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Summer Snapshots: Public Performances at The Pocantico Center
Choreographer Jeremy McQueen (left) and dancers from the Black Iris Project performing a scene from Madiba, about the life of Nelson Mandela. (Photo: Fred Charles)
This summer, the Fund’s Pocantico Arts Collaborative hosted a number of arts residencies and diverse array of public performances at The Pocantico Center, including Jeremy McQueen’s Black Iris Project, a preview of the Lark Theatre’s upcoming musical Sweethearts of Swing, Joshua Beamish’s MOVETHECOMPANY, and the A Palo Seco flamenco ensemble.
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Choreographer and A Palo Seco director Rebeca Tomás performing a solo Alegrías in a traditional bata de cola dress and manton shawl. (Photo: Fred Charles)
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Artists from the American Ballet Theatre and Pennsylvania Ballet developing a new work with choreographer Joshua Beamish during MOVETHECOMPANY’s residency. (Photo: Fred Charles)
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The Lark Theatre’s Sweethearts of Swing featured over a dozen performers, most of them women, for a preview of this work-in-progress musical. Slideshow and music below. (Photo: Fred Charles)
Exploring black lives through classical dance, McQueen’s Black Iris Project is home to a team of predominately minority artists who join the ensemble from America’s top ballet companies. In June, McQueen took to the stage at Kykuit to detail his compositional style and demonstrate some directorial work with the dancers, including the new work Madiba, a ballet tracing the journey of Nelson Mandela.
In July, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and ArtsWestchester featured Rebeca Tomás and the A Palo Seco flamenco ensemble, with dancers and musicians performing traditional and improvised dances and songs.
In August, following a residency earlier in the summer, the Lark Theatre presented excerpts from their upcoming musical, Sweethearts of Swing, inspired by the true stories of all-female big bands who defied both law and convention by crossing the color line to play together.
Later in August, Joshua Beamish, choreographer and co-founder of MOVETHECOMPANY, presented excerpts from three works, The Masque of the Red Death, Giselle, and Concerto, and the premiere of the new work Blood to Bones, with members of his company, along with guest dancers from the American Ballet Theatre and Dance Theater of Harlem. Beamish developed new works with his company during a Pocantico residency earlier in the summer.
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About the Pocantico Center
The Pocantico Center is a venue for conferences and meetings on critical issues related to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. It also serves as a community resource and offers public access through a visitation program, lectures, and cultural events. The Pocantico Center also hosts artist residencies and provides performance space for artists selected by RBF grantees and New York City arts organizations. Located 20 miles north of Manhattan in the Pocantico Historic Area, The Pocantico Center is managed by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund as part of its agreement with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.