DANCES FOR A VARIABLE POPULATION To Give Free Performances In NYC This September

Washington Square Dances and Bronx Dances / 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. 

Presented by Dances for a Variable Population (DVP), 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 14th year of free performances in iconic spaces, REVIVAL 7 Revelries will take place Saturday, September 9 at Washington Square Park's Garibaldi Fountain at 6 PM, and Saturday, September 23 at Yolanda Garcia Park in the Bronx at 4PM. Both events will include All Together Dance workshops that are open to the public, 5PM at Washington Square Park and 3PM at Yolanda Garcia Park. These interactive workshops highlight movements by guest artists and include core warm-ups from DVP's MOVEMENT SPEAKS©.

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 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. DVP also welcomes back Daniel Carlton (NYC playwright) as dramaturg. REVIVAL 7 Revelries will also feature 50 seniors from DVP's free MOVEMENT SPEAKS© Zoom and phone conferencing classes, which take place in homes across the city. To learn more about the choreographers, please visit our website: www.dvpnyc.org or www.revival7.org.

DVP's 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. 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 in Manhattan and the Bronx will also include a free, interactive, open-access workshop, fostering community, creativity, and movement. 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. Reservations are recommended and tickets can be reserved at www.revival7.org.

WASHINGTON SQUARE DANCES AND BRONX DANCES REVIVAL 7 REVELRIES PROGRAM & VENUE INFORMATION

Saturday, September 9th, 2023, Washington Square Park Garibaldi Fountain (east of the fountain)

Live, In-Person Performance: 6 PM

Pre-Performance All Together Dance workshop: 5 PM

Between Washington Square North and Washington Square South in the West Village

Reservations recommended at revival7.or

Bus: M1, M2, M3, M55 to East 8th St and 5th Avenue

Subway: A, C, D, E, F, M to West 4th Washington Square

1 train to Christopher St, R, W to 8th St Station

Path train to 9th St.

Saturday, September 23rd, 2023, Yolanda Garcia Park, Bronx, NY

Live, In-Person Performance: 4 PM 

Pre-Performance All Together Dance workshop: 3 PM

Melrose Ave and East 159th St, Bronx, NY, 10451

Reservations recommended at revival7.org.

Bus BX 15, BX 21 to 3rd Avenue East 158th St

BX 41 to Melrose Avenue East 160th St

BX 6, BX 13, BX6-SBS to Elton Ave 161st St

Subway 2, 5 to 3rd Ave at 149th St.

Founded in 2009 by former professional dancer 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 currently serves over 1,100 NYC older adults monthly.