This January, for the second year, Dance Out East — a program of The Guggenheim’s Works & Process — is returning to three venues on the South Fork to share dance projects in development with the community.
At The Church in Sag Harbor, Guild Hall in East Hampton and The Watermill Center, some of the most innovative choreographers and performers working in dance today will embark on week-long residencies in early January, culminating in three performances on the weekend of Jan. 10 & 11.
Pictured Above: Sekou McMiller & Friends will perform “Palladium Nights” at The Watermill Center
The Church hosts the first performance, on the afternoon of Jan. 10, of Kristine Bendul & Abdiel’s “The Lineage Project,” choreographed by Ron De Jesus.
Kristine Bendul & Abdiel are known for their musical theater work, ballet and modern concert dance, and an approach to ballroom dances which equally exchanges the roles of lead and follow — with both dancers in heels.
Set to the etherial funk sounds of 1975’s“Black Cream” by The Harold Wheeler Consort, this new duet reimagines classic adagio dance patterns through a modern lens.
The intent, says Works & Process, is to “honor the form’s history while exploring new lifts, transitions, and expressive possibilities.”
The performance will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. at The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor.
On the evening of Jan. 10, tap dancer Naomi Funaki will present “Ikigai,” a reflection on the 2011 Tohoku earthquake & tsunami, Fukushima nuclear disaster, and her personal experiences, at Guild Hall at 7 p.m.
“Funaki blends rhythm, live music, and narrative to explore resilience, memory, and connection,” according to Works & Process.
Ikigai will have its formal premiere on March 8 at the Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival at The Guggenheim.
The final performance, at The Watermill Center on Sunday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m., will be by Sekou McMiller & Friends, an ensemble of professional dancers, musicians, composers and club/street performers.
The performance, of a new work, titled “Palladium Nights,” is dedicated in the memory of The Watermill Center’s founder, Robert Wilson, and Michéle Pesner, a longtime board member of both Works & Process and The Parrish Art Museum, “both of whom dedicated their lives to the advancement of culture, including dance, on a global and local basis,” according to Works & Process.
“Palladium Nights” “explores the cultural legacy and artistic impact of New York’s historic Palladium Ballroom, a vibrant site of exchange where Afro-Latin and African American communities helped shape what we now recognize as salsa and mambo,” according to Works & Process. “More than a nightclub, The Palladium was an incubator of innovation, identity and social movement. This work honors that history while engaging its ongoing influence on contemporary dance and culture.”
Tickets to all the performances are $25. For more information, visit danceouteast.org.
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