYTB will also continue to offer its Free Ticket Program for families who are unable to afford to attend performances.

For registration and more information, visit www.nytb.org/ballet-school-ny.

New York Theatre Ballet performs Legends & Visionaries 2015 at Danspace Project

New York Theatre Ballet will perform Legends & Visionaries 2015 from June 18-20, 2015 at Danspace Project, 131 E. 10th Street, NYC.

Performances: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm.

Tickets are $20 ($15 for Danspace members), and are available online at www.danspaceproject.org or by calling OvationTix/TheaterMania at 866.811.4111.

New York Theatre Ballet will perform Richard Alston's Such Longing, Frederick Ashton's Capriol Suite, the World Premiere of Gemma Bond's Cat's Cradle, a new, as-yet-untitled work by David Parker, and Antony Tudor's Dark Elegies.

Richard Alston's Such Longing is danced to the music of Chopin, not pretty waltzes or the great virtuoso fireworks but achingly beautiful meditations from his Nocturnes and Etudes. Filled with longing for Chopin's Polish homeland, this lush and lyrical music floods through tender duets and introspective solos for two couples. Frederick Ashton's Capriol Suite will be performed by the full company.

"Capriol Suite, Ashton's earliest ballet, was choreographed in 1930 for Rambert's students, before she had a company. The music, by Peter Warlock, is based on themes from the 16th Century treatise Orchesographie, by Thoint Arbeau. As well as the music, the book contains descriptions of such dances as the Pavane and the Galliard. Ashton did not follow these, but made some use of the illustrations and other pictorial sources. The ballet is an imaginative recreation of old dances rather than an authentic reconstruction. Originally danced by four couples, the ballet was danced by the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet in 1948. It is the version that is the basis of a later revival staged by Elisabeth Schooling and Sally Gilmour, former members of the Ballet Rambert," said David Vaughan.

Elena Zahlmann will perform a solo by David Parker and Dark Elegies will feature Rie Ogura, Elena Zahlmann, Carmella Lauer, Choong Hoon Lee and Stephen Campanella. 

"New York Theatre Ballet's move downtown is both a symbol of rebirth and renewal," said Diana Byer, artistic director of New York Theatre Ballet. "With three different programs in three different venues, Legends & Visionaries 2015 is a revolutionary season."

New York Theatre Ballet will celebrate their first season in their new home, and honor longtime friends Richard Alston and Valda Setterfield at a Garden Party on opening night, Thursday, June 18, 2015 at 6pm at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, 131 E. 10th Street, New York City. The evening concludes with a performance at 8pm of NYTB's Legends & Visionaries 2015 at Danspace Project, 131 E. 10th Street, NYC.

Tickets are $200 ($100 for children), and include both the party and the performance. Please contact admin@nytb.org to purchase.

These performances are part of DANCE:Access, a self-production series administered by Danspace Project that serves independent choreographers and dance companies.

NEW YORK THEATRE BALLET to perform Legends & Visionaries 2015 at Danspace Project

New York Theatre Ballet will perform Legends & Visionaries 2015 from June 18-20, 2015 at Danspace Project, 131 E. 10th Street, NYC.

Performances: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm.

Tickets are $20 ($15 for Danspace members), and are available online at www.danspaceproject.org or by calling OvationTix/TheaterMania at 866.811.4111.

New York Theatre Ballet will perform Richard Alston's Such Longing, Frederick Ashton's Capriol Suite, the World Premiere of Gemma Bond's Cat's Cradle, a new, as-yet-untitled work by David Parker, and Antony Tudor's Dark Elegies.

  • Richard Alston's Such Longing is danced to the music of Chopin, not pretty waltzes or the great virtuoso fireworks but achingly beautiful meditations from his Nocturnes and Etudes. Filled with longing for Chopin's Polish homeland, this lush and lyrical music floods through tender duets and introspective solos for two couples. Frederick Ashton's Capriol Suite will be performed by the full company.
  • "Capriol Suite, Ashton's earliest ballet, was choreographed in 1930 for Rambert's students, before she had a company. The music, by Peter Warlock, is based on themes from the 16th Century treatise Orchesographie, by Thoint Arbeau. As well as the music, the book contains descriptions of such dances as the Pavane and the Galliard. Ashton did not follow these, but made some use of the illustrations and other pictorial sources. The ballet is an imaginative recreation of old dances rather than an authentic reconstruction. Originally danced by four couples, the ballet was danced by the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet in 1948. It is the version that is the basis of a later revival staged by Elisabeth Schooling and Sally Gilmour, former members of the Ballet Rambert," said David Vaughan.
  • Elena Zahlmann will perform a solo by David Parker and Dark Elegies will feature Rie Ogura, Elena Zahlmann, Carmella Lauer, Choong Hoon Lee and Stephen Campanella.

"New York Theatre Ballet's move downtown is both a symbol of rebirth and renewal," said Diana Byer, artistic director of New York Theatre Ballet. "With three different programs in three different venues, Legends & Visionaries 2015 is a revolutionary season."

New York Theatre Ballet will celebrate their first season in their new home, and honor longtime friends Richard Alston and Valda Setterfield at a Garden Party on opening night, Thursday, June 18, 2015 at 6pm at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, 131 E. 10th Street, New York City. The evening concludes with a performance at 8pm of NYTB's Legends & Visionaries 2015 at Danspace Project, 131 E. 10th Street, NYC. Tickets are $200 ($100 for children), and include both the party and the performance. Please contact admin@nytb.org to purchase.

These performances are part of DANCE:Access, a self-production series administered by Danspace Project that serves independent choreographers and dance companies.

New York Theatre Ballet to perform CINDERELLA at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

From June 24-28, 2015

New York Theatre Ballet will perform Donald Mahler's Cinderella at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in the Doris Duke Theatre from June 24-28, 2015.  Jacob's Pillow, a National Historic Landmark, National Medal of Arts recipient, and home to America's longest-running dance festival, is located at 358 George Carter Road, Becket, MA.

Performances: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:15pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 2:15pm.

Tickets Information: Tickets are $35 and $25, with $10 Youth tickets also available for every performance. Tickets are on sale now online at jacobspillow.org and via phone at 413.243.0745.

A perennial favorite of NYTB audiences across America, Cinderella is one-hour in length with choreography by Donald Mahler, costumes by Sylvia Taalson Nolan, set design by Gillian Bradshaw-Smith. New York Theatre Ballet last performed at the Inside/Out Stage at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in July 2008.

"Gillian Bradshaw-Smith's ingenious scenery included a clock that came alive and danced, and furniture that moved magically about.  And Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan, the imaginative costume designer, created a gasp-producing moment when Cinderella's attire changed miraculously from rags to the riches of a ball gown." -The New York Times

During the week of their engagement, company members of NYTB will also teach a free, all-ages, all-levels ballet class to the Pillow public on Sunday, June 28. Limited space, call 413.243.9919 to register.

For more information, visit www.jacobspillow.org.