DANCES FOR A VARIABLE POPULATION PRESENTS REVIVAL 7 REVELRIES
WITH FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCES IN JUNE 2023
Performances will honor lives lost during the time of COVID, transforming grief into
a celebration of life through the lens of twentieth-century dance.
NEW YORK, June 2022 – REVIVAL 7 Revelries will honor the beloved individuals who have been lost during the time of COVID through new dances that focus on joy: a transformation of grief into a celebration of life. This project is conceived in the context of a series of works that create opportunities for legendary older dancer artists, linking multigenerational communities in a celebration of movement. By devoting each dance to an individual person and their impact on the community, REVIVAL 7 Revelries will highlight the power of legacy, further extending the reach, impact, and artistic vision of this important project. The performances are envisioned as shared moments of celebration, remembrance, and catharsis emerging from the COVID pandemic as a period of significant loss.
Now, as part of DVP’s 13th year of free performances in iconic spaces, the world premiere of REVIVAL 7: Revelries will take place Saturday, June 10, at Queensbridge Park at 4 PM, and Saturday, June 17, at Grant’s Memorial Tomb at 5 PM and 7 PM. All events will include All Together Dance workshops that are open to the public.
The work is series of individual dances, with choreographers devoting each piece to one person, drawing on the memories of those who knew them but didn’t have the chance to publicly remember them. Individuals honored through these dances will range from community organizers to grandmothers to friends and neighbors.
For REVIVAL 7 Revelries, Dances For A Variable Population welcomes choreographers Ellen Graff (Martha Graham Company), Audrey Madison (Charles Moore Dance Theatre), Myna Majors (The WNBA N.Y. Liberty Timeless Torches), Sandra Rivera (founding member of Ballet Hispanico), Marnie Thomas Wood (Martha Graham Company) and Alfred Gallman (Pepsi Bethel, Talley Beatty and Alvin Ailey) along with DVP artistic director Naomi Goldberg Haas and the multi-generational DVP dance company. We also welcome back Daniel Carlton (NYC playwright) as dramaturg. REVIVAL 7 Revelries will also feature 50 seniors from DVP’s free MOVEMENT SPEAKS® zoom classes and phone conferencing classes, which take place in homes across the city.
REVIVAL 7 Revelries is a series of individual dances, with choreographers devoting each piece to one person, drawing on the memories of those who knew them. Individuals honored through these dances will range from community organizers to grandmothers to friends and neighbors.
The REVIVAL series begun in 2017 is a project of historical, social, and artistic innovation highlighting six choreographers, extraordinary artists who trained in dance traditions of the 20th century. They transmit and interpret the essence of Martha Graham, Charles Moore, and Alvin Ailey, celebrating the past performing careers of these artists and the impact these techniques have had on dance history and their lives in a completely new way. Through exploration in rehearsals, in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens, REVIVAL 7 Revelries will bring audiences the unique expression of older adults mixed with the power of older trained professionals.
This one-of-a-kind event will be free to the public. Reservations are recommended. The event will provide diverse audiences an opportunity to see movement distilled from the seminal techniques of legendary geniuses, to see the eloquence of the older brain/older body, and witness the intergenerational connection in the spirit of creation and collaboration. Performances will also include daily interactive, free, open-access workshops for adults of all
ages and abilities. Through these workshops, audiences, including adults of all ages and abilities, will dance in ways that are new to them, be stretched physically and intellectually, and gain new experiences of personal mastery. To learn more about the choreographers, please visit our website dvpnyc.orgorrevival7.org.
REVIVAL 7 REVELRIES PROGRAM & VENUE INFORMATION
Saturday, June 10, 2023, Queensbridge Park
Live, In-Person Performance: 4 PM
Post-Performance All Together Dance workshop: 5 PM
41st Avenue and Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101
Reservations are recommended at revival7.org.
Saturday, June 17, 2023, Grant’s Memorial Tomb
Live, In-Person Performance: 5 PM and 7 PM
Pre-Performance All Together Dance workshop: 4 PM
122 and Riverside Dr, New York, NY 10027
Reservations are recommended at revival7.org.
ABOUT DANCES FOR A VARIABLE POPULATION
Founded in 2009 by Naomi Goldberg Haas, Dances for a Variable Population (DVP)’s mission is to promote strong and creative movement among older adults of all abilities, enabling them to build creativity, improve their mental and physical health, strengthen social connections, and enhance quality of life. Our artistic vision is to bring participatory dance experiences and performances to older adults throughout NYC, and to train teaching artists to expand our impact across NY and beyond. DVP’s free workshops and public performances promote a democratic, interactive, and inclusive vision of dance that highlights the power and beauty of older bodies.
During Covid 19, the company served more than 500 older adults with free daily movement classes. Through classes held at citywide senior centers, outdoor parks, and remote classes, DVP monthly currently serves over 1,100 NYC older adults.
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
The development and performance of REVIVAL 7 Revelries has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. This program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York City Department for the Aging, in partnership with the City Council and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. Special support is provided by Council Members Shaun Abreu, Erik Bottcher, Shahana Hanif, Christopher Marte, Althea Stevens, and Julie Won. Support is also provided by the Alpern Foundation, the Jody and John Arnhold, Columbia Community Service, Morningside Heights Community Fund, the Pasculano Foundation, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation administered by LMCC, and the West Harlem Development Corporation. This program was also made possible through support from CRNY’s Artist Employment Program, a three-year, $125 million investment in the financial stability of New York State artists and the organizations that employ them.
