Explore NJ’s libationary scene at Navesink Country Club with vendors, distilleries & brews from the Garden State and beyond. Dine, enjoy live entertainment (performed by the Elk Ward Duo!) craft cocktails & toast to hope as we celebrate our Healthcare Hero, Rumson Country Day School Nurse, Anne Kerr.
In honor of Women’s History Month, American Repertory Ballet proudly performs Douglas Martin’s “Rite of Spring,” as part of its Generations: Influences from the Modern Age program being presented this spring at Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ; The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College in New York City; and McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, N.J.
The original “Rite of Spring” ballet, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, was performed in Paris in 1913 by the Ballets Russes. That performance famously caused a riot, as audiences reacted strongly to the ballet’s themes of pagan ritual and sacrifice and to the music – Igor Stravinsky’s avant garde, driving score.
Martin’s “Rite of Spring” maintains the original ballet’s libretto, a celebratory ode to spring and a statement on the theme of ritualistic behavior and sacrifice. Martin has recast the piece setting it in a 1960’s office setting – think AMC’s “Mad Men.”
“I decided upon the 1960’s because of the great changes that were happening in the world and in particular in the U.S. during the decade. The fight for equality,” says Martin. “I chose a Madison Avenue advertising agency because of the dynamics within the office.”
In the first movement, Martin establishes a structured male-dominant work environment, with women stuck in subservient roles of Personal Secretaries and Office Girls. In the second movement, the women fight for equality and structure within the workplace with the selection of the Chosen One – an Office Girl suddenly selected to join the Personal Secretaries
ARB dancer Shaye Firer, who portrays The Chosen One, starts out as an Office Girl but when an Ad Man fails, her character is the only one who shows sympathy for him. “That’s the first moment I am singled out as being different. Something about that moment, and my empathy for him gets me noticed and promoted to a Personal Secretary. But in the transition, my character is able to take a step back, look at the job the Ad Man does and realize that she can do it,” explains Firer. In the second movement the sacrifice of the Chosen One allows the women who come after her to rise in the ranks in the fight for equality and structure within the workplace.
Martin has a personal connection to the piece. He was a cast member of the Joffrey Ballet’s historic 1987 reconstruction of Nijinsky’s original 1913 version. “Having learned and performed that version dozens of times I feel that the ballet and the music is a part of me,” he says.
Jerry Hochman writing in Critical Dance says, “Mr. Martin’s choreography fills the stage … The steps, from the Office Girls typing in tandem with the Stravinsky score, to the preening Personal Secretaries and clownish Ad Men, to the diabolical Boss, are to this viewer an indescribable potpourri that work together because they fit both Mr. Martin’s concept and the Stravinsky score … a tribute to Mr. Martin’s choreographic ability.”
Other works on the Generations: Influences from the Modern Age includes There is a Time, a deeply evocative work by Modern Dance pioneer José Limón. This classic work is based on Ecclesiastes 3 and evokes rich feelings through both the dance and the familiar, time-worn words; and Gerald Arpino’s Sea Shadow.
For ticketing and more information, visit arballet.org.
Performances
Friday, March 23 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 24 at 8:00 p.m.
Two River Theater
21 Bridge Avenue
Red Bank, New Jersey
Enjoy a delicious hot breakfast buffet that includes an omelet station, assorted breakfast breads, yogurt and granola, pancakes, fresh fruit and more! While you are eating, Sonny the Bunny will walk around and visit with guests at their tables. Then, gather the whole family together for a picture with him taken by our professional photographer with a free digital download! We will also have tons of entertainment including Miss Sherri from Honey Child Music Academy, Neverland Balloon Artists, Face painting and a photo booth with The Selfie Social!
Afterwards, enjoy our Free Sonny the Bunny Colossal Carrot Adventure, taking place inside the park from 10am-12pm.
ROCKIT: Rockit Academy, The Count Basie Theatre’s resident rock and roll performance program, is helmed by the Rockit Live Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Rockit! runs four, seven-week programs per year, where kids aged 8-18 learn a specific repertoire of songs, supplemented with individual instruction. At the conclusion of their session, as many as sixty young musicians form separate groups to perform live on the Basie’s historic Asbury Park Press stage.
Monmouth County’s Two River area families will march in solidarity with student organizers all across the nation to end gun violence. Come join us and show your support for enacting common sense gun legislation to ensure the safety of our kids. All are welcome. There are several towns participating, therefore, marches will begin from several different points, roughly 1.5 mile radius from the Riverside Gardens Parks. Your town’s starting location will be posted in coming days.
In 1735, Mother Leeds was about to deliver her thirteenth child. Feeling tired and weary of the burden, she cursed the unborn child. According to the folklore, she gave birth to the devil’s child at their home in the Pine Barrens. Today, the tale of Jersey Devil is often discussed as just that – a tale. However, during the time of the fabled Jersey Devil’s reign of terror, South Jersey residents were truly frightened. How the accounts were reported on and the folklore that developed will be discovered.
Bring your appetite and your walking shoes as you take a behind-the-scenes-tour in historic Hoboken, New Jersey of the most authentic Italian gourmet food businesses in the United States! You’ll visit Carlo’s City Hall Bake Shop, home of “Cake Boss”, as seen on The Learning Channel. You never know which cast member we’ll run into! Sample some award-winning mozzarella cheese that’s made right in front of you at Lisa’s Italian Deli, named best Italian deli by NJ Monthly Magazine (again!). Try a piece of warm Italian bread, hand made and baked in a traditional coal-burning brick oven. Tours leave Saturday afternoon from the main entrance of the Hoboken, New Jersey PATH station (Corner of River Street & Hudson Place). Tours are at 2PM.
Join us for an evening of dance with three different ballets, each showcasing the company’s talented dancers and the different styles in which classical dance can be interpreted. LES PATNUERS (The Skaters Waltz) is a timeless a classic with choreography by by Frederick Ashton and the music by Giacomo Meyerbeer. PAS DE DIX (Dance for Ten) is a classical ballet set to the music of Raymonda and composed by Alexander Glazounov. MOUNTAIN LEGEND with music by Aaron Copeland and choreographed by Phyll. |
Rockin’ Road to Dublin returns to Pollak Theatre in 2018 by popular demand! Created by the 2009 World Champion of Irish Dance Scott Doherty (Riverdance & Lord of the Dance) and worldwide touring Irish musician Chris Smith, Rockin’ Road is the new generation of Irish music and dance. RRTD is a breathtaking display of classic Irish tunes accented by rock ‘n’ roll riffs, electrifying dancers and a dynamic light show. Enjoy the thrilling sights and sounds as daring performers execute rapid-fire leaps, twirls and footwork, and nimble fiddlers square off with driving electric guitar chords and pulse-pounding drum beats.
Joe D’Urso and Joe Rapolla return to Monmouth University with their Songwriters by the Sea series for an evening of relaxed and inspired round-robins. This is a rare opportunity to see and hear a unique collection of very special guest artists that in the past has included, Marshall Crenshaw, Allison Moorer, Garland Jeffreys, Joe Grushecky, John Eddie, Willie Nile and many others, in an intimate and interactive forum. What started out as a coffee shop show for area songwriters to casually perform with other writers and is now a main feature of the Light of Day Festival in Asbury Park, has quickly evolved into an international series featuring some of the top songwriters in music today.