Sweat Outdoors

This FREE modern dance festival features 14 different choreographers in front of a backdrop of the New York City skyline at Frank Sinatra Park.

Schedule

Suite Brazil is a dance in four sections by Caron Eule, set to different Brazilian music. Three different duets depict different settings and times of day with different types of relationships. Eule also be shows her work Hula, which is a light celebration of summer with movements combining the Hula and modern dance.

Last Night is a Butoh group improvisation by Corinna Hiller loosely structured on the poem of the same name by Sharon Olds. The dancers come as empty body vessels then begin to project to the audience the poem’s sexual and naturalistic imagery mixing it with the energies received from the environs (Sinatra Park).

BEnD Contemporary Dance’s work in progress is an exploration of movement based on environment and physical reaction to a specific problem or situation. It explores the physical mind and body; challenges its ability to communicate with movement and the ideas that never escape the structure of the mind.

Tiny Matters is an innovative and theatrical solo, choreographed by Jenny Rocha that explores hidden compulsive behavior and obsession. It is one woman’s absurd search for perfection through obsession of herself and her surroundings.

Black is a trio for three women choreographed by Ryan Orion Beck. The movement is based on actions of extreme isolation and negative emotions.

¿You are Headed for the Land of Sunshine? is a rather absurd tropical day dream choreographed by Jessica Bonenfant, featuring music by Combustible Edison and Avery Brooks.

The Angel Who Would Not Speak to God is a solo piece by Kristen Mangione. Inspired by the short story of the same title by Devin J. Poore, this piece contemplates the enormous suffering of mankind in spite of a benevolent God. Zbigniew Preisner’s Offertorium for strings and soprano accompanies.

Whether you’re gay or straight, African American or Asian, 5’5″, 6’5″, fat or skinny, all humans share the same emotions. Perfect Skin by MidGetDance studies human emotion. This work consists of three sections ranging from solo to group work with eclectic music ranging from Taiko drumming to Ani DiFranco and featuring dancers ranging in size and (dis-)ability.

Sensation of Light is a duet from Charmian Wells of Refractions Dance Collective that was created in response to the idea of blindness and the co-dependence created in relationships where two people depend on each other physically for survival. The physical dependence for support between the two dancers translates into an emotional context as well as the risk of falling creates a palpable tension between them.

An unnamed piece by keila cordova dances presents an entertaining work about relationships, regrets, and the inner workings of an apology.

Hidden, choreographed by Camille Suggs, explores the internal workings of an adult mind attempting to reach out in the present but also to recover a lost childhood so as to obtain an inner peace and feeling of completeness with oneself. This dance possesses a playful atmosphere burdened by an unrelenting darkness.

The Culpability and Casualties of Citizenship is an intensely physical and politically charged work by Sarah Donnelly that has been described by Eva Yaa Asantewaa of the Village Voice as displaying “the tensile strength of the acrobatic buoyancy of their handsome company of women.”

Freshly Mowed is a quartet of structured improvisation mixed with set phrases organized by Chris Ferris. The dance works with large expansive movement into the unlimited space of the great outdoors against actions initiated by tiny specific parts on the body.