New York City Dance is Coming Back, One Rooftop Performance at a Time
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When former dancer Melissa Gerstein saw the emotional toll that the pandemic-related shutdown was having on New York City dancers, including her daughter, she decided to do something about it.
Gerstein used her savvy and connections as an event and television producer to secure and co-produce a live dance event at the Empire Hotel benefiting the New York City Ballet last October, eight months into quarantine. It was at this event that Gerstein met and connected with fellow former dancer and dance advocate (and now iHeartDance NYC co-founder) Kimberly Giannelli, and the idea to create an organization to support dancers in the Big Apple came to life.
For Gerstein and Giannelli, the mission of iHeartDance NYC is two-fold: to provide performance opportunities as well as financial relief to their beloved dance community.
The first iHeartDance NYC event, a four-performance showcase scheduled for Sunday, April 11 (with a rain date of April 18) will take place on the rooftop of the Empire Hotel, which overlooks Lincoln Center. In-person tickets as well as virtual tickets are available for purchase on the organization's website.
The intimate rooftop performances (which will be socially distanced and abide by CDC guidelines) will represent the wide landscape of the city's diverse dance community and welcome notable artists like ABT principals Skylar Brandt, Herman Cornejo, and Christine Shevchenko, artists from the American Dance Machine for the Twenty-First Century, tap dynamo Ayodele Casel, Broadway performers Robbie Fairchild and Chris Jarosz, Christopher Grant and Spartak Hoxha of the New York City Ballet, members of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and more to be announced.
Performing upon a rooftop won't be unfamiliar to Fairchild, a former principal for the New York City Ballet, who took to the rooftop of his own apartment building during the lockdown with his former roommate Jarosz to dance just so they could continue to move and create during a time filled with uncertainty.
"Supporting this project is investing back in art, and it’s an important one,” says Fairchild, who in addition to dancing in the event is also part of the iHeartDance NYC launch team. "To start a fund that will be open to all dancers is something that is so needed and so appreciated and will help the community that I love so much."
Dancer Skylar Brandt achieved her goal of becoming a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theater in 2020, but for the 28-year-old New York native this lifelong dream was never fully realized with a live performance—until now. "I'm really beyond grateful to have any opportunity I can to get out on stage and perform for the audience and continue to grow artistically," she says. "There's nothing quite like feeding off of live audience energy, which just makes it all the more special and unique."
For those wondering what they can expect to see during this event, Giannelli says it's all creation at its finest. "It'll be a really nice mix of tap, tango, ballet, musical theater, and jazz, to complement the diversity and the breadth of the talent and the New York city dance community." Gerstein adds that the performances are a celebration of the craft as well as an announcement that the New York City dance community is still alive and well. "For a lot of our dancers, it's a glimpse of the future," she says. "It may not look the same, it may not feel the same, but we're back and we're going to figure out a way to keep it."
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