For Immediate Release Contact: Elizabeth Cooke Communications Manager [email protected] (212) 691-6500 x210 NEW YORK LIVE ARTS presents The Bang Group’s NUT/CRACKED Dec 20 – 22 at 7:30pm, Dec 22 at 2pm New York, NY, November 21, 2012 – New York Live Arts will present the 10th Anniversary of The Bang Group’s Nut/Cracked Dec 20 – 22 at 7:30pm and Dec 22 at 2pm. Nut/Cracked, called “conceptually brilliant and physically hilarious” by The Boston Globe, is a comic/subservice, neo-vaudeville version of The Nutcracker, returning to New York Live Arts to celebrate a decade of lighthearted holiday humor. A journey into innocence through sustained fantasy, Nut/Cracked incorporates an enterprising mix of tap, ballet, contemporary, disco and more. The work’s 22 sections are accompanied by a mix of popular, jazz and novelty versions of Tchaikovsky’s original score and the traditional orchestral suite. By the end of the show, the cast has danced their way to a new kind of childhood, replete with icons from a thumb-sucking fantasia to the Grand Pas de Deux. In addition to performers from The Bang Group, each show features a different group of teenage guest artists from dance schools throughout New York City, including but not limited to The Dalton School, Dancewave, the Brooklyn Arts Exchange and the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. “You never know what’ll happen next, but when it’s over you find that what started as a series of flimsy sketches has turned into a passionate declaration of naïveté in the best sense: innocence regained,” saysThe New York Times’ Alastair Macaulay of David Parker and The Bang Group’s Nut/Cracked. Performances will take place at New York Live Arts’ Bessie Schönberg Theater. Come Early Conversations and Stay Late Discussions will also be featured with two shows (see complete schedule below). Tickets are $30. Tickets may be purchased online at tickets.newyorklivearts.org, by phone at 212-924-0077 and in person at the box office. Box office hours are Monday to Friday from 1 to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 8pm. This presentation of The Bang Group’s Nut/Cracked is made possible, in part, with support from the New York State Council on the Arts, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Shubert Foundation. Listing info: The Bang Group Nut/Cracked Dec 20 – 22 at 7:30pm, Dec 22 at 2pm Bessie Schönberg Theater, New York Live Arts Tickets: $30 T: 212-924-0077 | www.newyorklivearts.org 219 W 19th Street, New York, NY 10011 Box Office hours: Monday-Friday 1 - 9pm | Saturday-Sunday 12 - 8pm Schedule of Related Events: Dec 20 at 6:30pm Come Early Conversation: Dancing Nut/Cracked moderated by Zack Winokur (Co-Director of The Troupe) Dec 22 Stay Late Live Stream Matinee Discussion: Celebrating 10 years of Nut/Cracked moderated by New York City Ballet legend Heather Watts About The Bang Group: The Bang Group (TBG) is a contemporary theatrical dance troupe devoted to choreographer David Parker’s fascination with the rhythmic potential of the dancing body. At the center of his work is an abiding love of rhythmic form and the intensity of communication it allows between audiences and performers. Among his best known works are the 21st century neo-vaudeville Nutcracker entitled Nut/Cracked as well as ShowDown, a choreographic reinvention of Annie Get Your Gun for cabaret and concert stages, and a series of male duets ranging from Slapstuck for two velcro-clad gentlemen, to Bang and Suck, Friends of Dorothy, The Missing Reel and Old Fashioned Wedding. These dances were created for Jeffrey Kazin and David Parker who now direct the company together, building a choreographic dialogue between show business, classical and contemporary dance traditions. Their most recent work, the evening-length Misters and Sisters, is an unadulterated song-and-dance cabaret which achieved instant critical acclaim at its premier run at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater. The Bang Group has been presented in New York City eight times by Dance Theater Workshop in their own evening-length programs, twice by Danspace Project at Saint Mark’s Church and several times by DanceNow/NYC at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater. TBG also appeared regularly on DTW’s Family Matters series and at Lincoln-Center-Out-of-Doors, Symphony Space, The Joyce Soho, World Financial Center’s Arts and Events, Town Hall, the 92nd Street Y and at numerous other venues throughout New York City. The Bang Group has appeared in many European festivals including The Holland Dance Festival (The Hague), International Biennale de Charleroi Danses (Belgium), Konfrontace Festival (Prague), Tanzsprache Festival (Vienna), Dance Week (Zagreb), Divadelna Nitra (Slovakia), Belluard Bollwerk (Switzerland), Nervi Estate (Italy), Ballett Umbria, Invito Alla Danza (Rome), Tanzmesse NRW (Germany), Dutch Touch (Paris), OT301 (Amsterdam), Monaco Danse Forum, Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2005 and 2009) and others. TBG has also appeared regularly in Montreal at Studio 303, Divers Cité Festival, Tangente and CINARS as well as in 22 of the United States. The company has developed a second home base in the Boston area where it appears each summer through Summer Stages Dance Festival in Concord Massachusetts. The Bang Group celebrated its 10th anniversary season as company in residence at Summer Stages Dance in 2009. It also appears regularly in First Night Boston and has performed Nut/Cracked at the Out On the Edge Festival at the Theater Offensive in Boston for three consecutive seasons. TBG has been on Best-of-the-Year lists in Antwerp, Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, London and Montreal. The Bang Group has received generous support from the Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York Foundation for the Arts (Build Grant), Pentacle’s ARC (Advancement, Reinvention and Creativity) Grant, The Mid Atlantic Arts Fund, The Fund for Mutual Understanding, Arts International, The 2wice Foundation, The Netherland-America Foundation, The Heathcote Foundation, The Puffin Foundation, The Hale Matthews Foundation, The Amy Sue Rosen Foundation, various commissioning initiatives through Dance Theater Workshop, DanceNow/NYC and Danspace Project and many individual donors. TBG has been company-in-residence at New York’s West End Theater since 2003 where Jeffrey Kazin and David Parker present thrice-yearly mini-festivals of dance from New York City and beyond. New York Live Arts is a reserved seating house. FEE-FREE tickets are available for purchase by calling the box office at 212-924-0077 and will be available online at newyorklivearts.org. New York Live Arts Members, Associated Artists, Students, and Seniors are eligible for 20% discounts to theater performances. Box Office hours: Monday – Friday 1 - 9pm and Saturday-Sunday 12 - 8pm. Unless otherwise noted, performances take place at New York Live Arts located at 219 West 19th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues. ABOUT NEW YORK LIVE ARTS Located in the heart of Chelsea in New York City, New York Live Arts is an internationally recognized destination for innovative movement-based artistry offering audiences access to art and artists notable for their conceptual rigor, formal experimentation and active engagement with the social, political and cultural currents of our times. At the center of this identity is Bill T. Jones, Executive Artistic Director, a world-renowned choreographer, dancer, theater director and writer. We commission, produce and present performances in our 20,000 square foot home, which includes a 184-seat theater and two 1,200 square foot studios that can be combined into one large studio. New York Live Arts serves as home base for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, provides an extensive range of participatory programs for adults and young people and supports the continuing professional development of artists. Our influence extends beyond NYC through our international cultural exchange program that currently places artists in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Funding Support Major support for New York Live Arts is provided by: Bloomberg Philanthropies; The Brownstone Foundation; The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; Con Edison; The Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Ford Foundation; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; Florence Gould Foundation; Japan Foundation; Jerome Foundation; Lambent Foundation; MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; MetLife Foundation; The New York Community Trust; The Rockefeller Foundation; The Jerome Robbins Foundation; The Scherman Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. New York Live Arts is supported by public funds administered by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. PRESS KITS AND DIGITAL IMAGES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST ### Download a PDF of this release. .