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ON STAGE AT KINGSBOROUGH Executive Director Anna Becker Shares its 2018-2019 Dance Season

Featuring RIOULT Dance NY, The National Ballet Theater of Odessa, and National Dance Company of Ireland

Photo above: Christine Andreas and Pascal Rioult's Street Singer; Photo by Paul B Goode

Dear Dance Enthusiast readers,

As dance enthusiasts and as New Yorkers, we like to be in the know about all things dance (no small feat in New York City!), which is why I’m writing to share details on our dance season. This year, audiences can experience everything from a performance celebrating French chanteuse Edith Piaf to the first-ever U.S. engagement of the Ukraine’s national treasure, The National Ballet Theater of Odessa, to an Irish dance extravaganza from The National Dance Company of Ireland.

My name is Anna Becker and I’m the Executive Director of On Stage at Kingsborough, a performing arts series that brings world class artists from around the globe to Southern Brooklyn, and serves as a destination for all New Yorkers passionate about the arts.

As part of our 2018-2019 season, we have dance companies joining us from around the world, in addition to one of New York’s favorites, RIOULT Dance NY.

Christine Andreas and Charis Haines in RIOULT Dance NY's Street Singer; Photo by Paul B Goode

Pascal Rioult’s RIOULT Dance NY kicks off our dance season with the theatrical premiere of STREET SINGER—Celebrating the Life of Edith Piaf. The show features the gorgeous choreography we all now expect from Pascal Rioult and, adding to my particular delight, it also features vocals from one of the most enchanting Broadway stars around (and a TONY nominee!) Christine Andreas. This is a truly special show in that it conjures the great Edith Piaf’s dramatic, inspiring life, as she rose from the dark streets of Paris to the glamorous lights of Broadway.

National Dance Company of Ireland

In December, we will present a special holiday presentation of The Nutcracker from The National Ballet Theater of Odessa, a company which is in residence at the grand Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre in Ukraine and is led by famed ballerina Elena Baranovskaya, a former principal dancer with the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky. The performance is part of the company’s first U.S. tour and we’re excited to welcome them for an exclusive Brooklyn engagement. The audience can expect a stunning full-scale production with Tchaikovsky's wondrous score, choreography by world-renowned Marius Petipa, and 40 Ukrainian ballet stars in glorious costumes.

National Dance Company of Ireland

In Spring 2019, the esteemed National Dance Company of Ireland will present Rhythm of the Dance, a breathtaking dance and music extravaganza featuring 22 step dancers, three tenors, and a live band. This show really has it all as far as I’m concerned. It’s a richly costumed show that transports the audience on an epic journey through the ages, from ancient mythology to the travels of the Irish emigrants from the rolling hills and stone walls of Connemara all the way to the modern skyscrapers of New York. Perhaps most exciting, the show features such a wonderful array of traditional Irish dance styles from the Slip Jig, a female soft shoe dance, to full cast stepping, to (of course!) Jigs, Reels, and Polkas!

Christine Andreas

Behind the scenes, recently we were delighted to have Breton Tyner-Bryan of Breton Follies here with us for a creative residency in advance of her Jacob’s Pillow engagement. There’s something so special about her combination of skill, vision and truly infectious sense of humor!

This is a particularly special dance season for us, not only because we are welcoming artists from far and near, or because of the sheer visual spectacle of having such large-cast presentations, or because each performance represents such vastly different genre from masters of their form, but mainly because each presentation brings the absolute and undeniable joy of dance front and center.

We hope you’ll join us this season!

Sincerely, 

Anna

For tickets and more information visit www.onstageatkingsborough.org

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