Making Books Sing to Present BALLERINA SWAN, 11/9-24

After a successful summer of touring MY CITY PARK to branches of the New York Public Library and an extended run of WANDA'S MONSTER - A Family Musical at the Vineyard's Dimson Theatre, Making Books Sing returns this fall with a new family dance/theater production BALLERINA SWAN.

BALLERINA SWAN, a 50-minute family show blending dance, theater and puppetry, tells the story of Sophie, a Central Park swan with dreams of becoming a ballerina and dancing in Swan Lake. Based on the children's book BALLERINA SWAN by former NYC Ballet prima ballerina Allegra Kent, with illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner Emily Arnold McCully, the piece features three dancers and a dancer/puppeteer who operates a five-foot dancing swan puppet. Choreographed by Michael McGowan, BALLERINA SWAN features a libretto by Barbara Zinn Krieger, and set and puppet design by the internationally acclaimed puppet troupe Phantom Limb. BALLERINA SWAN is best for children ages 4-8.

"Like all of Making Books Sing's work, BALLERINA SWAN comes from beautiful, exciting source material," says Krieger, "but this production is a first for us in many ways. We're telling a story through movement using a fusion of dance, theater and puppetry. Just as we've always introduced theater to young people, we're now introducing them to other performance mediums as well. "

The BALLERINA SWAN production team includes choreographer Michael McGowan (Head of Spence School Dance Program), dance librettist Barbara Zinn Krieger (Founder and Artistic Director of Making Books Sing), puppet designers Phantom Limb (69° South, Tesla in New York, Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead), and special guest artist Edward Villella (celebrated dancer and choreographer) as the voice of Mr. Balletski.

Making Books Sing presents a new fall family show: BALLERINA SWAN, Nov. 10th - 24th, Thursdays & Fridays at 10:30 AM | Saturdays & Sundays at 11AM & 2PM. Previews Nov. 9th @ 11AM & 2PM, Nov. 10th @ 11AM. Opening Nov. 10th @ 2PM at Theater 3, 311 W. 43rd St. (at 8th Ave), 3rd Fl., New York, NY 10036. Recommended for ages 4-8. Tickets: $15 (child) $20 (adult) $15 (group rate; 10 tickets +). Tickets on sale October 2013 at: www.makingbookssing.org or (646) 601-1406.

Making Books Sing is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed theatre and arts-in-education non-profit organization. Their mission is to promote children's literacy and social development through professional theatre productions and arts-in-education programs. For more information about Making Books Sing productions and education programs, visit: www.makingbookssing.org.