Jimmy Van Bramer News

Leaders of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation today celebrated the expansion of Ailey's permanent home, The Joan Weill Center for Dance, with a ceremonial roof-breaking to mark the company's upward growth.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 2016-17 season on Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 3pm with Emmy-nominated song-and-dance man Tony Danza performing his newest one-man show, Standards & Stories.

Tickets now on sale for 2017 NEA Jazz Master Dr. Lonnie Smith, an Ella Fitzgerald centennial celebration with Grammy winner Patti Austin, and the Yosvany Terry Afro-Cuban Sextet.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College is pleased to announce its 2016-17 World of Dance series. Since its inception in 1966, this series has showcased new works by more than 175 regional, national, and international companies. This year's lineup features the latest production from Buenos Aires tango company Estampas Porteñas, a celebration of the Chinese Year of the Rooster by the prestigious Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, and the much-anticipated returns of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica and Step Afrika!.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College announces its 2016-17 season of music, dance, theater, and family programming, reflecting the multicultural diversity of Brooklyn.

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, today joined Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer and members of The Friends of Queensbridge Park to celebrate the legacy of long-time park advocate Elizabeth McQueen by officially naming the park's promenade in her honor. Scroll down for photos!

A month ago while Jessica Lang was in Utah working with Ballet West, I rang her to interview her about her incredible year of ongoing success. Years ago I took class with Robert Battle and struck up a dance friendship with his company dancers including Jessica's husband Kanji Segawa. But I have never met Jessica herself. Of course she is the 'It Woman' of dance so I know a bit about her. With her embarrassment of accolades one would have to have their head buried in the sand not to. Besides the rapturous praise she has received for her work, she has also secured numerous commissions (American Ballet Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Japan at the New National Theatre Tokyo, Joffrey Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet San Jose, Richmond Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Ailey II, ABT II, Hubbard Street 2, and New York City Ballet's Choreographic Institute, among many others), received many high profile awards (New York City Center Fellow for 2015, 2014 Bessie Award, 2013 Manchester Theatre Award, grants from Jerome Robbins Foundation, the NEA, the Choo San Goh Foundation, and a 2010 Joyce Theater Artist Residency supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), is opening her own dance center in Long Island City, and is celebrating her company's 5th Anniversary Season at the Joyce. But how did she come to all of this?

 Celebrating dance and the beauty of age, Dances For a Variable Population (DVP), will present three performances of The Phoenix Project, a citywide public dance project that empowers older adults and reevaluates the aesthetics of aging. This world premiere collaboration will take place in three boroughs-Bronx, Queens and Harlem-over three Todays, June 4, 11 and 13. The Phoenix Project will make its Bronx debut at the New York Botanical Garden's award-winning and picturesque Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden on June 4. In the subsequent weekends, the piece will move with excerpts of the full work to Queens at the Queensbridge Riis Senior Center on June 11, and close their performances as part of the Summer on the Hudson Festival at the West Harlem Piers Park on June 18 as part of a Family Day event.

?Green Space is pleased to offer a diverse roster of new/emerging artists in June.

 Celebrating dance and the beauty of age, Dances For a Variable Population (DVP), will present three performances of The Phoenix Project, a citywide public dance project that empowers older adults and reevaluates the aesthetics of aging. This world premiere collaboration will take place in three boroughs-Bronx, Queens and Harlem-over three Saturdays, June 4, 11 and 13. The Phoenix Project will make its Bronx debut at the New York Botanical Garden's award-winning and picturesque Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden on June 4. In the subsequent weekends, the piece will move with excerpts of the full work to Queens at the Queensbridge Riis Senior Center on June 11, and close their performances as part of the Summer on the Hudson Festival at the West Harlem Piers Park on June 18 as part of a Family Day event.

The award-winning series MetroFocus premieres new episodes in the New York and tri-state region weeknights at 5 p.m. on WLIW21, 5:30 p.m. on NJTV and 6 p.m. on THIRTEEN. All episodes are available at metrofocus.org following the broadcast.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 2015-16 season with Moscow Festival Ballet's double bill of one-act ballets, Romeo and Juliet and Carmen, tonight, March 5, 2016 at 8pm. Tickets are $36-45 and can be purchased at BrooklynCenter.org or by calling the box office at 718-951-4500 (Tue-Sat, 1pm-6pm).

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 2015-16 season with Moscow Festival Ballet's double bill of one-act ballets, Romeo and Juliet and Carmen, on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 8pm. Tickets are $36-45 and can be purchased at BrooklynCenter.org or by calling the box office at 718-951-4500 (Tue-Sat, 1pm-6pm).

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) today announced results of a survey examining the diversity of staff and leadership at City-funded nonprofit cultural organizations. The survey release marks a major milestone in the agency's initiative to promote and cultivate diversity in the cultural community, building on the de Blasio Administration's commitment to making New York City a more fair and equitable city for every resident. The survey found that while New York City's cultural sector is far more diverse than cultural organizations on the national level, it lags behind the demographic diversity of the city's population.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and Media & Entertainment Commissioner Cynthia Lopez today announced that New York City's filmed entertainment industry now contributes $8.7 billion to the local economy, an increase of more than 1.5 billion, or 21 percent, since 2011. Full-time equivalent jobs in the city's industry have grown 10 percent, from 94,000 to 104,000 over the last four years, according to an independent study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) that details the growth and economic impact of New York City's media and entertainment industries. According to BCG's report, New York City is one of only three cities in the world with a filming community large enough to enable a production to be made without needing any roles to be brought in from other locations, including cast, crew members, and the creative team. Additionally, a rich real-life history, iconic locations, diverse storytellers and top talent are among the reasons productions choose to film in New York City.

The new St. Ann's Warehouse was unveiled in a ceremony this morning! The $31.6 million, 25,000 sf. theater, at the breathtaking site of the pre-Civil War Tobacco Warehouse under the Brooklyn Bridge, will make Brooklyn Bridge Park a home for culture for future generations.

Lincoln Center, the world's largest performing arts center, announces upcoming dates and details for Boro-Linc, a program that presents free family events from Lincoln Center's resident organizations to neighborhoods across New York City through partnerships with cultural and community organizations. The Boro-Linc initiative commenced last year with several Lincoln Center programs at the Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education in the Bronx, and continues this fall with a series in both Staten Island (Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden) and Queens (Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning). The program will continue in the spring in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx; details to be announced at a later date.

Mayor de Blasio today appointed Lin-Manuel Miranda and Daryl Roth and reappointed George C. Wolfe to the Theater Subdistrict Council. As members of the Theater Subdistrict Council, they will be responsible for administering the Theater Subdistrict Fund and allocating grants with the goal of promoting the production of new theater work, developing new audiences, and showcasing Broadway's role in the history of American theater. Through its grants, the TSC has supported 37 theater education, audience development and accessibility programs as well as new theatrical works. From providing startup funds for new programs to enhancing or expanding existing programs of great impact, the TSC has recognized innovation and excellence in New York City theater.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: LIVING ON LOVE opens on Broadway, this year's Easter Bonnet Competition heats up, and the 2015 Outer Critics Circle noms will be announced!