BWW Reviews: The Table of Silence Project 9/11 Commemorates the September 11th Terrorist Attacks

It is the instinctual reaction of an artist to create art from destruction. The Table of Silence Project 9/11 was conceived by Jacqulyn Buglisi and Rossella Vasta as a "public tribute and ritual for peace"-a reaction to the September 11th terrorist attacks and the world that day created.

In 2007, Rosella Vasta created The Table of Silence as a travelling installation meant to inspire peace and unity within the international community. Vasta built a "sculptural table" consisting of 100 white plates, with the intention of reminding the viewer that we are all invited guests at the same table. Inspired by Vasta's work, Jacqulyn Buglisi choreographed The Table of Silence Project 9/11 in 2011 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the attacks. This is the third year that Buglisi's piece has been performed at the Josie Roberstson Plaza at Lincoln Center. The performing company consisted of over one hundred dancers of varying ages as well as students and performers from the Buglisi Dance Theatre, The Juilliard School, and The Ailey School. Each dancer held a white plate created by Vasta. The company was accompanied by three flutists (Andrea Ceccomori, Mariano Gil, and John Ragusa), two percussionists (Jeremy Smith and Sam Budish), and three vocalists (Amanda Baisinger, Gizelxanath, and Carla Lopez-Speziale).

At 8:20 AM, the beginning of the performance was signaled with a call of a horn; a large crowd had already gathered around the fountain in the middle of the plaza. Dancers entered from both the east and the west, constantly rearranging themselves in differing amorphous groups and running from pose to pose. The dancers then slowly marched through the parted crowd to create three concentric circles around the central fountain. They would stay in this formation for the rest of the performance. Buglisi recreated the theme of repetition in Vasta's original work by creating a physical "chant" with the dancers. Movements were slow, set to the beat of the drums, and frequently repeated. The last third of the piece was devoted to the plates created by Vasta. The dancers offered the plates to the audience, to the fountain, and to the sky. Circle by circle, the dancers fell into a pose of seated meditation. At 8:46 AM, the time the first tower was hit, the dancers raised their hands into the air for a minute of silent meditation.

Buglisi's choreography was very simple. While this allowed all 100 dancers to move together cleanly, the lack of complexity did not let Buglisi's work distinguish itself from other 911 tributes. Unfortunately, this piece, while pleasant, was not memorable. Additionally, the role of the plates within the dance was unclear to spectators without research on Vasta's initial instillation.

The most memorable and interesting part of the entire performance was the juxtaposition of the dancers against the City of New York itself. This year's presentation of The Silence Table Project 9/11 took place at the end of New York Fashion Week. As the dancers slowly marched to create three circles, an oblivious PR assistant rushed a cart across the Plaza, unaware of what was happening around her. The dancers not only circled the fountain at the center of Josie Roberstson Plaza but also around Fashion Week's promotional tower. Throughout the performance, planes flew overhead, cars honked down Columbus Avenue, and commuters rushed past. At the end of the piece, the crowd paused, slowly dissipated, and busy New Yorkers went about their day as usual.

Photo Credit: Terri Gold

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