WORLD PREMIERES BY GABRIELLE LAMB AND MARCO PELLE,

WITH ORIGINAL SCORES BY PAULINE KIM HARRIS AND FEDERICO PELLE,

TO HIGHLIGHT NEW YORK THEATRE BALLET’S

“LEGENDS & VISIONARIES” PROGRAM,

AT FLORENCE GOULD HALL, FEBRUARY 29-MARCH 1, 7:00PM

New York Theatre Ballet (NYTB) will present World Premiere works by choreographers Gabrielle Lamb and Marco Pelle as part of its “Legends & Visionaries” program, February 29 and March 1 at 7:00PM at Florence Gould Hall in New York City. The program will also include Merce Cunningham’s Scramble and James Sutton’s Laughing Matters. 

World Premieres

Minetta Creek, a new work by Gabrielle Lamb, will be given its World Premiere on Thursday evening, February 29 at 7:00PM. Set to a commissioned electroacoustic score, played live by composer/violinist Pauline Kim Harris, Minetta Creek is loosely based on the historical layering found in a small geographic spot, now known as Minetta Lane and Minetta Street, on the island of Manhattan. Originally “Manetta,” meaning “evil spirit” or “snake water” in the language of the Munsee Native Americans, the name was changed by the Dutch.  Now paved over and built upon, the creek still runs beneath the serpentine streetscape, and some inhabitants believe the Manette spirit to remain. A ghost story in layers and strands, Minetta Creek, Lamb’s first work for NYTB, features five dancers and costumes by Carmella Lauer. 

Minetta Creek is underwritten by the O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Reflections, a new work by Marco Pelle and an original score by Federico Pelle, will be given its World Premiere on Thursday evening, February 29. The work is part of NYTB’s “Letters To My Father” series, a multi-year, multi-disciplinary commission of dance works all on the theme of male artists writing letters to their fathers. “Letters To My Father” showcases new work built as collaborations between dance maker and composer (or writer, filmmaker, or digital artist) to tell the varied stories of relationships between sons and fathers. A work for four dancers, Reflections features costumes by Marco Pelle and Carmella Lauer.

Reflections is underwritten by the O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation.

Scramble, Cunningham’s 1967 masterwork, is a work for eight dancers set to music by Toshi Ichiyanagi (Activities for Orchestra). Staged for NYTB by Jennifer Goggans, Scramble features original costume design by Frank Stella, reconstructed by Carmella Lauer.

The duet from Laughing Matters, choreographed by James Sutton, is set to Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, Moonlight,” arranged and performed by Liberace. Laughing Matters began as a suite of five comedic dances to the music of Liberace and was originally choreographed for Milwaukee Dance Theatre in 1996. Laughing Matters, a suite of five comedic dances to the music of Liberace, was originally choreographed for Milwaukee Dance Theatre in 1996. This lighthearted duet on the foibles of human connection was first performed by NYTB for the company’s “Dance on a Shoestring” in 2005. Costumes for Laughing Matters are executed by Carmella Lauer.

All seats for NYTB’s “Legends & Visionaries” program are priced at $30. For tickets, please visit: www.nytb.org/tickets. Florence Gould Hall is located at 55 E. 59th Street (between Madison and Park Avenues) in  New York City.

New York Theatre Ballet performances are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.