Community ACCESS: New York Theatre Ballet: Legends & Visionaries
Community ACCESS provides subsidized off-season rental opportunities for Danspace Project community members.
New York Theatre Ballet presents a new installment of its highly acclaimed Legends & Visionaries series at Danspace Project. The program features Song Before Spring, choreographed by Zhong-Jing Fang of American Ballet Theatre, and NYTB’s own Steven Melendez.
This explorative collaboration is set to Philip Glass’ riveting Piano Etudes, transposed to steel drums and played live by NYU Steel. Made for 8 dancers, the piece is a journey for each individual finding their way in and out of the group. After seeing the world premiere last February at New York Live Arts, Jack Anderson wrote in London’s Dancing Times: “…This was not the gambol one might expect, but an emotional outburst that plunged young people into unruly and unpredictable passions…” and Carla Escoda of the Huffington Post said, “The evening closed with a tumultuous 48 minute account of Philip Glass’ etudes arranged for steel drums. The 12-member NYU Steel ensemble took no prisoners. Neither did co-choreographers Steven Melendez, of New York Theatre Ballet and Zhong-Jing Fang of American Ballet Theatre.”
This weekend will also be in celebration of Founder & Artistic Director Diana Byer’s 70th Birthday! Friday evening’s Byer Legacy Celebration will be devoted to honoring Diana with a special performance by NYTB & guests, followed by a party full of birthday festivities and dancing into the night. For more information about The Byer Legacy Celebration on Friday, October 7th, please call (212) 679.0401 or visit NYTB’s website.
Song Before Spring
Choreography by Zhong-Jing Fang & Steven Melendez
Music by Philip Glass, arranged by Josh Quillen
Piano Etudes, Nos. 1-10
Costume Design by Sylvia Taalson Nolan
NYU Steel, Josh Quillen, Director
Now entering its 38th Season, and invigorated by a recent move to St. Marks’ Church in-the-Bowery, NYTB has reinvented itself as New York’s downtown ballet company. With its ever-expanding repertory, NYTB’s cutting edge programming brings fresh insight to classic revivals paired with the modern sensibilities of both established and up and coming choreographers. The diversity in repertory explores the past while boldly taking risks on the future. Performing in more intimate spaces, often to all live music, brings the audience and the dance together for a more personal experience. When reflecting on NYTB’s first season at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery in 2015, The New York Times said, “The members of Theater Ballet are not only refined dancers but also unaffected actors… they draw you in. The intimacy of the space only helped; the amplitude and honesty of their dancing has found its match in St. Mark’s Church.” NYTB will present a new installment of its highly acclaimed Legends & Visionaries series at Danspace Project in October 2016.