New York Theatre Ballet will present a new installment of its highly acclaimed Legends & Visionaries series at Danspace Project (131 E 10th St, NYC, 10003) on October 6 and 8, 2016 at 8pm, as part of Danspace Project’s Community ACCESS series*. The evenings will include the World Premiere of a new piece by Antonia Franceschi set to an original musical score by Claire van Kampen. The work is inspired by the rich history of St. Mark’s Church, home to Danspace Project, New York Theatre Ballet, and The Poetry Project: “I was very moved by the recent exhibit at the Church which was of tee shirts used as grave sites for the numerous children killed by guns in the past year,” said Antonia Franceschi, former New York City Ballet dancer. Also featured in the program is Jerome Robbins' Antique Epigraphs set to Debussy’s “6 Épigraphes Antiques,” staged by Kyra Nichols, and Song Before Spring choreographed by Zhong-Jing Fang (American Ballet Theatre, corps de ballet) and Steven Melendez (New York Theatre Ballet, principal dancer) to Philip Glass’ Piano Etudes. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for Danspace members and are available at www.danspaceproject.org/calendar/new-york-theatre-ballet-legends-visionaries/.

Jack Anderson recently wrote about Song Before Spring in London’s Dancing Times: “…This was not the gambol one might expect, but an emotional outburst that plunged young people into unruly and unpredictable passions…” and Carla Escoda from The Huffington Post said about Antique Epigraphs: “Jerome Robbins’ masterpiece of quasi-Grecian restraint looks divine at unusually close quarters. The exquisite staging is the handiwork of Kyra Nichols, who graced the original 1984 cast.”

Also in October at Danspace Project, NYTB will host The Byer Legacy Celebration to celebrate the 70^th birthday of Founder and Artistic Director, Diana Byer on October 7, 2016 at 6:30pm. The evening will begin with a cocktail and garden party, followed by performances of Judgment of Paris by Antony Tudor and new works created especially for the event by Alexandra Damiani, former Artistic Director of Cedar Lake, David Parker & The Bang Group, Marco Pelle, Antonia Franceschi with a new solo for Romany Pajdak from London’s Royal Ballet, and Gemma Bond, followed by dancing with DJ Imogene Strauss. Tickets are $150 and include hors d’oeuvres, wine, performance, dance party and birthday cake made by ChikaLicious. RSVP by October 1^st contacting Laura Dunlop at 212-679-0401 or admin@nytb.org. For event information contact Christina Paolucci at cpaolucci@nytb.org.