Orphan Train and Other Dances (1)

Covenant Ballet Theatre (CBT) presents an evening of dance at Kingsborough Community Colleges Leon M. Goldstein Performing Arts Center in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn based company will perform three original and beloved Covenant Ballet works and premiere a new work from its Dancing Side by Side Project.

CBT dance artists Rebeccah Brann, Stephen Campanella, Mandy Chan, Kristin Licata, Tanya Trombly, Therese Miyoshi Wendler, Matthew Westerby and CBT newcomer Jacob Taylor will be joined by select students from Covenant Ballet Academy. The Dancing Side by Side Project is an ongoing partnership with Edward R. Murrow High School. Choreographer Matthew Westerby works with select dance students from Murrow and with CBT Junior Company members on a collaborative work for CBT's annual concerts.

Over a span of 30 years, Director Marla Hirokawa has created a portfolio of narrative ballets and shorter dance works. Three of her beloved works are returning to the stage. A New York Rhapsody is a jazzy, contemporary ballet to George Gershwin's classic work Rhapsody in Blue. A day in the life of a New Yorker never looked so good. Marla's off beat Stray is her homage to the homeless dogs at the NYC animal shelter. The Craig Brann Quartet featuring Craig Brann on guitar, Hailey Niswanger on alto sax, Nick Morrison on bass and Diego Ramirez on drums will perform live for this quirky, contemporary piece organized around improvisational solos.

Marla's original narrative ballet, Orphan Train is the final highlight of the evening. Based on a little known part of our New York and American history, Orphan Train has been performed numerous times in and outside NYC, and became the first ballet to be presented at the New York International Fringe Festival.

"An inspirational and educational tribute that conveys a moving and heartbreaking story, wonderfully portrayed by this fine company who with a look or a gesture augment the excellent choreography." - NY International Fringe Festival Review

In 1853, Rev. Charles Loring Brace founded the New York Children's Aid Society and organized the first mass foster care, placing-out program in America later known as the Orphan Trains. From 1854 to 1929, over 150,000 abandoned and neglected children boarded trains bound for the new West in search of a HOME. The ballet follows Rev. Brace as he crafts a future for children Bessie, Mamie and sisters Susie and Dorothy.