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Brooklyn Ballerinas Leave the Stage and Head to the Streets

By Janet Upadhye | September 25, 2012 3:04pm

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN—  The ballerinas of the Brooklyn Ballet are used to the stage, dancing in performances from Mexico to Brooklyn's Kumble Theater. But this week they are taking the show from the theater and into the streets of Downtown Brooklyn.

As part of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership's "Performing the Streets' series, ballerinas in black tutus, ballet slippers, and tight buns will pirouette their way through Albee Square off the Fulton Street Mall.

"The ballerinas really build an excitement in the streets," said Lynn Parkerson, Founding Artistic Director of the ten-year-old ballet company. "People become fascinated and are immediately drawn to the stories and fantasy."

Thursday's street performance incorporates seven dancers from the adult company and seven young people from the youth ensemble. The youngest dancer is 13.

At 5 p.m. dancers will begin to warm up and go through a half-hour open-air rehearsal. Afterward, classic ballet dances such as The Nutcracker’s 'Marzipan' dance and Sleeping Beauty's 'Bluebird," are scheduled. A modern dance with mixed hip-hop moves put on by the youth serves as the finale.

The Brooklyn Ballet has made it a priority to perform in outdoor settings such as Brooklyn Borough Hall, the DUMBO Tobacco Warehouse and a Brooklyn Cyclones game since 2004. Parkerson feels it helps to make ballet more accessible to the community.

Last June the ballerinas performed in Albee Square for the first time to an overwhelmingly positive response. And now they are back again.

"Community members might get exposure to something new if they are able to see ballet performed in the streets," she said. "And our ballerinas get the experience of putting on a fantastic show."

Brooklyn Ballet will be performing in Albee Square Thursday September 27, 2012 from 5-7 p.m.