DANCE

New York City Ballet
At Lincoln Center
All-Jerome Robbins Program
PLUS
The 2011 Jerome Robbins Award to
26 Current and Former NYCB dancers
                        2 & 3 Part Inventions
                         In Memory of …
          West Side Story Suite

Reported By Lily Feinberg

Chase Finlay

What do you think when you think of the ballet? I know that half of us all think of four-year-olds in tutus prancing around, claiming that this is what they are going to do for the rest of their lives. Seeing the performances tonight (Oct. 1) I realized that there was a lot more to ballet then prancing dancers. Tonight’s ballets were not the first I had ever witnessed, since my grandmother took my brother and my cousins and me on several occasion to see The Nutcracker.  Although the first two ballets, 2 and 3 Part Inventions (with music by Johann Sebastian Bach), and In Memory Of…  (with music by Alban Berg) were beautiful, and the dancers were truly talented (especially Wendy Whelan) , they were less kid-friendly, and with much more classical-type music, I believe that I was not the only one to feel slightly bored at the end of both pieces  After the first two ballets, I wont lie, I was not too sure what to think about the final ballet, but this dance was West Side Story Suite (with 21-year-old Chase Finlay who was magnificent as Tony), and so I had some hope. And I was not disappointed. The minute the story started I felt everyone immediately wanted to watch. The music was spectacular, the costumes were amazing, and of course the dancing was all of the above. West Side Story Suite (based on Romeo & Juliet) was the perfect thing to view. The way they turned everything from the fights (which they called “rumbles”) to the wonderful love scene using a fire escape instead of a balcony and the uniting of the Jets and the Sharks in the finale  was truly memorable. I give it 5 Bows.

Tanaquil Le Clercq

Suzanne Farrell

Darci Kistler (with Nikolaj Hubbe)  Photos: Paul Kolnick

I was lucky enough to be at the show where they presented the Jerome Robbins Award. Every year they give the award out to a truly talented person. This year they gave it to 26 talented dancers. I knew very few of them so the experience was much less moving for me, but I could tell that it was amazing for my grandmother and grandfather who had watched these dancers on this stage so many years in the past.  Here are the Awardees: Helene Alexopoulos, Alexandra Ansanelli, Merrill Ashley, Yvonne Borree, Maria Calegari, Suzanne Farrell, Judith Fugate, Melissa Hayden (deceased), Jillana, Nora Kay (deceased), Allegra Kent, Gelsey Kirkland, Darci Kistler, Maria Kowroski, Tanaquil Le Clercq (deceased), Sara Leland, Lourdes Lopez, Kay Mazzo, Patricia McBride, Yvonne Mounsey, Kyra Nichols, Janet Reed (deceased),  Jenifer Ringer, Melinda Roy, Stephanie Saland, Margaret Tracey, Violet Verdy, Heather Watts, Miranda Weese, Wendy Whelan.

I really enjoyed my overall experience at the New York City Ballet, I recommend it to anyone interested in dance.

 
George Balanchine’s
The Nutcracker
Lincoln Center
63rd St. & Columbus Ave.
212-496-0600
Through Dec. 31.  
For tickets and full performance calendar, visit nycballet.com/nuttickets

It is fair to state, that my wife and I – City Ballet subscribers for more than four decades - surfeited our quotient of Nutcrackers on our children and grandchildren’s behalf. Yet that doesn’t in the least diminish our admiration for the beloved Balanchine-choreographed production. Based on the glorious Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky score, it boasts a Christmas tree that grows from 12 to 40 feet, a snowstorm, and hundreds of elaborate costumes, including one for Mother Ginger that measures nine feet wide and weighs 85 pounds. This year, New York City Ballet presents 45 performances of the holiday classic, choreographed by the immortal George Balanchine. The production includes the Company’s entire roster of more than 150 dancers and musicians, as well as two alternating casts of 50 children from the School of American Ballet, official school of New York City Ballet.

Revelations is inspirational and thrilling beyond words. Photo: Paul Kolnick

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Revelations
New York City Center  
131 West 55th Street, btw. 6th & 7th Aves.
(212) 581-1212
Nov. 30  – Jan. 1, 2011

Performance Times for Revelations. Select performances with a cast of 50 are indicated in red. Evening performances other than Tuesdays and opening night, begin at 8 pm. Tuesdays, opening night and New Year’s Eve have a 7  pm curtain. Matinees begin at 2 pm & 3 pm.
Nov. 30 opening night, Dec. 1, 2, 3 (mat 2pm), 3, 4 (mat. 3 p.m.), 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (mat 3 p.m.), 11, 14, 15, 18 (mat. 3 p.m.), 20, 21 (mat. 2 p.m.), 22, 24 (mat. 2 p.m.), 24, 25, 27, 28 (mat. 2 p.m.) , 28,  29,  31 (New Year’s Eve), Jan 1. 
 
Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham!  When I hear that triumphant refrain, it can mean only one thing. I am blissfully in the bosom of my favorite of all dance creations, Revelations, from one of the world’s great dance companies. The company, founded by Alvin Ailey who died much too young, thrived under the nurturing leadership of the statuesque former Ailey dancer Judith Jamison. The company’s newest artistic director is Robert Battle. Taking my children and/or grandchildren each season in which the AADT visits City Center is as axiomatic as taking them to the Nutcracker at the City Ballet or to Peter Luger’s for steak. When readers and friends ask me for advice on where to take their kids or grandkids each holiday season, I simply say, “Revelations,” no matter their age. For you grown readers, there is no better time than New Year’s Eve for revelry at Revelations.

MUSEUMS

Lyonel Feininger
At the Edge of the World
Whitney Museum of American Art.
945 Madison Ave. @ 75th St.
(212) 570-3600
Concluded Oct. 16.
The exhibition travels to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Jan. 20–May 13, 2012.

Reported By Henry Shuster

Lyonel Feininger Courtesy Whitney Museum of Art

I went to the MoMA and the Whitney with my grandma Nancy [editor’s note; Nancy Treiger is senior arts correspondent for My Kind of New York] but I’m only going to write about the Whitney. The first thing she told me was that it was the first building back then that was made from granite stones and had windows different from every other building. By the way, the building’s architect was Marcel Breuer. First we went to the David Smith Cubes and Anarchy exhibit. In the exhibit, David Smith made art, not of people, but of shapes and when he made that  it was like the  first time, somebody did that. He also used this unique kind of shining metal for the sculptures. After that we went to the Lyonel Feininger exhibit.  In this exhibit there was art from when he first started being an artist till when he moved to America. When he started his career he made comic strips, then he painted paintings. After that he split the canvas into squares. Finally as the exhibit shows, he made toys for his kids every Christmas. Then we went to the Real and Surreal exhibit where we went around guessing whether the paintings were real or surreal Most of the surreal paintings were dream-like and that’s how we guessed. I loved my tour of the Whitney and I hope to go back soon.

THEATER

Red Riding Hood & Other Stories
Sensory-Friendly Musical
Expressly For Children with Autism and Other Developmental Concerns
Paper Mill Playhouse
www.papermill.org 
22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ 
(973) 376-4343
April 21, 2012 at 10  a.m.   
One hour with an intermission.
PLUS an Open House titled “Meet Your Seat!” on Friday, April 20, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

Leave it to the Paper Mill Playhouse to blaze a pathway for innovation with its “Theater for Everyone” Sensory Friendly Series featuring the live Red Riding Hood and other Stories..  Designed specially for children on the autism spectrum, or with other developmental disabilities, the theater environment will be altered for this performance, providing a sensory-friendly, comfortable and judgment-free space that is welcoming for all families.  At this singular presentation, theater lights will remain up, sound volume will be lowered and remain consistent and children will be free to talk and leave their seat under parental supervision.  The show will run about 60 minutes with an intermission .

According to Lisa Cooney, Director of Education for Paper Mill Playhouse “It has been a transformative experience for me to work on this project which began when a proactive parent of a child with autism contacted Paper Mill Playhouse to ask if we would consider having a performance where she could bring her son.  I learned of the ongoing challenges of these loving families who want nothing more for their son or daughter  to see a show, without the concern or expectation that their family will be judged by those who do not comprehend their uniqueness.”

Red Riding Hood & Other Stories  is a musical celebration employing some of America's best loved folk tunes to convey  a sense of  the courage required to leave the familiar and explore the unknown; and a sense of the legacy of immigrant groups coming to America to contribute to its egalitarian ideals.

Additionally, Paper Mill Playhouse will host a free Open House: “Meet Your Seat!” on Friday, April 20  from 3  p.m. to 6 p.m.  This is an opportunity for your child or grandchild who is new to theater experiences to visit the theater space before the show.  No reservations are required.   Resource material will be available including a sequence book, study guide and sing-along prep video.  These items may be downloaded or viewed on www.PaperMill.org.

The New Victory Theater
Launches its 2011-12 Season
209 West 42nd St
646-223-3010
NewVictory.org

(Right) Reed Martin and Matt Rippy in Complete World of Sports. Photo: Meghan Moor.

The Complete World of Sports (abridged)
N. Y. Premiere
Reduced Shakespeare Company
Of Sonoma, CA
New Victory Theater
Through Nov. 6
The lunacy of sports collides with ludicrous wit in The Complete World of Sports (abridged) by the Reduced Shakespeare Company. Featuring the “Bad Boys of Abridgement” – Reed Martin, Matt Rippy and Austin Tichenor – who presented The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) at The New Victory in 2010.  Sports (abridged) explores every sport ever known to man – from “Neanderthal in the Middle” to Quidditch. Ages: 10+

Ian Cameron and Andy Manley in White. Photo: Douglas McBride

U. S. Premiere of White
From Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
Musselburgh, Scotland
Studio 3A/B in the New 42nd St. Studios
229 W. 42nd
Theater
Through Nov. 13
A whimsical work of contemporary theater, White was created by Andy Manley for Catherine Wheels Theater Company’s first show for under 5’s.  It premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010 and won the trifecta: the Fringe First, Herald Angel and Total Theatre awards. Ages 2 to 5

Raw Metal Dance from Untapped. Photo: Andrew Fee.

Untapped!
U. S. Premiere
Raw Metal Dance
From Brisbane, Australia
New Victory Theater
Nov. 11 – 27
Untapped! is an olio of tap dance, funk, hip-hop and rock music from Australia. Showcases an all-boy crew of daredevil performers and musicians.   Ages 6+.

CIRCUS

Cirque Shanghai’s Bai Xi. Photo: Aubrey Hughes.

Bai Xi
N.Y. Premiere
New Victory Theater   
Circus
Cirque Shanghai
Dec. 2 – Jan. 1
From climbing a three-story tower of chairs to balancing en pointe on a man’s head, this world-class cadre of acrobats, contortionists, aerialists and gymnasts offer an astounding array of contemporary and traditional circus feats. With choreography by Brenda Didier, Bai Xi thrills audiences worldwide with their strength, beauty and uncanny ability to make the impossible look effortless.   Ages 4+

Barry Lubin as Grandma.

Big Apple Circus
Presents
Dream Big
Join Clown Hall of Fame Inductee Grandma
As She Says Farewell To You and Your Grandkids.
Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park
Southwest Corner Of The Lincoln Center Plaza, At 62nd Street Between Columbus And Amsterdam Avenues
Through Jan. 8, 2012
New York’s original one-ring circus dares you to Dream Big!  Ladies and gentlemen, grandboys and grandgirls, Step Right Up! It's the brand-new 34th season show of the Big Apple Circus.  You’ll all admire the jugglers, acrobats, equestrians, aerialists, horses, dogs, jesters and a singing ringmistress.  And – let’s not forget that irrepressible zany, who will say her last goodbyes to her multitude of fans, Grandma the Clown.  Let your imagination soar and summon the most amazing acts — A juggler with a suit to fit his feats of fancy handiwork, a mechanical doll that comes alive in a sinuous balancing act, Spirited horses, frolicsome dogs, a porcupine and a semi-aquatic capybara.   Acrobats who astound with athletic grace! Comic conjurors with magical moments of grand illusion. The aerial daring of the trapeze flyers.  Experience the instant connection between audience and artist as your family sits 50 feet or less from the ring.

JAZZ

Jazz for Young People Family Concert
Explores "Who is Duke Ellington?"
Rose Theater
Frederic P. Rose Hall
Broadway @ 60th St.
November 5 
1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

© From the Desk Of: by Hal Drucker and Sid Lerner. Photo: Sing-Si Schwartz.

Hosted by Wynton Marsalis and the
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. 
212-721-6500
jalc.org/jfyp
Duke Ellington wrote over 1000 compositions, often in collaboration with Billy Strayhorn (who wrote Take the A Train) and kept a loyal band for over 50 years.   The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis explores the inimitable style and infectious swing of the Duke  in this interactive  concert for families. Repertoire will include such classic Ellington tunes as Mood Indigo, "C Jam Blues, "Black and Tan Fantasy, Carolina Shout and Chinoiserie.  

One hour. For ages 6+. Come an hour earlier for a variety of family-friendly pre-concert activities at 12 noon & 2 p.m. Young musicians (ages 8 and up) are invited to bring their instruments for a workshop.