New York Theatre Ballet Presents LEGENDS AND VISIONARIES: PROGRAM B, 3/22-23

New York Theatre Ballet presents the second installment of Legends and Visionaries: Program B on March 22-23 at 7pm at Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street, NYC. The evening features works by Richard Alston, Antony Tudor, James Waring, and a world premiere by Gemma Bond, commissioned by New York Theatre Ballet. Tickets start at $30 and are available for purchase at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-982-2787.

New York Theatre Ballet's repertory pairs the ballets of legendary creators with those of contemporary visionaries, bringing a new understanding and appreciation of dance. This season features new works and beloved favorites from choreographers including Richard Alston, Jerome Robbins, José Limón, and Antony Tudor. In a nod to the 50th Anniversary of the Judson Dance Theater movement, NYTB presents two pieces by James Waring.

The program includes:

Richard Alston's A Rugged Flourish is set to Aaron Copland's Piano Variations and will be performed to live music. This piece was choreographed for NYTB and premiered in 2010. As Mr. Alston describes, "Copland's Piano Variations have a brave stony rigour, repeatedly ringing out in grand gesture. A Rugged Flourish portrays a young hero's courage and determination - strong enough to be alone, yet all the stronger for eventually accepting the company."

Gemma Bond's Silent Titles (World Premiere) with music by Louis Moreau Gottschalk takes its inspiration from silent films. The ballet reflects the elegance of the silent movie age with black and white costumes and piano music played live on stage.

Antony Tudor's Dark Elegies is considered by many to be his greatest work. The ballet is set to Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder and depicts a community in mourning. The nature of the disaster that has struck remains unspecified, but the grief is palpable.

James Waring's An Eccentric Beauty Revisited is inspired by Nijinsky's Le Dieu Bleu (1912) and danced to Erik Satie's La Belle Excentrique, a composition for piano which will be performed live. The intricate hand-painted costume by Sylvia Nolan is based on the original Leon Baskt design for Nijinsky. NYTB will be using Waring's original hand-beaded mask.

James Waring's Feathers is a solo choreographed for Raymond Johnson, who first performed the dance at the University of California Santa Cruz on July 6, 1973. The music is excerpts from Mozart's quartets for flute and strings in G major and D major. The dance is dedicated to Barbette, the American transvestite trapeze artist (1899-1972). Eulogized by Jean Cocteau and photographed by Man Ray, Barbette was one of the greatest stars of the French music-hall.

The evening will include a talk, Between the Acts: Conversation on Dance, featuring Valda Setterfield and David Vaughn.

Valda Setterfield is a British born dancer/actor and an American citizen. She has worked with JoAnne Akalaitis, Woody Allen, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jonah Bokaer, Boris Charmatz, Caryl Churchill, Merce Cunningham, Graciela Daniele, Richard Foreman, Maria Irene Fornes, Carmen DeLavallade, Brian DePalma, Ain Gordon, David Gordon, Ivo van Hove, Don Mischer, Marie Rambert, Yvonne Rainer, Donald Saddler, Michael Sexton, Gus Solomons Jr, Jeanine Tesori, James Waring, Robert Wilson & Mar K Wing-Davey @ A.C.T., A.R.T., BAM, Danspace, DTW, The Joyce, Joyce Soho, The Kitchen, Mark Taper Forum, NYTW, PS 122, The Public and Soho Rep. She was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company for 10 years and is a founding member of the Pick Up Performance Co(S.) She is an Obie recipient and in 1984 she received her first NY Dance & Performance award, her second in 2006 and a third BESSIE for her work with Paradigm in 2010. In June 2012, she danced/acted as Author's Wife and Leading Lady in Beginning of The End of the... based on work of Pirandelloby David Gordon.