Usdan Center Premieres At Skirball Center/NYU
The World Premiere of Stories From the Night Before, a new evening of dance theater created by Maurice Brandon Curry, Chair of the Dance Department of Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, will be presented on Sunday and Monday March 16 and 17 at 7:00 p.m. at New York University’s Skirball Center, 566 LaGuardia Place (just off Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village), New York, NY 10012. (Tickets: www.nyuskirball.org, or call 212.352.3101 (Theatermania) or 866.811.4111
(Ovation Tix).
Set to a variety of music ranging from Bach to Miles Davis, to film composer Dave Grusin, to The Rolling Stones, and using mixed media, the work contains several stories about aspects of relationships using a kaleidoscope of dance styles: classical, neo-classical, flamenco-inspired, jazz and Broadway theater.
Maurice Brandon Curry, whose original works have been presented at Usdan Center and can be seen in video on Usdan’s Youtube site, has directed, choreographed, and produced events as diverse as the Michael Awards for the Fashion Industry, tours and videos for Diana Ross, Prince, and Al B. Sure, the kick-off of the Tour de France and the Queen’s Trust Benefit for the charities of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II. He has choreographed ballets and theatre works in the active repertoires of numerous universities and companies around the world. Additionally, he has produced extensively in the fashion industry for the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole, and Giorgio Armani. Mr. Curry has also directed and/or choreographed three critically acclaimed Off-Broadway shows and many shows regionally in both the United States and abroad including “West Side Story,” “Nunsense,” “Sweet Charity,” “Oliver!” and “42nd Street,” and several short films that have placed on the international film festival circuit.
The cast, many of them originally trained by Mr. Curry, features company members from American Ballet Theatre (Nicole Graniero, Sean Stewart, one of Dance Magazine’s 2012 “25 to Watch” Katherine Williams, and one of Dance Magazine’s 2014 “25 to Watch” Calvin Royal III), the New York City Ballet (Sara Mearns, Principal, and Savannah Lowery, Soloist), Momix (Todd Burnsed), current and former members of Parsons Dance Company, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens and the Joffrey Ballet, as well as cast members of four currently running Broadway shows (Motown the Musical, Cinderella, Wicked and After Midnight).
Part of the proceeds from the production will benefit Dancers Care Foundation, an organization that provides funding for cancer research and awareness.
Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (www.usdan.com) is the nationally acclaimed summer arts day camp whose alumni include Natalie Portman, Mariah Carey, Jackie Hoffman, Jane Monheit, Taylor Dane, Lisa Gay Hamilton and Seth Rudetsky, and members of Broadway shows and major music and dance ensembles. It is annually attended by more than 1600 students from New York City and throughout the Tri-State Area, transported daily by air-conditioned buses. The Center has introduced the arts to more than 60,000 children ages 6 to 18, many on scholarship.
Although the mission of the Center is for every child to establish a relationship with the arts, the unique stimulation of the Center has caused many to go on to arts careers. In addition to its regular programs, Usdan offers special opportunities for advanced high school- age performing and visual artists. These include Music Staff Internships, a Summer Ballet Intensive. Usdan Center is an agency of the UJA-Federation of New York.
Usdan’s 47th season begins June 30, 2014 and runs through August 15. For more information, including Open Houses currently being presented, write to info@usdan.com, Call (212) 772-6060 or (631) 643-7900, or visit www.usdan.com#
