Martha Graham News

Jersey City Children's Theater and Nimbus Dance Works collaborate on a new summer performing arts program, JC Summer Arts, geared toward providing high quality instruction in dance, theater, and music, in a fun, creative and educationally enriching environment. The program draws on the expertise of Jersey City Children's Theater and Nimbus Dance Works in their respective fields in designing a program that immerses students in the performing arts. JC Summer Arts consists of a morning program, Bard Party: Shakespeare, Dance and Song (9:30-12:30am) for younger students ages 4-9 years, and for older youth (ages 10-17), Summer Dance and Acting Intensive. Where school year programs are often limited to one class per week, JC Summer Arts will lead to significant growth and development of skills only possible through this kind of immersive experience.

In the summer, synesthesia abounds. Sunblock smells like the surf on skin, blueberries taste like a blanket in the grass, and the solo of a saxophone sounds like a breeze on a sweltering night. In this sense the photographs of Herman Leonard are double-inscriptions, both acute visualities of jazz's luminary musicians and emotive mimeses of sensation, sound, and atmosphere. With its summer exhibition HOT SUMMER, COOL JAZZ: THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF HERMAN LEONARD, Robert Mann Gallery presents a euphonic ensemble of the artist's seminal images that capture, in dulcet tones and reverberating contrapositions, the coolest cast of characters around.

Juilliard Dance, under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes, opens its 2013-2014 season with New Dances PLUS: Edition 2013, Wednesday, December 11 through Sunday, December 15, 2013 in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater and features Juilliard alumna Pina Bausch's Wind von West (Wind from the West) performed by the Senior Class, plus three world premiere commissions created for each of the classes of Juilliard's Dance Division. Next season's innovative choreographers are Juilliard alumnus Takehiro Ueyama (1st Year Dancers); Brian Brooks (2nd Year Dancers); and Juilliard alumnus Darrell Grand Moultrie (3rdYear Dancers).

360° Dance Company presents PREVIEW, a Benefit Party tonight, June 13, 2013 at 7pm. The evening will include complimentary Summer Sangria and Mediterranean Appetizers as well as an intimate look at the company's newest repertory. The benefit will take place at The Alvin Ailey Studios, Joan Weil Center for Dance, 405 W. 55th Street, 5th floor, NYC.

SummerStage's 2013 season features the debut of Forewords at Central Park, a new series of spoken word discussions with performing artists including Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of The Zombies with Jonathan Demme onJune 15 and DJ Kool Herc with Cindy Campbell and hip-hop historian Jeff Chang on August 10. Comedy Central presents three great stand-up showcases this year, including a Central Park show on June 26 including performances from Jeff Ross, John Mulaney, Gabriel Iglesias and Amy Schumer. Influential New York poet Sekou Sundiata receives tribute on July 3 from three great artists: Toshi Reagon, Sandra St. Victor and Nona Hendryx.

Winner of Best Documentary at both the San Francisco Dance Film Festival and the Dance Camera West Festival in Los Angeles, Dancing at Jacob's Pillow: Never Stand Still will have its television premiere on THIRTEEN's Great Performances Friday, July 26 at 9 p.m. on PBS

RIOULT Dance NY, a leading American modern dance company with a classic sensibility, announces its eight-performance New York Season tonight, June 4-9, 2013 at The Joyce Theater.

360° Dance Company presents PREVIEW, a Benefit Party on Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 7pm. The evening will include complimentary Summer Sangria and Mediterranean Appetizers as well as an intimate look at the company's newest repertory. The benefit will take place at The Alvin Ailey Studios, Joan Weil Center for Dance, 405 W. 55th Street, 5th floor, NYC. Tickets are $50 in advance or $65 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased through a donation at www.360fullcircle.net/preview or by sending a check written to Full Circle Productions, Inc, 632 11th St. Ste. #5, Brooklyn, NY 11215.

SummerStage's 2013 season features the debut of Forewords at Central Park, a new series of spoken word discussions with performing artists including Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of The Zombies with Jonathan Demme onJune 15 and DJ Kool Herc with Cindy Campbell and hip-hop historian Jeff Chang on August 10. Comedy Central presents three great stand-up showcases this year, including a Central Park show on June 26 including performances from Jeff Ross, John Mulaney, Gabriel Iglesias and Amy Schumer. Influential New York poet Sekou Sundiata receives tribute on July 3 from three great artists: Toshi Reagon, Sandra St. Victor and Nona Hendryx.

High school seniors of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) got the graduation ceremony of their dreams on Saturday, May 18, when Disney Theatrical Group President Thomas Schumacher delivered their commencement address, and the diplomas were presented by 'Mary Poppins' herself: UNCSA alumna Rachel Wallace. A 2009 college graduate, Wallace just completed a run in the national tour and the New Zealand company of the popular Disney show. Scroll down for photos from the ceremony!

The third annual Dance Against Cancer at the AXA Equitable Theater on Monday, May 6, 2013 raised more than $96,000 for the American Cancer Society. The evening began with cocktails at 6pm, a performance at 7pm, and a reception at 8:30pm.

Joe's Pub at The Public welcomes world premieres, highly-anticipated debuts and the return of many esteemed performers this May and June. Funny girl JULIE KLAUSNER makes her debut with two evenings of cabaret. Legendary downtown performance artist JOHN KELLY returns to premiere Rebel Songs. The 60s-inspired flight attendant PAM ANN returns for five nights in the Cockpit. Elsewhere: Tony Award-winners TONYA PINKINS and LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, Once star CRISTIN MILIOTI, TAYLOR MAC'S epic exploration of popular music, a special appearance from Justin Vivian Bond, JOEY ARIAS, the greatest rapper in the world, CHAMPAGNE JERRY and more. Read on for more May and June cabaret, comedy, Broadway and musical theater highlights at Joe's Pub at The Public.

Howard County Arts Council (HCAC) has announced that applications for the FY2014 Mark Ryder Original Choreography Grant Program are now available. This program was established at the bequest of Mark Ryder's family, in honor of his life's work, to recognize individual creative expression, and to provide financial assistance to choreographers to create new original work. A fund has been established at the Columbia Foundation to enable monies to be awarded for this purpose in perpetuity. The grant award recipients will be announced at HCAC's Annual Meeting and Grant Awards Ceremony in September 2013. The minimum grant amount will be $500.

The Lied Center for Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has announced its 24th season of world-class performing artists. The season includes 51 performances of 31 shows from a wide range of genres including Broadway, classical music, dance, theater, world music and jazz, comedy, holiday performances, folk music and shows for families.

In August, 2009 I was greeted by incredibly enthusiastic students on 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam. The Juilliard School: this was my new home and although my mom and sisters were overwhelmed by the welcoming committee, they knew I'd fit right in. Orientation lasted one week in which I met students from all over the world, set up my dorm room, and got use to downsizing from my two-bedroom apartment in Las Vegas. The school held several seminars to orient us, and organized outings to help us get our bearings in the city while having some fun before the Juilliard schedule took over our lives!

RG Dance Projects presents We Fall Down, We Get Up featuring three pieces from choreographer and Artistic Director Ruben Graciani on May 17, 2013 at 8pm and May 18, 2013 at 3pm and 8pm at the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance's Studio Theater at Westbeth, 55 Bethune Street, 11th Floor, NYC. Tickets are $20 ($15 for students, seniors, and artists) and can be purchased at www.artful.ly/store/events/1111.

Dzul Dance announces the premiere of their latest choreography, Mexico MAYA, in honor of the Company's ten year anniversary. The performance will be presented at the Gerald Lynch Theater at John Jay College in Manhattan tonight, May 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM.