NEW BALLET DANCES NYC
Join us at the APAP|NYC 2013 conference in New York City January 11-15, 2013
About New Ballet Ensemble & School
New Ballet Ensemble & School is a Community Arts Education program founded in 2001 with the conviction that the only way to raise professional artists in a city with high poverty rates and lack of access by a diverse population is to provide quality training and opportunities to all youth, regardless of their ability to pay. The repertoire is an innovative fusion of dance styles, including ballet, Flamenco and a Memphis-specific hip-hop style called jookin’.
Yo-Yo-Ma and TJ Benson perform The Swan. Photography by Aime Vanderford.
Annually, 200 Memphis youth from vastly diverse backgrounds purposely unite at New Ballet School where they find a common ground (dance). Their talents, dreams and goals are realized, validated and developed. The after-school program promotes a vision for social justice and equity, connecting underserved and disadvantaged youth to the broader community.
Another 20,000 individuals are served annually through NBE’s comprehensive Community Engagement Program, which focuses on arts education, integration and community partnerships, engaging Title I students who have no access to formal dance training.
October 2012: New Ballet students performed with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s String Theory and the world-renowned Yo-Yo Ma at a school demonstration in Memphis, Tennessee.
NBE tours to as many as 20 schools per year and, in addition to two mainstage productions annually, performs with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Opera Memphis. The company and school has earned a reputation for innovation, most notably for the integration of Jookin with ballet and Flamenco dance.
Roy Brewer, Noelia Garcia Carmona, Shamar Rooks, and Gene Seals in El Rey de Harlem. Photography by Patti Possel.
Hip Hop to Africa and a multi-genre Peter and the Wolf are seen annually by as many as 20,000 students and outdoor festival audiences. Nut ReMix, an urban re-telling of the classic The Nutcracker with a Hip Hop battle and authentic cultural dances, draws a loyal and increasing audience each year.
Showcases will feature New Ballet Ensemble members and students. Find more information about APAP|NYC 2013 here.
Writing about New Ballet in the New York Times on November 16, 2012, Alastair Macaulay said, “Walt Whitman wrote, 'I hear America singing.' A century ago Isadora Duncan adapted this line, proclaiming that she saw America dancing. I’ve loved many kinds of American dance and found many of them strikingly American, but only with these jookers in their sneakers did her words pop into my head: 'I have seen America dancing.'"
NEW BALLET ENSEMBLE & SCHOOL SHOWCASES
You don’t have to be registered for the conference to attend one of our showcases.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
6:15-6:45 p.m.
Alvin Ailey Studios
Studio 6A
405 West 55th Street (at 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10019
Hungarian Dance no 5
Choreography Katie Smythe
Performed by students of New Ballet School
El Rey de Harlem
Flamenco & Jookin’ fusion
Choreography: Noelia Garcia Carmona with Shamar Rooks and Gene Seals
Music: Roy Brewer, guitar
The Swan
Choreography: Lil’ Buck and Katie Smythe
Performed and improvised by TJ Benson
Hide and Seek
Choreography: Gene Seals with Katie Smythe
Performed by Gene Seals and students of New Ballet School
Music: Imogen Heap
Sunday, January 13, 2013
11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
DANY Studios
305 West 38th Street
New York, NY 10018
Hungarian Dance no 5
Choreography Katie Smythe
Performed by students of New Ballet School
El Rey de Harlem
Flamenco & Jookin’ fusion
Choreography: Noelia Garcia Carmona with Shamar Rooks and Gene Seals
Music: Roy Brewer, guitar
The Swan
Choreography: Lil’ Buck and Katie Smythe
Performed and improvised by TJ Benson
Hide and Seek
Choreography: Gene Seals with Katie Smythe
Performed by Gene Seals and students of New Ballet School
Music: Imogen Heap
Sunday, January 13, 2013
4:10 – 4:25 p.m.
4:35 – 4:50 p.m.
The Ailey Studios
Studio 1C
405 West 55th Street (at 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10019
El Rey de Harlem
Flamenco & Jookin’ fusion
Choreography: Noelia Garcia Carmona with Shamar Rooks and Gene Seals
Music: Roy Brewer, guitar
The Swan
Choreography: Lil’ Buck and Katie Smythe
Performed and improvised by TJ Benson
Monday, January 14, 2013
11:40 – 11:55 a.m.
12:05 – 12:20 p.m.
The Ailey Studios
Studio 6B
405 West 55th Street (at 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10019
El Rey de Harlem
Flamenco & Jookin’ fusion
Choreography: Noelia Garcia Carmona with Shamar Rooks and Gene Seals
Music: Roy Brewer, guitar
The Swan
Choreography: Lil’ Buck and Katie Smythe
Performed and improvised by TJ Benson
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