New York Theatre Ballet Presents REP, In Memory Of David Vaughan This Weekend

New York Theatre Ballet (NYTB) continues their 39th Season with REP at Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th Street, NYC, on April 27 & 28, 2018 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $29 ($14 for students and seniors) and may be purchased at http://nytb.org/calendar-and-tickets/view/REP/ or by calling (212) 355-6160. Diana Byer, Founder and Artistic Director of NYTB, is dedicating the evening to long-time friend and colleague, the late David Vaughan (1924-2017), a dance historian, critic, lecturer, and performer. She has titled the REP evening David's Favorites.

The program includes a World Premiere by Richard Alston, The Seasons, described as a serene and limpid meditation on the cycle of a year in Nature. The music has an extraordinary clarity with images of Quiescence (Winter), Creation (Spring), Preservation (Summer) and, intriguingly, Destruction (Fall), which all come from Indian philosophical thought.

"I am making this dance in memory of my very good friend David Vaughan who for over fifty years was closely associated with Merce Cunningham, the choreographer for the original production in 1947. That choreography is now lost," said Richard Alston who will be using the John Cage score from 1947. The program also includes:

Capriol Suite, Frederick Ashton's earliest ballet, was choreographed in 1930 for Marie Rambert's students, before she had a company. La Chatte métamorphosée en femme is Frederick Ashton's solo for Merle Park in 1985 for a gala in honor of Fanny Elssler. La Chatte metamorphosée en femme was one of the 19th century dancer's most famous ballets with choreography by Jean Coralli and music by Alexander Montfort.

Cross Currents (1964) Choreography and Costumes by Merce Cunningham Music by Conlon Nancarrow, Rhythm Studies for Player Piano

Richard Alston is a major figure on the British dance scene. He made his first dance 50 years ago and has been choreographing prolifically ever since. In 1975 Alston came to New York to study for two years at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio. He also studied with Alfredo Corvino. On his return to London, Alston became Resident Choreographer with Ballet Rambert and later became Artistic Director from 1986 to 1992. As Director he invited American choreographers such as Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, David Gordon and Lucinda Childs to work with the Company.

In 1994 Alston became Artistic Director of The Place and formed Richard Alston Dance Company. Over the past 19 years he has made over 45 dances for this company. In May 2004 the Company made its U.S. debut at The Joyce Theater and has since toured extensively across the United States, presenting its third New York season at The Joyce Theater in January 2010. The Company was part of Fall for Danceat New York's City Center in 2011, 2014 and 2016 and performed at Peak Performances @ Montclair State University, New Jersey in 2012, 2014 and 2017.

Alston is a Commander of the British Empire and a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2008 he received the De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance. Commissions for other companies include: Rugged Flourish for New York Theatre Ballet (2011), Light Flooding Into Darkened Rooms remounted on New York Theatre Ballet (2013), Such Longing remounted on New York Theatre Ballet (2015), Brisk Singing remounted on the students of the University of Michigan (2015) and Carmen remounted on Miami City Ballet (2015). Sheer Bravado, made originally for Ballet Theatre Munich in 2006, is remounted on the students of The Juilliard School.

DIANA BYER, FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Diana Byer is the founder and Artistic Director of New York Theatre Ballet and Ballet School NY. She is a répétiteur for The Antony Tudor Trust, a member of the Board of Directors of the Dance Notation Bureau, an Education Ambassador for The New York Pops, on the Dance Portal Advisory Board of The Children's Museum of Manhattan, and on the Selection Committees of The Bessies and Clive Barnes Awards. She has staged the ballets of Antony Tudor for American Ballet Theatre and The Hartt School and the ballets of Agnes De Mille for the Alabama Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. She coached the principals for the Columbia Pictures film, Center Stage.

ABOUT David Vaughan

David Vaughan (May 17, 1924 - October 27, 2017) was a dance archivist, historian and critic. He was the archivist of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1976 until the company was disbanded in 2012. In his long career, Vaughan was a dancer, choreographer, actor and singer whose work had been seen in London, Paris, and in New York, both on- and off-Broadway, as well as in regional theatres across the United States, in cabarets, on television and on film. Vaughan's ballet choreography was used in Stanley Kubrick's 1955 film Killer's Kiss, danced by Kubrick's wife at the time, ballerina Ruth Sobotka. He has worked with both modern dance and ballet companies.

ABOUT NEW YORK THEATRE BALLET

With its ever-expanding repertory, New York Theatre Ballet's cutting-edge programming brings fresh insight to classic revivals paired with the modern sensibilities of both established and up-and-coming choreographers. Going strong after 38 years, New York Theatre Ballet's diversity in repertory explores the past while boldly taking risks on the future.