Eiko Otake Presents A BODY IN A CEMETERY, a Site-Inspired Performance At Green-Wood Cemetery

On Saturday and Sunday, September 26th and 27th, The Green-Wood Cemetery and Pioneer Works will present A Body in a Cemetery-a two-night event featuring the extraordinary work of world-renowned choreographer and performer Eiko Otake.

With the expansive circular landscape of Green-Wood's Cedar Dell as a backdrop, A Body in a Cemetery is a new place-inspired performance conceived by Eiko and presented as part of Graveyard Shift, an annual collaboration between Green-Wood and Pioneer Works, that presents a new way of interacting with the Cemetery space by interpreting it through Sight, Sound, and movement.

In this latest iteration of her ongoing series A Body in Places, Eiko draws on the medieval Japanese traditions of Noh, and meditates on the symbolism and physicality of the cemetery. Eiko said of the work, "What is a cemetery? The details, various life and death-makers, plants, land, and visitors to a grave or to the whole cemetery are what makes a cemetery. The details are the essence, the practical and conceptual core of mortality of both ends: visiting and visited, seeing and being seen. Here, time is absorbed into the land, but it continues to grow, always passing. The graveyard marks death as much as it marks the traces of the past lives that lived, breathed, and labored."

This is one of the first in-person events offered by either Green-Wood or Pioneer Works since the pandemic forced both institutions to curtail their respective robust cultural offerings in March. While the concept for the performance had been conceived prior to its onset, Eiko's ruminations on mortality take on a newly profound meaning in the face of catastrophic losses around the world.

Green-Wood President Richard Moylan said "After months of social isolation, this is an opportunity to safely gather together and be reminded of how the arts can inspire us in the midst of so much uncertainty. We are delighted to be working with our friends at Pioneer Works to see Eiko's vision come to life, right here in the heart of Brooklyn."

The audience will be asked to adhere to mandatory safety protocols:

• Face coverings must be worn at all times
• Maintain 6 feet from others
• Complete a health questionnaire in advance of the performance
• Sit only in designated areas and follow directions given by Cemetery staff and ambassadors

The performance is organized by Florenz and Weil.

About the Artist

Eiko Otake is a choreographer and performer who has spent decades practicing dying and mourning for the dead. A Body in a Cemetery will be the latest manifestation of the project A Body in Places, made in collaboration with Koma. A Body in Places began in 2014 as a twelve-hour solo performance at Philadelphia Station. Various iterations of the project have continued since then, including a performance as part of The Hiroshima Panels exhibition at Pioneer Works in 2015, which was simultaneous with an exhibition of photographs of Eiko shot by William Johnston, A Body in Fukushima. Eiko performed A Body in Places last at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for three days in 2017. Other projects include Offering at six Manhattan parks following 9-11, as well as Duet Project, which includes four partners who are deceased.

IMPORTANT DETAILS & TICKETS:

DATES: Saturday, September 26, 2020

Sunday, September 27, 2020

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TIME: Performance: 6:00-7:00pm

Check-in: Audience members must check in between 5:00-5:20pm, at the latest

The performance venue is a 20-minute walk through the Cemetery over hilly terrain. Proper footwear is recommended. For those with mobility issues, transportation can be provided from the Main Entrance. The performance begins promptly at 6:00pm.

TICKETS: $25.00

To make an online reservation or for more information, visit www.green-wood.com/toursevents.

WHERE: Green-Wood

25th Street at Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn: meet inside the Main Entrance Arch.

Take the "R" train to 25th Street in Brooklyn and walk up the hill one block and into the Cemetery.

Free parking is also available.

For more about Pioneer Works, click here.

For more about Green-Wood, click here.

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