We took to the streets this past Sunday for the 92Y Street Fest, and thanks to all who braved the morning rain to come out! Continuing the Share Your Story video series, we set up our video booth to capture your stories. Featured in the video above is Melissa, who attended class at 92Y as a child. She still has the trophy she was awarded for winning a relay race while a student here. Melissa, if you’re watching, we want to see that trophy!
As part of the 92Y Street Fest, we offered a coupon good for a 10% discount on classes and events. We would like to extend that offer to our blog readers through Oct 30, 2009. Use discount code FALL when ordering event tickets online or by phone. Please note: When purchasing classes, you must order by phone: 212.415.5500, to utilize the discount code. We can not accept the discount code for classes online.
Regular prices vary. Discount cannot be combined with any other offers and does not apply to prior sales. Not Applicable toward Health & Fitness memberships. Restrictions apply. Offer valid through 10.30.09. Discount is valid for first time enrollment only for the following 92nd Street Y programs: Noar Afterschool, Connect Jewish Afterschool, Private Music Instruction, 60+ membership or Parent Center Membership.
Offer is not valid for subscription tickets nor is it valid for Summer Camp, Flying Dolphins Swim Team or Gymnastics Team registrations.
10% discount not valid for online class registrations.
The 92nd Street Y Street Festival on Sunday, on Lexington Ave between 79th and 94th Street, is going to happen rain or shine – we’ll have our information booths and other activities out on the street, a farmer’s market, International Way, and lots more (barring an actual monsoon… or whiteout, depending on the temperature)! BUT… since we’re guessing there may be more “rain” than “shine,” we’re bringing our FREE ENTERTAINMENT indoors. So if you need a place to hide out or dry out, here’s the schedule:
For EVERYONE…now in our Kaufmann Concert Hall!
12:00 – Swiss Accordion Player Christoph Grieder
12:15 - Swing Dance with Myrna Caceras
12:40 – Social Dance with the Sandra Cameron Dancers
1:00 – Tango with Karina Romero & Dardo Galletto
1:15 - Adult Flamenco Class with JoDe “La Chispa” Romano & Students
1:40 - 92Y Dance 75th Anniversary Performance Highlights
2:00 – Rock duo featuring guitarist Chris Bergson
2:30 - Americana/Rock singer Ann Klein with Alison Cornell
3:00 – Salsa Dance with Jose Rosario & Yvonne Vasquez
3:30 - Middle Eastern dance with Blanca
3:45 – DJ Peter Borenstein
4:25 – Gregorio Uribe Big Band (Colombia)
FOR PARENTS AND KIDS…The WONDERPLAY Stage moves to Warburg Lounge (off the lobby) - Sponsored by Stonyfield
12 - Sing & Shout with Karina Zilberman
12:30 – SoundGarden demo by Jessie Murphy
12:50 – Musical IQ
1:20 - Sing & Shout with Karina Zilberman
1:45 - Hop on Stage and Dance with Mari Lopez
2:15 – Musical IQ
2:45 - Swiss Accordion Player Christoph Grieder
3:00 – DJ Peter Borenstein
3:40 - Sing & Shout with Karina Zilberman
4:10 - 92Y Teen Tap Team with Juli Greenberg
And don’t forget to take advantage of rain-or-shine Street Festival specials:
10% Off tickets and class registration from Sunday through Friday, Oct 23
$0 Down on May Center memberships – Sunday through Tuesday, Oct 20
New fitness, art, music and dance classes start in October and November at the May Center and School of the Arts (shorter, more economical sessions)!
The 92nd Street Y will be redesigning their website and would like your help. Your thoughts on the existing design will help guide our improvements to the new site. Please take this short survey and for your efforts, you will be entered to win a pair of tickets on JetBlue Airways, good for round trip travel to any JetBlue destination. (Some restrictions apply).
Go above and beyond and get a $100 92Y CERTIFICATE! Can you meet onsite at 92Y to give us direct feedback on our web plans? If interested, just fill out the questions at the end of the survey and we will contact you. (Some restrictions apply).
Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center Showing Events Live From 92Y
Ann Nyberg, Trustee of the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, CN has posted a letter on their website announcing the opening of the newly renovated center, originally opened in 1911. “The new web site,” she wrote, “goes live on August 10th...”
That’s today. Congratulations to everyone at the KHCAC on your new center!
Above is the new logo for the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center (click through for full size version). It is of course in Katharine Hepburn’s favorite color, red. In addition to the scheduled events including arts & culture, hometown fun, and more, “The Kate” as they would like to be called, considers their schedule of 92nd Street Y events, broadcast live via satellite from New York City, a selling point. And they are not the only ones excited to be broadcasting Live From NY’s 92nd Street Y programming. We’re blushing, and hope that Katherine Hepburn would be pleased to know this as well.
We were happy to report (via Twitter, of course!) on our class montage video created for the launch of our fall season class schedule— and some people were excited to see it. So watch the video above and see away! If you’re feeling adventurous, leave a comment and tell us your thoughts.
There is, literally, something for everyone. Enrollment is now open, and some of those classes fill up very quickly, so browse the list and make your choice.
You may have heard that the 92Y library (as it currently exists) is closing on July 31. You may also have heard rumors about what that means, and we want to set the record straight. The reality is that this is one of many actions the Y is taking to cut costs because of the recession. We’re committed to offering library services, and many of the books will be available in other locations around the building. We’re also working on building a ground-floor reading room where people can relax, read, use their laptops (there will be free wi-fi) or one of our computer terminals. If you want to know more, you can read about why we’re making the changes and what our plans are in this letter from our executive director, Sol Adler.
Tony Bennett Surprises Jazz in July Crowd Last Night at 92Y
Tony Bennett surprises the crowd by taking the stage last night at Jazz in July / Photo Credit: Cory Weaver
Last night, Bill Charlap pulled off one of the biggest surprises in Jazz in July history – a totally unannounced and unexpected appearance by the legendary Tony Bennett who sang the concert’s two closing numbers in his first-ever appearance at the 92nd Street Y.
The concert was the second night of the Jazz in July summer festival, and it was a sold-out presentation of A Helluva Town: New York Jazz.
The show opened with A Helluva Town from On The Town by Bernstein and Comden and Green, featuring Bill Charlap, trumpet Byron Stripling, guitar Bucky Pizzarelli, bass Jay Leonhart and drums Lewis Nash. The second half featured Gershwin – as Charlap said, “You can’t have a concert about New York without some Gershwin – and the band played I got Rhythm. Charlap also pointed out that it wasn’t “I’ve got Rhythm,” but “I got Rhythm.” Ah, New Yawk-speak.
And then for the finale, all the musicians came out on stage for Broadway by Billy Bird, Teddy McRae, and Henri Woode. The instrumentalists were passing the tune around, when suddenly, totally without warning, out from the wings strode Tony Bennett. It took several seconds for the audience to recognize him, and even then the ovation was restrained. Bennett began to sing and everyone definitely believed what they were hearing. The air instantly electrified.
Singer and band jammed back and forth, from player to vocalist to player, bringing this jubilant musical salute to the Great White Way – and the evening’s musical love song to New York City—to a bigger and bigger climax. When they finally finished with a flourish, the audience let out a roar and rose to their feet.
But Bill and Tony weren’t done with them yet. With Bill accompanying him, Tony immediately launched into the familiar opening lines of I Happen to Like New York. He was just teasing the audience, though, and smoothly segued into Rodgers & Hart’s I’ll Take Manhattan. It was a perfect rendition, as only Tony Bennett can give. Bill Charlap joined him on piano, and they were accompanied by bass Jay Leonhart and drums Lewis Nash. Then as Tony came to the end, the rest of the band joined in for a glorious, New York finish, and the entire cast came out for a bow in front of a cheering standing ovation.
Only in New York Kids. Only at the 92nd Street Y. And we have one more photo after the jump!
Bill Charlap and Jazz in July Leave New York Times “Breathless”
Photo Credit / Erin Baiano for The New York Times
“When he was a teenager, the jazz pianist Bill Charlap recalled at the 92nd Street Y on Tuesday evening, he met the composer Jule Styne and asked him for the secret to writing a good popular song. Mr. Styne, choosing his words carefully, replied that it had to be “melodically simple and harmonically attractive.
The concert’s most magnificent moment belonged to Mr. Charlap, who delivered an astonishing “Some People,” from “Gypsy.” After a “Flight of the Bumblebee”-like introduction, the song took off with a slingshot propulsion that carried it through furious, turbulent changes covering the entire keyboard; it left me breathless.”
Upcoming Jazz in July concerts include: Piano Jam: With Respect to Oscar on Jul 23, The Gerry Mulligan Songbook on Jul 27, It’s Jazz, Charlie Brown: The Music of Vince Guaraldi on Jul 28 and the Saxophone Summit on Jul 28.
John-Mario Sevilla, Director of Dance Education Laboratory at the 92nd Street Y has written a piece for Career Transitions (PDF). He reflects on making the transition from dance to arts administration and then returning to dance while pursuing a a career in education:
When I received a Career Transition For Dancers grant a dozen years ago, I had recently left Pilobolus. I had been the Dance Captain, but had entered that stage when the one-night gigs and transportation hassles, the physical demands, and my own waning passion coalesced into an inevitable, however fraught, decision to move on. A dancer from birth to earth, however, I was determined to stay in the field. I adored the wise, gracious teachers who had moved me in unexpected directions, so I ventured to become one of them.
The Dance Education Laboratory at 92Y is a professional development program for all educators and artists interested in developing their dance education curricula.
We will be having a DEL Open House on Nov 1, from 1:30 to 5 PM. Visit our facilities, meet our faculty and other members of the DEL community, and preview the courses for 2009-2010. You can call 212.415.5551 or email for more information.
How-To Write a Blog Post About How-To Make How-To’s
Via Twitter we asked: “...if we made a how-to video, what would you like to see? How-to what? ‘How to be Anna Wintour?’ ‘How to swim laps?’”
Our followers, who we LOVE, responded with awesome ideas. @greenpointmom suggested a how-to live like Anna Wintour on a budget, how-to blow dry your own hair, tennis lessons, and how-to “make a Starbucks triple venti latte in your work pantry.” @Jawsh_E chimed in with: “how to make a how to video on making a how to video.” And @Chriz10 from the Netherlands suggested: “How to....lay on the grass in Central Park...”
We really want to make these videos. In the meantime...let’s see what we have here in our little box of keepsakes under the desk that might be similar.
Here’s Anna Wintour talking about what she looks for in employees. Beauty tid-bits from Why Smart Women Still Care About Their Looks. Our Maycenter Health and Fitness page has a video, and though we’ve no tennis courts here, we do have everything else under the sun, including handball, which is like tennis, right?
A “How-to make a latte” video might be right up food historian and author Francine Segan’s alley, who is a frequent guest here and has discussed the topic of coffee before. The “How-to make a how-to make a video” will be a fun one to make. As you may or may not know, we like to make videos.
Lastly, there was our favorite suggestion for a video on “How to....lay on the grass in Central Park...enjoying the view, the joggers and the people eating their lunch out of brown paper bags.” Again, a superb idea. We enjoy Central Park as much as the next person, and have some upcoming classed and events there. Such as a Watercolor in Central Park class, Gouache Painting in Central Park, and the Central Park in the Dark—Nocturnal Creature Tour. Clearly we will need to bring the camera along next time and do a quick how-to lay in the park video.
It’s Friday, which means here’s another weekly cheat sheet highlighting some of the things we were talking about this week. Take it with you for the train ride home.
Moving On Up to the Upper East Side at 92Y de Hirsch Residence
Student housing is often a joyless pursuit in New York. Columbia University students grumble about the process in a recent editorial, there’s the story of Alyssa Abkowitz who “reveals the secrets (and sadness) of living in a Chelsea women’s dorm: communal showers, peanut butter sandwiches and no boys allowed” for the New York Press in February, and long gone are the days of getting a room and two meals a day for $8.50 a week. (The year was 1923 to be exact.)
Which is why we’re so proud of our own residences here at 92Y de Hirsch Residence. We offer private rooms at a cultural organization that’s been creating community since 1874. There is 24/7 security, free wi-fi, free housekeeping and linen service, special discounts to the 92Y’s full service gym and pool, and of course, you will be living in Manhattan, near great cultural institutions, Central Park, restaurants, and more. You’ll even run into people like Tom Cruise and Anna Wintour walking the halls. But don’t take our word for it. Watch the video above featuring residents of de Hirsch residents talking about how much they like it here.
For complete information, visit the link below, call us at 212.415.5650, or send an email.
Screen shot of Jazz Improv Magazine on Jazz in July Summer Festival
Readers of our blog will recall our recent podcast with pianist Bill Charlap, Artistic Director of the 92nd Street Y Jazz in July Summer Festival. Bill spoke at length about his vision for the festival, the significance of New York Jazz, the role Vince Guaraldi (composer of the Charlie Brown songs) played in quietly introducing America to his own music without notice, why this series is unique in the season and more. At one point, Charlap declared the acoustics at our concert hall as the best of any he has played.
Today, we have more Jazz in July audio for you, courtesy of our friends at NPR. Kurt Elling was their pick for Song of the Day, with his track Lush Life. Kurt will carry the vocals in Jazz in July on Jul 21 for our Sondheim & Styne concert.
Relatedly, Jazz Improv Magazine wrote a wonderful article on Jazz in July in their latest issue, as seen in the screen capture above. You can read that here on page 60, in a PDF.
As part of their agenda while here in New York City, the group traveled to Jackson Heights, Queens where Alison Gardy, director of international relations at 92Y told the Daily News: “I hope they’ll see how diverse communities can work toward common goals. People live together here that could not live together back home. And they make it work.”
That’s certainly one of Grace Yeanay’s goals. She runs an organization that helps Liberian women get out of prostitution and poverty by teaching them marketable skills. Often, the women are from feuding tribes.
She was impressed by how different immigrant groups in the U.S. successfully live in the same communities.
“Everyone is different, everyone has their own ideas and all of those ideas can come together,” said Yeanay, 34, executive director of Young Women Organized for Sustainable Development.
Galit Toledano-Harris, 47, executive director of the Youth Renewal Fund in Israel, was similarly impressed with the area.
“It was a totally different experience,” she said of the tour. “There’s a place for everybody.”
You can read the full article here, and see more photos of 2009 Ford Fellows here on our Facebook.
Lastly, we talked about the “the greatest film of all time” Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, and the second best greatest film of all time, Breaking Away.
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And then for the finale, all the musicians came out on stage for Broadway by Billy Bird, Teddy McRae, and Henri Woode. The instrumentalists were passing the tune around, when suddenly, totally without warning, out from the wings strode Tony Bennett. It took several seconds for the audience to recognize him, and even then the ovation was restrained. Bennett began to sing and everyone definitely believed what they were hearing. The air instantly electrified.
She was impressed by how different immigrant groups in the U.S. successfully live in the same communities.
