7 FREE things to do for New Year's Eve in NYC!

New York City and New Year's Eve have lot more in common than just sounding similar by being called NYC and NYE! NYC is synonymous with NYE celebrations, the best known and most popular event being the New Year's BALL DROP at TIMES SQUARE. But if you do not have the patience to stay out like that for hours and hours, in this freezing East Coast cold, there are few other FREE things that you could do to celebrate New Year's Eve in New York City.

• NYRR Midnight Run & Fireworks in Central Park: It's not FREE to participate in the run, but it is free to watch and party in Central Park. The party starts at 10 pm, with a LIVE DJ. And you enjoy the amazing fireworks too. You can also go and do some ice skating at Wollman Rink.
• Staten Island Ferry Ride: It's a fun ride (for FREE!) to take any time of the year, but on New Year's Eve, you can enjoy the fireworks in Manhattan (also Brooklyn and Jersey City) while admiring the NYC skyline. You can also buy drinks and snacks, from the bar on the boat. Plus they have a toilet (unlike Times Square Ball Drop). Just make sure to get your winter coat, and stay warm!
• NYE Fireworks in Prospect Park: Enjoy amazing fireworks with the background of beautiful NYC skyline at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Just make sure to RSVP.
• NYE Celebration and Fireworks at Coney Island: Coming into its fourth year, guests can dance to live music throughout the night and watch some of Coney Island's most notable side show performances. Enjoy a fireworks display at the stroke of midnight at this free family-friendly celebration. Free live entertainment begins at 9:00 p.m. at the Steeplechase Plaza. Free admission starts at 6:00 p.m. on the B&B Carousel. And a lot more. Enjoy!
• Hang around Times Square (SECRET TIP!): You may not be the "IN" crowd, being inside, but you can walk close to the celebrations, like around 40th Street, or 50th Street, on Broadway or 7th Av. You can go to a bar or pub, or just hang outside around midnight. You can hear the noise, you can somehow hear the music, and still be part of the fun from outside. Better than standing in the crowd, in cold, for hours and hours. And you an walk to the center after midnight, and get some pictures (and even claim that you were there!).
• Just go to a bar/pub/restaurant: That's an easy one, you are in NYC! Go to a bar, pub, restaurant or anything. Most places have some special or something going on for the NYE. Specially bars and pubs. Just step out of house and walk in to any of the places. You'll have a good time. It's NYC!
• Or just STAY HOME, and watch TV: Honestly, in this freezing cold, it's never a bad idea. That's what I'm going to do. Watch the BALL DROP on TV, or any of the Holiday or New Year's special movies, or Netflix/Amazon/Hulu. There's so much going on, that you can have an amazing time, just at home. And there's social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram etc etc) to connect with your friends and family, as you celebrate and welcome the New Year's. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR'S EVE AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018!

TOP 5 places for Holidays in NYC: Beautiful Christmas Decorations, Holiday Shopping, Ice Skating & LOT MORE!

New York City is an amazing place to be at, all year round. But Holiday season becomes even more special with so many amazing things that pop up in NYC, that are unique to this wonderful city. Here are our top suggestions for THINGS TO SEE/DO in NYC during Holiday season:

• Rockefeller Center: The biggest and best Christmas tree in NYC, and maybe the entire world is at Rockefeller Center. It's FREE and open to public everyday from 5:30 am to 11:30 pm, until January 7th. While you are there, you can also enjoy some iceskating and go visit the Rockefeller Center itself.
• Bryant Park: If we are talking about Christmas Tree and Ice Skating, another amazing place in NYC would be Bryant Park. The winter time is the time for WINTER VILLAGE at Bryant Park. It brings amazing pop-up shops which have some cool crafts, art, holiday gifts and so much more. You have to be there to check it out. Ice Skating is free, if you have your own skates, else your an rent them for just $20. Time for Ice skating, holiday shopping, and rinkside dining make magical winter memories!
• Central Park: Another iconic place to do ice skating in NYC would be the one and only, Wollman Skating Rink at CENTRAL PARK. It's not free like Bryant Park, but it's lot of fun to skate under the stars, surrounded by trees in middle of Manhattan, in the amazing Central Park. You can also enjoy, to of other mazing things that Central Park has to offer.
• Times Square: The host to NYC New Year's Ball Drop, Times Square is one of the most visited place in the world. Filled with some amazing marquees, shops, characters and so much more, it's always a fun place to check out. And if you are around on New Year's eve, go checkout the Ball Drop as well. Or you can just watch it on TV in cozy environment and enjoy Times Square before or after. There' also a cool Holiday Market filled with amazing pop-up shops, on Broadway between 39 & 41 street, in Garment District. Make sure to check that out too!
• Macy's New York: Macy's and 34th Street  in Manhattan, New York have an iconic connection to Christmas and Holidays. So, you definitely do not want to miss the holiday fun at Macy's. From there cool beautiful HOLIDAY WINDOWS right outside, to decorations inside, it's sure something that will delight all the young ones, and some adults as well. Plus you can shop at the biggest departmental store in the world, a delight for everyone.

Also, all of this can be covered in one day, if you like. Start from 34th Street at Macy's, walk to Times Square, then to Bryant Park, followed by Rockefeller and then Central Park. They are all not too far away from each other. So much fun, with family, with your loved one, with friends or even just by yourself. NYC is the best place to be for Holidays. Enjoy!

Checkout the video at the link below, to see a walk I did from Macy's to Bryant Park.

https://www.facebook.com/myNewYorkeye/videos/1712236638828364/

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Ballet Hispánico Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month w/ Dance - September 15 to October 15, Free performances, a Block Party, and more!

Ballet Hispánico will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, 2017 with free events, performances, exhibitions and dance lessons for children and adults. Events include a Salsa Extravaganza, an "A la Calle" Block Party, an Instituto Coreográfico dance showing and discussion, an intimate Tablao flamenco performance, and an exhibition of visual artwork at the Ballet Hispánico's headquarters, The Arnhold Center, at 167 W. 89thStreet.

"No other Latino organization can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month like Ballet Hispánico, because we will do it with dance!" said Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Hispánico. "We've been bringing individuals and communities together to celebrate and explore Latino cultures and the shared human experience through dance for more than 45 years. Our Hispanic Heritage Month events and activities will bring the celebration to the Upper West Side neighborhood, which has been our home from the very beginning of Ballet Hispánico."

• The celebration begins on Friday, September 15, 2017* with the PBS broadcast of Lincoln Center at the Movies presents Ballet Hispánico at 9 pm. The program opens with CARMEN.maquia, a modern take on Bizet's passionate opera featuring physically charged and sensual choreography by Spaniard Gustavo Ramírez Sansano. The second part of the program, Club Havana, is a virtuosic reimagining of a sizzling nightclub by Cuban-born choreographer Pedro Ruiz. Originally filmed as part of the Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance series, the PBS broadcast will draw the largest national audience in Ballet Hispánico's history. (* check local listings) 
  http://www.livefromlincolncenter.org/broadcasts/lincoln-center-at-the-movies-presents-ballet-hispanico
• On Saturday, September 23 from 5:30-7:30pm, Ballet Hispánico will host a Salsa Extravaganza, giving New Yorkers the opportunity to revel in the music and dances of Latino cultures.This free, two-hour event will offer lessons for all ages in three dance genres: salsa, merengue and bachata, followed by a celebratory dance for all, with refreshments.  Both experienced dancers and first-timers are welcome to join in this joyous celebration. Refreshments will be provided by Calle Ocho/Bodega 88. https://fs18.formsite.com/BalletHispanico/HHMfree/index.html
• "A la Calle" Block Party on Sunday, October 1 from 2-6 pm,  a four-hour celebration of Latino dance, music, art, food and community, will take place on West 89th Street (between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues),  Ballet Hispánico's home for more than 45 years. The event will include dance performances by our internationally renowned Company, School of Dance students, and BHdos as well as a musical performance by Los Hacheros, free half-hour dance classes for adults and children, and a variety of activities for children and families. A special free raffle will include items donated by 89th Street NY Kids Club and Preschool, Blu Dot, Book Culture, Children's Museum of Manhattan, Flywheel Sports, Macaron Parlour, Modell's Sporting Goods, Rachel Realty, SoulCycle, and The Vitamin Shoppe. https://fs18.formsite.com/BalletHispanico/HHMfree/index.html
• This year's Instituto Coreográfico on October 5 at 7 pm will feature the work of acclaimed Spanish choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra. Moderated by Ballet Hispánico Artistic Director & CEO Eduardo Vilaro, the program will include a showing by Guerra, as well as a lively discussion with the choreographer and the dancers. https://fs18.formsite.com/BalletHispanico/HHMfree/index.html
• On Saturday, October 14 from 8-10 pm, Ballet Hispánico will offer the inaugural performance of the Ballet Hispánico Tablao series. Headlined by internationally celebrated dancer Nelida Tirado, thistwo-hour intimate performance will bring the Flamenco nightclub scene to the intimate Penthouse Studio of Ballet Hispánico. Tickets are $20 and there will be refreshments. https://fs18.formsite.com/BalletHispanico/Tablao/index.html
• Throughout the month, Ballet Hispánico will curate an on-going exhibition of visual artwork from celebrated and emerging artists on the first floor of the West 89th Street carriage houses, transforming our home into a beautiful, emotionally moving gallery. 

ABOUT BALLET HISPÁNICO

Ballet Hispánico, the premier Latino dance organization in the United States, brings individuals and communities together to celebrate and explore Latino cultures through dance. Whether dancing on stage, in school, or in the street, Ballet Hispánico creates a space where few institutions are breaking ground. The organization's founder, National Medal of Arts recipient Tina Ramirez, sought to give voice to the Hispanic experience and break through stereotypes. Today Ballet Hispánico is led by Eduardo Vilaro, an acclaimed choreographer and former member of the Company, whose vision of social equity, cultural identity and quality arts education for all, drives its programs. Ballet Hispánico, a role model in and for the Latino community, is inspiring creativity and social awareness in our neighborhoods and across the country by providing access to arts education.

EDUARDO VILARO joined Ballet Hispánico as Artistic Director in August 2009, becoming only the second person to head the company since it was founded in 1970. In 2015, Mr. Vilaro took on the additional role of Chief Executive Officer of Ballet Hispánico. He has been part of the Ballet Hispánicofamily since 1985 as a dancer and educator, after which he began a ten-year record of achievement as founder and Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago. Mr. Vilaro has infused Ballet Hispánico's legacy with a bold and eclectic brand of contemporary dance that reflects America's changing cultural landscape. Born in Cuba and raised in New York from the age of six, he is a frequent speaker on the merits of cultural diversity and dance education.

Mr.Vilaro's own choreography is devoted to capturing the spiritual, sensual and historical essence of the Latino cultures. He created over 20 ballets for Luna Negra and has received commissions from the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Grant Park Festival, the Lexington Ballet and the Chicago Symphony. In 2001, he was a recipient of a Ruth Page Award for choreography, and in 2003, he was honored for his choreographic work at Panama's II International Festival of Ballet. In 2016, he was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame.

Ailey Extension for Teens New York City’s Premiere Master Teachers August 7 to 18

Great news for the young dancers in your life, the Ailey Extension will be opening their doors, this summer, to kids and teens who are serious about the art of dance.  They are offering three immersive, multi-day training workshops taught by New York City’s top choreographers and master teachers. Ailey Experience NYC Jr., Ailey Experience NYC, and Fabrice Herrault’s Ballet Summer Intensive allow young dancers to learn technique, musicality, and performance skills.

Started in 2005, Ailey Extension has fulfilled Mr. Ailey’s life-long commitment of bringing dance to everyone by offering “real classes for real people.” To that end, the Ailey Extension offers over 25 different dance and fitness techniques such as Horton, Ballet, Masala Bhangra, West African, Samba, Jazz, Zumba, House and Hip-Hop. Over 125,000 people call Ailey home and it’s New York’s largest building dedicated to dance, where dancers of all levels and walks of life can learn and be inspired – body, mind, and spirit! 

Here is what is happening from August 7 to 18:

Ailey Experience NYC, Jr. – Aug. 7-11, 10am - 3pm (Ages 8-12)

Young dancers between 8-12 years old can experience a variety of techniques during this one-week workshop, including ballet, hip-hop, contemporary, Horton, and Broadway jazz. Each class is designed to encourage creativity and help each child gain confidence in a non-competitive environment. Great news.  No prior dance experience is required. Twelve world class instructors from Ailey Extension and The Ailey School lead the training sessions, including Ailey II dancer Terri Wright. ($650 per child)

Ailey Experience NYC – Aug. 7-11 & 14-18, 10am - 6pm (Ages 13-19)

Modified for teenagers between 13-19 years old, Ailey Experience NYC offers dancers the opportunity to train and perform a variety of techniques, such as ballet, hip-hop, contemporary, Horton, and Broadway jazz. Held at the home of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, this program will culminate with a performance for family and friends. Week 1 is already sold out, but there’s still a chance to sign up for week 2 or the full two-week experience, which is led by top instructors from The Ailey School and Ailey Extension, including NY Style Mambo’s Katherine Jimenez, hip-hop pros Jonathan Lee and TweetBoogie, and ballet extraordinaire Peter Brandenhoff. ($675 for week 2 only / $1,250 for two weeks)

Fabrice Herrault Ballet Summer Intensive – Aug. 7-11 & 14-18 (Ages 10-19)

Renowned ballet instructor Fabrice Herrault returns this summer to lead his two-week intensive rooted in the tradition of the Paris Opera Ballet. Committed to the growth of each student, this program has a strong focus on technique, artistry, and musicality. The daily classes are open to advanced beginner, intermediate, and advanced dancers, and will offer ballet technique, pointe variations, and men’s classes. Sofiane Sylve, principal ballerina of San Francisco Ballet, will join Mr. Herrault as a teaching artist. ($600 one week / $1,200 two weeks)

In addition to these workshops, Ailey Extension offers over 25 different dance and fitness classes, seven days a week for students 16 years or older.

To learn more about how to get the kids in your life dancing, visit www.aileyextension.com for the full schedule.

Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel, Up & Close in New York (June 23 - July 23). #SistineUpClose

You love Michelangelo's work? You've heard of all his beautiful and amazing art work on chapel's ceiling at Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, Rome? You have been wanting to go see it, but haven't had time, or money, or both. Well, you can see that artwork, right here in New York City, that to, up & close, from now until July 23.

The Oculus Mall (Westfield Mall?) at World Trade Center is holding this wonderful exhibition. It does cost $20, which seems a LOT, specially considering its all in open and you can see it just from outside (check out the pics) fro FREE. But if you wanna get closer, you can buy the tickets and go in. Checkout the schedule with more details and buy the tickets here:
https://www.westfield.com/upclose
https://www.westfield.com/westfieldworldtradecenter/events/all-events/up-close-michelangelos-sistine-chapel/41369
https://wl.seetickets.us/Westfield

The exhibition will move to various places all over country. Checkout the dates and details below.
https://www.westfield.com/upclose/tickets

Top 5 places to enjoy Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, in NYC!

New York City is awesome the year around, but Holidays are even more special here in the city. There's just so much to see and do in the city. Here are the top 5 must see spots this holiday season:

Christmas & Holidays in NYC, at Macy's 34th street Herald Sq.

Macy's 34th Street Herald Square: One of the largest departmental store, that's right here in Manhattan, is also known for some wonderful holiday celebrations etc. And it's not just Thanksgiving and Macy's Thanksgiving parade. This Macy's happens to have beautiful Christmas and holiday themed "display windows" around Holidays. It's definitely a must see!

Christmas & Holidays in NYC, at Bryant Park - Winter Village. Free skiing, shopping & food to enjoy the holidays & winter in NYC

Bryant Park - Winter Village: Walk few blocks north on 6th Avenue and you arrive to Bryant Park. During winter they have "Winter Village", there, which is basically this winter market with tons boutique shops and wonderful food etc etc. And they have a beautiful Christmas Tree as well. However the best thing is the free ice skating rink (provided you have your own skates, else you can rent skates for cheap). Skiing under the stars, in middle of the city, surrounded by iconic NYC buildings. It's wonderful. And again, it's FREE!

Enjoy holidays, winter & New Year's at Times Square, NYC

Time Square, NYC: Walk a block west, and you're at center of the world aka Times Square. Is it special for Christmas or Holidays or even winter? Not really. But IT's special all year round. It's freakin' TIMES SQUARE!

Rockefeller Center: Well, if your'e talking Christmas and Holidays, you can't miss this spot. This is where the famous Christmas Tree of NYC is planted. And there also skiing!

Central Park: Walk few blocks north and you arrive at Central Park. Central park is evergreen place to visit, like Times Square. But it is special in winter with another ice FREE skating rink under the stars, in middle of the city, in the beautiful & magnificent Central Park, NYC.

SCHUYLER FISK, CARL ANDERSON AND SAM WILSON ANNOUNCE THE RESTLESS HEART(S) EXTENDED TOUR DATES

The Single "Restless Heart" available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon

Following up Schuyler Fisk's album Blue Ribbon Winner, Carl Anderson's Risk of Loss and Sam Wilson's Sons of Bill album Love and Logic, these Virginians have decided to team up and blend their voices on the road for the "Restless Heart(s)" tour.

Written and performed by Fisk and Anderson and produced by Wilson and Fisk, "Restless Heart" is available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Google Play and other platforms.

"Restless Heart was the first writing collaboration for Carl and me and it came out of us so quickly, it was almost like the song wrote itself. The recording of this song came about just as effortlessly and innately as the writing of it. Carl and I recorded it live at our good friend Sam Wilson’s East of the Sun studio. To me, this song feels like hanging out with an old (heartbroken) friend…in the best way." explained Fisk.

Schuyler Fisk is a songwriter and singer and actor. Her debut album The Good Stuff debuted on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart and at #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart. Schuyler has since released a sophomore record Blue Ribbon Winner, a Christmas record Sounds of the Holiday and an LP under her side-project band's moniker, FM RADIO, called Out of the Blue. Her active grassroots following has garnered her hundreds of thousands of monthly spotify subscribers and over 7 million plays on a single songs. She has toured North America, Europe and Japan with artists including Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos, Rachael Yamagata, Joshua Radin, and The Weepies. She’s been very active in writing and recording for film and tv projects, as her music has been featured on soundtracks such as The Last Kiss, Safe Haven, Dear John, Hart of Dixie, and Ugly Betty. As an actress, Schuyler has appeared in several films and television shows, including Orange County, I’m Reed Fish, Law & Order: SVU, Gus Van Sant's Restless and The Best of Me. Schuyler is currently working on her next solo record and has a handful of acting projects set for release this year. www.schuylerfisk.com

Carl Anderson is a singer-songwriter who according to The Bluegrass Situation, “melds classic Nashville instrumentation, Muscle Shoals flourishes, and West Texas poeticism into a perfectly balanced musical pastiche."  Originally from Charlottesville, he first found success behind the scenes as a songwriter, contributing to Andrew Combs’ Worried Man album among others.  His latest single, Not Forgotten You, is a sunny followup to his acclaimed 2015 LP Risk Of Loss, filled with songs of pain and redemption.  He recently performed at the 2016 Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, CA. www.thecarlanderson.com

Sam Wilson is the eldest of the brothers in the cosmic Americana group Sons of Bill, whose four studio albums and decade of international touring has garnered praise from some of the world’s top critics including The Guardian who dubbed them “Virginia's scholarly heirs to R.E.M.” A classical guitar major who spent years as a jazz musician in New York City, Sam is also an adept producer, studio owner, and multi-instrumentalist, lending his full range of talents to this new collaborative single. www.sonsofbill.com

The cover art for the single "Restless Heart" is designed by VM Fisk.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/restless-heart-single/id1153731792

Schuyler Fisk, Carl Anderson and Sam Wilson are available for interviews via telephone, email, skype and in person the day of their show.  :30, :60 bites or the full song is available upon request.

Following is a list of current "Restless Heart(s)" tour dates, with more to be announced.

"RESTLESS HEART(S)" TOUR DATES: 

• October 5, 2016 Los Angeles, CA Hotel Cafe
• October 7, 2016 San Francisco, CA Tiburon Concert Series
• December 7, 2016 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall
• December 8, 2016 New York, NYRockwood Music Hall
• December 9, 2016 Charlottesville, VA Southern
• December 12, 2016 Vienna, VA Jammin Java
• December 13, 2016 Philadelphia, PA Boot and Saddle

Janis, Me & Bobby McGee in NYC

Janis Joplin on The Cutting Room Floor

In a genre rife with imitation, Janis, Me & Bobby McGee at The Cutting Room on September 15th offers unapologetic originality, with Joplin’s music as the catalyst for a high- energy evening of songs and stories.

Don’t go expecting a Joplin impersonator. At six feet tall with a Joker-esque grin, Karen Irwin may bear a passing resemblance to Joplin if you squint, but she makes it clear:

“I do not play her. I am playing myself. I am inspired by her and I am singing her tunes. But I am not trying to be Janis Joplin. I am trying to be Karen Irwin.”

Irwin had been told for years her singing was reminiscent of Joplin’s, and-- after her fiancé’s sudden death in 2007-- was encouraged to use her Art as a means to healing and self- empowerment.

View fullsize

“An especially dear friend did research to find parallels in [Janis’ and my] lives and philosophies and helped me to construct this cabaret show,” she says. “It’s a universal story, really. Girl isn’t the kind of girl who people think she should be. Girl is bullied and tortured by other boys and girls. Girl fights through the torture to discover her own authenticity and share it with the world.”

While the theme of discovering one’s own voice and comfort in her skin is universal, it’s the differences that resonate most strongly with Irwin. “I see where our stories diverge, mostly. I was given a supportive family and not the unbridled access to drugs [Janis had]. I never really felt connected to my gender until I was able to redefine for myself what it meant to be a woman.”

Having performed the show from Indianapolis to Bangor, with bookings lining up around the country, every audience gets a blood-pumping, powerhouse performance.

“I’m not ‘careful’ when I perform this,” she says. “I leave the stage with bruises and I don’t know where they came from. But it’s worth it. It’s worth it just to get lost. It gets me high. And people are moved.”

But her connection to Joplin and her legacy stops at the stage.

“I wouldn’t want to be her,” Irwin says definitively. “She has encouraged me to be myself.”

• Janis, Me & Bobby McGee makes its New York debut on Thursday, September 15th at 9:30 at The Cutting Room, 44 E. 32nd St. New York, NY 10010.
• Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 the day of show and are available at thecuttingroomnyc.com or linking from JanisMeAndBobbyMcGee.com.

Janis, Me & Bobby McGee promotional video

clips from 2015 show in Maine

Kinesis Project dance theatre presents Secrets and Seawalls

At the Adapted Aquatics buildings in Fort Tilden, Gateway National Park
September 18 & October 16, 2016 at 1pm and 4:30pm

Kinesis Project dance theatre, hosted by The Rockaway Artist Alliance and National Parks Service, presents a performance experience along the beach of Fort Tilden on September 18, 2016 and October 16, 2016 at 1pm and 4:30pm. Audiences will meet at Rockaway Artist Alliance Gallery to be brought to the performance, and should wear clothes for a fall day at the beach and shoes for walking. After the performance, audiences are welcome back to enjoy the art opening at the Rockaways Artist Alliance. A post show conversation with the artists will take place on October 16th after the 4:30pm performance. Tickets for Secrets and Seawalls are $25-$45 and are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/secrets-and-seawalls-in-the-rockaways-2016-tickets-27126669599.  

Transportation from NYC: Kinesis Project partners with NYC Beach Bus to easily bring our audiences to Ft. Tilden. The bus meets ticketed audience members near Atlantic Avenue and transports audiences - drinks and snacks available! Tickets for bus must be purchased ahead of time via the performance ticket link to board.  

Secrets and Seawalls is a dance in two acts. Inspired by storms and disruption, Melissa Riker and Kinesis Project dance theatre in collaboration with architect Lee H. Skolnick, FAIA, use methods of dance and architecture to explore vulnerability, power, and how each are revealed.  The work premiered along the beach at Fort Tilden in Gateway National Park, The Rockaways in 2015.  Melissa Riker and Lee Skolnick's collaboration, Secrets and Seawalls has spanned the interest of both dance media and architecture. 

"The partnership with architect Lee H. Skolnick is apparent as the audience is coaxed along the promenade by the dancers who, like mischievous water nymphs, lure you to a graffiti-strewn concrete carcass where they are perfectly framed; dip diving through the building's shell."
-The Dance Enthusiast

"The Kinesis Project dance troupe turned the Fort Tilden shoreline into an outdoor theatre...Using the expanse of the abandoned graffiti'ed buildings, the beach and ocean's edge as their performance space..."
-THE WAVE, Rockaway Beach, NY, November 20, 2015

Three years in the making, Secrets and Seawalls stems from the choreographer's questions about the integrity of NYC's seawalls and the impact of weather. Working in collaboration with architect Lee Skolnick, Riker and Skolnick use the lenses of their respective art forms to create a dance work that tracks vulnerability in ourselves and in structures. Choreography by Melissa Riker, in full collaboration with the dancers. Dancers: Cassandra Cotta, Zachary Denison, Michelle Amara Micca, Lonnie Stanton. Concept collaboration: Lee Skolnick, FAIA. Costumes by Asa Thornton.  Live Music by Katie Down, Helen Yee and Michael Evans.  

Melissa Riker is Artistic Director and Choreographer of Kinesis Project dance theatre, celebrating its 10th NYC Season in 2015. She is a New York City dancer and choreographer who emerged as a strong performance and creative voice as the NYC dance and circus worlds combined during the 90's. Riker's dances and aesthetic layer her training as a classical dancer, martial artist, theatre choreographer and aerial performer. She creates dances on site - and in context. 

Riker invents large-scale out-door performances and spontaneous moments of dance for individuals and corporate clients.

Audiences and critics have called Riker's work "a Marx Brothers' routine with soul," "A movable feast." And from The NY Times, her choreography is: "comically acrobatic, gracefully classical, visually arresting."

Since 2005 Kinesis Project's work has been experienced in San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Vermont, Florida and in New York City at such venerable venues as Danspace Project, Judson Church, Joyce Soho, The Minskoff Theatre, The Cunningham Studio, West End Theatre and Dixon Place.  The company dances outside in sculpture gardens, universities, and annually since 2006 in Battery Park's Bosque Gardens and The Cloisters Lawn as well as hosting over 30 surprise performance all over New York City and the tri-state area as an element of the company's earned income and outreach programming with volunteer populated flashmobs. Residencies include: Earthdance 2006, Omi International Arts Center 2008, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center 2011, TheaterLab 2014, Adelphi University 2014. Ms. Riker is a 2016 CDI Residency Fellow, 2015 LMCC Community Arts Fund grantee and was commissioned by The Brooklyn Botanic Garden for a surprise large-scale work and performances of her work Secrets and Seawalls at Omi International Arts Center, Gateway National Park in partnership with Rockaways Artist Alliance. Ms. Riker has received commissions from Carson Fox and the Ephemeral Festival in 2013, 2014 and 2015 for large-scale outdoor events, NYU in 1998, for an outdoor work long before "flashmob" was coined, 2006 and 2008 grants from the Puffin Foundation for her work Community Movements, a dance work with community volunteers, Fellowships from the Dodge Foundation, Space Grant Residencies from 92nd St Y, The New 42nd St Studio, Gibney Dance Center, and The Joyce Theatre Foundation, and annual artistic merit grants from The Bowick Family Trust to support the continued work of Kinesis Project dance theatre.

Lee H. Skolnick, FAIA (collaborating architect) seeks to synthesize art, science, and architecture to create memorable and meaningful experiences. He unlocks each project's "motivating story" to inspire imagination, curiosity, and understanding. For over 35 years, Mr. Skolnick has passionately developed and pursued his philosophy of "design as interpretation," wherein he seeks to unearth the unique themes and compelling concepts which characterize each project, and to translate them into concrete expression. Breaking down the barriers between disciplines, Mr. Skolnick has created an extraordinary firm where more than 35 designers and educators work in close collaboration. By making a thorough exploration and translation of content the starting point for design, he has brought depth, authenticity, and vision to an enormous array of diverse projects around the world. His museum, cultural institution, and residential projects have been recognized as works of fresh innovation and inspiration. Mr. Skolnick has employed his integrated design philosophy on projects for such clients as the Aileron Center for Entrepreneurial Education in Dayton, OH; the Sony Wonder Technology Lab in New York, Muzeiko: The America for Bulgaria Children's Museum in Sofia, Bulgaria; the Paley Center for Media in New York and Los Angeles; the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga, TN; the New-York Historical Society; the New York Hall of Science in Queens, NY; the Cooper Hewitt National Museum for Design in New York and the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, KY, among many others.

Mr. Skolnick also has served on the Boards of The Cooper Union, Longhouse Reserve, the Society for Environmental Graphic Design and the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of the National Association for Museum Exhibition (Exhibitionist). He has served on panels and juries for the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Institute of Architects. He is also a frequent lecturer, instructor, and author of scholarly papers and popular works, and is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Leicester, England. 

Since the 1980s, he has been awarded Architectural Digest's "AD100," Cooper Union's "Achievers Under 40," House & Garden's "Design Obsession," the Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement from The Cooper Union, "The Most Innovative" by The Best of the Best Luxury Homes magazine, "The Best of the Best" Home Book's House of the Year, and local, state and national AIA Honor Awards. In 2003, Mr. Skolnick was elevated to the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows. In 2007, he coauthored the exceptional book What is Exhibition Design?; an unparalleled handbook that explores what constitutes successful design and clarifies the roles of the various disciplines involved in exhibition design while exploring how new technologies expand the possibilities for both form and function. In 2008, Architecture Omi, an ambitious new project in Columbia County, New York, named Mr. Skolnick as its first Chairman of the Board. Architecture Omi is part of Omi International Arts Center, a renowned not-for-profit art program that provides artist residency programs and outdoor exhibition spaces on its rural campus, where a collaborative environment flourishes between artists from multiple disciplines. Architecture Omi seeks to explore the myriad intersections of architecture, art, nature and human structure.

LIVE Musical Party with Karen Ortiz, at GRILL ON THE HILL: Aug 27, 2016

This August 27, at 8:30 pm, there's a party at Grill on The Hill, that you can't miss. The Grill On The Hill is a lot like “cheers” but with African-Americans, Latino and a vibrant rainbow tribe.

Their new musical series — designed to give new bands a new home — the first in the series begins on Saturday, 8.27 with a feisty Latina.  

Uploaded by Rishabh Natarajan on 2016-04-14.

Karen Ortiz loves music and music loves Ortiz.  The singer/songwriter knew her heart, from a very early age and at 9 year old, she shared the stage with South African legend Hugh Masekela and Paul Simon at Carnegie Hall.  

Fast forward to circa 2016, her voice is stronger and the message of her original songs stress the power of positive changes and the value of tolerance. 

Originally from the boogie-down Bronx, the gifted songstress/songwriter is bringing her band to Grill On The Hill, on Saturday, August 27th (9:30pm) as part of the new program to promote up and coming singers in Harlem. 

Q: Karen, How would you describe your music?

I think every artist has qualms with answering this question because it makes you define an extension of yourself. I write my own songs and I'm a primarily a singer so that would put me under singer songwriter, which is funnily a genre for a lot of people, though it doesn't say much about the music itself. I'm unsigned, so I guess that's indie? I write a lot of folky, kinda rock stuff but I'm brown so I get labeled some variation of soul quite often. I tend to not try to describe it at all. People can make of it whatever they want. I'd only describe it as honest.

Q: As a songwriter, in this city, where do you cull your inspiration?

City life, for sure. I have a song, "Bartender", as many artists in this city find themselves in the service industry to support their craft. In it I talk about how exhausting it is to do something for the sole purpose of building something somewhere else and living at night. The type of people you surround yourself with when you live at night, either serving cocktails or serving up songs at a venue, they're never in work mode, though you always are. Writing songs is a way for me to deal with stress and the high demands this city has on us, especially with the cost of living... and i don't just mean financially. The removal from all things natural and limited access to it and how we adapt is always interesting to me. I also have a song called "Dogs Used To Be Wild," and it essentially explores to what extent we can be removed from our nature and be domesticated into becoming a totally different animal. That's what us city folk do.

Q: Top 3 musical influences.

These will change in a week but I would say vocally, Jeff Buckley has always inspired me. Not just his power and range but he was extremely versatile. Bob Dylan's lyricism is amazing because he tells a story the whole time and it's hard for you to know his music without listening to what he's actually saying. Same goes for Father John Misty. Nina Simone I relate to on many personal levels. I remember the first time I heard her was a live recording of a performance. Her rapport with the audience was so relaxed and nonchalant, as if she couldn't tell that everyone was in love with her. And she definitely left a lot of space for silence. I LOVE when an artist doesn't feel like they have to entertain in between songs and is just themselves for a moment. I know this is cheating but Ella Fitzgerald's style is unmatched and I'd totally fan girl over her if i could get in a time machine and do that. 

Q: Why do you love being on stage?

That's a good question! I dunno if I love being on stage, I just know I have no choice. I don't really know how to be happy without it and my mental hygiene suffers. I don't covet the limelight, I just wanna create something better than I am that has more lasting power than this useless body. What I do love is representing the underrepresented. So I won't be making any love songs or shaking a scantily clad body anytime soon. Hahahaha, luckily for you. That's just not my bag and there are plenty of people that already do that and do that really well, lol. They're killing it out there with the live songs and the booty shaking and good for them! What I do love is giving someone a message they relate to that no one else is talking about but they actually deal with, like feeling kind of lost or like you're not really building anything. Before you think I'm some saint about it, i should clarify that it's totally selfish. I just have to do it. Haha

Q: In NYC you top 3 watering spots?

Ha! I drink at places I notice the staff doesn't hate their lives. That and at home. Lol-in all seriousness, probably where is convenient for everyone else. Only if I'm trying to impress someone or am dragged somewhere do I go to "nice" bars. Well.... Here's a better answer: anyplace with boardgames, dogs, or not a line to get to the bar. If it's summer, a big neighborhood bar with plenty of picnic tables is always nice. Or spicy food and sake in the winter. You know, I'm afraid of giving real answers of real hidden gems on account of all the changes happening in our neighborhoods, haha. Stick with the Lower East Side, guys. That's already yours.

Q: Fill in the blank:  I make music becasue

I must. That's who I am, a musician.

-------------------

Click the link below, to get tickets for the event:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rockin-musical-benefit-party-for-the-sleepytown-collection-join-singersongwriter-karen-ortiz-tickets-27017046714

GRILL ON THE HILL. SATURDAY, AUGUST 27th. 9:30pm. Part of the New Music

Series. FREE

Tickets on Sale for Works & Process, the Performing-Arts Series at the Guggenheim - Fall 2016 Season

Highlights: Operatic Adaptations of It's a Wonderful Life by Jake Heggie and Breaking the Waves by Missy Mazzoli
Steppenwolf: The Fundamentals by Erika Sheffer
The Metropolitan Opera: L'Amour de Loin by Kaija Saariaho
Peter & the Wolf with Isaac Mizrahi
Works & Process Commission: Jodi Melnick with Sara Mearns, Jared Angle, and Gretchen Smith

Works & Process at the Guggenheim is pleased to announce its fall 2016 season. Since 1984 the performing-arts series has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to leading creators and performers. Each intimate program blends performance with stimulating conversation with the creators, and takes place in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's Frank Lloyd Wright-designed, 285-seat Peter B. Lewis Theater. Described by the New York Times as "an exceptional opportunity to understand something of the creative process," Works & Process is produced by founder Mary Sharp Cronson. A season preview video is available and further details can be found at worksandprocess.org.

Lead funding for Works & Process is provided by The Florence Gould Foundation and The Christian Humann Foundation and is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. 

Fall 2016 Season Schedule
Opera Philadelphia
Breaking the Waves by Missy Mazzoli
Monday, September 12, 7:30 pm
Composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek's chamber opera Breaking the Waves, based on Lars von Trier's 1996 Academy Award-nominated film of the same name, tells the story of a couple's sacrificial love. Prior to the world premiere, cast members perform excerpts, and Mazzoli and Vavrek discuss their creative process.

Kate Weare Company
Marksman
Sunday, September 18, 7:30 pm
Choreographer Kate Weare's newest work, a sextet with an original score by saxophonist Curtis Robert Macdonald, zeroes in on our ability to precisely intuit one another with senses remote from modern consciousness yet imperative to our survival. Dancers perform excerpts from the new piece prior to its premiere at the Joyce Theater in New York. Weare and Macdonald participate in a moderated discussion before the Joyce premiere. 

Steppenwolf
The Fundamentals by Erika Sheffer
Monday, September 26, 7:30 pm
A Steppenwolf commission, The Fundamentals explores America's corporate culture through its main character, Millie, a resourceful young mother and housekeeper at a New York luxury hotel. When an opportunity in management gives her the chance to leave her blue-collar life behind, she is faced with how much, and who, she is willing to sacrifice. Cast members perform excerpts, and playwright Erika Sheffer and director Yasen Peyankov provide a behind-the-scenes look at the play's production. 

Carnegie Hall
Steve Reich 80th Birthday
Sunday, October 8, 7:30 pm
Preview Carnegie Hall's Steve Reich 80th Birthday celebration. Prior to its world premiere on November 1, Ensemble Signal conducted by Brad Lubman will perform excerpts from Reich's new work Pulse, Signal will also perform Quartet, a work scored for two pianos and two vibraphones. The program culminates with video excerpts from Three Tales, a ground breaking video opera by Reich and Beryl Korot. Reich and Korot will participate in a moderated discussion with Stuart Comer, MoMA chief curator of media and performance art. Pulse is co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall.

MCC Theater
Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell
Sunday, October 16, 7:30 pm
Prior to the New York premiere of Ride the Cyclone,creators Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell and director Rachel Rockwell discuss the quirky musical that follows six teenagers whose lives are tragically interrupted aboard a roller coaster ride that promises a prize like no other. Excerpts will be performed. 

Works & Process Commission Encore
Commedia dell'arte by John Zorn
Sunday, October 23, 9 pm
American composer and musical pioneer John Zorn returns with Commedia dell'arte, a suite of five miniatures inspired by the dell'arte characters Harlequin, Colombina, Scaramouche, Pulcinella, and Pierrot. Zorn participates in a moderated discussion.

Rules Of The Game by Jonah Bokaer and Daniel Arsham
Monday, October 31, 7:30 pm
Choreographer Jonah Bokaer and scenographer Daniel Arsham's largest collaboration yet, Rules Of The Game is a new multidisciplinary work for eight dancers. It features an original score composed by Pharrell Williams, arranged and conducted by David Campbell and recorded by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Bokaer discusses the collaboration, and excerpts are performed before the New York premiere at Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival. 
Enter via the ramp at 88th St and 5th Ave. 

Houston Grand Opera
It's a Wonderful Life by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer
Sunday, November 6, 7:30 pm
Houston Grand Opera artistic and music director Patrick Summers, composer Jake Heggie, and librettist Gene Scheer discuss Heggie and Scheer's It's a Wonderful Life-an opera based in part on the timeless film It's a Wonderful Life* (1946) and Philip Van Doren Stern's short story The Greatest Gift (1943). Excerpts will be performed prior to the world premiere. 
*The opera adaptation is by permission of Paramount Licensing, Inc and co-commissioned by San Francisco Opera. 

The Metropolitan Opera
L'Amour de Loin by Kaija Saariaho
Monday, November 7, 7:30 pm
Excerpts from Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's breakthrough opera L'Amour de Loin are performed prior to the Met Opera premiere in a new production by Robert Lepage. Peter Gelb, General Manager, Metropolitan Opera, willmoderate a discussion with Saariaho and the creative team. 

Works & Process Commission
Jodi Melnick with Sara Mearns, Jared Angle and Gretchen Smith
Sunday, November 13, 3* and 7:30 pm
Monday, November 14, 7:30 pm
See the culmination of choreographer Jodi Melnick's Works & Process residency with dancers Sara Mearns, Jared Angle, and Gretchen Smith. Melnick's work weaves dance, spoken text, and moderated discussion with Claudia La Rocco. The performance features live music for harpsichord by composer György Ligeti, violin by composer Heinrich Biber,and newly commissioned music by Robert Boston. 
*Enter via the ramp at 88th St and 5th Ave. 

Nederlands Dans Theater with Sol León and Paul Lightfoot
Tuesday, November 15, 7:30 pm
Preview Nederlands Dans Theater's New York City Center season with excerpts from choreographic works by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, Marco Goecke, and Crystal Pite. León and Lightfoot will participate in a moderated discussion. 
Enter via the ramp at 88th St and 5th Ave. 

Juilliard Dance
New Dances with John Heginbotham, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Pam Tanowitz, and Matthew Neenan
Sunday, November 20, 7:30 pm
Excerpts of new works by four innovative choreographers-John Heginbotham; Katarzyna Skarpetowska; Pam Tanowitz; and Matthew Neenan- are performed by Juilliard Dance students prior to their premieres. Artistic director Lawrence Rhodesdiscusses the creative process with the choreographers. 

Peter & the Wolf with Isaac Mizrahi
December 3, 4, 10, 11, 2:30 pm and 4 pm
December 9, 5 pm and 6:30 pm
Isaac Mizrahi narrates Sergei Prokofiev's charming children's classic as Brad Lubman conducts Ensemble Signal, and a cast performs choreography by John Heginbotham, bringing the 30-minute story to life for the young and young at heart. 
For children 5 and up. 
Premium front-row ticket: $100/$90 Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim members
Enter via the ramp at 88th St and 5th Ave. 

Holiday Concert
Sunday and Monday, December 18 and 19, 7 pm
In what has become a revered annual tradition, Vox Vocal Ensemble, led by George Steel, fills the museum's iconic rotunda with the joyous sounds of holiday music. 
The museum closes at 5:45 pm and reopens at 6:45 pm for the concert. 
Floor seating: $40, $35 Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim members
Ramp standing: $20, $15 Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim members 

Location:
Peter B. Lewis Theater, unless otherwise noted
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street
Subway: 4, 5, 6 train to 86th Street
Bus: M1, M2, M3, or M4 bus on Madison or Fifth Avenue

Tickets:
$40, $35 Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim Members, unless otherwise noted.
$10 student rush tickets available one hour prior to each performance if space allows (for students under 25 with valid ID). 
For the box office call 212 423 3575, Mon-Fri, 1-5 pm, or visit worksandprocess.org.

More than $82 Million Awarded for Arts Projects Nationwide Including $14,000 awarded to Ardea Arts

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects and partnerships in the NEA's second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2016. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $14,000 to Ardea Arts for the creation of BOUNCE The Basketball Opera. The Art Works category supports the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields.

"The arts are all around us, enhancing our lives in ways both subtle and obvious, expected and unexpected," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "Supporting projects like the one from Ardea Arts offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day."

To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use#NEASpring16. For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

To support the production and outreach activities of Ardea Art's Basketball Opera, BOUNCE, a dramatic mix of music, theater and basketball involving youth and community both in the process and performance of the work. BOUNCE is grounded in contemporary youth issues, including teen violence.  It brings to life a story of the soaring hopes, dreams and aspirations of Isaac (Icarus) "Ike the Flight" Harris, a high school basketball player who overcomes temptations and life's hard lessons. An accessible, affordable-to-produce opera performed on basketball courts across the country in parks, athletic centers, schools, correctional facilities and theaters. This universal opera is conceived by director Grethe Holby, with story and libretto by basketball author and poet Charles R. Smith, Jr., and music by Grammy award-winning composer Glen Roven with additional music by folk blues Global soul composer Tomás Doncker and EDM Producer Ansolo.  Partners include University of Kentucky Opera Theatre (development); WNYC (media); Alaska Public Media, City Parks Foundation, Gangstas Making Astronomical Community Changes (GMACC), and three city high schools: EBC High School for Social Service, Nazareth Regional HS, both in Brooklyn, and Business of Sports School (BOSS) in Manhattan. 

ARTIST BIOS

Grethe Barrett Holby (Concept & Direction) Collaborating on well over 35 new operas over her career, she launched the groundbreaking organization American Opera Projects in 1988, which she led for 13 years, then Ardea Arts/Family Opera Initiative in 2006. A Rockefeller fellow, Holby has collaborated with Leonard Bernstein, Placido Domingo, Yusef Komunyakaa, Lou Reed, Menotti, Kitty Brazelton and others, in venues from The Kennedy Center and La Scala to The Kitchen. Productions for Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, North Carolina, Memphis, Anchorage, Houston, Michigan, and Washington opera companies; and originating cast member of Philip Glass/Robert Wilson Einstein on the Beach.

Glen Roven (Lead Composer/Music Supervisor) Composer, lyricist, conductor, pianist; Founder and Artistic Director for RovenRecords, distributed worldwide by Naxos; 12 -time nominee and 4-time Grammy winner; collaborated with Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews, Aretha Franklin, Renee Fleming, Kathleen Battle and hundreds of other celebrities for film, television, Broadway, Carnegie Hall and many other international venues and orchestras.

Charles R. Smith, Jr. (Story and Libretto) Award-winning author, photographer and poet with over thirty books to his credit including a Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration (2010) for his photographs accompanying the Langston Hughes poem "My People" and a Coretta Scott King Honor Author Award (2008) for his biography on Muhammad Ali, "Twelve Rounds to Glory." Early books such as "Rimshots", "Hoop Kings" and "Hoop Queens" focus on his love of basketball.

Tomás Donker (Additional Music) Global Soul composer and producer. Directs, composes and performs with his ensemble, Tomás Doncker Band. Guitarist for James Chance & The Contortions, Defunkt, J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz. Collaborated with Boosty Collins, Yoko Ono, The Itals, & Prince Charles Alexander. Current projects with Ivan Neville, Bonnie Raitt, Meshell Ndegeocello, Living Colour's Corey Glover, P-Funk keyboardist Amp Fiddler Shamekia Copeland, & Bill Laswell.

Ansolo (EDM tracks) A DJ and Electronic Dance Music Producer, Ansolo has performed in major EDM concert venues and festivals around the world including Electric Zoo and Ultra Music Festival. 

Everett McCorvey (Lead Music Director) Professor of Voice, OperaLex Endowed Chair in Opera Studies, and Director and Executive Producer of The University of Kentucky Opera Theatre: Artistic Director of the National Chorale, New York City; Director, American Spiritual Ensemble; Vice chair Kentucky Arts Council. Professional Credits: the Kennedy Center, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro Communale (Italy), Radio Music City Hall. A basketball fan, he often sings the National Anthem for UKY Wildcats games.

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America's rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and the agency is celebrating this milestone with events and activities through September 2016.

ARDEA ARTS Founding Artistic and Executive Director - Grethe Barrett Holby

Ardea Arts commissions, develops, and produces provocative new works of music-theater and opera to entertain, challenge and inspire today's diverse global community, uplift the human spirit, and encourage new ways of seeing our world. It is their goal to engage the community to the greatest extent possible in both the process and performance of the work, producing both within and far outside the walls of the opera house in order to reach the widest public possible. Collaboration is sought with unexpected artists to include American contemporary and popular forms in the operatic musical palette. Ardea Arts works out of its studio in Soho, New York City.

In addition to BOUNCE, Ardea Arts repertory includes Flurry Tale  (1999), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (2001), Fireworks!  (2002), Animal Tales (2005), The True Last Words of Dutch Schultz (2007), The Man in the Black Suit (2008),Goodnight Moon/Plums (2009), CAT (2010), Maya's Ark  (2013), BABAR The Little Elephant (2014), One Christmas Long Ago (2015), and in development, The Three Astronauts. Producing partners have included Center for Contemporary Opera, French Institute NYC (FI-AF), American Opera Projects, NYC Central Park Zoo, Infinity Music Hall CT, and International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Space.

BOUNCE The Basketball Opera will have workshop performances this June 25-27. Please visit www.ardeaarts.com for details.

Big Apple Circus Returns to Cunningham Park with the Queens Premiere of The Grand Tour May 15 – June 12, 2016

Big Apple Circus returns to Cunningham Park for the company’s 38th season with the Queens Premiere of The Grand Tour! Tickets start at $25, and the show runs from May 15 – June 12, 2016 under the Big Top at Cunningham Park, located at Union Turnpike and 196th Street in Oakland Gardens, NY 11363. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.bigapplecircus.org.

See high-flying acrobats, lovable clowns, the Wheel of Wonder, ponies, puppies and more! All seats less than 50 feet from the ring. In this all-new show, The Grand Tour transports audiences to the advent of the modern travel era, when the most adventuresome began touring the world in ships, planes, trains, and automobiles. Audiences will be awed by the world-class entertainers as they perform breathtaking acts from the four corners of the globe. Clowns, jugglers, acrobats, and aerialists from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America set off on a whirlwind adventure, accompanied by the live, seven-piece Big Apple Circus Band at each performance.

“The Grand Tour is a first-class jaunt.”

— – The New York Times

“A class act ... Sophisticated and beautiful.”

— – The Village Voice

“Language can’t do justice to the visual and kinetic thrills of the Big Apple Circus. Just go!”

— – Time Out New York

“Polished and fun.”

— – Daily News

“The Finest Up-Close Circus in America.”

— – Variety

“America’s Best Circus for Children.”

— – Parents Magazine

Four-time Big Apple Circus ringmaster John Kennedy Kane returns to introduce a variety of stunning performers: clowns Joel Jeske and Brent McBeth; third-generation circus animal trainer Jenny Vidbel with her pony and dog acts; aerialist Sergey Akimov; international juggling sensation Alexander Koblikov; ninth-generation circus performer Chiara Anastasini with hula hoops; the Dominguez Brothers defying the law of gravity with their thrill-filled act featuring the Wheel of Wonder; Chinese hand balancers The Energy Trio; the African acrobatic troupe Zuma Zuma; and the Dosov Troupe soaring on the teeterboard.

The Grand Tour, conceived and created by Joel Jeske, is directed by Mark Lonergan (artistic director of Parallel Exit, the three-time Drama Desk Award-nominated physical theater company) with choreographer and associate director Antoinette DiPietropolo. Musical direction by Rob Slowik, with clown material created and directed by Joel Jeske. Set and lighting design by Maruti Evans, costume design by Oana Botez, and props design by Katie Fleming.

Big Apple Circus Embraces Autism will take place on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 11am. Big Apple Circus has joined with world-renowned Autism Spectrum Disorders experts to adapt The Grand Tour for families with members on the spectrum and create a joyful experience for all. The adapted show includes the same world-class artistry as the full performance with a shorter running time, adjusted lights and sound, a calming center, pictorial social narratives, and specially trained staff and volunteers to assure a memorable event for everyone! All tickets to this special performance, a 75-minute abbreviated show, are half price ($12.50–$37.50).

A special Big Apple Circus Member event, including dessert in the ring with the performers, will be held following the performance on Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 4:30pm.  For more information on how to become a Big Apple Circus Member, please visit http://www.bigapplecircus.org/join-and-give.

As a nonprofit performing arts institution, the Big Apple Circus is committed not only to thrilling audiences in the ring, but also to bringing the joy and wonder of circus into the community. Big Apple Circus creates direct, shared connections inside its one-ring Big Top AND in hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, in its New York City home and in cities across America.

““These performers, many from circus dynasties, preserve an important tradition, reinforced by the nonprofit Big Apple Circus’s commendable community-service activities, notably the
Clown Care program, which entertains hospitalized children. This company … doesn’t only have awe-inspiring acrobatic skills; it has a lot of heart, too.””

— – The New York Times, 2014 Critics’ Pick

Big Apple Circus Clown Care® brings the joy of classical circus to hospitalized children at 15 leading pediatric facilities across the United States. Performers collaborate with doctors and staff to design a program to fit the needs of each hospital. Members of the Clown Care team bring the healing power of humor to children with acute and chronic illnesses, visiting nearly 225,000 young patients every year.

Big Apple Circus offers a specially adapted performance of the show, Circus of the Senses, for children and adults with vision or hearing impairments and/or other disabilities. American Sign Language interpreters are positioned in spotlights throughout the tent, and wireless audio headsets transmit a live audio play-by-play description of the action in the ring. Braille or large-print descriptive programs are available for audience members. A “touch session” after the show offers a unique opportunity for pre-selected groups of visually impaired children to go into the ring to meet the artists and literally feel a clown nose, a juggler's clubs, or the silky coat of a performing dog.

Big Apple Circus Embraces Autism provides performances with modified lighting and sound as well as a staffed calming center, to meet the needs of children on the autism spectrum. Inclusion is a core value at Big Apple Circus, which is dedicated to delivering the finest circus entertainment to everyone, regardless of physical or cognitive ability, or economic circumstance.

Circus for All! distributes free and subsidized tickets to schools and nonprofit organizations serving low-income children and families, enabling many of them to experience the excitement and wonder of the circus for the very first time.

Circus After School teaches kids life skills such as teamwork, responsible risk-taking, and perseverance, through a structured program of learning and performing circus arts.

About Big Apple Circus

(Will Maitland Weiss, Executive Director; Guillaume Dufresnoy, Artistic Director)

Conceived and founded by Paul Binder and Michael Christensen to be a leading presenter of live family entertainment and a nonprofit performing arts institution, our nation-wide performances and community programs have made our 38-year history far-reaching and full. It all began in 1974, when American entertainers Binder and Christensen became juggling partners and took to the street corners of Europe. Their comedic juggling act was a hit, and they soon found themselves on the stage of the prestigious Nouveau Cirque de Paris. They returned home to America in 1976 with a vision: to entertain and improve the lives of millions of American children and families. One year later, they found a site for the first tent-raising in Battery Park, New York, and went on to create the award-winning, nonprofit Big Apple Circus. For more information, visit www.bigapplecircus.org.

About Cunningham Park

Culture, sports, nature... and fun! All of these things abound in Cunningham Park, one of the largest parks in Queens.  Assembled between 1928 and 1944 and named Cunningham Park in 1934, the space has developed into headquarters for countless athletic leagues, animals, playmates, and barbecue enthusiasts.  Pick a pleasure and begin your explorations today!  http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/cunningham-park.