DON’T MISS!: KIDS ON THE COURT
Barclays Center will be showcasing giants on the hardwood. But starting tomorrow — and at all weekend home games — it will also welcome people of the shorter variety to rock the arena: the Brooklyn Nets Kids’ brand-new dance team.
The 17-member squad (whittled down from more than 400 hopefuls) is coached by superstar Tanisha Scott — who has worked with Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and Rihanna — and will perform hip-hop-inspired dances complete with tumbling and break dancing.
Ranging in age from 7 to 13 and hailing from all five boroughs plus New Jersey and Long Island, the boys and girls will show off their steps.
“They’re excited to perform for the fans and the celebrities in attendance, and of course Jay-Z and Beyoncé,” says Kimberlee Garris, the Nets entertainment marketing director.
The group includes Tymell Hubbard, 9, of Long Island, who made it onto the squad following his first-ever professional dance audition.
“When he got the call that he made the team, he was jumping up and down,” says Michelle Thorne, his mom.
And it won’t just be the team’s hip-hop moves that will dazzle. Their uniforms, provided by Cookie’s department store in Brooklyn, have been souped up by celeb costume designer David Dalrymple for maximum glitz and glam.
The pint-size entertainers are also bringing home the bacon: While the Nets decline to say how much, Garris says the performers are paid for rehearsals, performances and appearances in the community.
But tykes like Tymell would probably do it for free. “He can’t wait to perform,” adds his mother. “And he’s also excited about the opportunity to see the basketball games up close!”
—Kirsten Fleming
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PITCH IN!: STORM TROOPERS
Due to the outpouring of concern after Hurricane Sandy, the NYC Parks Department has set up a program this weekend for New Yorkers to help their brethren.
Opportunities are available at 12 parks and playgrounds across The Bronx, Manhattan and Queens for cleanup work. Locations were determined by the amount of damage. Shifts are available between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. today through Sunday (certain locations are only open to volunteers today and tomorrow).
But for those who show up this weekend with rolled-up sleeves and a can-do attitude, take note: “We’re grateful to live in a city where so many people are anxious to help,” says parks spokeswoman Vickie Karp, “but it’s very important that you first register.” Volunteers should be at least 12 years old. Info: nyc.gov/html/nycservice
— Doree Lewak
Alamy
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SEE THIS!: DON’T CAST THIS AWAY
Tom Hanks received his sixth and most recent Best Actor Oscar nomination for his tour de force in “Cast Away’’ (2000), masterfully directed by his “Forrest Gump’’ helmer, Robert Zemeckis (Hanks won for that one, as well as “Philadelphia’’). Hanks plays a FedEx executive stranded on a remote Pacific island after a plane crash, and his “conversations” with a volleyball he calls Wilson are a highlight of this underrated movie, which is having a rare screening Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Museum of the Moving Image, 35th Avenue and 37th Street, Astoria, Queens. Info: movingimage.us
— Lou Lumenick
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GO HERE!: SATELLITE BALLER SOARS
The best way to make new ballet is with a little help from your friends. New York City Ballet corps member Troy Schumacher moonlights as a choreographer for Satellite Ballet, performing tonight at John Jay College — and seven talented colleagues will join him. Two works are on the bill: “Warehouse Under the Hudson” and “Epistasis.”
The little company got off to a serendipitous start: Two years ago, architect Kevin Draper moved in across the hall from Schumacher. He was just starting to choreograph; Draper had always wanted to work in ballet.
Yet it isn’t just their playground. The group is a collective of dancers, artists and musicians; everyone has input. The haunting music and Lora Robertson’s richly hued photos were hits in last year’s show. Schumacher’s expressive, innocent choreography gives a nod to Jerome Robbins. “But it’s not dance with projections and music,” Schumacher explains. “Each is inseparable.”
Satellite Ballet performs tonight at 8, Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 524 W. 59th St. Info: satelliteballet.org
— Leigh Witchel
Lora Robertson
