HORSES FULL OF STEAM Premieres This Saturday At West Harlem Piers

Free Site-Specific Dance & Music Performance

Saturday July 29 & Sunday July 30, 2023

3 PM

West Harlem Piers Park, NY

(Enter at 125th & Marginal Streets)

NEW YORK, NY West Harlem Art Fund and Summer on the Hudson present “Horses full of steam” by director and choreographer Hilary Brown-Istrefi | HB² PROJECTS, July 29 & 30 at West Harlem Piers Park.

“Horses full of steam” deconstructs to reimagine visual and topical elements from the almost forgotten 1932 ballet-symphony, “Horse Power”, with music by Carlos Chávez, designs by Diego Rivera, and choreography by Catherine Littlefield. Adopting the ballet’s original 4-episode structure, the performance explores the hybridity of Pan-American culture through a magical realist lens.

Performance Members:

Director & Choreographer Hilary Brown-Istrefi | HB² PROJECTS

Dancers Sabrina Canas & Maira Duarte

Composer & Musician Mahsa Matin with Vocalists Abena Roman & Aiyana Roman

(aka The Triple Tones)

Visual Artist Heather Weston

Art Historian & Narrator Savona Bailey-McClain

Horses full of steam will premiere as an outdoor site-specific performances of the work, July 29th during Riverside Park Conservancy's 2023 Summer on the Hudson Festival at West Harlem Piers Park, NYC.

Horses full of steam deconstructs to reimagine visual and topical elements from the almost forgotten 1932 ballet-symphony, H.P. (Horse Power), with music by Carlos Chávez, designs by Diego Rivera, and choreography by Catherine Littlefield. Adopting the ballet's original 4-episode structure, the work explores the hybridity of Pan-American culture through a magical realist lens. The piece is a collaboration between director & choreographer Hilary Brown-Istrefi (Same As Sister & HB² PROJECTS); composer & trumpeter Mahsa Matin; and art historian & performance narrator Savona Bailey-McClain (West Harlem Art Fund).

Horses full of steam is being created through the Trisk Presents 2023 Resident Artist Program, made possible with generous support from the Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and New York State Council on the Arts.

4-Episodes:

1. Danza del Hombre // Dance of Man

Man's need for breath (Air)

1. Barco hacia el Trópico. Danza ágil, Tango de las Sirenas, Danza general Interludio I //

Boat to the Tropics. Agile Dance, Tango of the Mermaids, General Dance Interlude I

By way of water (Water)

1. El Trópica. Huapango y Zandunga, Interludio II //

The Tropics. Huapango and Zandunga, Interlude II

And they danced on wood (Earth)

1. Danza de los Hombres y las Máquinas // Dance of Men and Machines

Fueling the fire (Fire)

Production Team

Director & Choreographer Hilary Brown-Istrefi

Dancers Sabrina Canas, Maira Duarte & Joey Kipp

Composer Mahsa Matin

Visual Artist Heather Weston

Art Historian & Narrator Savona Bailey-McClain