New York Theatre Ballet Presents a Mixed Bill of Dance Rarities

Via Press Release:

New York Theatre Ballet will revive Merce Cunningham’s Septet during Signatures 11 (11 & 12 February at Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street, NYC).  Called a “rarity” in his canon by Cunningham Company archivist David Vaughan, this 1953 classic is more traditional than his later works.  Carol Teitelbaum, a former Cunningham dancer and Faculty Chair of the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio, staged the work and taught Cunningham classes to the NYTB dancers. Carolyn Brown, a founding member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, coached the dancers. Septet is danced to Trois Morceaux en Forme de Poire by Erik Satie.

Steven Melendez in New York Theatre Ballet's Othello. Photo: NYTB ©

Two works by Antony Tudor will also be featured:

• Soirée Musicale, which premiered at London’s Palladium Theatre in 1938, was performed professionally for the first time in decades in 2010 by New York Theatre Ballet.  It is danced to a suite of Rossini melodies arranged by Benjamin Britten. Sylvia Nolan, Resident Costume Designer of The Metropolitan Opera, reconstructed new costumes from the original design drawings by Hugh Stevenson.

• Judgment of Paris, a parody of the Greek myth featuring three dance hall girls and a drunken customer set to music from Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera, is NYTB’s signature piece.

The evening closes with:

• Othello, a powerful work by American dance master John Butler, premiered in 1976.  A pas de trois set to Antonin Dvorak’s Othello Overture, it is danced in a style combining modern technique and classical ballet while exploring the timeless themes of love, jealousy and betrayal.

• Game Two, a series of duets and trios set to Georges Bizet’s Jeux d’Enfants, was created exclusively for New York Theatre Ballet by Philadelphia-based choreographer Matthew Neenan, co-artistic director of BalletX.  His works are known for their high caliber of technique and fresh inventiveness.

The program features live music performed by Mariko Miyazaki and Michael Scales.  During intermission, “Between the Acts: Conversation on Dance” will feature informal discussions with artists closely connected to the choreographers.  Audience members will be asked to submit questions and topics before the performance via email.

Tickets for Signatures 11 are $25.  For more information & booking visit New York Theatre Ballet ‘s Official Website