Mad. Sq. Park to Present Luminous Mischief with Teresita Fernandez & Stephen Petronio Company, 10/30

On Friday, October 30, 2015 from 6:00PM to 7:00PM, Madison Square Park Conservancy will host Luminous Mischief, a free, public performance under artist Teresita Fernández's Fata Morgana. Fernández welcomes internationally acclaimed choreographer Stephen Petronio and his company of nine dancers to activate the space of public art with an array of interactions between a citywide assembly of performers and passersby in the Park. Luminous Mischief invites open-ended, free form dance practices into a dynamic public space, blending the power of spontaneous play and the cinematic reflections of pedestrian activity that flicker across Fernández's artwork. The event will be accompanied by a musical sound score executed by a similarly assembled brass orchestra.

Petronio, Fernández and Madison Square Park Conservancy have initiated an open call for dancers and brass musicians from around the New York metropolitan area. This group of artists will meet for the first time at the start of the event on October 30 to improvise together under Petronio's direction and score. Luminous Mischief will encourage a sense of experimentation and exchange between strangers, encouraging overlapping communities of artists and the public at large to move through the mirage-like environment of Fata Morgana, amplified by layers of sound and dance. Participants will become part of a communal expression where the line between spectator and performer is blurred.

Choreographer Stephen Petronio's numerous accolades include a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Choreographer Award, a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award, and a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. Petronio has created over 35 works for his company and has been commissioned by some of the world's most prestigious modern and ballet companies, including the Washington Ballet, Scottish Ballet, and the National Dance Company Wales. Petronio was the first Artist-in-Residence at The Joyce Theater, New York (2012-2014).

With an ongoing series of interdisciplinary public programs, Teresita Fernández emphasizes Fata Morgana's unique platform as a democratic public space used for communal gathering, contemplation, and free expression. Fernández hopes to expand our assumptions about who exactly constitutes "the public," the makeup of which is as mutable and fluid as the reflections captured by her sculpture. This event with Stephen Petronio Company transforms the conventions of how the public exists, valuing process and chance while shifting proximities and psychological relationships between its participants.

Luminous Mischief is free and open to the public.