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125TH BIRTHDAY SALUTE TO BAMO u r b eautiful, q u a lity apartm ents in historic Fort G reene and C linto n H ill co m e w ith a bonus:They are just m inutes aw ay from the glorious B rooklyn A cadem y o f Music....Stephen B. Jacobs & Associates88 So. Portland Avenue Brooklyn 11217For inform ation call: (718)783-8781 (718)643-4221 N O FEEThe Park Slope Chamber of CommercedaPARK SLOPE%u2019S !1 1 th A n n u a lS U N D A Y J U N E * * , VE t0 1 2 %u201c ST.****** CRAFTS, Wt>K, %u2605-Af ANTIQM' %u00bb _ a td e D A N C IN G , .* ^ S is t e ^ * 00- ^ a s s a R S s a a \* * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** **OFFICE 789-1659%u20ac ' n n r t r d f n i o i o cH I U I H I V UBAM onits (Continuing SuccessComing Season to Highlight Gershwin, TharpBrooklyn%u2019s own will be honored as part ofthp Brooklyn ApaHpmv of Music%u2019s 1487season. Performances by Twyla Tharp andher dance company and a George GershwinFestival to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the death of the famousBrooklyn-born composer, will be otherhighlights next spring.Twyla Tharp and her company willreturn to BAM in February (she first performed there in 1969) for the New Yorkpremiere of her current tour. Twarp, whorecently finished a Broadway production of%u201cSinging in the Rain,%u201d is considered one ofAmerica%u2019s most ingenious choreographersand has worked on stage, screen and television as well as contributing her talents toleading institutions such as the AmericanBallet Theater.Following her performances at theBrooklyn Academy of Music, the Academywill launch a celebration for the 50th anniversary of Gershwin%u2019s death, honoring hisvast and varied work. The three-weeksalute with Michael Tilson Thomas servingas music director, will take place in theBAM Opera House. Thomas is acclaimedfor his performances and recordings of Gershwin%u2019s music and is a Gershwin scholarwho has recovered %u201clost%u201d and unproducedscores through extensive research.April will be the month to honor Brooklynand as of yet BAM still has to announce theevents planned, but the framework for theprogram calls for a salute to the richmusical talent and ethnic diversity exhibited in the borough.Kid%u2019s month will come in May with thefirst New York International Festival ofChildren%u2019s Theater. BAM%u2019s Performing ArtsProgram for Young People, which attractsmore than 125,000 children annually fromthe Metropolitan area will host the Festival.Close to Goal for NEA Challenge GrantA Challenge Grant of $600,000 has beenawarded to BAM by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to establish a cashreserve and to eliminate an accumulateddeficit. To receive the NEA money BAMmust raise $1.8 million in new and increased private contributions by June 30,1987.All fundraising to match the NEA ChallengeGrant is over and above those funds whichmust be raised annually for artistic programming and operational support.The Challenge Grant will yield $2.4million. For each three dollars BAM raisesthe NEA will contribute one dollar. BAMmust raise the entire $1.8 million to recievethe NEA contribution. Already, 87% of thegoal has been achieved and the balancemust be raised by June 30,1987The Challenge Grant is important to BAMbecause the $600,000 and its matching fundswill provide an opportunity for BAM tosecure its financial future by establishingthe first cash reserve in the Academy%u2019s 125year history. This means that BAM can proceed with long range planning and realizeits artistic initiatives, community relatedactivities, and educational programs.The needed $1.8 million for the match iscoming through corporate, foundation andindividual donations. BAM%u2018s Board ofTrustees has spearheaded the fundraisingwith pledged gifts totalling over $225,000.Special gifts to the BAM Challenge Fundhave been given by the Exxon Corporation,the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company,Pfizer, Inc., Arthur Levitt, Jr., the EdwardJohn Noble Foundation, the Bodman Foundation, and the Sundra Foundation, amongothers.Performing Arts Program Strong for KidsBAM%u2019s Performing Arts Program forYoung People, which begins its 26th consecutive season in the fall of 1986, offers livetheater, dance, and music performancescreated specially for children in pre-kindergarten through high school.Committed to the concepts that educationcan and should continue outside of schooland that theater is an excellent tool for introducing the arts and humanities to youngpeople, the Performing Arts Program seeksto provide students with an entertaining, enriching, and memorable theater experience.The 1985-86 season attracted studentsfrom New York City%u2019s five boroughs,Nassau, Suffolk County, Westchester, andNew Jersey. Approximately 70% of the audience is comprised of minority groups. Thecomplimentary ticket program enables disadvantaged children to participate in theprogram.Programs are selected that probe socialissues relevant to ethnically diverse audiences. Some productions provide an opportunity for children to gain a greater understanding of their cultural heritage. Otherpresentations focus on social and familialissues affecting youngsters, such as beingthe %u201cnewcomer%u201d at school and in the neighborhood, drug abuse, divorce, and familyviolence.Study guides are published for selectedproductions in two separate editions forteachers and students. The reading, writing,and research assignments offered in theguides encourage the students to activelyrespond to performances.BAM Pushes Renewal of Its NeighborhoodThe Brooklyn Academy Local Development Corporation (LDC) is a unique partnership between business and communityleaders, as well as the Brooklyn Academyof Music. The Corporation was formedspecifically to revitalize the area of downtown Brooklyn around BAM, %u201cTheAcademy District.%u201dMore than $2 million has been alreadyspent on this renewed performing arts areaanchored by BAM.The BAM Garden, created by the City ofNew York and the BAM LDC, is located onthe triangular block across from BAM. Formerly occupied by badly deteriorated andabandoned buildings, the site is now plantedwith trees, flowering shrubs, annuals, andbulbs. The garden is surrounded by sidewalks paved with cobblestones, bluestone,and sanded asphalt block; the BAM LDChopes to extend this distinctive 19th Centurypavement throughout the Academy District.The former Hotel Lafayette, once a vacant and deteriorating building, is now reaovaicu and fully occupied as a 34-unit rental apartment complex named the Lafayette Apartments, under the sponsorship ofBAM LDC.The entire block front of Fulton Streetcontaining the former Strand and MajesticTheaters has been targeted as the core ofthe Academy District. With the assistanceof $600,000 provided by the City of NewYork Public Development Corporation, rehabilitation has begun on the facade andstructure of the former Strand Theater.%u201cThe revitalization of the Strand and theneighboring Majestic Theater will encourage more artists to make Brooklyn theirbase, reflecting the renaissance of Brooklyn%u2019s major cultural and commercialcenter,%u201d says Norman McArthur of theLDC.The Academy District is already beingcalled %u201clittle Soho.%u201d Arts organizations andbusinesses can look forward to generoussquare footage in city-owned buildings,available on attractive, long-term, low-costleases; fifteen-thousand office workers areslated to relocate from the World TradeCenter to downtown Brooklyn, says McArthur. %u201cThe Academy district is undergoingmassive commercial revitalization, providing Brooklynites a myriad oireasons%u2014from entertainment and culturalevents to business opportunities%u2014to stay inBrooklyn.%u201dPage 30. THE P H O E N IX , June 12, 1986