New York Theatre Ballet Searching for New Home

New York Theatre Ballet, which has been in its home since 1980, is seeking a new home. The company has until September 30 to vacate their office space and studio at 30 E. 31st Street, NYC, on the fifth floor of the parish house of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church. The building has been sold.

A fixture of the community of Murray Hill, NYTB's pre-professional training school services approximately 130 children ages 4 and up. The company's outreach arm, LIFT Community Services, provides scholarships, mentoring and tutoring for at-risk children.

"We're in a crisis," said Diana Byer, artistic director of NYTB. "I don't know if we're in danger of closing. I'm just reaching out to everybody to see what will come about."

The company's annual Once Upon a Ballet productions for children and repertory series for adults are held at Florence Gould Hall. NYTB offers innovative one-hour ballets for children and performances of chamber ballet masterpieces and bold works on emerging and established choreographers. In addition, the company will tour nationally in 2014.

New York Theatre Ballet (NYTB), founded in 1978 by artistic director Diana Byer, is the most widely seen chamber ballet company in the United States and has been hailed by The New York Times as "an invaluable company." NYTB is dedicated to inspiring a love of dance in diverse audiences through performances of chamber ballet masterpieces and bold new works, as well as innovative one-hour ballets for children, all at affordable prices.

By pairing the ballets of legendary creators with those of contemporary visionaries, NYTB brings a new understanding and appreciation of dance. The approach to live performance for children is groundbreaking and unique. New York Theatre Ballet offers an annual series of hour-long ballets tailored to the attention span of young audience members, while offering high production values and clever choreography sophisticated enough for discerning parents.

NYTB is committed to reaching underserved audiences by performing in small cities throughout the U.S. Its professional school provides ballet training based on the Cecchetti syllabus. Classes are offered at affordable prices. Scholarships are awarded to talented homeless and underserved children along with support for well-rounded learning.