LUSTIGDANCETHEATRE
Shake Down the Stars with live music, plus Oblivion and Six Pianos
WHEN: Friday, May 17, at 8:00 PM
WHERE: South Orange Performing Arts Center, 1 SOPAC Way (behind the train station), South Orange
TICKETS: $25, $22 senior, $10 student at sopacnow.org or 973.313.ARTS
Lustig Dance Theatre will make its South Orange Performing Arts Center debut on May 17 at 8:00 pm with “Shake Down the Stars” featuring live music arranged by jazz favorite Emily Asher. The evening will honor retiring Board member Joel Sobo.
The evening’s performance will feature “Shake Down the Stars”—a fun-filled full company piece danced to iconic jazz tunes made famous by Ella Fitzgerald. The music was arranged by jazz favorite Emily Asher and will be performed live by Emily Asher’s Garden Party. Asher is a trombonist and vocalist leading Garden Party and The Emily Asher Quartet, and making regular appearances with Brooklyn-based Baby Soda Jazz Band. She toured North America with the ground-breaking Mighty Aphrodite Jazz Band and Europe with New Orleans’ Tuba Skinny.
Also on the bill are “Oblivion,” a passionate homage to the tango, and “Six Pianos,” a dynamic and moving piece last performed at NJPAC’s “Jersey Moves!” in February.
Mr. Sobo has been a prominent figure in the New Jersey dance community since he began on the Board of the former Garden State Ballet in 1980. He was appointed to the Board by his then employer, Prudential, and, within a few short years, realized a true passion for the arts. Says Sobo, “It was in the arts that I found dreamers, and began to understand the role of a non-profit Board in helping dreams become reality.”
He helped facilitate the merger of the Garden State Ballet and the Princeton Ballet Company in 1995, now known as American Repertory Ballet, and remained a Trustee there until 2010 when he left as Chair Emeritus. With the inception of Lustig Dance Theatre in the Fall of 2010, Mr. Sobo was invited onboard as a founding Trustee and joined LDT as Vice President of the Board. He is retired from Prudential and recently moved to West Orange after many years residing nearby in South Orange. He and his wife, Elizabeth Shaff Sobo, operate Sobo Consulting, partners with the non profit and public sectors.
“Here in the Garden State, Joel has been an important business mentor, arts advocate and supporter to numerous generations of dancers. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his passionate leadership, his generosity, and for his ongoing belief in the importance of keeping New Jersey dance alive and accessible,” states Graham Lustig.
Lustig Dance Theatre’s (LDT) mission is to be a vibrant, dynamic organization that awakens the love of dance by performing and educating. LDT was established in 2010 by internationally recognized choreographer and teacher, Graham Lustig. The LDT professional company performs at major venues statewide and executes a comprehensive roster of educational programs for schools and community groups. The LDT Dance and Wellness Studio offers classes for all ages and abilities in ballet, hip hop, Pilates, modern, contemporary jazz, Zumba, creative dance, tap and more. Students present an annual year-end performance and have the opportunity to join the LDT Ensemble, a youth performing group. Anyone is welcomed to LDT’s free Fun Fridays, held the third Friday of most months, featuring excerpts from company repertory and student works. For more information, please visit www.lustigdancetheatre.org. Lustig Dance Theatre is located at 80 Albany Street, 2nd Floor, in New Brunswick at the corner of Albany and Neilson Streets.
