Ballet for the Modern World – a gala to support Long Island Ballet Theatre

NYC ballet members featuring principal dancer Daniel Ulbricht will dance to the music of LI based Matthew Pierce in Ballet for the Modern World, a Gala fundraising event at Long Island High School for the Arts. This event is in support of Long Island Ballet Theatre, formerly Huntington Ballet Theatre.

The Gala performance will be choreographed almost in its entirety by the world famous Christopher Fleming. Some of Mr. Fleming’s cutting edge work will be danced to the music of Janis Joplin & Joe Cocker and a new work will be danced to the music of Matthew Pierce. The Matthew Pierce Ensemble will also appear live.

The Huntington Ballet Theatre (HBT) now called Long Island Ballet Theatre (LIBT) is a not-for-profit ballet company dedicated to providing young dancers with the opportunity to perform side by side with professional dancers. HBT/LIBT is a community-based ballet troupe that holds open auditions for every production. This insures consistently high quality performances worthy of featuring some of today’s foremost professional dancers.

Over 20 years ago Jan Hanniford Goetz founded this organization calling it a chamber -sized ballet company where aspiring dancers could experience the rigors of being part of a ballet company. When students are proficient enough to handle the choreography and focus needed to be a part of a production they audition and gain acceptance to HBT/LIBT. This process of auditioning sets this company apart from others that reserve parts for their student body that study at their school. While most dancers study at Huntington Ballet Academy it is not a pre-requisite for participating in the production.

HBT/LIBT is resident at Huntington Center for Performing Arts in Huntington Village. It is governed by a Board of Directors and supported by donations, grants and ticket buying public that supports its productions. On average the company produces 2 major productions per year, including The Nutcracker and performs at Hecksher Park and the LI Mozart Festival. HBT/LIBT is a member of The LI Dance Consortium and the LI Ballet Competition as well as the Huntington Chamber of Commerce.

Each year HBT/LIBT employs over 25 professional artists that include: dancers, designer, directors and musicians.

Reception to follow at The Fox Hollow.