A PROGRAM OF RECENT WORK FROM AILEY II AT THE BRIC CELEBRATE BROOKLYN! FESTIVAL
Listings Information
Who: Ailey II
Where: BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival at the Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park West & 9th St., Brooklyn)
When: Thursday, August 8 at 8:00pm (Gates open at 7:00pm)
Admission: Free ($5 suggested donation)
More information: www.BRICartsmedia.org/cb or 718.683.5600
BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, now in its 41st season, presents a program of recent work from Ailey II, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s exceptional second company of breathtakingly skilled young artists. Ailey II will make their return to the Prospect Park Bandshell (9th St. & Prospect Park West) on the 45th anniversary of the company’s inception, Thursday, August 8. The event is free to the public (with a suggested $5 contribution at the gate) and begins at 8:00pm (with gates opening at 7:00pm).
Ailey II will perform works including Road to One (choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultrie), which passionately embraces the journey we all take to find meaning in our lives and eventually pass it on to the next generation; Breaking Point (Renee I. McDonald), an intense depiction of the fight for our heart’s desire; and the mischievous and profoundly joyful Where There Are Tongues (Bradley Shelver), which features music by the Occitan vocal and percussion group Lo Còr De La Plana.
Ailey II, “The Next Generation of Dance,” is universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. “There's nothing like an evening spent with Ailey II,” writes The New York Times. Founded in 1974 as the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, the company embodies his pioneering mission to establish an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training, and community programs for all people. Under the direction of Sylvia Waters from 1974 to 2012, Ailey II flourished into one of the most popular modern dance companies, combining a rigorous touring schedule with extensive community outreach programs. With Artistic Director Troy Powell at the helm, Ailey II continues to thrive as he brings a fresh dimension to this beloved company.
Of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, Billboard writes, “In the crowded summer festival season, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! stands apart.” Since it began in 1979 as a catalyst for a burgeoning Brooklyn performing arts scene, and to bring people back into Prospect Park after years of neglect, the Festival has become one of the city’s foremost summer cultural attractions. Winner of the Village Voice Readers’ Poll and Critics’ Picks for “Best Free Concert Series,” the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival is New York City’s longest-running summer outdoor performance festival. Over its 41-year history, the Festival has presented more than 2,000 artists, drawing a diverse audience upwards of 200,000 each season. Time Out New York writes, “Catching one of these gigs is guaranteed to be a highlight of your summer show-going season, whether you're seeing a buzzy indie-rock band, a classic soul or funk group, or one of the best hip-hop artists around.”
The Festival welcomes several Co-Sponsors:
The Festival welcomes several Co-Sponsors including 90+ Cellars and Lila Wines, who will offer an array of wines perfect for outdoor summer concerts; Svedka Rose Vodka and Tequila Mi Compo which will offer specialty cocktails; and Brooklyn SolarWorks whose Solar Canopy will power an interactive onsite activation.
GOYA has provided additional sponsorship for performances on June 26, 27, and 28.
WorldStage and Audible Difference Inc. return as the official providers of the Festival’s lighting, video and audio systems.
Hilton Brooklyn New York is the official hotel partner for the Festival, and Delta Air Lines is the official airline.
WNET’s ALL ARTS, WABC-TV, WNYC 93.9 FM/820 AM and WFUV 90.7 FM return as Season Media Partners. WFUV 90.7 FM will be live broadcasting a variety of shows all season long.
Longtime promotional partner on select jazz performances include WBGO 88.3 FM.
The Festival is presented in partnership with the City of New York Parks & Recreation and the Prospect Park Alliance.
A complete list of supporters can be found at www.BRICartsmedia.org/cb.
About BRIC
BRIC is the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, and one of the largest in New York City. The organization presents and incubates work by artists and media-makers that reflects the diversity of New York. BRIC programs reach hundreds of thousands of people each year.
BRIC’s main venue, BRIC House, offers a public media center, a major contemporary art exhibition space, two performance spaces, a glass-walled TV studio and artist work spaces.
Some of BRIC’s most acclaimed programs include the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park; groundbreaking media initiatives, including BRIC TV, BRIC Radio, and Brooklyn Free Speech; and renowned contemporary art exhibitions. BRIC also offers education and community-building programs at BRIC House and throughout Brooklyn.
In addition to making cultural programming genuinely accessible, BRIC is dedicated to providing substantial support to artists and media makers in their efforts to develop work and reach new audiences. BRIC is unusual in both presenting exceptional cultural experiences and nurturing individual expression. This dual commitment enables BRIC to most effectively reflect New York City’s innate cultural richness and diversity.
About BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival
The BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival is BRIC’s flagship performing arts program. Unlike the multi-stage destination festival scene, the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival is a free, summer-long experience allowing New Yorkers to come back again and again with their friends and family to appreciate or discover a new genre, acclaimed artist, or world culture each night of the Festival. From its very first performance in the summer of 1979, the mission of the Festival has been to bring Brooklyn together in a safe, harmonious setting that enhances our quality of life and understanding of the world by illuminating the vibrant cultures that make our borough so unique.
During its 40-year run, the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival has presented more than 2,000 artists including celebrated global music icons, legendary jazz artists, chart-topping indie bands, gravity-defying dance troupes, large-scale film projects and even a virtual reality performance, drawing a diverse audience upwards of 200,000 each season.
“In the crowded summer festival season, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! stands apart.” — Billboard
Winner of the Village Voice Readers’ Poll and Critics’ Picks for “Best Free Concert Series”
“Every year, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! broadens the city’s horizons with dozens of shows by an unbelievable lineup of artists to the Prospect Park Bandshell.” — Metro
The festival’s Executive Producer is Jack Walsh. Its Artistic Director is Rachel Chanoff. Kristina Newman-Scott is the President of BRIC.
For more information, please visit www.BRICartsmedia.org.
Press Contacts: Ron Gaskill at Blake Zidell & Associates:
718.643.9052, ron@blakezidell.com.