Headlong Dance Theater: Hotel Pool

August 12–16

Rector Square's indoor Swimming Pool, 225 Rector Place

All across America, in towns large and small, are hotels with swimming pools. What if these humid, glittering spaces could be seen as ready-made sites for experimental performance? Headlong Dance Theater creates an intimate, visceral performance experience in a pool. In Hotel Pool, a business woman stumbles into a pool after a long day of travel. The air is thick, the room glows in the last minutes of the day and the water beckons...

Original Music and Sound: The Wayward Wind

Dramaturg: Mark Lord

Lighting Design: Jason H. Thompson

Costume Design: Kelly Cobb

Set Design: Matt Saunders

Text: Amy Smith, Mark Lord and Pankaj Venugopal

Production Manager: Brent Woods

Technical Director: Anthony Cerrato

Sound Operator: Austin Brown

Light Board Operator: Jacqueline Memenza

Performers: David Brick, Mark Lord, John Luna, Lorin Lyle, Heather Murphy, Amy Smith, Kate Watson-Wallace and Christina Zani and a special appearance by Georgia Delano

About Headlong Dance Theater

Headlong Dance Theater was founded by co-directors David Brick, Andrew Simonet and Amy Smith in 1993. Amy, Andrew and David collaborate in the creation and performance of all Headlong’s dances and share credit for all the company’s work. Our dancers contribute immensely to the creative process.

Over the years, Headlong has created over forty dances, many of which are known for their witty take on contemporary culture. Rather than relying on a single dance style, Headlong develops a unique movement vocabulary for each new piece. Their work together is informed by a deep commitment to collaboration, humor, and formal experimentation.

In September, Headlong will open the Headlong Performance Institute, a semester program for college students and recent college graduates. Headlong's Managing Director is Anna Drozdowski. Headlong Dance Theater is supported by The Independence Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Samuel S. Fels Fund, The Phoebe W. Haas Charitable Trust, The Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, and The Philadelphia Cultural Fund

Special Thanks

Sitelines is generously supported by Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New York State Council of the Arts. LMCC extends grateful thanks to SHVO, especially Sharon Mandler, Laura Thomas, and Sara Zucker; Bob Townley and Manhattan Youth; and New York Marriott Downtown.

Hotel Pool was made possible by support from Creative Capital, The Rockefeller/MAP fund, The Suzanne Roberts Cultural Development Fund, and Dance Advance: funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by Drexel University.

Hotel Pool is supported in part by a grant from Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed and funded by The Heinz Endowments; the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; and The Pew Charitable Trusts; and administered by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

Hotel Pool was commissioned by Judy and Steve Gluckstern.

Headlong Dance Theater gives special thanks to Nolini Barretto, Ann Marie Lonsdale, Savannah Gorton and everyone at LMCC; Paul DiPietro and 3 Legged Dog; Sharon, Howard, Rob, Marion, Geri-Jo and everyone at SHVO; Silvio the pool guy; Maiko Matsushima and Tricia Barsamian

Produced in association with the River To River® Festival.

The River To River Festival, presented by American Express, is a collaboration of Lower Manhattan’s major cultural event producers including the Alliance for Downtown New York, arts>World Financial Center, Battery Park City Authority, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Port Authority of NY & NJ, and South Street Seaport. These partners are firmly committed to using the arts as a tool for revitalization and the development of new audiences.

Return to the Sitelines 2008 listing.