ditch, a new dance performance to premiere at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s River to River Festival on June, 23, 26, and 28, 2019. ditch responds to the distinct influx of energies that meet on the Lower East Side (LES) waterfront in New York, with a specific focus on the impact and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The choreography is developed from the rhythms, tones, and spatial inflections of movement generated by flows of people, the built environment, weather, and water along the river’s edge. ditch accesses and creatively explores the embodied knowledge that signals both danger and safety. How do we sense impending disasters? How do we seek and recognize safe havens?
Monson and collaborators in residency at the Melville Gallery, South Street Seaport Museum
Selected Press
River to River dance festival — the dawn worked its miraculous transformations – Apollinaire Scherr, Financial Times
At water’s edge: Jennifer Monson / iLAND presents ‘ditch’ – Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody
Goings On About Town: River to River Festival – Brian Seibert, The New Yorker
6 Dance Performances to See in NYC this Weekend – Brain Schaefer, The New York Times
The Week in Arts: Jennifer Monson dances at dawn – Siobhan Burke, The New York Times
At the River to River Festival, the Art of Slowing Down – Siobhan Burke, The New York Times
For more info and to rsvp, click here:
All performances and workshops with the River to River Festival are free to the public
Performances at Melville Gallery, South Street Seaport Museum:
- World Premiere: June 23 at sunrise, 5:30am
- June 26, 7pm
- June 28, 7pm
Plus! an iLANDing Workshop, Pier 35 East River Esplanade:
- June 23, 11am, Pier 35
(Closest entrance at Rutgers Slip)
Choreography: Jennifer Monson
Performers/Dancers: Courtney Cooke, Kaitlin Fox, Madeline Mellinger
Composer and Sound Artist: Jeff Kolar
Costume Designer: Susan Becker
Lighting Designer: Ben Demarest
by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Fine and Applied Arts and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.ditch by Jennifer Monson is commissioned by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, developed as part of LMCC’s Extended Life Dance Development program made possible in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Presented by LMCC as part of River To River. Space generously provided by South Street Seaport Museum.
Presented in partnership with The Howard Hughes Corporation.