“… small but mighty company …”
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Founded in 1978 by Artistic Director Diana Byer, and now led by Artistic Director Steve Melendez, New York Theatre Ballet has featured cutting-edge programming and an ever-expanding repertory.
With the modern sensibilities of both established and up-and-coming choreographers, the company has brought fresh insight to classic revivals. Still going strong after 40 years, NYTB with its diverse repertory, has explored the past while boldly taking risks on the future with acclaimed programs including NYTB with REP, the Once Upon a Ballet series, the NYTB/Ballet School, and the LIFT Community Services Program.
Photo Gallery
PRESS
“the whole experience of watching dance in this way feels somehow private, as if the dancers were performing just for you. It’s wonderfully intimate.”
- “New York Theatre Ballet – Spring Lift Lab Live: Program D – New York,” Dance Tabs, Marina Harss, 5/3/2021
“Spunky little New York Theatre Ballet is in the midst of a remarkable “fall season” it calls Lift Lab Live, offering two alternating programs in this company’s second-floor studio at St. Mark's Church In-the-Bowery. They admit only a handful of viewers to these all-but-private showings of dance solos and the odd duet. Yet the atmosphere is soul-stirring.“
- “IMPRESSIONS: New York Theatre Ballet's ‘Lift Lab Live’,” The Dance Enthusiast, 10/30/20
“New York Theatre Ballet presents LIFT Lab Live, a series of solos and short works at its intimate East Village space. Don’t forget your mask.“
- “Chirping Birds, Dancers and an Audience That Tops Out at 10,” The New York Times, 10/22/20
“This charming chamber company performs an eclectic mix of works by a variety of artists in both classical and contemporary styles.“
- “5 Dance Performances to see in NYC this weekend,” The New York Times, 2/7/20
“The company remains one of New York’s venerated gems.”
- “New York Theatre Ballet: It all fits,“ Critical Dance, Jerry Hochman, 3/14/19
“…no dancing all year changed my breathing more powerfully than his company’s performance in February of an older work, ‘Gypsy Mixture.’“
“Best of Dance 2018,” The New York Times, Alastair Macaulay, 12/7/18
“…this isn’t nostalgia: it’s active curiosity.“
“Review: At New York Theatre Ballet, Safe Bets Become Bold,” New York Times, Alastair Macaulay, 4/29/18
“…it has given the dance world the gift of still relevant revivals (among them works of Anthony Tudor, Agnes DeMille and Vaslav Nkjinsky) as well as works by outstanding contemporary creators such as the English Richard Alston.”
“Dance: A Perfect Chamber Ballet Company,” Arttimesjournal.com, Dawn Lille, 4/21/18
“They reveal things that are harder to see in the big works—notably the often muffled intimacy among the performers.”
“Happy Hundredth, Jerome Robbins: New York City Ballet and New York Theatre Ballet honor the choreographer’s centenary,” The New Yorker, Joan Acocella, 3/19/18
“treasure chest of a repertory and a commitment to performing every ballet with its particular style and spirit in mind“
“Ballet Up Close and Personal,” ArtsJournal, Deborah Jowitt, 11/6/2017
“Congratulations are in order.“
“Legends and Visionaries: New York Theatre Ballet performs a new work and a classic at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival,” Arts Journal, Deborah Jowitt, 8/6/16
“At Wednesday’s opening night performance at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, they killed it. (In the very, very good way.)“
“New York Theatre Ballet shines at Jacob's Pillow,” The Boston Globe, Janine Parker, 8/5/16
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Edward Schoelwer, Red Shell Mgmt
Tel + (646) 495-1564 / eschoelwer@redshellmgmt.org
Photographs attached:
Double Andante, Pam Tanowitz, choreographer, photography by Rachel Neville
Edward Schoelwer, photography by Carl Cox
Diana Byer, photograph courtesy of NYTB
Artistic Director, Steven Melendez
Founder & Former Artistic Director, Diane Byers
TESTIMONIALS
“New York Theatre Ballet performed ‘Cinderella’ at the Catskill Mountain Foundation for an entranced rural audience of parents and children. The dancing was superb and the sets and costumes were beautiful. What a tremendous opportunity for presenters to expand their programming for family audiences with the highest quality production and what a great opportunity to present excellent and mesmerizing performance to an audience that might not have had the opportunity to see much dance in the past. For all audiences, NYTB is truly a magical experience.”
“We have been pleased to present the New York Theatre Ballet nearly every season for the past two decades. The company’s engaging and beautifully choreographed story ballets are a perfect fit for our ‘Family Wonders’ performance series, offering generations of young people an opportunity to experience the joy of live, classical dance. Led by inventive and dedicated artistic director Diana Byer, NYTB’s extraordinary dancers have performed the ever-tasteful, one hour versions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland and other ballets for both families and school groups, generously offering educational activities and taking the time to meet with audiences after each show. Always easy to work with and mindful of the economic challenges of presenting quality performing arts for young people, we will continue to invite NYTB to our community every year.”
“For seven consecutive years we have had the privilege and immense joy of presenting the NYTB/ChamberWorks in our small county of 50,000 people. What begin as hope that we could get 200 people to attend, surpassed our wildest dreams. We have filled an 1100 seat auditorium at the local community college each year. Additionally each year on the Friday morning after the Thursday evening performance for the general public, NYTB/CW presented works for young audiences to all 2nd and 3rd graders in the county. In this same auditorium, we have to set up chairs in the aisles to accommodate the students. To date we estimate that we have presented not only dance, but live theatre to over 10,000 students. For many, NYTB/CW is their first experience of live theatre. Edgecombe County is a highly diverse, low income county. Many of the citizens had not heard of ballet before NYTB/CW came here. But once bitten, they keep coming back. The outreach to the community and willingness to interact with the students and citizens make their appearance the highlight of the year. Over the years, the NYTB performance has matched and then surpassed the NC Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert.”
“Our day with NYTB was an unqualified success! Since we are a volunteer management board, several things are considered when we make that statement, and all were met. The show was a sellout. Some naysayers thought ballet might be a hard sell in northwest Iowa, but this was a slam-dunk. Everyone was easy to work with, and it was clear they intended to give us the performance of a season. They gave us just that! Our audience loved them, and the standing ovation they received was sincere and incredibly spirited. Finally, members of the troupe went out of their way to socialize with us after the show, and they now have a lot of friends here in Holstein, Iowa. As volunteer managers, our pay is in the joy and smiles from our audiences, and we felt like we had won the lottery that day.”
REPERTORY
Jardin aux Lilas
Choreography: Antony Tudor
Staging: Sallie Wilson
Music: Ernest Chausson, “Poème for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 28”
World Premiere: January 26, 1936, Ballet Rambert, Mercury Theatre, London, England
Company Premiere: May 1, 2003
Libretto: Hugh Stevenson and Antony Tudor
Original Costume Design: Hugh Steveson
Backdrop: Billilan Bacshaw-Smith
12 Dancers: 6 women, 6 men
Running Time: 18 minutes
Dark Elegies
Choreography: Antony Tudor
Staging and Direction: Donald Mahler
Music: Gustave Mahler, “Kindertotenlieder” (“Songs on the Death of Children”)
Costume Design: Raymond Sovey after Nadia Benois
World Premiere: London, Duchess Theatre, February 19, 1937, Ballet Rambert
Company Premiere: March 22, 2013, Florence Gould Hall
12 Dancers: 8 women, 4 men
Running Time: 26 minutes
Trio Con Brio
Choreography: Antony Tudor
Additional Choreography: Lance Westergard
Music Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, “Dances from Rulsan and Ludmilla”
Costume Design: Sylvia Taalson Nolan
World Premiere: Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, June 27, 1952
Company Premiere: May 9, 2014, Florence Gould Hall
3 Dancers: 1 woman, 2 men
Running Time: 14 minutes
Trio Con Brio was restaged from a 16mm film found at Jacob’s Pillow by Norton Owen. A small section of the first man’s variation was burned out and Lance Westergard was asked to reconstruct it.
Soirèe Musicale
Choreography: Antony Tudor
Staging: Oona Haaranen and Ray Cook
Music Benjamin Britten, “Soirèes Musicales op 9,” “Suite of Five Movements from Rossini” (1936)
Costume Design: Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan, based on the original production by Hugh Stevenson
World Premiere: London, Palladium Theatre, November 26, 1938, Cecchetti Society matinee, London Ballet
Company Premiere: April 23, 2010, Florence Gould Hall
9 Dancers: 6 women, 3 men
Running Time: 12 minutes
Double Andante
Choreography: Pam Tanowitz
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven, “Sonata in D Major Opus 28,” II. “Andante”
Costume Design: Sylvia Tallson Nolan
Lighting Design: Serena Wong
World/Company Premiere: February 18, 2015, New York Live Arts
12 Dancers: 7 women, 5 men
Running Time: 14 + minutes
Judgment of Paris
Choreography: Anthony Tudor
Staging: Diana Byer
Music: Kurt Weill, Three Penny Opera
Costume Design and Libretto: Hugh Laing
Costume Adaptation: Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan
World Premiere: Westminster Theatre, June 15, 1938
5 Dancers: 3 women, 2 men
Running Time: 14 minutes
Antique Epigraphs
Choreography: Jerome Robbins
Staging: Kyra Nichols
Music: Claude Debussy, “Six Épigraphes Antiques for Piano for Four Hands,” “Syrinx for Solo Flute”
Costume Design: Florenz Klotz
Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton
World Premiere: February 2, 1984, New York State Theater, New York City Ballet
Company Premiere: February 24, 2016, New York Live Arts
8 Dancers: 8 women
Running Time: 19 minutes
“Syrinx For Solo Flute” completes the score for the ballet. Like the “Épigraphes”, “Syrinx” was inspired by French poetry about life and myths of Greek antiquity.
There, And Back Again
Choreography: Nicolo Fonte
Original Score: Kevin Keller
Costume Design: Sylvia Tallson Nolan
Lighting design: Serena Wong
World/Company Premiere: February 18, 2015, New York Live Arts
4 Dancers: 2 women, 2 men
Running Time: 20 minutes
“The duality of the adult characters in the Grimm fairytale ‘Hansel and Gretel’ appealed to me and provided the inspiration for this dance of deception, perseverance, ingenuity, and homecoming.” —Nicolo Fonte
Capriol Suite
Choreography: Frederick Ashton
Staging: Amanda Eyles
Music: Peter Warlock
Costume Design: William Chappell
World Premiere: Marie Rambert Dancers, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, February 25, 1930
Company Premiere: April 23, 2004, Florence Gould Hall
10 Dancers: 6 women, 4 men
Running Time: 10 – 11 minutes
Short Memory
Choreography: Pam Tanowitz
Music: Lou Harrison, “Reel”; and Henry Cowell, “Aeolian Harp,” “Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 16 for Violin and Piano”
Costume Design: Sylvia Tallsohn Nolan
World / Company Premiere: February 22, 2013, Florence Gould Hall
6 Dancers: 4 women, 2 men
Running Time: 14 minutes
Concertino
Choreography: Jerome Robbins
Music: Igor Stravinsky, “Concertino for String Quartet” (1920); “Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo” (1919)
Costumes: Lawrence Miller, Reconstructed by Carmella Lynn Lauer
Original Lighting: Ronald Bates
World Premiere: June 16, 1982, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater
Company Premiere: March 16, 2018, 92nd St Y--Harkness Dance Festival
3 Dancers: 1 woman, 2 men
Running Time: 12 minutes
Septet
Choreography: Jerome Robbins
Music: Igor Stravinsky, “Septet” (1952), Reduction for Two Pianos
Costumes: Lawrence Miller, Reconstructed by Carmella Lynn Lauer
Original Lighting: Ronald Bates
World Premiere: June 16, 1982, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater
Company Premiere: March 16, 2018, Harkness Dance Festival
5 Dancers: 2 women, 3 men
Running Time: 12 minutes
Such Longing
Choreography: Richard Alston
Restaged: Martin Lawrence
Music: Frédéric Chopin, “Mazurka Op 17 no 4 Novelle Etude no. 1 (Op. Posth.),” “Nocturne Op 27, no 2,” “Mazurka Op 68 no 2,” “Mazurka Op 63 no 2,” “Mazurka Op 50 no 1,” “Mazurka Op 6 no 3,” “Etude Op 25 no 1”
Costume Deign Sylvia Taalson Nolan
World Premiere: February 11, 2005, Richard Alston Dance Company
Company Premiere: June 18, 2015, Danspace Project
4 Dancers: 2 women, 2 men
Running Time: 22 minutes
Exiled form his beloved homeland, Chopin poured all his feelings for his country into music. In Paris his fellow Polish expatriates were his close friends. However, when an amnesty gave expatriates freedom to return to Poland, Chopin chose never to go back.
The Alice-in-Wonderland Follies: A Ballet Vaudeville Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass and the Illustrations of John Tenniel
Concept & Choreography: Keith Michael
Costume Design: Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan
Décor Design & Painting: Gillian Bradshaw-Smith
Original Lighting Design: Ted Sullivan
Doll House Built by Brian W. Griffin
Doll House Painted by Nancy Horne
Humpty Dumpty created by Márion Talán and Nicola Gardiner
World/Company Premiere: June 8, 2001, Florence Gould Hall
13 Dancers (without children): 8 women, 5 men
Running Time: 45 minutes
Suite from Mazurkas
Choreography: José Limón
Staging: Sarah Stackhouse
Music: Frédéric Chopin
World Premiere: August 15,1958, Connecticut College American Dance Festival, José Limón Dance Company
Company Premiere: February 8, 2008, Florence Gould Hall
7 Dancers: 4 women, 3 men
Running Time: 28 minutes
Chemical Bond
Choreography: Milissa Payne Bradley
Music: Gabriel Fauré, “Sérénade Op. 98,” “Après un Rêve”
Costume Design: Sylvia Taalson Nolan
Lighting Design: Serena Wong
World/Company Premiere: February 24, 2016, New York Live Arts
3 Dancers: 2 women, 1 man
Running Time: 6 minutes
Libera!
Choreography: Marco Pelle
Music: Anton Bruckner, “Ave Maria”
World/Company Premiere: January 24, 2014, Florence Gould Hall
2 Dancers: 1 woman, 1 man
Running Time: 4 minutes
Run Loose
Choreography: Gemma Bond
Music: Franz List, “Im Sturm from Bunte Reihe”
World/Company Premiere: March 9, 2012, Florence Gould Hall
2 Dancers: 1 woman, 1 man
Running Time: 3 minutes
Septet
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Staging: Carol Teitelbaum
Music: Erik Satie, “Trois morceau en forme de poire”
Costumes and Lighting: Remy Charlip
World Premiere: August 22, 1953, Black Mountain College
Company Premiere: February 11, 2011, Florence Gould Hall
6 Dancers: 3 woman, 3 men
Running Time: 15 minutes
“The poetic ambiguity of the music and dance titles expresses the character of this ballet, whose subject is Eros, and whose occurrence is at the intersection of joy and sorrow.” —Merce Cunningham
Agnes de Mille’s Broadway Dances: de Mille’s Original Choreography from Oklahoma!, Paint Your Wagon, Brigadoon, and Carousel
Choreography: Agnes de Mille
Staging: Gemze DeLappe
Music: Richard Rogers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Costumes: Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan
Oklahoma! (1943); Carousel (1945); Brigadoon (1947); Paint Your Wagon (1951)
Company Premiere: April 28, 2006, Florence Gould Hall
10 – 16 Dancers: 7 to 10 women, 3 to 6 men
Running Time: varies depending on songs and selections 34 – 40 minutes
Scramble
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Staged: Jennifer Goggans
Music: Tosh Ichiyanagi, “Activities for Orchestra”
Original Set & Costumes: Frank Stella
Set Reconstruction: Will Viera
Costume Reconstruction: Carmella Lynn Lauer
Lighting Design: Beverly Emmons, reconstructed by Kelly Martin
World Premiere: July 25, 1967, Ravinia Festival, Chicago, IL
Company Premiere: March 13, 2019, Danspace Project
8 Dancers: 5 women, 3 men
Running Time: 26 minutes
Excerpt from Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years by David Vaughan: “Scramble comprised eighteen sections of varying lengths, each of them self-contained. They could be done in different orders on different occasions. Not all the sections would be danced each time – generally about fifteen were. A complete performance would last about twenty-eight minutes; as usually given, the length was about twenty.”
Cross Currents
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Stage: Jennifer Goggans
Music: : Colon Nancarrow, “Rhythm Studies for Player Piano”
Lighting Design: Beverly Emmons
Costume Design: Merce Cunnigham
World Premiere: July 31, 1964 Sadler’s Wells Theatre
Company Premiere: February 18, 2015, New York Live Arts
3 Dancers: 2 women, 1 man
Running Time: 7 minutes, 20 seconds
Cross Currents, a trio originally danced by Merce Cunningham, Carolyn Brown and Viola Farber, was first performed at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London on July 31, 1964. The title comes from the way the dancers’ paths frequently intersected, and from the rhythmic quality of the dance. “The idea,” according to Cunningham, “was that there were these three people who often had quite different rhythms and then they would come together at the end of the phrase.”
The Moor’s Pavane (Variations on the theme of Othello)
Choreography: José Limón
Direction & Reconstruction: Sarah Stackhouse
Music by Henry Purcell, “The Guardian Knot Untied” (1691) and “The Abdelazer” (1695)
Music Arrangement: Simon Sadoff
Costume Design: Pauline Lawrence
World Premiere: August 17, 1949 at the Connecticut College American Dance Festival by the José Limón Dance Company
Company Premiere: March 9, 2012, Florence Gould Hall
4 Dancers: 2 women, 2 men
Running Time: 21 minutes
Though subtitled “Variations on the Theme of Othello,” this dance is not intended as a choreographic version of Shakespeare’s play. In the form of a pavane and other dances of the High Renaissance, the legend is told of the hapless Moor, his wrongfully suspected wife, the Moor’s treacherous friend and his wife.
The four characters portray the tragedy of Everyman, and the ballet is, therefore, timeless in its implications. This work has been cited by critics the world over as José Limón’s “masterpiece.”
EDUCATION ON TOUR
Special Educational Programs and Residencies
Master Classes
Ballet Technique (Cecchetti Syllabus)
Pointe
Men’s Classes
Variations/Repertory
Pas de Deux
Theatre Dance
Modern Dance
Stage Craft : Hair, make-up
Music Appreciation
Performance Workshop
Students learn and rehearse roles from the NYTB repertory
Parent/Teacher Seminars
Help! My Child Wants To Be A Dancer
Special Classes and Lectures
Dance Training (The hows and whys of ballet technique with Q & A)
Studio performance with dance history lecture
Customized workshops for teachers
Sessions with members of the community on how to introduce the arts to shelter and at-risk children
Full Evening and Matinee Performances for Schools
A residency can be for a day, a week, a month, or anything in between. Teacher materials, grade appropriate reading lists will be supplied. Family matinee materials can be provided for theater mailings to subscribers.
book the NEW YORK THEATRE BALLET
To inquire about booking the New York Theatre Ballet please submit the form below or contact Edward Schoelwer directly at eschoelwer@redshellmgmt.org or 646-495-1564.