NEW YORK THEATRE BALLET announces PILATES CLASSES

Beginning Tuesday, July 7, 2015

New York Theatre Ballet (NYTB) is pleased to announce its new Pilates classes, beginning Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at NYTB's home studio, located at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, 131 East 10th Street, 2nd Floor, New York City. Classes will be offered on both Tuesday evenings, from 7-8pm, and Thursday mornings, from 8:15-9:15am. Cost will be $15/class walk in, $60 per 5-class card.

Taught by Amanda Treiber, principal dancer with NYTB, this gentle Pilates class is designed to build strength, coordination, and flexibility while gaining the understanding of the muscles used and the technique of the exercises. Combining the ideas of basic ballet and STOTT Pilates allows for many modifications that are used throughout the class to accommodate the most beginner level to the most advanced. This class is especially good for all types of physically active people who are looking to balance out the body in a gentle constructive way.

Ballet Hispanico to perform SOMBRERÍSIMO at inaugural Hudson River Dance Festival | @HudsonRiverPark

JUNE 17 & 18, 2015

TWO FREE PERFORMANCES

***

Ballet Hispanico, recognized as the nation's leading Latino dance organization since 1970, will perform in the first Hudson River Dance Festival at Hudson River Park on June 17 & 18, 2015 at 6:30pm.

Hudson River Park, one of the nation's longest waterfront parks and an urban oasis for New Yorkers and visitors from every corner of the world, will host the first-ever Hudson River Dance Festival, presented this summer on the Pier 63 lawn in Hudson River Park. This free celebration of NYC's premier dance culture is a rare and unique opportunity for diverse audiences to experience some of the city's most talented and acclaimed dancers and ground-breaking dance compositions and performances.

The same program will be featured each evening, with Ballet Hispanico, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Parsons Dance sharing the bill. Each company has planned engaging and distinctive programs that spotlight the cultural wealth and stylistic innovation that makes New York the epicenter of the American dance scene. The repertoire is designed to delight a broad audience, from aficionados and dance enthusiasts, to families and new audiences alike. The Hudson River Dance Festival is sponsored and presented by SHS Foundation in association with The Joyce Theater, with funding from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Hudson River Park Trust.

"We are thrilled to be a part of the inaugural Hudson River Dance Festival and to share our artistry with the larger New York City community," said Ballet Hispanico Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro. "For this performance we present Sombrerísimo, a witty audience favorite that showcases the athleticism of the Ballet Hispanico Company's men and the exuberance of Latinos."

Choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and commissioned by New York City Center for the 10th anniversary of the Fall for Dance Festival, Sombrerísimo is an absorbing exploration of identity. The piece references the surrealist world of the Belgian painter René Magritte, famous for his paintings of men in bowler hats.

"Celebrating our City's culture, and keeping the arts-especially dance-accessible and relevant for all New Yorkers is at the heart of what we do at SHS," said Richard Feldman, President of the SHS Foundation. "We are excited to bring these iconic dance companies and their talented artists to Hudson River Park, which showcases so many quality events each summer."

The Hudson River Dance Festival is part of an ongoing commitment by the Hudson River Park Trust to present free and low cost cultural, artistic and educational programming for all visitors to the Park's Manhattan's waterfront location from 59th Street to Chambers Street, on the west side.

"There is nothing quite like sunset on the Hudson River in the summertime," said Madelyn Wils, CEO and President of Hudson River Park Trust. "It is a privilege to launch with the support of The SHS Foundation, Hudson River Park's first-annual dance festival, with such diverse and extraordinary dance companies. We invite everyone to join us this June to experience these exciting, beautiful and spirit-lifting works of art that celebrate life and our connection to the world around us."

For more information, please visit:

http://www.hudsonriverpark.org/events

www.hudsonriverpark.org

www.facebook.com/HudsonRiverPark

Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre presents GREEN AFTERNOON III - East Hampton, NY

Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre announces Green Afternoon III, a performance and cocktail reception at the home of architects Marcia Previti and Peter Gumpel in East Hampton, NY on Saturday, August 15, 2015. The evening begins at 5 p.m. with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and several outdoor sitting rooms featuring performance installations, with performers dancing in tree houses, on outdoor sculptures, in and around the swimming pool, in the woods, and more. A more formal performance will begin at 5:50pm and will be followed by a reception. Green Afternoon III takes place at 230 Old Stone Hwy, East Hampton, NY 11937.

Tickets are $85 ($150 for Patron Tickets) and can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/green-afternoon-iii-tickets-17150930896. 

Amanda Selwyn will present an excerpt of her newest work, Renewal, an evening-length piece that unpacks the state of being made fresh or strong again - dramatizing how we re-invent ourselves again and again over time. Renewal will be composed of a series of shorts that shift the physical and visceral present movement, re-starting, reclaiming, and revitalizing our experience of it. Each short will highlight signature structures and elements in Selwyn's style including gesture, partnering, virtuosic artistry juxtaposed with pedestrian movement, humor, character, and theatricality. With Selwyn's fresh and vibrant movement language of extended limbs, physical risk, athleticism, energy, release, touch, and balance, she will activate emotional expression and offer many in-roads for audiences to make meaning for themselves.

"Amanda Selwyn is a master at illustrating the symbiosis of sound and movement, the romance of motion and emotion - she had me laughing, crying, cringing and gasping all in the short 55-minute production." - Inside New York
"Amanda Selwyn's work is masterly and emotionally expressive, she is truly gifted in the art of dance making." - NYC Dance Stuff

Dancers: Adam Robert Dickerson, Manon Halley, Robert Moore, Torrey McAnena, and Sarah Starkweather. Costume Design: Anna-Alisa Belous, Lighting Design: Dan Ozminkowski, Sound Design: Joel Wilhelmi, Rehearsal Director: Jenny Gillan.

To get to the performance site from the center of East Hampton, take Montauk Highway/Route 27 to first traffic light past windmill. Turn left onto Accabonac Highway. Drive 4 miles to stop sign at forked intersection. Cross main road and turn right onto north-most fork, Old Stone Highway. Drive 0.25 mile to #230 (mailbox on tree). Please park on main road and walk up drive to first house on right.  

For more information, please visit: www.amandaselwyndance.org

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.

BALLET HISPANICO selected Mexican-American Choreographer MICHELLE MANZANALES for Instituto Coreográfico

Ballet Hispanico, recognized as the nation's leading Latino dance organization since 1970, presented the latest installment of its choreographic institute, Instituto Coreográfíco,with a showing held on Thursday, May 28, 2015 at the company's headquarters at 167 W. 89th Street, NYC. This year's Instituto Coreográfico featured Mexican-American choreographer and Ballet Hispanico Rehearsal Director Michelle Manzanales, who was paired with filmmaker Fernando Venegas Traba and photographer Madeline Campisano. The 2015 installment of the Instituto program was made possible through support from the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation.

The groundbreaking Instituto Coreográfico provides emerging Latino choreographers, dance filmmakers, and now dance photographers with a professional and supportive environment in which to explore their heritage and develop their craft. Choreographers receive ongoing feedback from a group of notable artistic mentors and advisors, daily archive DVD recordings of the rehearsals, an edited film of the resulting work, an academic advisor, and a showing of their work.  Should an artistically appropriate work emerge from this process, it could enter Ballet Hispanico's permanent repertory. Filmmakers will be paired with a choreographer and will be mentored by filmmaker Nel Shelby.

For more information, visit: www.ballethispanico.org.

New York Theatre Ballet presents Carnival of the Animals - June 6-7

New York Theatre Ballet (NYTB) presents Carnival of the Animals from June 6-7, 2015 as part of the Company's Once Upon A Ballet series for children at Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street, NYC.  

"In a magical forest, Queen Diana and her shaggy lion rule a charming assortment of animals who live more or less peaceably until a pair of lost children wander in, and then the fun begins!"

Choreography by: Beth Storey Taylor.

The performance will feature live music, with four hands on one piano.

  • Performances: Saturday and Sunday at 11am, 1pm and 3:30pm.  
  • Tickets: $35 for children, $40 for adults.
  • Single tickets: Available through ticketmaster.com, and
  • Subscriptions: Can be purchased by submitting an order form to admin@nytb.org. 

For more information, please visit:

http://www.nytb.org/calendar-and-tickets/view/Carnival-of-the-Animals.

The School of American Ballet announces Workshop Performance Benefit 2015

At the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center on Tuesday, June 2, 2015

***

The School of American Ballet has announced the Workshop Performance Benefit 2015 on Tuesday, June 2, 2015. The evening begins with cocktails at 5:30pm in Juilliard's Morse Hall, followed by the performance at 7pm in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center. A seated dinner at 9pm at the Mandarin Oriental will conclude the evening.

The Workshop Performance Benefit 2015 is The School of American Ballet's most anticipated event of the year. The annual Workshop Performances are SAB's only public performances and a rare opportunity to get a sneak preview of the ballet world's up and coming young stars. A Benefit Dinner follows the Tuesday evening performance at Lincoln Center, and attracts more than 550 arts patrons, corporate VIPs and New York's social elite. 

This year's event is headed by Chairmen Michele Barakett, Linda Daines, Hillary Lane Hochberg, Nell Kleinschmidt, and Max R. Shulman; and Young Patron Chairman Stephanie Linka.

This year's benefit will celebrate the legendary Rudolf Nureyev and commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Scholarship. At the peak of his career, Mr. Nureyev spent many hours in the classroom, polishing his technique alongside SAB's students in Stanley Williams's acclaimed advanced men's class. In 1995, the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation generously presented the School with funding for an annual scholarship to support promising students in honor of Mr. Nureyev's affinity for SAB and Mr. Williams's teaching.

In 1964, Alexandra Danilova, George Balanchine's former classmate at the Imperial Ballet and a leading ballerina of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo joined SAB's faculty. In 1965, Madame Danilova established SAB's annual year-end Workshop Performances, giving the School's advanced students an opportunity to participate in professionally staged, publicly performed productions of classic ballet works. Since its inception, the Workshop Performances have seen hundreds of SAB's advanced students make their public debut as they prepare to leave SAB and go on to dance on the world's top stages. The New York Times coined Workshop a "spot-them-before-they-are-stars showcase". Scores of notable SAB alumni have performed at Workshop, including Merrill Ashley, Peter Boal, Maria Kowroski, Lourdes Lopez, Sara Mearns, Benjamin Millepied, Ethan Stiefel, and Wendy Whelan.

The post-performance dinner has evolved through the years, from an intimate gathering hosted by SAB co-founder Lincoln Kirstein at his Gramercy Park townhouse into a festive fundraiser held in the SAB studios. The continued success of the Workshop Performance Benefit has led to the use of another wonderful New York venue.The post-performance dinner will take place in the magnificentballroom at the Mandarin Oriental with the City's iconic skyline as a backdrop.

The 2015 Workshop Performances program will include 19th & 20th Century Masters (Petipa, Bournonville, Balanchine & Robbins); Harlequinade ("Ballabile des Enfants"), Choreography by George Balanchine, Music by Riccardo Drigo; William Tell (pas de deux), Choreography by August Bournonville, Music by Gioachino Rossini; The Sleeping Beauty (pas de deux), Choreography by Peter Martins (after Marius Petipa), Music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky; Valse-Fantaisie, Choreography by George Balanchine, Music by Mikhail Glinka; Stars and Stripes (3rd Regiment "Thunder and Gladiator"), Choreography by George Balanchine, Music by John Philip Sousa, arranged by Hershy Kay; and Fanfare, Choreography by Jerome Robbins, Music by Benjamin Britten.

Tickets for the 2015 Workshop Performance Benefit may be purchased online at sab.org/workshopbenefit and tickets for the Saturday, May 30 performances at sab.org/workshop. The Peter Jay Sharp Theater is located at 155 W. 65th Street (between Amsterdam and Broadway). The Mandarin Oriental is located at 80 Columbus Circle at 60th Street, NYC.

For more information, please visit:

www.sab.org/workshopbenefit.

Flamenco Vivo

Flamenco was celebrated on the BAM Fisher stage for the first time, as Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana presents two programs of original works by acclaimed contemporary flamenco artists, performed with 6  live singers and musicians.

This studio was founded 32 years ago by Carlota Santana and it is one of the oldest studios in USA. It contains an interesting mix of cultures by preserving the strong Spanish soul of Flamenco.

Flamenco is about emotions in dance, where main six component are:

  1. Footwork,
  2. Shawl,
  3. Fan,
  4. Castanets,
  5. Hand Claps and
  6. Guitar.

We had a chance to attend a Program B on May 23-th with guest soloist GUADALUPE TORRES in her US debut, plus the Company in repertory by Angel Muñoz, Antonio Hidalgo, Enrique Vicent and Antonio López.

Performance was in dark design stage, flamenco sounds everywhere. There were number of performances including both group performance and solo. I would like to mention the magic of playing with unique design dresses while dancing solo or with partner, as it was bringing its own chick to dance. So smooth moves when they have never dropped on the dresses with long tails. That was just beautiful.

The most impressive were the Solo performances. Dancers were losing in a dark lights in the stage by becoming a part of the music and kind a disappearing. They like dancing for themselves, dancing as a real hero of a story by forgetting about surrounding life on another side of the stage. By the end of dance I can feel that they have sweat that much that water drops were flying in the air by each moves. So much energy, speed and emotions that I feel they were also need of some time for doing a step from the dance to reality.

One of the interesting moments is the last performance, when each of the musicians also performed a small flamenco piece that came as a surprise for most of us. That was really cool ending of nice evening. So much fun and standing applauds for artists who made that beautiful evening for everyone.

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.

Magic of Ballet: with Spring performance from Ballet Academy East

John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York, an international leader in educating for justice, offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 15 000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. The Theater is dedicated to the creation and presentation of performing arts programming of all disciplines with a special focus on how the artistic imagination can shed light on the many perceptions of Justice in our society.

Ballet Academy East presents its Spring Performance from May 15-17, 2015 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at 524 W. 59th Street, NYC which the myNewYorkeye team had pleasure to attend on May 17th, 2015.

The exciting parents, guests of lovely kids, all gathered in a nice hall to enjoy the event. Kids were very happy, but a little bit nervous while running and getting ready for the big moment which finally started like this:

"All the lights turned completely off and shortly they switched on focusing only on stage which reflected the magical blue and pink tones and beautiful kids standing there. Music and all the moves of dances were so light that one could feel the spring all over. During the first few performances, there were number of very young dancers and I got to know from Julia Dubno - Founder and Director, that the youngest dancers are about 7 years old!

Then ocean started to move the crazy waves and dances were even crazier. As girl’s hair were not folded they felt like a part of storm and created spectacular waves of motion filling the hall with the spring craziness. Performances were mesmerising and very creative with a sweet modern touch. Also the costumes were pretty nice and perfectly matching with the atmosphere their dance created."

Many guests were holding flowers for performers that was such a nice view to see in NYC, as not for all events you get to see so many flowers. We feel very happy for the kids, their teachers and all the guests who had the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful event, including myNewYorkeye.

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.

Manhattan Youth Ballet presents WITH REGARD and A Gala Benefit honoring Marina Stavitskaya

Manhattan Youth Ballet presents WITH REGARD... In Practice & Performance from May 29 - 30, 2015 and A Gala Benefit honoring Marina Stavitskaya on Sunday, May 31, 2015 at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center. A Gala Benefit honoring Marina Stavitskaya will begin with a cocktail hour at 5pm, followed by the gala performance at 6pm curtain. There will also be a post-performance catered reception and silent auction.

In Practice & Performance will feature world premieres by Brian Reeder, Marina Stavitskaya, Daniel Ulbricht, Frederick Earl Mosley and Natalia Boesch as well as George Balanchine's Valse Fantaisie. Performance times are Friday, May 29 at 7pm and Saturday, May 30 at 3pm and 7pm. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students.   

A Gala Benefit honoring Marina Stavitskayawill feature special performances by GUEST ARTISTS and alumni from American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet as well as WORLD PREMIERES by Brian Reeder, Marina Stavitskaya, Daniel Ulbricht, Frederick Earl Mosley and Natalia Boesch, and George Balanchine's Valse Fantaisie. Gala tickets are $100 for adults and $50 for students. All proceeds will benefit the Manhattan Youth Ballet Scholarship Fund.

Tickets Information: For In Practice & Performanceand A Gala Benefit honoring Marina Stavitskayacan be purchased at manhattanyouthballet.org beginning on Friday, May 8, or by calling 212-787-1178.

ChEckiT!Dance Application Deadline Extended to 5/22 for 5th Annual ChEck Us OuT Dance Festival

ChEckiT!Dance is accepting applications from female choreographers to the Fifth Annual ChEck Us OuT Dance Festival, an eco-friendly evening of dance celebrating female choreographers,on Saturday, July 18, 2015 at 5pm at Solar One on the East River, NYC. Pieces from any genre of dance that can be adapted to an outdoor space are encouraged to submit. The deadline to apply has been extended to Friday, May 22, 2015 and the application form is available at www.checkitdance.com.

The festival seeks to showcase the talents of strong, female choreographers in a welcoming and fun environment. ChEck Us OuT Dance Festival is a carefully curated event that has featured the works of choreographers from across the globe, including California, upstate New York and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Last year's featured artists included:

  • Cathy Allen/Red Desert Dance Ensemble
  • Allison Berger
  • Allison Brzezinski/ChEckiT!Dance
  • Meredith Cabaniss/Selah Dance Collective
  • Alyssa Derling/Derling Dance Arts
  • Melissa Jackson/Innovate Dance Company
  • Alia Kache
  • Lauren Lasorda and Tali Custer
  • AlexJo Natale/Gestalt Dance
  • Joya Powell/Movement of the People Dance Company
  • Jessie Sector
  • Sophie Sotsky/TYKE Dance
  • Jessica Taylor/DAMAGEDANCE
  • Meredith Testa

The ChEck Us OuT Dance Festival is the culmination of all of ChEckiT!Dance's efforts to increase performance opportunities for female dance makers. This annual outdoor festival, now in its fifth year, is curated and produced by ChEckiT! Dance each July. Summit Rock in Central Park has been the home of the past four festivals.  This year, the festival will be held at Solar One! on the East River. The ChEck Us OuT Dance Festival is a platform designed specifically to provide female choreographers the opportunity to share their work with an eager audience. The work is enriching, lively, and thrilling, and the eclectic styles of dance presented by performers hailing from all corners of the globe, builds a truly global community of female dance artists. In addition, the ChEck Us OuT Dance Festival is entirely green and entirely free of admission, providing access for all.

ChEckiT!Dance's performance credits include: Edinburgh Fringe, Scotland; Body Blend, Dixon Place, NYC; JT Lotus First Choreographer's Showcase, The Ailey Studios, NYC; HATCH Presenting Series, The Works Studios, NYC; STEPS Performance Lab Series, STEPS, NYC; New York City Dance Parade, NYC; Dance Fest, The Bandshell at Tompkins Square Park, NYC; ChEck Us OuT Dance Festival, Summit Rock, NYC-- 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014; Waterside Plaza Dance Festival, Waterside Plaza, NYC; Moving Beauty Series Dance Lab, Church of All Nations, NYC; Secrets, Lies and Rumors: A Cabaret, Loft on Fifth, NYC; MishMash201, Sukha Arts Center, Harrington Park, NJ; FigmentNYC,

Governor's Island, NY-- 2012, 2013; TEXT/CONTEXT, The Kraft Center at Columbia University/

Barnard College, NYC *featured artist at talk back*; GHOST Series, The Gershwin Hotel, NYC;

Astoria Dance Festival, Bohemian Beer Garden, Astoria, NY 2012, 2013; Dance Film Association's

Films That Move Series, Solar One, NYC; Home is Where The Art Is, Triskelion Arts, Brooklyn, NY;

20 Years Celebration of Dance, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA.

For more information: www.checkitdance.com.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts Announces its 2015-16 Season

Tickets now on sale for Michael Feinstein, the Vienna Boys Choir, Clifford the Big Red Dog™ -- Live!, Moscow Festival Ballet, and more!

***

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College announces its 2015-16 Season of music, dance, theater, and family programming, reflecting the multicultural diversity of Brooklyn.Hailing from Austria, Russia, China, Canada, and across the United States, the awards-winning artists include both Brooklyn Center premieres and returning favorites.Tickets go on sale exclusively to Brooklyn Center Members on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 1pm, with general sales beginning on Thursday, May 14. Tickets can be purchased at BrooklynCenter.org or by calling the box office at 718-951-4500 (Tue-Sat, 1pm-6pm).

"Brooklyn Center is excited to continue to represent and reflect the vibrant diversity of Brooklyn through our upcoming 2015-16 season of live performances," says Jon Yanofsky, the Director of Brooklyn Center. "From the Gershwins and the Beatles to classical ballet and step dancing, the 61st season at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts will celebrate the best of classic and contemporary arts and culture with world class artists in music, dance, theater, and family programming.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' 2015-16 Season includes:

  • Michael Feinstein: The Gershwins and Me
  • Black Violin
  • Art of Time Ensemble - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
  • The Vienna Boys Choir - Christmas In Vienna
  • Dance Theatre in Westchester's The Colonial Nutcracker
  • Step Afrika!
  • Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company's Lunar New Year Celebration - Year of the Monkey
  • Moscow Festival Ballet's Romeo and Juliet /Carmen Suite
  • The Golden Dragon Acrobats
  • Robert Glasper Trio
  • Regina Carter's Southern Comfort
  • Clifford the Big Red Dog™ - LIVE!
  • Ninth Annual National Grid Earth Day Celebration
  • Straighten Up & Fly Right: The Nat King Cole Tribute
  • Alexander, Who's Not Not Not Not Not Not Going to Move

Michael Feinstein: The Gershwins and Me

2015-16 Season Opener

Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 7:30pm

Tickets: $36-$65

Emmy- and Grammy-nominated entertainer Michael Feinstein brings his impeccable piano skills and unparalleled interpretations to some of the greatest selections in the entire American Songbook, peppered with personal anecdotes from his autobiographical book The Gershwins and Me, which reflects upon his six-year collaboration with the great Ira Gershwin. 

Black Violin

Saturday, November 14, 2015 at 2pm

Tickets: $18
Back by popular demand, virtuoso violinists Kev Marcus and Wil B return to Brooklyn with their electrifying mash-up of hip-hop, classical, and pop tunes. With appearances ranging from the Apollo Theater and the Billboard Music Awards to three NFL Super Bowls and President Obama's official Inaugural Ball, this dynamic duo never fails to take audiences by storm with their unique spin on music for strings.

Art of Time Ensemble

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 8pm

Tickets: $30

With hits including "When I'm Sixty-Four," "With a Little Help From My Friends," and the title song, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has been designated "the most important rock and roll album ever made" by Rolling Stone magazine. Toronto's Art of Time Ensemble brings this iconic collection to life in a fusion of high art and pop culture that reveals the universal and timeless qualities that lie at the heart of all great music.

The Vienna Boys Choir - Christmas in Vienna

Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 8pm

Tickets: $36-$45

This illustrious group of young musicians has been delighting music lovers across the globe for six centuries with their purity of tone, distinctive charm, and crowd-pleasing repertoire. Christmas in Vienna showcases these gifted musicians in an extraordinary program featuring Austrian folk songs, classical masterpieces, popular songs and, of course, holiday favorites. 

The Colonial Nutcracker

Sunday, December 13, 2015 at 2pm

Tickets: $18

An annual holiday favorite, Dance Theatre in Westchester performs its family-friendly, full-length version of Tchaikovsky's ballet set in wintry colonial Yorktown, complete with a red-coated mouse army, an enchanted nutcracker prince, and simultaneous narration to help young audience members enjoy this timeless classic. 

Step Afrika!

Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 2pm

Tickets: $20

Experience Step Afrika!, the world's first professional company dedicated to stepping, a unique art form born at African American fraternities and based in rich African traditions. Incorporating intricate rhythmic patterns of kicks, stomps, claps, and chants, the dancers use their bodies as instruments, creating an enthralling, high-energy performance that has been praised by The Village Voice as "a jubilation of rhythm and spirit that harks back to the essence of dancing."

Third Annual
 Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
 Lunar New Year Celebration - Year of the Monkey

Sunday, January 31, 2016 at 3pm

Tickets: $25/$12.50 (children 12 and under)

Brooklyn Center is thrilled to partner once again with the prestigious Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company in an all-new celebration of Chinese arts and culture commemorating the Year of the Monkey, a year characterized by cleverness, curiosity, and playful mischief. Thrilling choreography, traditional music, and dazzling acrobats showcase the rich traditions of one of Brooklyn's most vibrant communities at this festive, family-friendly event.

Moscow Festival Ballet

Romeo and Juliet / Carmen Suite

Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 8pm

Tickets: $36-$45
 The power of love and the finality of death collide as two of the greatest tragic masterpieces of all time are reinvented in this double-bill of one-act ballets. The program begins with a new restaging of Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, set to the music of Tchaikovsky and choreographed by legendary Bolshoi principal dancer Elena Radchenko. This is followed by Alberto Alonso's fiery Carmen Suite, inspired by Bizet's sensuous and spirited opera.
 
Golden Dragon Acrobats

Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 3pm

Tickets: $25/$12.50 (children 12 and under)

Recognized internationally as today's premier Chinese acrobatic touring company, The Golden Dragons combine award-winning acrobatics, spectacular costumes, and ancient and contemporary music and theatrical techniques to present an unforgettable show of breathtaking skill and beauty, representing the best of a time honored tradition that began more than twenty five centuries ago.

The Robert Glasper Trio

Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 8pm

Tickets: $35

More than ten years after making his debut at the legendary Blue Note, 2015 Grammy-winning pianist Robert Glasper graces the Whitman stage with an intimate concert combining original jazz compositions and selections from his June 2015 album Covered, which draws from some of Glasper's favorite songs by artists including Joni Mitchell, John Legend, and Radiohead.

Regina Carter's Southern Comfort

Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 8pm
Tickets: $35
Violin virtuoso and MacArthur fellow Regina Carter is considered the foremost jazz violinist of her generation, putting her indelible stamp on collaborations with artists as diverse as Wynton Marsalis, Mary J. Blige, and Dolly Parton. Her latest recording, titled Southern Comfort, pays a tender tribute to her paternal grandfather, an Alabama coal miner, as it draws from Appalachian fiddle tunes, church hymns, and the joyous Southern folk music that infused her childhood.

Clifford the Big Red Dog™ - LIVE!

Sunday, April 17, 2016 at 2pm
Tickets: $18
Embark on a new adventure with loveable Clifford, the big red dog with the heart of gold. Based on the classic children's books by Norman Bridwell, this brand new musical celebrates the timeless values of sharing, respect, and cooperation.

Ninth Annual National Grid Earth Day Celebration

Sunday, April 17, 2016 at 3pm
Tickets: FREE event, no tickets issued

Children and adults alike will enjoy live music, arts and crafts, and street performers at this free community festival, where interactive family activities highlight the need to create a more sustainable future and care for the earth.

Straighten Up & Fly Right: The Nat King Cole Tribute
Featuring Ramsey Lewis and John Pizzarelli

Sunday, May 1, 2016 at 3pm
Tickets: $40
As a singer, Nat King Cole was called "the best friend a song ever had," but he was essentially a jazz performer at heart. Three-time Grammy Award-winning pianist Ramsey Lewis and singer/guitarist John Pizzarelli join forces in this tribute to the titan of fifties vocal pop, performing favorites including "Route 66," "Mona Lisa," "Unforgettable," and more.

Alexander, Who's Not Not Not Not Not Not Going to Move
Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 2pm
Tickets: $12
The rest of Alexander's family is moving a thousand miles away, but there's NO way Alexander is going to leave his best friend, his favorite babysitter, or all the places and people he's known all his life. Never. Not ever. No way! Based on Judith Vorst's best-selling Alexander... series, this new family musical teaches us home isn't a house or a place on a map-it's wherever you are when you're with the people who love you.

Multibuy discounts (four or more shows) save 15% off individual ticket prices (not applicable for Alexander, Who's Not... Going to Move). Multibuyers enjoy flexible ticket exchanges and discounted parking for purchased performances. 50% discount for children ages 12 and under for select performances. Discounts also available for seniors, students, Brooklyn College faculty/staff/alumni, and groups. $10 student rush tickets available day-of-show. 

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College

2 train to Brooklyn College/Flatbush Avenue

Online orders: BrooklynCenter.org

Box Office: 718-951-4500, Tuesday-Saturday, 1pm-6pm

Groups of 15 or more: 718-951-4600 x3331

About Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

Founded in 1954, Brooklyn Center for the PerformingArts at Brooklyn College presents outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn's diverse communities, at affordable prices. Each season, Brooklyn Center welcomes over 65,000 people to the 2,400 seat Whitman Theatre, including up to 45,000 schoolchildren from over 300 schools who attend their SchoolTime series, one of the largest arts-in-education programs in the borough.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' programs are supported, in part, by public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Brooklyn Center's 2015-16 Season is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Major support for the 2015-16 season is provided by: Brooklyn College, Con Edison, TD Bank, National Grid, Macy's, Shanachie Entertainment Corp, the Herman Goldman Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, the Jazz Touring Network, the Alice Lawrence Foundation, the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, Inc., and the TD Charitable Foundation. Additional support provided by CNG Publications, The Brooklyn Eagle, and WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM. The Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott New York Brooklyn is the official hotel of Brooklyn Center's 2015-16 Season. Backstage catering is graciously provided by Applebee's.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges generous support from New York State Assembly members Rhoda Jacobs, Alan Maisel, Félix Ortiz, Annette Robinson, and Helene Weinstein, New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Tom Finkelpearl.

ZviDance presents the World Premiere of Escher/Bacon/Rothko

From June 24 - 27, 2015 at New York Live Arts

***

The WORLD PREMIERE of ZviDance's newest work, Escher/Bacon/Rothko, will run for a limited engagement at New York Live Arts (219 W. 19th Street, NYC) from June 24 - 27, 2015 with an Opening Night on Wednesday, June 24, 2015.

Performances:

Set in three parts, Escher/Bacon/Rothkois an evening-length dance piece inspired by the work of M.C. Escher, Francis Bacon and Mark Rothko. Virtuosic in form and versatile in style, Gotheiner's stirring choreography pulsates with each artist's startling notion of modernity.

Cast includes: Chelsea Ainsworth, Todd Allen, Alex Beigelson, Kuan Hui Chew, Alison Clancy, Derek Ege, Samantha Harvey, David Nosworthy, Ying Ying Shiau, and Robert M. Valdez Jr.

TICKETING INFORMATION

An exclusive ticket pre-sale to ZviDance's Opening Night Benefit is available to ZviDance patrons and may be purchased by emailing tickets@zvidance.com or by visiting http://www.zvidance.com/tickets. (Opening Night Celebration Tickets - $150)

Single tickets for the production are available at New York Live Arts Ticket Services (212) 924-0077or by visiting http://newyorklivearts.org/event/zvi_dance_2015 (Evening performances - $35/adults; $28/seniors/students/NYLA Members; Matinee performance - $25/adults; $20/seniors/students/NYLA Members.

For more information, visit www.zvidance.com.

The School of American Ballet announces the Workshop Performance Benefit 2015

At the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center on Tuesday, June 2, 2015

The School of American Ballet announces the Workshop Performance Benefit 2015 on Tuesday, June 2, 2015. The evening begins with cocktails at 5:30pm in Juilliard's Morse Hall, followed by the performance at 7pm in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center. A seated dinner at 9pm at the Mandarin Oriental will conclude the evening. 

The Workshop Performance Benefit 2015 is The School of American Ballet's most anticipated event of the year. The annual Workshop Performances are SAB's only public performances and a rare opportunity to get a sneak preview of the ballet world's up and coming young stars. A Benefit Dinner follows the Tuesday evening performance at Lincoln Center, and attracts more than 550 arts patrons, corporate VIPs and New York's social elite. 

The School of American Ballet’s 2014 Workshop Performance Benefit Photos by Erin Baiano

This year's event is headed by Chairmen Michele Barakett, Linda Daines, Hillary Lane Hochberg, Nell Kleinschmidt, and Max R. Shulman; and Young Patron Chairman Stephanie Linka.

This year's benefit will celebrate the legendary Rudolf Nureyev and commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Scholarship. At the peak of his career, Mr. Nureyev spent many hours in the classroom, polishing his technique alongside SAB's students in Stanley Williams's acclaimed advanced men's class. In 1995, the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation generously presented the School with funding for an annual scholarship to support promising students in honor of Mr. Nureyev's affinity for SAB and Mr. Williams's teaching.

In 1964, Alexandra Danilova, George Balanchine's former classmate at the Imperial Ballet and a leading ballerina of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo joined SAB's faculty. In 1965, Madame Danilova established SAB's annual year-end Workshop Performances, giving the School's advanced students an opportunity to participate in professionally staged, publicly performed productions of classic ballet works. Since its inception, the Workshop Performances have seen hundreds of SAB's advanced students make their public debut as they prepare to leave SAB and go on to dance on the world's top stages. The New York Times coined Workshop a "spot-them-before-they-are-stars showcase". Scores of notable SAB alumni have performed at Workshop, including Merrill Ashley, Peter Boal, Maria Kowroski, Lourdes Lopez, Sara Mearns, Benjamin Millepied, Ethan Stiefel, and Wendy Whelan.

Young Patron Chairmen Brynn Putnam and Erica Sheftman

The post-performance dinner has evolved through the years, from an intimate gathering hosted by SAB co-founder Lincoln Kirstein at his Gramercy Park townhouse into a festive fundraiser held in the SAB studios. The continued success of the Workshop Performance Benefit has led to the use of another wonderful New York venue.The post-performance dinner will take place in the magnificentballroom at the Mandarin Oriental with the City's iconic skyline as a backdrop.

The 2015 Workshop Performances program will include 19th & 20th Century Masters (Petipa, Bournonville, Balanchine & Robbins); Harlequinade ("Ballabile des Enfants"), Choreography by George Balanchine, Music by Riccardo Drigo; William Tell (pas de deux), Choreography by August Bournonville, Music by Gioachino Rossini; The Sleeping Beauty (pas de deux), Choreography by Peter Martins (after Marius Petipa), Music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky; Valse-Fantaisie, Choreography by George Balanchine, Music by Mikhail Glinka; Stars and Stripes (3rd Regiment "Thunder and Gladiator"), Choreography by George Balanchine, Music by John Philip Sousa, arranged by Hershy Kay; and Fanfare, Choreography by Jerome Robbins, Music by Benjamin Britten.

The Peter Jay Sharp Theater is located at 155 W. 65th Street (between Amsterdam and Broadway). The Mandarin Oriental is located at 80 Columbus Circle at 60th Street, NYC.

For more information,

LABA and Yehuda Hyman/Mystical Feet Company presents the World Premiere of THE MAR VISTA

The World Premiere of THE MAR VISTA, a dance/theater work written and choreographed by Yehuda Hyman in collaboration with the Mystical Feet Company (Ron Kagan, Dwight Kelly, Amanda Schussel and Hyman), will be presented at The Theater at the 14th Street Y, 344 E. 14th Street, from June 11 - 13, 2015 at 8pm and June 14, 2015 at 3pm and 7pm, as part of NYTF's KulturfestNYC. Tickets are $18 in advance or $22.50 at the door. Tickets are available at 646-395-4310 or www.labajournal.com/2014/12/mar-vista/. 

THE MAR VISTA is a fractured memoir about an American Jewish family. Taking place over a span of almost 100 years, THE MAR VISTA weaves together dance, gesture, spoken word, improvisation and ritual to tell a comical/tragical fragmented narrative about Hyman's parents.

"Mar Vista" is Spanish for "view of the sea." It is also the name of the Los Angeles neighborhood where Hyman grew up, a working class area on the Westside that had a high population of World War II and Korean War veterans and their families, many of whom bought their homes with the help of GI loans. The neighborhood's name held within it a promise of views of the Pacific Ocean for all.  Unfortunately, the Hyman's small house was at the bottom of a big hill, which blocked his family's view. In this lyrical and quirky new work, Hyman attempts to climb that hill and witness the sea below. 

THE MAR VISTA is performed in three parts:

  • Part 1:  Hamsa, is a solo performed by Hyman, which deals with curses, Passover, the 10 plagues and the story of his father.
  • Part 2:  Leaning Into Moisture, a duet for Hyman and Amanda Schussel about his mother and her forbidden wartime romance in Istanbul.
  • Part 3:  Cincinnati, takes place in Cincinnati, 1951 on the night that Hyman's father proposed to his mother - in a hurry.

The MAR VISTA was incubated at LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture at the 14th Street Y.

"LABA was the breeding ground for the birth of THE MAR VISTA," explained Artistic Director Ronit Muszkatblit. "That year the theme of 'Mother' resonated with Yehuda and inspired him to develop this exciting dance theater work."

Creative Credits

Artistic Director/Choreographer: Yehuda Hyman

Performers: Yehuda Hyman, Ron Kagan, Dwight Kelly, Amanda Schussel

Costume Designer: Amy Page

Lighting Designer: Kryssy Wright

Sound Designer: Dominick Boyle

Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana's Spring 2015 NYC Season at BAM Fisher - May 19 - 24, 2015

Flamenco is celebrated on-stage at BAM Fisher for the first time as FLAMENCO VIVO CARLOTA SANTANA presents ANGELES/ALMAS, the company's Spring 2015 NYC season, May 19-24 at Brooklyn Academy of Music's BAM Fisher Building, 321 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, New York. 

Founded in 1983, FLAMENCO VIVO CARLOTA SANTANA is one of this country's longest-established flamenco companies, dedicated to promoting flamenco as a living, evolving art form. During its week-long BAM Fisher season, the company will present two programs featuring the world premieres of three works by contemporary Spanish dance artists, accompanied by live music.

The first world premiere is Angeles (Program A) choreographed by Ángel Muñoz. The New York Times praised Muñoz' previous Flamenco Vivo commission, A Solas (2012), as "impressive for its compositional finesse" (while describing Muñoz himself as "singing with his feet").  Angeles portrays angels in myth, music and motion; building off of an earlier solo piece selected for the Festival de Jerez and London Flamenco Festival, the new work features Muñoz with a cast of nine more dancers and musicians.

The second premiere work, by Enrique Vicent and Antonio López is Martinete-Seguiriya (both programs), named after the flamenco form and rhythm featured in the piece.  Seguiriya is one of the oldest flamenco forms where the serious, almost tragic sound of the music gives the dancer a chance to express sorrowful feelings, while the martineterhythm said to derive from the workers in the forge, from the word martillo,meaning hammer.  Vicent and López were commissioned as part of a new collaboration between Flamenco Vivo and Madrid's El Certamen de Coreografía de Danza Española y Flamenco, one of Spain's most prestigious dance competitions. 

The third premiere is Ausencia (Program B): Guadalupe Torres, a two-time winner of the Madrid Certamen, reveals the soul of flamenco in a new solo work created for her US debut performances. The engagement also features other company repertory including A Solas (2012 - both programs) a work by Ángel Muñoz showcasing the soleá por bulerías style; Mujeres (2009 - Program B only), choreographed by company associate artistic director Antonio Hidalgo, which offers a modern take on the traditional elements used by women in flamenco (the castanets, fans, shawls and dresses with bata de cola trains); and De Milonga (2003 - both programs), also by Hidalgo, which celebrates Latin American influences on flamenco.

Flamenco Vivo's BAM Fisher season features a cast of accomplished dancers and musicans from Spain and the US, including company dancers Antonio Hidalgo, Charo Espino, Isaac Tovar, Eliza Llewellyn and Alice Blumenfeld; guitarists Gaspar Rodriguez and Pedro Medina, singers Pedro Obregón and Felix de Lola, flutist Diego Villegas and percussionist Jose Moreno; and guest artists Ángel Muñoz and Guadalupe Torres.

Performances are May 19-24, 2015, (Tuesday-Saturday, 7:30pm; matinees Saturday-Sunday 2pm) at BAM Fisher, 321 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, New York.  Tickets range from $20 - $59 and can be purchased at www.flamenco-vivo.org. Tickets for the company's First Night Fiesta on May 19, including premium seating and a post-performance reception with the artists, are $100-$250; for more information, call 212.736.4499 or visit www.flamenco-vivo.org. Flamenco Vivo will also offer a post-performance artist talk following the Thursday, May 21 show.  Performance schedule:

  • Program A: Angeles, Martinete-Seguiriya, A Solas, De Milonga

Tuesday-Thursday, May 19-21 at 7:30pm 

  • Program B: Ausencia, Martinete-Seguiriya, Mujeres, A Solas, De Milonga.

Friday-Saturday, May 22-23 at 7:30pm; Saturday-Sunday May 23-24 at 2:00pm 

Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana's Spring 2015 season at BAM Fisher is made possible, in part, through support from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Rockefeller Brother Fund, the Harkness Foundation for Dance and the Consulate General of Spain. ANGELES/ALMAS is presented by Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana. BAM house and ticketing policies may not apply. All programs and casting subject to change. 

SEASON REPERTORY

Angeles - World Premiere

Choreography by Ángel Muñoz
Original Score by Gaspar Rodriguez

Dancers: Ángel Muñoz, Antonio Hidalgo, Charo Espino, and Isaac Tovar

Angeles builds off of a solo piece developed by Ángel Muñoz, in which he reflects choreographically on the contradictory meanings of his first name: angel of light, dark angel, guardian angel, fallen angel, avenging angel. For the new production, Muñoz will use all these symbols as points of departure for a series of solos, duets and ensemble movements, accompanied by 6 live musicians.

Angeles was made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and Spain Culture New York - Consulate General of Spain: member of the network SPAIN arts & culture. 

Ausencia - World Premiere

Choreography by Guadalupe Torres

Dancer and choreographer Guadalupe Torres, a two-time winner of Madrid's prestigious Certamen de Coreografía competition, reveals the soul of flamenco in a new solo work developed especially for her first-ever appearance in New York. 

Martinete-Seguiriya - World Premiere

Choreography by Enrique Vicent and Antonio López

Dancers: Antonio Hidalgo, Isaac Tovar, Eliza Llewellyn, and Alice Blumenfeld

The martineterhythm is said to derive from the workers in the forges and from the word martillo, meaning hammer. Seguiriya is one of the oldest flamenco forms, where the serious, almost tragic sound of the music, gives the dancer a chance to express sorrowful feelings. The heaviness of the music allows a chance to work with complex rhythmic patterns.

This choreography was made possible by a partnership between Flamenco Vivo and the Certamen de Coreografía de Danza Española y Flamenco of Madrid and supported by Spain Culture New York - Consulate General of Spain: member of the network SPAIN arts & culture.

Mujeres (2009)

Choreography by Antonio Hidalgo

Dancers: The Company

Mujeres demonstrates flamenco traditions within a contemporary context. The work highlights the traditional elements used by women in flamenco dance - the castanets, fans and shawls and how the bata de cola (dress with a train) is used in both traditional and contemporary flamenco. This traditional costume was once only used as stately attire, but the modern female dancer uses this costume in new ways: as a partner, as defense/offense against the male dancer, and as a "toy" to play with and express humor and lightness.

Mujeres was made possible by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts

A Solas (2012)

Choreography by Ángel Muñoz

Dancers: The Company

Originally choreographed for five women, A Solas was first performed during the Flamenco in the Boros tour in New York City in 2012. In early 2013, the men's parts were added to this soulful piece, exemplary of the soleá por bulerías style.

A Solas was made possible by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts

De Milonga (2003)

Choreography by Antonio Hidalgo

Dancers: Antonio Hidalgo or Isaac Tovar and Alice Blumenfeld

This work is an excerpt from Bailes de Ida y Vuelta and celebrates the Latin American influences in the flamenco art form.

BALLET ACADEMY EAST Spring Performance May 15-17, 2015

Ballet Academy East will present its Spring Performance from May 15-17, 2015 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at 524 W. 59th Street, NYC.

Performances:

  • Friday, May 15 at 7:00pm,
  • Saturday May 16 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm, and
  • Sunday May 17 at 2:00pm.

The Saturday May 16, 2:00pm performance will be a special family matinee, which will feature craft activities in the lobby during intermission, (recommended for ages 6 and up).

The performance will feature the Pre-Professional Division, levels 2-9, in ballets choreographed by Jenna Lavin, Matthew Neenan, Margo Sappington and Rex Wheeler.

For more information, visit: www.baenyc.com.

www.jjay.cuny.edu/theater

BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance presents The Mantises Are Flipping W.3

BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance presents The Mantises Are Flipping W.3 as part of the DANCE: Access series* at Danspace Project from May 21-23, 2015 at 8pm at St. Marks Church, 131 E. 10th Street, NYC. Tickets are $20 ($15 for Dancespace members) and can be purchased on dancespaceproject.org, by calling the Dancespace Project box office at 866.811.4111, or by visiting the box office in person. For more information, please visit http://bodystoriesfellion.org.

Derived from Teresa Fellion's original solo work, Mantises utilizes contrasting movement qualities, while creating polyrhythmic movement where the upper and lower body performs separate dynamics and rhythms. With Fellion's direction, the company dancers are investigating themes including: the nature of opposites, "sanity versus insanity", the effects of sound on the body both internally and externally, and the changing psychological states of several individuals in a thread of isolation. These have informed their ever-changing imaginative development process to cultivate new discoveries. 

"The Mantises Are Flipping W.3 is a long-term contemporary dance project which has evolved during three separate, detailed stages of fresh development, exploring duality that creates a voyeuristic point of observation into idiosyncratic worlds and relationships among individuals," said Teresa Fellion, Artistic Director of BodyStores: Teresa Fellion Dance. "World One premiered at ICA Boston and CPR-Center for Performance Research in 2013, exposing our sound and movement vocabularies, created to contain opposing qualities simultaneously. World Two premiered at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center and Bryant Park Summerstage in 2014, offering layers of cohesion to four distinct, rich environments. Through further movement and sound development, as well as extended spatial and interactive design research, in May 2015 we will premiere a new work, Mantis W.3, which will give the audience an immersive experience in the imaginative, playful, yet 'unfortunately adult' world of Mantises Are Flipping."

Mantises will feature dancers Iman Barnes, Zach Bergfelt, Corey Bliss, Mia DeWeese, Alex Jenkins, Monica Mordaunt, and Audrey Rachelle Stanley; with costumes by Ljupka Arsovska; lighting design by Tim Cryan; and live music and original composition by Ryan Edwards and John Yannelli.

"Bodystories: Teresa Fellion Dance have stepped bravely up to the mirror and refused to shy away from our most unpleasant characteristics, while unfailingly celebrating the potential for beauty within each of us. Through repeated movements, loving touches and some of the angriest dance I have ever seen women undertake on the stage, this group has created true magic."

- Edinburgh Festivals Magazine

*DANCE: Access is a self-produced series administered by Danspace Project that serves independent choreographers and dance companies.

BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance is a contemporary dance company that strives to capture and communicate universal human encounters through dynamic, purposeful movement. We are a multifaceted, highly physical company laced with provocative, emotional, political and humorous edges. Our mission is to examine depths of society in their darkest and brightest moments and to inspire audiences to physically sense emotional and psychological aspects of the human condition on stage. Live music is an important factor in many of our works. We also consistently work via in-depth collaborations in lighting, costume, video and set design. In addition to creating and performing innovative works, our company is committed to reaching diverse populations through outreach and education and maintaining a stable business model to sustain our work. Our company values international exchange; we collectively speak nine languages and research, perform, and collaborate with artists from five continents.  Shown works and taught at Baryshnikov Arts Center, Jacob's Pillow, ENTPE University (France), NYU, UME, UFL, Pace, SLC, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Ailey Citigroup Theatre, Bryant Park Summer Stage, Dixon Place, 92nd St. Y, 4 Times Square, Franco-American Cultural Centre, BDF Edinburgh, Ailey School, and in concerts with Phish. 

For more information, visit: www.bodystoriesfellion.org.