Manhattan Youth Ballet and Manhattan Movement & Arts Center Present THE KNICKERBOCKER SUITE, 12/12-16

Manhattan Youth Ballet and Manhattan Movement & Arts Center present The Knickerbocker Suite on Wednesday, December 12 - Friday, December 14 at 7pm; Saturday, December 15 at 3pm & 7pm; and Sunday, December 16 at 3pm, at the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, 248 West 60th Street, NYC (between Amsterdam and West End Avenues) in the Lincoln Center area.  Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students.  Tickets are available by visiting http://www.manhattanyouthballet.org/performances.html, manhattanmovement.com/calendar or by calling 212-787-1178. 

The Knickerbocker Suite, a new holiday classic, has been brought to the stage by Rose Caiola with the Manhattan Youth Ballet. Based on the jocular story by artist Elliott Arkin, this original ballet is a timely tale of American values and folklore with New York City at the center of attention.  The first act, mixed media production, opens with a satirical animated film narrated by Tony award winning actor, Michael Cerveris, revealing a series of imaginative contemporary visual scenarios and characters following in the tradition of the Nutcracker story. In the second act, the Knickerbocker Suite weaves clever modern interpretations out of timeless scenes and dances in which the land of sweets becomes the cultural cornucopia that is NYC. The arts, sports, fine dining, parks and even the pigeons are magically and cleverly intertwined with the classic Tchaikovsky movements of Candy Canes, Coffee, Waltz of the flowers and more, culminating in a grand finale that is sure to bring joy and a great holiday spirit for audiences young an old. Choreographers include New York City Ballet's Daniel Ulbricht, Deborah Wingert (formerly of New York City Ballet), Nick Kepley (last seen on Broadway in Mary Poppins, currently working with choreographer Josh Prince), Marina Stavitskaya (seen in the feature film, BLACK SWAN) and Natalia Boesch (formerly of American Ballet Theatre).

About Manhattan Youth Ballet

Modeled with an emphasis on European classical ballet, Manhattan Youth Ballet(MYB) offers world-class training in a nurturing environment focused on discipline, precision and artistry.  MYB is the culmination of Ms. Rose Caiola's effort for the past fifteen years to create a viable and curriculum-based ballet academy in Manhattan in order to serve the needs of the multifaceted community.  Principal members of the faculty have received their training in schools such as the School of American Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the Kirov Ballet.  The faculty strives to bring out the individual potential of each student with an emphasis on artistry as well as technique to create truly versatile dancers for the current dance world.  Education is a top priority at Manhattan Youth Ballet and the school has numerous community outreach programs to promote dance education.  Since moving to its new home at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center in September 2008, over 2,500 New York City school children have participated in lecture demonstrations and/or been MYB's invited guests at full-length performances.  For more information, visit www.manhattanyouthballet.org.

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