On May 18, 2024, at 7:00 p.m., Chevalier Ballet will present Act II of Giselle and Sara Knight's original, "New York Stories." 

Giselle, staged by Artistic Director Sara Knight, is a romantic ballet choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot and revised by Marius Petipa, with music by Adolphe Adam.

"New York Stories," choreographed by Sara Knight, is an original ballet inspired by photographer John Baer's post-World War II photos of NYC. John Baer, who served in the 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion, acquired a Leica camera from a captured German soldier. His first photographs were of his fellow soldiers, weary from war. In 1951, Baer and his wife returned to NYC, where he began taking photos that captured the lives of ordinary people while walking the streets. The photos captured an intimate glimpse into people's lives including workers paving the streets of 5th Avenue, couples sitting in parks, people shopping or going to work, and more. Sara Knight's original choreography was created in collaboration with Baer's son Andrew, who found and preserved the photos in 2021.

WHEN: Saturday, May 18th at 7:00 p.m. 

WHERE: Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, 248 West 60th Street New York, NY 10023

TICKETS: https://bit.ly/4clhnok

DONATIONS: 

Venmo: @Chevalierballet or by check: 200 East 89 Street, Suite 26H NY, NY 10128

ABOUT Chevalier Ballet

Chevalier Ballet New York City is formed for the charitable purpose of offering fine arts of ballet and other forms of dance performances and education to communities such as hospitals, schools and small towns with physical inabilities and/or limited access in the greater New York City area, upstate New York and beyond. Chevalier Ballet tours locally and internationally with a variety of offerings that can consist of full in-theater performances, narrated in-school or family performances, lectures and demonstrations, masterclasses, and more. Each engagement is tailored to fit the presenter’s and local community’s needs. 

ABOUT Sara Knight - Founder & Artistic Director

Sara Knight is a graduate of England's Royal Ballet School, an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance ( A.R.A.D.), graduate of the Royal Ballet School Teacher's Training Course ( R.B.S. Dip. TTC.) and the first British graduate of Russia's Vaganova (Kirov) Ballet Academy. Sara is a recipient of the Royal Ballet School Award for Excellence personally awarded by Dame Ninette de Valois, founder of the Royal Ballet. 

Sara went on to become a soloist with the Leningrad State Ballet Theatre and the Russian Ballet of St. Petersburg. In Western Europe, she danced with England's Northern Ballet Theatre, Swansea’s Ballet Russe, and was a principal dancer with the European Ballet of London. In the USA, Sara has guested with Boston Ballet and as a principal dancer with Configuration Dance and Rebecca Rice Dance Company.

Sara has been invited to teach worldwide including Boston Ballet Company, Boston Ballet School, Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education, Cincinnati Ballet School, Laban Centre London, Northern Ballet Theatre of England, Arts Educational School of the UK, Boston Conservatory, The International Festival of France and most recently Masters of Ballet at Sadler’s Wells Theatre and English National Ballet School, both in London.  Sara has also served as Ballet Mistress for both London's Central School of Ballet and Ellison Ballet of NYC.  She was the Artistic Director for the Ballet School of Stamford as well as the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Greenwich Ballet Academy.

In September 2010, Sara founded SLK Ballet School "A school for gifted dancers to prepare for a career as a professional dancer.”  In 2017 she founded her company Chevalier Ballet, which tours around the tristate area and beyond bringing dance to small communities who might not get the chance to see ballet/dance. And, in 2021 she founded CBC Chevalier Ballet Conservatory, whose mission is to give young graduate dancers the opportunity to be part of a professional touring company, while working with the professional dancers within Chevalier Ballet company. 

Chevalier Ballet New York City Inc is a non-profit organization and shall be operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future Federal tax code.