BALLET FOR THE HOMELESS PREMIERES OCTOBER 3-5
An awareness performance created by TheEdwardMorganBallet 

NEW YORK.  This performance is to raise awareness, through the arts, and educate people about homelessness in New York City. In April 2014, there was an all-time record of 54,000 homeless people, and over 23,000 of them are youth. 

“Mass for the Ballet” brings together people from all walks of life.  Performers include ballet dancers, musicians and actors communing together through the arts to raise consciousness about the homeless epidemic.   Also, “Earthly Love, Heavenly Spirits,” a pas de deux commemorating the death of Matthew Shepard who was murdered by Hate in October 1998, will be brought back to stage.  It was first danced in October 2001 during The Anti Violence Project Benefit in which TheEdwardMorganBallet did a tribute to Shepard.  Once again this October and 16 years after Shepard’s death, the pas de deux will be brought back  in honor of those LGBT homeless youth who died on the streets fighting to survive.

This performance is inspired by one of Mr. Alexander’s dance students. She came up to him in class and said, “I will be late for rehearsal tomorrow because I’m moving into a homeless shelter.” Mr. Alexander recalls that he was actually in shock when the little girl said that to him. He conferred with Edward Morgan who responded that the little girl is very talented and mentally stable; his advice was that if she weren’t treated the same as everyone else, she wouldn’t be happy. “So I was afraid,” said Mr. Alexander, “but I turned around and said, DON’T BE LATE! And the little girl looked at me and said, ‘Oh don’t worry Mr. Alexander, I already told my mama that we need to move early so we won’t be late!’” Not only did she do a great performance, but she was not late for rehearsal. Her excitement and enthusiasm for the ballet class blew Mr. Alexander away.

TheEdwardMorganBallet, resident dance company at Goddard Riverside's Bernie Wohl Center, offers year round ballet and musical theatre programs. Susan Macaluso, Director of Community Arts Programs at Goddard Riverside, and Joseph Alexander, Director of TheEdwardMorganBallet, want to make a change by bringing a serious dance program to community centers.  This will give youth an opportunity to study dance free of charge, and for the community to see high level art at a low cost.  Edward Morgan starred with the Joffrey Ballet, and TheEdwardMorganBallet was sprung from his years as a principal dancer and choreographer. (Check the website, www.edwardmorganballet.org, for details.)

About Goddard Riverside: Goddard Riverside, a modern day settlement house, dates back more than 100 years and has been one of New York City’s leading human service organizations, meeting the essential needs of more than 17,000 individuals each year. The organization is also a pioneer in the field of homeless outreach and services since the 1970's, and was responsible for setting up one of New York City's first mobile street outreach teams.  Today, in partnership with New York City Department of Homeless Services, Goddard Riverside is the single point of accountability for all homeless outreach and housing placement services in Manhattan. The Manhattan Outreach Consortium (MOC) includes Goddard Riverside as the lead agency, CUCS (lead support agency), and Common Ground.  The MOC focuses on moving people off the streets and into permanent housing as quickly as possible.  www.goddard.org

 Admission is free with reserved seating at $50.
For Tickets Click Link Below
https://balletforthehomeless.eventbrite.com