BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lucie G. Santoro, President
Pasquale Santoro, Treasurer
Geovanni Este, Secretary
Marla A. Hirokawa, Member
Lawrence Lam, Board Advisor
HONORARY BOARD
Marty Markowitz
Brooklyn Borough President
Michael C. Nelson
Councilman
"We were truly humbled by the
creativity, passion, energy and commitment of all involved"
- Phyllis, co-owner of Fitness
Underground
Take
a look inside
Brooklyn’s premier dance company –
from its history to the dancing “family” that keeps it
reaching to new heights!
Thank you to the Covenant Ballet
company, the instructors, the students and the families of CBT
Dance Academy for making our production of Beauty and the
Beast a success.
photos by Jonathan Fazio & Henry
Sid
On
the weekend of May 18, 2001, a seed was planted in
Brooklyn. It was Covenant Dance Theatre's premier of
NISEI, a ballet tribute to the Japanese-American
veterans of WWII. Choreographer Marla Hirokawa's
sister Laurie Hamano and mother Margie Hirokawa were
in the audience. This seed that was planted in the
minds and hearts of the Hirokawa family took root
and grew and grew over 26 months until June 29, 2003
when...The Nisei Project (2003) was born!
It will be 10 years since the project
was realized. The NY International Fringe Festival
taking place on August 9-26, 2013 is the target for
the anniversary performance of the ballet. A bonus
development in the restaging is the involvement of
singer/songwriter Harold Payne who wrote a song,
"Quiet Heroes" in tribute to these Nisei Veterans.
For
more information about the Nisei Project 2003 &
2013, visit our website at
www.niseiproject.com.
FRINGE NYC: ORPHAN TRAIN
On August 11, 16 - 18 Covenant
Ballet Theatre of Brooklyn performed it's narrative ballet
"Orphan Train" as part of the New York International Fringe
Festival in New York City. Nine of CBT's professional
dancers, accompanied by thirteen of CBT Dance Academy's students
brought to life the story of Rev. Charles Loring Brace and his
plight to save the neglected, impoverished NYC orphans in the
1800's. Read our reviews below...
from Oscar E. Moore
"What better way to introduce
children to the ballet than to take them to see ORPHAN TRAIN
which is being performed as part of FringeNYC..."
"In eight beautiful scenes,
lasting a little more than an hour Ms. Hirokawa’s 1997 narrative
ballet tells this moving and heartbreaking story with a nod to
Agnes de Mille and Martha Graham..."
"The struggling street children
in Manhattan, the sisters with an abusive alcoholic father, the
old lady who can’t take care of her grand daughter….as the
stories unfolded on stage, the audience was taken on a journey
from hopelessness to redemption and happiness. After the
performance, the audience was left with tears in their eyes..."
"Allowing students to perform
with professionals is an important mission of her company, and
it’s certainly an admirable one. Some dance enthusiasts may
find it dull watching children at various levels of dance
training, and some, like myself, will find it fascinating to
witness the great potential of these young dancers..."
"...bringing to story ballet
the social conscience of modern dance circa the 1920s and ’30s
suits the combo-crazy Fringe. A historical fiction of a ballet,
Orphan Train was inspired by the thousands of
New York urchins sent west from 1853 until 1929 to be adopted by
farm families."
"Choreographer Marla Hirokawa made
excellent use of the mix of children and adults in patterns that
were simple without ever being dull and that cleanly telegraphed
mood..."
