Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Avenue (between St. Felix Street and Ashland Place)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718-636-4100
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is America's oldest performing arts
center. Since opening in 1861, it has presented the finest in traditional
and contemporary performing arts. Today BAM's mission is twofold: to present
artists of international stature who have a cutting-edge artistic vision;
and to serve Brooklyn's ethnically diverse population. BAM accomplishes
these goals through numerous innovative offerings.
The Next Wave Festival, BAM's fall flagship event, focuses on artists probing
new and emerging areas of the performing arts. Since beginning in 1983,
it has been the nation's showcase for contemporary performing arts. Performers
have ranged from emerging artists to established legends and have included
Robert Wilson, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Philip
Glass, Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wupertal and many others.
BAM Opera started in 1989 to promote innovation in opera and musical theater.
Notable productions have included "Nixon in China" and "The
Death of Klinghoffer," both collaborations by composer John Adams,
director Peter Sellars and choreographer Mark Morris; and Lully's "Atys,"
performed by the Paris ensemble Les Arts Florissants.
Each spring DanceAfrica, a week-long celebration of African-American dance,
music and culture, features companies such as the African Heritage Drummers
and Dancers, Chuck Davis Dance Company and the Dinizulu African Dancers,
Drummers and Singers. BAM also features the popular "Performing Arts
Program for Young People" and regular concerts by the Brooklyn Philharmonic
Orchestra.
Many renowned performers have appeared at BAM since its opening, including
Isadora Duncan, Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt and Arturo Toscanini. In
its early years BAM was also an important lecture site, bringing in Booker
T. Washington, Mark Twain and Henry Stanley, with his account of the discovery
of Dr. Livingston, among others. Today its programs fill four performance
spaces: the Opera House, the Carey Playhouse, Lepercq Space and the nearby
Majestic Theater, an unusual converted movie house located at 651 Fulton
Street.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Hours: Box Office: Monday-Friday 10 am-5:30 pm; no performances July-September
Admission: Various ticket prices; discounts for seniors, youths (21 and
under), group sales and TDF
Giftshop Open during performances: CDs, programs, BAM T-shirts, mugs, etc.
Food Service Simple fare, sandwiches and snacks offered during performances
Disability Access: Fully accessible
Directions: Subway: B, Q, N, R or M to Dekalb Avenue; A or C to Lafayette
Avenue; G to Fulton Street; 2, 3, 4, 5, D, Q or M to Atlantic Avenue; B,
Nor R to Pacific Street; Bus: B25, B52 to Fulton Street and Fort Green Place;
B26 to Fulton Street and Ashland Place; B45 to Flatbush Avenue and Livingston
Street; B38 to Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue; B41 to
Flatbush Avenue and Lafayette Avenue; B37 to Third Avenue and Schermerhorn
Street;
BAM Bus for Opera House and Majestic Theater events only: leaves for BAM
from East 51st Street and Lexington Avenue (Manhattan); after performance
BAM Bus makes return stops in Greenwich Village, Midtown, Upper East and
Upper West Sides, to 86th Street ($4 one way)
Parking: On-site lot, across Lafayette Avenue
Landmark Status: National Register of Historic Places, New York City Landmark
City-owned, privately operated