Author: Saratoga TODAY

SARATOGA SPRINGS — “SPAC REIMAGINED,” a series of unique, locally shot dance videos that pay tribute to the 2020 classical season and feature all three of SPAC’s resident companies are premiering through July 25 at spac.org, and on SPAC’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

Created by videographers and NYCB dancers, Emily Kikta and Peter Walker, the project combines the talents of seven dancers and four choreographers from New York City Ballet, alongside music performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The videos will culminate with a longer-form, exclusive performance on Saturday, July 25. 

 “In a time when the usual parameters and processes of presenting live performance have evaporated, SPAC has been reinventing itself – and the ways in which we provide great art and artists to our community,” said Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center, in a statement. “This year marks our fourth collaboration with NYCB dancers and videographers Emily Kikta and Peter Walker, but it is the first time that the series will incorporate artists from across our entire classical season.  We feel fortunate to have this artistic gift to share – something to fill, if just a little, the enormous void created in a ballet season without New York City Ballet.” 

 The artists choreographed, rehearsed and shot the films over a two-week period, and features four new digital works filmed exclusively on the grounds of SPAC and in the Saratoga Spa State Park and are all set to music originally planned to be performed during the 2020 classical season. 

Emily Kikta has been a dancer in New York City Ballet since 2010. Peter Walker has been a dancer and choreographer with the New York City Ballet since 2011. New York City Ballet dancers featured in the videos include Devin Alberda, Christina Clark, Uma Deming, Meaghan Dutton-O’Hara, Anthony Huxley, Emily Kikta and Peter Walker. The pieces were choreographed by Emily Kikta, Peter Walker, Devin Alberda and Christina Clark. All artists were tested for COVID-19 prior to coming to the Capital Region and the artists strictly adhered to the CDC’s guidelines for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs History Museum will host a virtual presentation via Zoom at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 23. The program, titled “Troy and Saratoga Springs: Much in Common,” is part of the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust Program Series.   

The talk will cover things that represent the tie between the two communities and will cover well-known personalities such as John Morrissey, residences of well-known industrialists, and railroads such as the Delaware & Hudson that had much to do with the late 19th and early 20th century economic development of both Saratoga Springs and Troy. 

Author Richard Chait and City of Troy/Rensselaer County historian Kathy Sheehan will present this interesting topic.

The event is free and limited to the first 100 people to join.  To join the event visit www.saratogahistory.org/alfred-z-solomon-program-series and click the link to view the event.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Casino Hotel in Saratoga Springs, and Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady each announced this week that they have issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN Act) notices to their furloughed team members. 

At Saratoga, more than 80 percent of the company’s workforce was impacted by the properties temporary closure beginning March 16 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the initial closure, all furloughed team members received salary and wages for two weeks and currently all team members remain covered by the company’s health insurance.

Saratoga Casino Hotel will issue the legally required WARN Act notices due to circumstances beyond the company’s control and the uncertainty surrounding when the property will be allowed to reopen.  Federal law requires large employers to issue WARN notices when a furlough or layoff is reasonably expected to stretch beyond six-months, and at this time it remains unclear as to when team members would be allowed to return to work. Advanced notice gives workers, their families, and communities time to transition, seek new employment, and enter workforce training programs.

Furloughed team members at Saratoga number 401. More than 1,000 Rivers team members have been furloughed after salaries and wages were retained for four weeks following the March 15 temporary closure of the property in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19. 

Both casinos say they would like to reopen as soon as the state permits. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — There will be no fans in the stands at Saratoga Race Course this weekend as the summer meet gets underway, but a quartet of local organizations are sponsoring an Opening Weekend “Masks On” celebration in downtown Saratoga Springs.

Local entertainers will perform live outside along the street in several locations along Broadway and local shops and restaurants will be hosting viewing parties and special events this weekend.

Events are presented by the Downtown Business Association, Saratoga Springs City Center, Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, and Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership. 

“Everyone strolling along outside on Broadway this opening weekend enjoying this entertainment, our stores, shops and restaurants must follow CDC guidelines for social distancing,” the organizations say, in a statement. “Where this is not possible outside along the street such as near a live entertainer, you must wear a mask for your own safety as well as those around you. That’s what we have to do to put health first during our ‘Masks On’ Celebration as we fight to stop the spread of COVID-19.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Opera Saratoga will next month present The Pirates’ Pajama Party & Treasure Hunt, the company’s first-ever Virtual Gala. The online event replaces Opera on the Lake, the company’s previously scheduled gala.

The Pirates’ Pajama Party & Treasure Hunt will take place completely online at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13. 

The summer gala is the most important fundraiser of the year for Opera Saratoga, providing critical resources to support diverse community and education programs including Saratoga Sings for Seniors, Opera-to-Go for elementary school children, and the company’s nationally acclaimed Young Artist Program. 

The Pirates’ Pajama Party & Treasure Hunt Virtual Gala is chaired by Steve Rosenblum, and pays special tribute to Rosemarie V. Rosen, Honorary Gala Chair and President Emeritus of Opera Saratoga’s Board of Directors. 

“This one night only event will be truly interactive – an engaging evening of mystery and entertainment – featuring special performances of pirate-themed music, including highlights from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, and an interactive treasure hunt with prizes,” Rosenblum said in a statement.

“In re-envisioning our Gala to take place online, we wanted to make sure that we could create an event that would be more than another online concert,” added Opera Saratoga’s Artistic and General Director, Lawrence Edelson. “Of course there will be music, but this will be a real party – an opportunity to ‘mingle’ online with friends and fellow music lovers, to solve a mystery together, and to have fun – all while supporting the year-round work Opera Saratoga does to enrich the region.”

Ticket holders can attend the Virtual Gala from the comfort and safety of their own homes from anywhere in the world – all that is needed is a computer, tablet or phone with a built-in camera and an internet connection. Gala attendees will have the opportunity to get their best “pirate on” with Opera Saratoga’s special Pirate Booty Kit that each person will receive in the mail one week prior to the event – an assortment of Treasure Hunt Clues and Pirate Accessories to make sure you don’t get lost at sea! 

Tickets for the Gala are $100 per person; or $250 for Honorary Committee members.

Opera Saratoga, formerly known as Lake George Opera, began with a production of Die Fledermaus at the Diamond Point Theatre on July 5, 1962, playing to an audience of 230. The Company now calls Saratoga Springs home and performs for more than 25,000 people annually.

For tickets and additional information, go to: www.operasaratoga.org/2020-virtual-gala. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College will celebrate the 41st Anne T. Palamountain Scholarship Benefit virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Registration is open for the online event, which will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 21.

Speakers will include celebrity polo player Leighton Jordan; Skidmore’s new president, Marc C. Conner; and Bruce Palamountain, son of Anne and Joseph Palamountain. 

The event will also recognize 2020 Palamountain Scholar Award recipient Naira Abdula ’20, who graduated from Skidmore with honors in May. Participants can also take part in a live auction and take advantage of takeout meal specials from Hattie’s and Longfellows.

Proceeds benefit the Joseph C. and Anne T. Palamountain Scholarship Fund, which supports financially eligible juniors and seniors with outstanding academic records and co-curricular service. The fund, which honors Skidmore’s late president and his wife, has provided more than 400 scholarships since 1979.

The Anne T. Palamountain Scholar Award is presented each year to a student or recent graduate who has demonstrated leadership, service to others and a commitment to the larger good of society. 

Naira Abdula, a management and business major at Skidmore and Davis Project for Peace Grant recipient, is the founder of Edutrer, an afterschool program in her hometown in Mozambique that teaches underprivileged children how to read, write and count using interactive technologies. Her plan for the nonprofit organization also won third place in Skidmore’s 2018 Freirich Business Plan Competition. 

Visit skidmore.edu/palamountainbenefit to register, donate, or for more information, including this year’s list of auction items, dinner specials and acknowledgment of special friends and event sponsors.