Dance

Count Down To Thanksgiving: Macy’s Newest Floats

Published

11 months ago

November 8, 2022

In 16 days we gather, we gorge, we are entertained by parades and football.

This year there are 28 floats in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, five of them are new. The five new floats that will their debut are Baby Shark by Pinkfong and Nickelodeon, Geoffrey’s Dazzling Dance Party by Toys”R”Us, People of First Light by Macy’s, Supersized Slumber by Netflix and The Wondership by Wonder.

Baby Shark by Pinkfong and Nickelodeon is a 18-foot-long float will feature Ziggy Marley and an underwater seascape that includes members of the Shark family, as well as starfish and various species of anemone. Following behind the float on Parade day will be a larger-than-life 25-foot-long Baby Shark balloon that will soar down the streets of New York City with approximately 100-lbs of upward lift.

Baby Shark is the newest addition to Nickelodeon’s roster of iconic franchises featured in the annual extravaganza, including the return of the Blues ClueAs & You! float and SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol (produced by Spin Master Entertainment) and The Smurfs balloons.

Geoffrey’s Dazzling Dance Party will feature Jordin Sparks and a host of toys dancing the night away, including a T-Rex, a panda, a unicorn and a toy boombox all sporting cool sunglasses, with Geoffrey the Giraffe himself as the DJ at the top of the float.

A new float called the People of First Light will make its debut acknowledging traditional rattle song and a blessing honoring people of Native American tribes historically based in the Northeast. “Creator and Ancestors, we honor you for all things. We honor the Lenape people of Manahatta. We honor all our relations because, long ago, we were here. Now we are here and we will always be here. And so it is.”

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, also known as the People of the First Light, has inhabited present-day Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island for more than 12,000 years.

Supersized Slumber by Netflix will feature Ballet Hispánico. It’s a bird, it’s a plane … it’s a giant walking bed, coming to life from Netflix’s new adventure film “Slumberland.” This new float teases many fantastical elements of hero Nemo’s dream-fueled adventures, including a bed that comes alive and towers over the city, and appearances from an outlaw — the legendary Flip — and her good friend, Pig.

Fun fact: The supersized bed can quickly strut through the city with a stride length of 35 feet.

The Wondership: Just like Wonder bread, the Wondership is lighter than air, Macy’s says, and will float into the Big Apple for the very first time featuring the brand’s iconic red, yellow and blue balloons and powered by confetti. The Wondership aims to fuel adventure and joy, inspiring everyone to keep looking up, because “you never know what wonders you might see.”

Fun fact: As The Wondership heads down the parade route, more than 900 “foam” slices of Wonder bread will rise into the sky for parade-goes to see along the way.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will air nationwide on NBC and stream on Peacock, on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022, from 9 a.m.-Noon, in all time zones.

Some of the returning floats this year include “Birds of a Feather Stream Together” by Peacock, “1-2-3 Sesame Street” by Sesame Workshop — and of course, Santa’s Sleigh! (Did you know that Santa’s Sleigh is the largest float in the parade? It stands 3.5 stories tall and 60 feet long!)

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Suzanna Bowling

Suzanna, co-owns and publishes the newspaper Times Square Chronicles or T2C. At one point a working actress, she has performed in numerous productions in film, TV, cabaret, opera and theatre. She has performed at The New Orleans Jazz festival, The United Nations and Carnegie Hall. She has a screenplay and a TV show in the works, which she developed with her mentor and friend the late Arthur Herzog. She is a proud member of the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle and was a nominator. Email: suzanna@t2conline.com

Dance

Company XIV’s Seven Sins Is Back

Published

2 weeks ago

September 5, 2023

Suzanna Bowling

There is even more temptation as Company XIV’s popular Seven Sins, announces their Fall schedule of performances, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays starting September 7. The final shows will be on Saturday, October 28 and Tuesday, October 31 ushering in grand Halloween festivities with a party to end parties!

Under the masterful hand of creator and director Austin McCormick, the cast is headed by pop star LEXXE and includes Robyn Adele Anderson, Donna Carnow, Chrissy Carpenter, Lola Carter, Erin Dillon, Alisa Mae, Alex Frankel, Hannah Gill, Syrena, Meg Iwama, Nicholas Katen, Brandon Looney, Nolan, Clairisa Patton, Scott Schneider, Chanel Stone, Marcos Antonio Vasquez. The creative team includes McCormick (Creator, Director, and Choreographer), Zane Pihlstrȍm (Costume and Scenic Design), LEXXE (Original Music), Sarah Cimino (Makeup Design), Brian Tovar (Lighting Design), Julian Evans (Sound Design) and Bryan Gonzales (Wig Design).

Join as Adam and Eve and prepare to take a bite out of your apple while watching this mystical dreamscape inspired by the fall of man and the seven deadly sins. Baroque burlesque beauties, lush design and inspired cocktails await you in one of the company’s most lavish and glittering productions to date.

“We have big plans for Théâtre XIV next year,” teases McCormick, “so this may be the last opportunity to plumb the depths of hell with us at Seven Sins for a while. “ Seven Sins incorporates everything you would want in a decadent evening of evening of awe, merriment, fun and sin! Are you ready to repent?

Single tickets prices are from $95.00 to $225.00. Théâtre XIV by Company XIV is located at 383 Troutman Street, Brooklyn, NY (Bushwick), an easy and quick trip from Manhattan on the L Train to Jefferson Street station. For information and tickets go to www.companyxiv.com

Founded in 2006 by classically trained, nightlife impresario Austin McCormick, Company XIV produces the most spectacular burlesque performances in New York City. High and lowbrow entertainment intermix with lavish design to deliver sensual, decadent extravaganzas inspired by the court of Louis XIV. With concurrent productions of Cocktail Magique—a variety show of intoxicating illusions at a luxurious new venue around the corner from Théâtre XIV— and Seven Sins, there has never been more glitter on offer in Bushwick!

Art

Events For September

Published

4 weeks ago

August 26, 2023

Suzanna Bowling

Hot time summer in the city. What is cool and what is happening is what this column is about. Get ready Labor Day starts the fall season. The US Open continues, it is the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The Feast of San Gennaro, the Curtain Up Broadway Festival continues in the Theatre District!, The Armory Show, New York Fashion Week and lots of art make NYC an exciting place to be.

Until 9/3: Shakespeare in the Park The Tempest at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

Until 9/10: The US Open.

Until 9/15 The Malibu Barbie Café, at 19 Fulton Street at the South Street Seaport. Each reservation includes your choice of entree and side item, full access to the Barbie Cafe experience and a 90-minute table reservation. Early bird pricing ranges from $22-$30 for kids and $39-$49 for adults depending on the date and time. You can buy additional drinks, dessert and food.

Until 10/3 Earth Poetica, for free in the lobby of 3 World Trade Center.

9/1: Bryant Park Picnic Performances Langston in Harlem 7pm

9/ 2 – 4 and 9/9 – 10: Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit is in Greenwich Village. The exhibit features a wide range of artwork from local and international artists, including paintings, sculptures, photography, and more.

Photo credit: aLIVE Coverage for ElectricZooFestival.com CloseSave

9/1 – 3: Electric Zoo or EDM Festival. Held at Randall’s Island Park. The festival has become an unmissable attraction on the electronic-dance-music circuit, featuring a wide range of artists both top name and underground.

9/4: West Indian Day Parade in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

9/2 – 3: The Hester Street Fair at the Seaport at Pier 17 (89 South Street). This outdoor market features handmade jewelry, candles, vintage clothing, and more.

9/ 7 – 13: New York Fashion Week

9/7: Bryant Park Picnic Performances American Symphony Orchestra with Leon Botstein.

The Armory Show

9/8 – 10: The Armory Show annual art show that showcases contemporary and modern art.At The Jarvis Center. The exhibition features more than 270 galleries from all over the world.

9/8: Bryant Park Picnic Performances Romeo and Juliet 7pm

9/9: Bryant Park Picnic Performances Gaye Su Akyol (U.S. debut) 7pm

9/8 – 10: PHOTOFAIRS NEW YORK is all about contemporary art, mainly photo-based and digital artworks. This year, exhibitors from more than 20 cities around the world will present their art.

9/9: At 10am the Labor Day Parade. It steps off from Fifth Avenue and 44th Street.

Tribute in lights illuminate downtown in New York, NY on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016. Photo by Jin Lee, 9/11 Memorial

9/11: A Tribute in Lights. This marks the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Expect events, vigils, memorials, and tribute runs as well.

9/14: Bryant Park Picnic Performances 40th Anniversary Celebration of Harlem Stage 7pm

9/14: Celebrate Dinner in White/Le Dîner en Blanc. The exact location and date will only be announced shortly before the start.

9/14 – 17: Broadway Week. Discounted Broadway tickets means for every ticket you purchase, you get another one for FREE!

9/14: New York City’s largest festival of cuisine, culture and community is back for the third time! Uptown Night Market will take place in West Harlem.

Unique and tasty foods from around the globe are offered by numerous food vendors. This festival is a MUST for all food lovers!

The Feast of San Gennaro

9/14 – 24: The Feast of San Gennaro, held in Little Italy. Parades, live music and food, glorious food.

9/16: Annual German-American Steuben Parade Fifth Avenue to 86th Street.

9/17: Smithsonian Museum Day. Museum Day is a one-day event in which participating museums and cultural institutions across the country provide free entry to anyone presenting a Museum Day ticket. Participants are allowed to download one ticket per email address. The ticket provides free general admission on Saturday, September 17, 2022, for two people.

9/30: Morningside Lights awe-inspiring handmade lanterns. This year’s event, is titled “The Open Book,” with more than 50 community-built lanterns depicting great books. The route begins in Morningside Park at 116th Street and Morningside Avenue at 8pm, arriving on Columbia University campus around 8:45pm.

Dance

Artists Announced For PAC NYC Grand Opening

Published

1 month ago

August 12, 2023

Suzanna Bowling

Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) Executive Director Khady Kamaraand Artistic Director Bill Rauch announced today additional opening events and performances to celebrate the September 19 grand opening of the new performing arts center at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.

Opening this fall is “Metropolis by Marcus Samuelsson,” a contemporary American restaurant at the core of this new cultural anchor of Lower Manhattan. Designed by Rockwell Group, Metropolis will offer a warm and welcoming dining and lounge experience, including a bar and outdoor terrace, throughout PAC NYC’s lobby level. The menu draws inspiration from the diversity of the five boroughs defined by generations of immigrants and honors the convergence of cultures throughout the great city of New York.

The PAC NYC opening will also include three free events for the community: Open House: Arts Community Day(Sept. 27), Open House: Neighborhood Day (Sept. 28) and Open House: Five Borough Family Day (Sept. 30).

Expanding on PAC NYC’s music program, a new series, Downtown Sessions, will present intimate concerts with Tony Award winning artists LaChanze (Oct 1), Ben Platt (Oct 7) and the previously announced Brian Stokes Mitchell (Oct. 5). Citicard members and PAC NYC members will have early access to tickets.

PAC NYC’s inaugural artistic season will begin with Refuge: A Concert Series to Welcome the World (Sept. 19-23), a five-evening, Pay-What-You-Wish event featuring a vibrant mix of acclaimed musicians from around the globe curated around the theme of refuge. Global star José Feliciano and Armo (both Sept 23) have recently joined the concert series that features artists such as Common, Laurie Anderson, Michelle Zauner, Shoshana Bean, Angélique Kidjo, Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and many more.

On September 13, 2023, PAC NYC will inaugurate the building during a ribbon cutting and civic dedication ceremony with Mike Bloomberg, chair of the Perelman Performing Arts Center board of directors, PAC NYC leadership, elected officials, artists and other invited guests.

Family & Lobby Programming

Additional programming, including family performances, programming collaborations and free performances in the lobby on the Vartan and Clare Gregorian Stage, will be announced in the coming months.

Tickets & PAC NYC Individual Memberships

PAC NYC tickets beginning at $39 and memberships starting at $10 are available now at PACNYC.org or by calling 212.266.3000. For more information or to learn how to support PAC NYC, visit PACNYC.org.

Starting July 25, PAC NYC members and Citi cardmembers can purchase tickets to the Downtown Sessions concerts with LaChanze and Ben Platt, through an exclusive presale. Tickets go on sale to the general public on July 28.

All performances are located at PAC NYC at 251 Fulton Street.

The public can sign up for important updates from PAC NYC at PACNYC.org/sign-up.

Citi is the official card and a proud sponsor of PAC NYC.

PAC NYC is grateful for the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies

Accessibility

PAC NYC is committed to providing an enjoyable and inclusive experience for all patrons and ensuring that all audiences have access to our programs and performances. PAC NYC meets or exceeds the standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA Entrance at PAC NYC is sponsored by Citi. For more information on accessibility, please visit PACNYC.org/accessibility.

PAC NYC

PAC NYC is a dynamic new home for the arts, serving audiences and the creative sector through flexible venues enabling the facility to embrace wide-ranging artistic programs. The inaugural year will feature commissions, world premieres, co-productions, and collaborative work across theater, dance, music, opera, film and more. The vision for PAC NYC began when then Mayor Mike Bloomberg and his team worked to ensure the plan for rebuilding the World Trade Center site included a performing arts center.

Named for businessman, philanthropist and benefactor Ronald O. Perelman, the Perelman Performing Arts Center is a 138-foot-tall, cube-shaped building with radically flexible capabilities designed by the architecture firm REX, led by founding principal Joshua Ramus. REX’s design, created in collaboration with executive architect Davis Brody Bond, theater consultant Charcoalblue and acoustician Threshold Acoustics, is conceived for an artistic program that will have vast and varied needs to serve New York’s extraordinarily diverse arts community. The building is wrapped in nearly 5,000 half-inch thick marble tiles which have been book matched to create a symmetrical pattern, that is identical on all four sides of the building. The marble façade allows light to radiate in during the day and glow out during the evening. David Rockwell and his architecture and design firm Rockwell Group designed the interior of the lobby and restaurant with a dynamic, glowing ceiling visible from the street to create an inviting entry experience. The lobby’s restaurant, Metropolis by Marcus Samuelsson, along with the bar and outdoor terrace, offers a new gathering space for the Lower Manhattan community.

www.PACNYC.org

Dance

The 42nd Annual Battery Dance Festival

Published

2 months ago

August 4, 2023

Suzanna Bowling

Battery Dance celebrates the 42^nd Anniversary of its free summer festival from August 12-18, 2023, in partnership with Battery Park City Authority. The 42^nd Annual Battery Dance Festival will feature in-person and live-streamed performances staged each night at Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City, New York City at 7PM ET, with a rain date on 8/19. Reaching both local and international audiences, the Festival promotes Battery Dance’s mission of connecting the world through dance. For more information, visit batterydance.org/battery-dance-festival/.

Battery Dance Festival, New York City’s longest-running free public dance festival, was established by Battery Dance as the Downtown Dance Festival in 1982. Pre-pandemic, it drew audiences of approximately 2,000 people each night in its iconic setting at Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park. The Festival went virtual in 2020, attracting 30,000 viewers across 206 countries. In 2021, it ran as a hybrid model with over 10,000 in-person and over 21,000 virtual audience members. This year, the Festival welcomes in-person and live-streamed audiences from a new location at Rockefeller Park.

“When Super Storm Sandy flooded lower Manhattan, Battery Park City Authority reached out a helping hand, providing a beautiful site for the Battery Dance Festival which we’ve all enjoyed every summer since 2013. With the prospect of rising seas in future, BPCA is enacting a pro-active resiliency plan, lifting Wagner Park up to 12 feet, making it inaccessible this summer. But fear not! BPCA has invited us to move to Rockefeller Park this summer where we’ll benefit from the large lawn and river-front views, as we bask in the glow of performances by local and international companies.” – Jonathan Hollander, Founder and Artistic Director of Battery Dance

August 12, 2023 at Rockefeller Park

Young Voices in Dance

The Bowery Mission (NYC)

This summer, Battery Dance is partnering with the youth program of The Bowery Mission, which empowers children from low-income neighborhoods to thrive and succeed. A special Dancing to Connect will serve 15 middle-school girls from East Harlem and The Bronx. Working in our studios with teaching artist and former company dancer Robin Cantrell, they will collaborate to create their own dance work — then perform it onstage in the park during the Festival’s Aug. 12 “Young Voices in Dance” program.

Marley Poku-Kankam (NYC), All Four

“This piece was originally created for a composition concert in my last year of college with the Fordham/Ailey BFA Program. It is significant because it tells the story of my brothers and me. I have three brothers and our bond is unbreakable. This piece reflects on my unique relationship with each brother and how I see them. My goal with every person that experiences this work is for them to think back on their own family (related by blood or not) and savor every moment with them.” -Marley Poku-Kankam

Aliyah Banerjee & Shashank Iswara (TX), Taraana, NYC Premiere

Taraana, a Kathak-Bharatanatyam collaboration, explores acceptance and coexistence. The duet presents two ancient Indian classical styles with rigid frameworks, conveying how open-mindedly embracing the other form leads to harmony onstage, without compromise of technical purity. Using the style of “jugalbandi” (interaction between the two dancers), the work portrays its broader theme: how welcoming different identities, while preserving tradition, can create a culturally rich, conflict-free society.

Dareon Blowe (VA), How Do Five Parts Construct a Whole?, NYC Premiere

“My inspiration stemmed from the questions that we ask ourselves to facilitate growth and confront our trauma. We discussed as a group the meaning of existence, our place in society, and accepting that we have no control. We go through a journey of self-security that battles facades of ego and bravado. The dancers take us through a wave of development as a person. These are five separate entities that can also be seen as a collective. It’s about my process to self-realization, and becoming who I’ve always wanted to be, regardless of my past.” -Dareon Blowe

Mateo Vidals (NYC), There is Always Something Happening

This piece encapsulates the experience of chaos in our everyday lives. Something is always happening; how do we deal with it? We can either stand alone and give into the inevitable weight of life or smile in the face of demands and stand together. At pivotal moments in life, we are left with these two options. Through this work we discover a lighthearted yet profound series of connections, perseverance and humor as we navigate our existence.

Luke Biddinger (PA), La Vie En Rose, World Premiere

“This is my liberation. With music by my idol, Grace Jones, I was able to make something that can show the feelings that represent my life up until this moment. It’s a sort of autobiography: the story of my life in love. So I truthfully only made this for me, to find an understanding of my broken heart. It has no specific visual intention, just my juvenile instinct. So while it may be an ignorant and selfish display of my joys and sorrows, try and see your life in mine, as I am simply wearing my heart on my sleeve.” -Luke Biddinger

Cameron Kay (NYC), Interface, NYC Premiere

Cameron Kay’s most recent work Interface explores the dynamics of different energies—corporeal and conceptual—and how they interact in space. Featuring an original score composed in collaboration with Farai Malianga, Interface emphasizes how individual voices can shift space. The work visually embodies how the dancers’ bodies serve as vessels for potential and kinetic energy, how entities magnetize and repel and react to one another. The dancers play with the extremes of time, mass, and space, manipulating the bounds of forces and energy.

Samanvita Kasthuri (MO), Krtaghna, NYC Premiere

Krtaghna is an Indian-classical fusion piece that reflects on environmentalism. Krtaghna follows the story of Mother Earth caring for man and growing him with love, only for man to grow and exploit the five elements of the Earth. Mother Earth, battered and broken, has no choice but to destroy the Earth. This dance is a cautious warning to humans, urging people to be grateful to the Earth. Krtaghna utilizes traditional Indian classical elements of dance with a Western sound in its music, as well as the usage of English words and quotes.

Micah Sell (NYC), Outline, World Premiere

This work explores the literal and figurative architecture between two human beings. How do we relate to or reject the commonality between our innate structures? How do we as human beings explore one another’s outlines, shadows, patterns and textures? What happens when two human beings with the same questions encounter one another? This piece researches the process of questioning and discovery.

Queensborough Community College (NYC), Discovering, World Premiere

This work was developed as part of Battery Dance’s Dancing to Connect Teacher training program in collaboration with Queensborough Community College, under the mentorship of Aviva Geismar of QCC and Clement Mensah of Battery Dance.

Willem Sadler (Canada), Soullessly Flying, World Premiere

What happens when we leave a zone of comfort? Do we break, or do we grow? What happens when we stay within comfort? Do we refine knowledge, or become dull from repeating information? An artist’s job is to always find comfort in new spaces, to enhance their mind and their artistry. However, becoming too comfortable can poison your appetite to grow. Patterns help us learn yet we must abandon them. The best way to move forward is to break the pattern. Otherwise, the pattern begins to rot.

Tulia Marshall (NY), A fraction of a true self

“A fraction of a true self” poses the question of what would happen if all versions of yourself: past, present, future, good, bad, selfish, compliant, greedy, jealous, etc were to coexist? Would there be chaos? Would there be acceptance? This work is a physical manifestation of an exaggerated identity crisis and what it is to deal with imposter syndrome.

Joanne Hwang (NYC), Static State of Perfection

Utopias will never happen, as humans are inevitability flawed by nature. Utopia has an inherent contradictory nature, and with the conquest of this idealized perfect reality, a paradox emerges: that utopia cannot exist without dystopia.

August 13, 2023 at Rockefeller Park

Battery Dance (NYC), A Certain Mood

“A Certain Mood” is inspired by the Hans Hofmann painting of the same name. Hofmann’s use of space and color gave me a feeling of darkness moving into light. As a painter, I often transpose the movement of the brushstroke into my choreography. I wanted to capture the vibrant quality of Hofmann’s work by showcasing the athletic movements of the dancers and embody the energy of the painting. -Tsai Hsi Hung

Reuel Rogers (Curaçao), Power, World Premiere

A solo dance work that explores the power to make things happen which exists within each one of us, the concept of making and achieving goals, and a celebration of the power of nature: the wind we cannot see, but feel, and the waves we can touch, but cannot hold. Sponsorship provided by Dutch Culture USA.

Keturah Stephen (NYC), A Yearning Desire, NYC Premiere

This piece was created to highlight different stages and moments in the choreographer’s life in an effort to show moments of isolation and also moments of community and the importance of relationships that we often long for. In the end, we are met with a sense of surrender, because we finally let go of what we are searching for and learn to accept who is in front of us.

Circumstances (Netherlands/Belgium), ON POINT, U.S. debut

ON POINT (2021) is a wordless, site-specific circus and dance performance full of humor. Two men on the edge try to keep their balance between, above, below, on and against each other. Falling is not an option. What starts as a game develops into a common challenge. Every step, touch, shift must be precise. Sponsorship provided by Dutch Culture USA and Fonds Podiumkunsten / Performing Arts Fund NL.

Nu-World Contemporary Danse Theatre (NYC), The Called and The Chosen, NYC Premiere

The Called and The Chosen is a contemporary look at an ancient tradition as a tribe gathers for a young member’s rite of passage ceremony. Within this ceremony, the elders and ancestors guide her as they pass the mantle through prayers in a generational blessing. The work’s title refers to how Black people use faith, the Church, and each other as a place of refuge and sanctuary.

Trainor Dance Inc. (NYC), Courante

Is Courante a dance for angels, animals, or the possessed? Performed by a cast of seven from Trainor Dance, this exhilarating piece is a romp into the wilderness of the heart via pulsing, soaring, and careening bodies. Set to Caroline Shaw’s Pulitzer Prize winning composition, Courante will leave you twitching in your seat, ready to try some moves in your own body.

IMGE Dance (NYC), (no)man

(no)man is a dance rollercoaster traveling through ideas of home and identity while juxtaposing cross cultural movement as a reflection of power & privilege. Weaving together their signature fusion movement, rhythmic footwork and world music, IMGE questions who is included and excluded in this borrowed space and time.

August 14, 2023 at Rockefeller Park

SOLE Defined (DC), SOLE Defined LIVE, NYC Premiere

SOLE Defined LIVE is an immersive performance exploration of music and movement rooted in ancestral memory, embodied storytelling, and African Diasporic Percussive Dance. SOLE Defined LIVE performers use the body as an instrument, creating a sonic and kinesthetic symphony by synthesizing Tap, Stepping, Body Percussion, Sand Dance, Gumboot, and audience participation, interwoven with original arrangements by Tamar Greene (Hamilton), Ryan K. Johnson (STOMP), Raina William, and Patrick O’Neal.

Teatr Nowszy (Poland), Close (Excerpt), U.S. debut

The closeness of another person has a huge impact on our lives. Getting too close can be a sign of aggression, and too far can be a sign of coldness and lack of concern. That said, we never remain indifferent to the closeness of another person, no matter what. Close is a search for different qualities of closeness that are shaped by individual needs, and also a glimpse of that specific moment when we get closer to someone. Sponsorship provided by the National Institute of Music and Dance as part of the “PolandDances / Tournée” program and co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Erv Works Dance (NYC), Veiled From the Womb

Veiled from the Womb explores memories of erasure. The grandson of an African American grandfather and Puerto Rican and White grandmother, Will’s aunts, mothers and siblings were not allowed to learn Spanish or the cultural heritage of his grandmother. The piece explores brief glimpses of that culture and its suppression as well as what it may have been like were he to have been exposed.

Jiemin Yang (NYC), Here We Root (Excerpt)

Here We Root is an original contemporary dance inspired by Asian immigrants’ stories, focusing on the Chinese diaspora in Flushing, New York. It invites audiences to experience, reflect on, and celebrate Asian immigrant identities and experiences. The piece combines movement with text, theatre, and an original score.

Teodora Velescu and Lari Giorgescu (Romania), Special People, U.S. debut

The dance performance “Special People” invites the audience to become aware of contemporary people’s exacerbated self-centered nature. The word “special” ironically describes individuals who picture themselves as superior to everybody else because they happen to be richer yet who rely on external, trivial props, and not on their inherent worth, to draw attention to themselves and claim their position on the social ladder. The performance is structured in five sequences based on an original vocabulary of movement to portray how the consuming desire for material goods impact one’s body and attitude; the fabulous costumes made by the designer and scenographer Corina Boboc and the original soundtrack complement the expressive choreography to create a vivid picture of the absurdity of a purely materialistic life. This performance is a co-production of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, UNATC & unteatru Theatre.

Circumstances (Netherlands/Belgium), ON POINT, U.S. debut

Fanike! African Dance Troupe (NYC), UPLIFTED!

UPLIFTED! represents humanity’s eternal desire for healing, strength and to be uplifted through the journey of life. UPLIFTED! shares the stories of people as they pull on their ancient history and culture to request, gather and then release their healing back into the universe.

August 15, 2023 at Rockefeller Park

India Independence Day

Rudrakshya Foundation (India), Kali Krishna, NYC debut

Rudrakshya Foundation, an all-male professional troupe and school founded in 2000 by choreographer Guru Sri Bichitrananda Swain, hails from Bhubaneswar, capital of the eastern coastal Indian State of Odisha. The ancient classical dance form of Odissi to which Rudrakshya is dedicated, is depicted in the carvings of ancient Hindu temple friezes in Puri, Bhubaneswar, Konark and Cuttack. Guru Bichitrananda received training from the pre-eminent guru of Odissi, Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra and his leading disciple Sujata Panigrahi.and passes on his learnings and his choreographic creations to young men in the traditional form of teacher and students living and learning together. Rudrakshya has been presented in festivals and theaters throughout India and on tour in Europe, Asia and North America. This is the troupe’s first appearance in New York City and celebrates Indian Independence Day, with sponsorship from the Consulate General of India in New York and State Bank of India – New York.

Durgesh Gangani (India), The Legacy

Durgesh will be performing works of his grandfather Pt. Sundarlal Gangani, who was a legendary Kathak Guru with a global impact and pioneering personality who brought Kathak to the Indian university education system in the year 1951.

Amarnath Ghosh (India), Maragatha Manimaya

This piece is what is known as a Tarangam in Kuchipudi which is where the dancer performs intricate rhythmic patterns while balancing on the edge of a brass plate. This piece describes the glory and splendour of Lord Krishna.

August 16, 2023 at Rockefeller Park

Julian Donahue Dance (NYC), Displacement

An intimate duet exploring gesture as it relates to two femme presenting bodies.

Citadel + Compagnie (Canada), Soudain l’hiver dernier

Originally created for Montréal Danse in 1987 by James Kudelka, this dance for two men explores variations on the theme of not failing someone, as lifting or supporting a body always implies some kind of trust. Here it is a bedrock of faith. Sponsorship provided by the Consulate General of Canada in New York.

Tabanka Dance Ensemble (Norway), Progress, U.S. debut

The final section of an evening-length work, Limbo Where Stereotypes go to Die, Progress is a physical push and invocation towards a “making of space” for the unpoliced Black body and its autonomy and agency in Norway. Sponsorship provided by The Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York.

Teatr Nowszy (Poland), Close (Excerpt), U.S. debut

Teodora Velescu and Lari Giorgescu (Romania), Special People, U.S. debut

Jerron Herman (NYC), Lax, World Premiere

Lax is a punk concert in a sleep store, at least in the mind of the performer. It’s an observation on how getting rest is athletic and energetic, through a disabled lens. Lax was commissioned by the Stephen Petronio Company for the 2023 Bloodlines (future) Program, made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Carolyn Dorfman Dance (NJ), NOW, NYC Premiere

The dance for eleven virtuosic dancers was created by renaissance artist and nationally renowned dancer/choreographer Juel D. Lane (a former Carolyn Dorfman Dance company member currently dancing with award-winning choreographer and director Camille A. Brown). NOW showcases Juel’s signature fast-paced, heart-stopping choreography in a defiant journey of thriving and creating despite the fearful and difficult time in which we continue to find ourselves.

Dancers Unlimited (Hawaii/NYC), Edible Tales (Excerpts) Soul Food & Kanaloa, NYC Premiere

The work explores cultural heritage, social justice and sustainability, using food topics. Kanaloa is the vast depths of the unconscious, the primordial connection we have to all life on earth and each other, and the origin of all fresh water. Kanaloa is the natural process of the ocean, the waves, the salt water, the currents, and all living things inside of the ocean. The ocean is the highway by which not only humans migrate across geographic areas, but our food as well. The work is a contemporary dance celebration of our origins, our migrations, the foods we bring with us. Soul Food is a process of remembering, digging deep into the ancestral memories through percussion and dance steps to connect with ourselves, our ancestors, and heal from the trauma placed on generations of African American bodies.

August 17, 2023 at Rockefeller Park

Tribute to Turn of the 20th Century American Modern Dance Pioneers

Dances by Isadora (NYC), Isadora Duncan: Under a New Sky

A selection of works by Duncan from 1905-1923. Grand Marche was created c.1914 during Isadora’s year at Bellevue following the tragic deaths of her children in 1913. Originally set to the music of Franz Schubert, it has been reimagined here to music of African American composer George Walker (“Lament/Lyric for Strings”). In contrast, the vibrant Valse Brillante (Chopin) is offered as a quartet with a new and powerful generation of dancers.

Time Lapse Dance (NYC), American Elm and Piece for a Northern Sky

“American Elm” deepens the ongoing climate-engaged collaboration between choreographer Jody Sperling and composer Matthew Burtner. In this solo expressing human kinship with trees, the dance explores shifting tempos, from arboreal stillness to human hurriedness, to mingle the perspective of tree and person.

“Piece for a Northern Sky” is a whirling meditation on planetary motion. This piece is one of Sperling’s signature solos inspired by the style of Loie Fuller (1862–1928). Considered one of the “mothers” of modern dance, Fuller was a visionary and Queer artist with an expansive legacy. Her innovative performances conjured mesmerizing, multimedia spectacles out of fabric, motion, light and image.

Denishawn (NYC), Denishawn (Excerpts)

Audrey Ross, believing that these historic dances should be preserved and performed for contemporary audiences, gathered a group of stellar dancers to perform dances by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, the titular Mother and Father of American Modern Dance. Performances took place October 2021 at the Theatre at St. Jean’s in NYC, and select works will be revived specifically for the Battery Dance Festival.

Lori Belilove/The Isadora Duncan Dance Company (NYC), Tribute to Ukraine

Artistic Director Lori Belilove and her Company pay homage to the Ukraine. The Company performs this work honoring the heroism and valor and grit of the Ukrainian people. Belilove, herself a descendant of Ukrainian ancestry, reimagines these dances that evoke the cry, the terror, the loss.

Special presentation

In memoriam: Jennifer Muller (1944-2023)

Jennifer Muller/The Works (NYC), Miserere Nobis

Miserere Nobis (2014) is an entreaty for mercy and grace. In an age of unspeakable conflict and cruelty, loss and grief, each of us asks forgiveness for all of us.

August 18, 2023 at Rockefeller Park

Adriana Ogle & Toru Sakuragi (NYC), Softly as in a Morning Glow

Toru previously choreographed “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise” with an exploration of flow, rhythm, grounding, and playfulness in mind. Adriana first choreographed to “Moonglow” as a dedication to Dianne “Lady Di” Walker. In collaboration, the choreography evolves and deepens alongside new understandings of the artists’ personal roles/identities in tap dance.

Amanda Treiber (NYC), Wind-Up

Wind-Up is a playful contemporary ballet for four dancers drawing inspiration from flocking birds and what their relationships might be to each other, with music by Ryan Anthony Francis. The music also borrows themes from other musical works that reference birdsong.

Bruce Wood Dance (TX), In My Your Head, NYC Premiere

In My Your Head, by artistic director and resident choreographer Joy Bollinger, is a viscerally kinetic work set to the music of British pop band Radiohead. The piece explores the emotional shades of a disillusioned generation in contemporary American society. In My Your Head addresses the effects of propaganda, government distrust, and future frailty, shifting from the mundane, to the mad, to the mournful at both a tender and riveting pace.

Citadel + Compagnie (Canada), Soudain l’hiver dernier

Boca Tuya (NYC), Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight

Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight is a highly physical and intimate duet work by Omar Román De Jesús, filled with tenderness, connection and trust, set to Songs My Mother Taught Me from Gypsy Melodie, Op. 55, by Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott.

Tabanka Dance Ensemble (Norway), Progress, U.S. debut

Reuel Rogers (Curaçao), Power, World Premiere

Battery Dance (NYC), The Wind in the Olive Grove

Saeed Hani explores the sense of home in Hofmann’s Olive Grove and Wind paintings, and its relation to the natural beauty of Syria and the spiral of war that has forced a generation of artists to flee. The olive tree is a symbol of his Syrian homeland and reminds him of a time of innocence during his childhood when no one could conceive that events would tear the country apart. In utter contrast is Hofmann’s representation of wind which represents, for Hani, the upheaval and chaos that descended on his country and forced him to leave.

As one of America’s leading cultural ambassadors, Battery Dance connects the world through dance. The Company pursues artistic excellence and social relevance by creating vibrant new works, performing on the world’s stages, presenting dance in public spaces, serving the field of dance and teaching people of all ages with special attention to the disadvantaged and areas of conflict. Battery Dance is committed to enhancing the cultural vibrancy of its home community in New York City, extending programming throughout the U.S., and building bridges worldwide through international cultural exchange with programs in 70 countries to date. Battery Dance created the Downtown Dance Festival, an annual outdoor summer festival in 1982, to make exceptional dance available free-of-charge within its home community of lower Manhattan where it was founded in 1976. Now renamed Battery Dance Festival, it has been presented in partnership with the Battery Park City Authority since 2013.

www.batterydance.org.

Dance

Inside the United Ukrainian Ballet Premiere of Giselle

Published

3 months ago

July 8, 2023

ElizaBeth Taylor

With Alexei Ratmansky’s West Coast premiere of a new Giselle, dance became political, as it was performed by the United Ukrainian Ballet at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, in Costa Mesa. “Hope is what the United Ukrainian Ballet is all about.’ declared the choreographer, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made these dancers refugees, but it also brought them together. They found strength to create something beautiful out of their pain. Tonight, you will feel their strength, their honesty, their pride, and their determination.”

COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 29: United Ukrainian Ballet dancers perform during United Ukrainian Ballet Ratmansky’s Giselle at Segerstrom Center For The Arts on June 29, 2023 in Costa Mesa, California. (Photo by Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Segerstrom Center for the Arts)

The evening was a benefit for BlueCheck Ukraine; the organization created by Liev Schreiber, to vet, verify, and fund Ukrainian-led frontline organizations providing humanitarian aid to victims of the Russian invasion. The evening was made possible by Elizabeth Segerstrom, Ratmansky’s longtime friend and major supporter of his work at the American Ballet Theater and through the Henry T. and Elizabeth Segerstrom Foundation. Mrs. Segerstrom attended the evening surrounded by friends and hosted a reception following the opening night.

Born in Leningrad, Ratmansky’s father is Ukrainian and his mother Russian. He was raised in Kyiv, where much of his family still lives. So, for him, the conflict is personal.

Elizabeth Segerstrom offers these words, “Despite insurmountable obstacles, these dancers, who have all been displaced because of this tragic conflict, have remarkably come together to create a world-class company which demonstrates the transcendent power of the arts. This evening is dedicated not only to these dancers and their spirit but also to you, whose presence tonight demonstrates your commitment to the cause.”

A star-studded audience, including Cheryl Burke, Veronika Dash, Mario Lopez, Nigel Lythgoe, Gleb Savchenko, and Montana Tucker as well as Los Angeles Ballet’s Artistic Director Melissa Barak and Chair Jennifer Bellah Maguire, joined the Artistic Director and Founder of UUB, Igone de Jongh, who said, “Tonight is an historic occasion, made possible by the Henry T. and Elizabeth Segerstrom Foundation through her tremendous generosity and humanitarian spirit. Elizabeth has brought us here to this magnificent theater, to share with you the transformative power of the arts.”

ABT’s Christine Shevchenko starred the title role on opening night, with a cast that also included Alexis Tutunnique, Elizaveta Gogidze, Oleksii Kniazkov, Iryna Zhalovska, and Denys Nedak with the Pacific Symphony under the baton of Gavriel Heine. Ratmansky explained, “This Giselle is an interpretation of one of the greatest romantic ballets in the classical repertoire. The end is surprising. Traditionally, the hero is left alone with his pain. Our ending gives hope.”

After the final curtain for Giselle, and rounds of standing ovations, UUB returned to the stage with Ukrainian flags as Pacific Symphony played the Ukrainian National Anthem. When the curtain rose again, Ukrainian soldier Oleksander Budko Teren took the stage performing Airlift, choreographed by Emma Evelein. Both his legs have been amputated after a tragic war incident. Now fitted for prosthetics in the US (thanks to the Revived Soldiers Ukraine Foundation). UUB invited him to attend their performance in Washington and he fell in love with the company. UUB dancers surrounded Teren as the emotional crowd at Segerstrom Center for the Arts rose to their feet again when the curtain fell the final time.