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Arts & Entertainment

Art Collector Opens Home for Lydia Johnson Dance

Annual benefit will be held at historic home of Patricia A. Bell.

Lydia Johnson Dance will hold its annual benefit on Friday, Nov. 30 at the home of Patricia A. Bell. Tickets are still available for the event, which will feature LJD dancers performing around an indoor pool at this art-filled historic Montrose home.

Dancers will perform an excerpt from Change of Heart set to J.S. Bach's Three Part Inventions and choreographed by Lydia Johnson, the South Orange resident who 13 years ago founded the dance company. Lydia Johnson Dance has been consistently praised for its distinctive choreography which combines ballet and modern dance.

The company has long been supported by Bell, an ardent supporter of the arts. Her home and collection have been featured in The New York Times and other newspapers.

The historic home has been restructured into a contemporary open living space to emphasize the extensive art collection. The original carriage house was home to Jerry, the last horse to live in South Orange. Today, the carriage house serves as storage for the owner's 6,000-bottle wine cellar and billiard room.

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Bell has personally chosen a white wine for the LJD celebration. The evening will also include live music, light fare, and auction.

The benefit on Friday night raised funds for the company and school, which is also supported by The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. A portion of the auction proceeds will be donated to relief agencies working to help Hurricane Sandy victims.

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The performance by Lydia Johnson Dance is a duet set to the tender and beautiful Fourth Invention. Originally danced by Blake Hennessy-York and Sarah, the work will be danced for this special occasion by Mr. Hennessy-York, Ms. Pon and Laura Di Orio, Eric Williams, Christopher Bloom and Katie Martin.

Lydia Johnson Dance has performed in high-profile venues like Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and the Downtown Dance Festival. LJD is the dance company is residence at the South Orange Performing Arts Center. The company has consistently won praise from The New York Times, The New Yorker and Philip Gardner, where Lydia Johnson Dance is highlighted frequently in his Oberon's Grove blog in a series titled "The Creative Process." See more @ Oberon's Grove.

Buy tickets to the LJD Benefit @ Lydia Johnson Dance.

For more information, email info@lydiajohnsondance.org.

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