Risa Jaroslow & Dancers: 311

Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street near food kiosks

July 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 12:00pm and 1:30pm

Risa Jaroslow’s new work, 311, takes place outside the massive archways of the city’s Municipal Building. Six dancers engage in a range of interactions, while an interviewer queries passersby about their thoughts on city government. What will emerge when onlookers are asked questions about the current national focus on government and civic engagement in the context of a dance performance? These amplified conversations provide an additional layer to the dance’s sound score.

Choreography: Risa Jaroslow

Dancers: Rachel Boggia, Eun Jung Choi Gonzalez, Luke Gutgsell, Rachel Lehrer, Guillermo Ortego

Interviewers: Alberto Denis and Risa Jaroslow

About Risa Jaroslow & Dancers

Risa Jaroslow & Dancers has performed in New York at major dance venues including Dance Theater Workshop, the Joyce Theater, the Danspace Project, the Harkness Dance Festival at The Duke Theater, Central Park Summerstage and Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors. The Company has toured in the United States and in Europe, most recently in May at the Dublin Dance Festival. The performances forge connections between people and to offer new perspectives on human experience. The inclusion of people of different ages, backgrounds and skills in our dance making process adds richness to our work, while building new audiences for dance.

Risa Jaroslow & Dancers seeks to expand the definition of dance and who can participate. The Company’s activities include performances, master classes and workshops for people of all ages and backgrounds. The Company has conducted workshops for senior adults, youth groups, groups serving people with disabilities, and women who are survivors of domestic violence. Jaroslow's choreography explores many social issues, including women competing in male-dominated professions, sources of strength and resilience in individuals and communities, and the meaning of maleness and masculinity.

The company will premiere its newest project, Sixty, at the Danspace Project at St Mark's Church November 13 - 15 and 20 - 22, 2008.

Sitelines is generously supported by the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the New York Mercantile Exchange, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

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.