Written by Robbie Saenz de Viteri and Choreographed by Monica Bill Barnes. It's your lunch hour. Step away from your desk and into the working world of the library.

Additional tickets for popular events will be made available whenever possible. Sign up for the bi-weekly NYPL Events e-newsletter to be the first to hear about the next ticket release for this event.

The collaborative team of Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz de Viteri, experts at "bringing dance where it doesn't belong," have created a show in the least likely of places, The New York Public Library. Moving throughout the building, audiences wear headphones for the hour-long performance, tuning them into the personal stories and meaningful movements that may dwell in any corner of the Library’s collections.

To join | Check-in will begin 20 minutes before the event begins at the Information Desk in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building Visitor Center located on the first floor. Please arrive at least 10 minutes before the stated event time. The event will begin promptly as scheduled; we are unable to accommodate any ticket holders who arrive past the stated start time.

Due to limited capacity, please reserve tickets for only one event. Standby tickets will not be available for this event.

ABOUT MONICA BILL BARNES & COMPANY

Monica Bill Barnes & Company was founded in 1997 as a New York based dance company. The company began with a suitcase of costumes and a collection of solos that could be performed anywhere. Since its founding, Barnes has worked with many artists and performers, including long time collaborators/designers Jane Cox and Kelly Hanson and performer Anna Bass in developing relatable work with a subversive sense of humor. Since 2013, MBB&CO has been co-led by Monica in partnership with Robbie Saenz de Viteri where the mission evolved to “bringing dance where it doesn’t belong.”

Together, Monica and Robbie make performances that combine their shared interest in the underlying comedy at work in our lives and make shows that hope to find something sacred in the mundane. They cross genres between dance, theater, storytelling, creative nonfiction, feminist treatises, and comedy. Their work has traveled to a wide range of theaters ranging from off-Broadway's WP Theater to The Sydney Opera House, and many in between. They've also created performances in malls, conference rooms, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and interactive websites. They redefine what constitutes performance in every show, while maintaining the audience's experience as the center of everything they create. Their work has been honored by the Bessie Awards, the Lilly Awards, and the Chita Rivera Awards, as well as numerous foundations.

Don't have a New York Public Library card? Get one here!

If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or suspect you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, please stay home.

ACCESSIBILITY

Please note that each performance involves moving and stopping for an hour. All stops are wheelchair accessible public service units of the Library. All levels of the building are accessible by an elevator at the north end of the building. A ramp entrance to the building is located at the 42nd Street entrance.

CONNECT

For questions and inquiries, please email publicprograms@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

Please submit press inquiries at least 48 hours before the event: email press@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

The New York Public Library's free services and resources are made possible thanks to the support of the Friends of the Library. Join this group of Library lovers and take advantage of special membership benefits, like invitations to members-only virtual events, discounts at the Library Shop, and more. Join now.

LIVE from NYPL is made possible by the continuing generosity of Celeste Bartos, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Public Education Endowment Fund, and the support of Library patrons and friends.

Additional support for Lunch Dances is provided by Morwin Schmookler.