We opened Sixty at the Danspace Project on Nov 13, 9 days after the Presidential election, in a celebratory mood because Obama had won. The most thrilling part was finally bringing in our last collaborator: the audience always changes the work in profound and important ways. We were lucky to have fantastic, responsive audiences for the entire two-week run.
Performing the piece was a great pleasure. At the same time, I was already missing the rehearsal process. That’s always a challenge for me, and it was particularly so with this piece because the cast was so remarkable – fabulous dancers diverse in many ways, connected to me and to each other in many different ways, everyone equally committed to the project. The time we spent together in the studio was rich and fulfilling. Even in the excitement of opening, it was a little sad to be at the end of the twenty-month process of making the piece.
With the Danspace show behind us, we’re now gearing up to face what is certain to be a difficult year. We, like virtually all other small organizations, are being hit by this economic downturn faster and harder than any crisis in memory. All of us in the dance community are wondering, when will this end and where will we land? We don’t have the answers yet but are holding on tight while figuring out how to, as our new Board Chair puts it, “keep the wheels on the bus.” (There’s still time to help, by the way – and we need all the help we can get. You can donate by clicking HERE.)
With the New Year comes a round of new projects. We are about to begin workshops for women in a transitional housing residence and adult ESOL students at Turning Point in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. We’ll also start work on a new performance project to premiere in 2010. I’m looking forward to writing more about that soon.