Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Pam Tanowitz’s DAY FOR NIGHT slyly examines the dynamic interplay between performance and its surroundings

• By drediman
• July 19, 2024
• No Comments

Last week, Pan Tanowitz’s latest full length dance piece Day for Night graced the stage of the Amph at Little Island. Commissioned by Little Island, Tanowitz’s latest is an austere yet playful creation that uses the venue and the island itself as its inspiration (she’s done similar site-specific, environmentally-driven work for New York City Ballet and The Joyce Theater). Indeed, as a stunning sunset encroached and the evening descended, the audience was treated to a sort of abstract version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, complete with island spirits that responded to the physical contours and qualitative ethos of the impressive (and expensive) floating man-made park on the Hudson River.

Throughout, Tanowitz’s decidedly experimental work — in total collaboration with Justin Ellington’s subtly environmental soundscapes — thoroughly embraced the ambient sights and sounds of Little Island’s surroundings, from the hustle and bustle of the big city on one side, to the airplanes and helicopters up above, to the maritime ongoings on the Hudson. By blending so insistently with the landscape, Day for Night slyly blurred the lines between performance and “reality”, inviting us to more critically examine the dynamic interplay between the two. It all began with Marc Crousillat, Lindsey Jones, and Maile Okamura, who brought a grounded, steady quality to start. However, as the hourlong piece unfolded, the trio was eventually joined by Morgan Amirah Burns and Brian Lawson, and later by Victor Lozano and Melissa Toogood once the sun had set, bringing with them their own vibe. Indeed, together with Davison Scandrett’s surreal lighting cues, these dancers’ additional presence brought a heightened sense of mystery and a somewhat mischievous air to Tanowitz’s skittishly sensitive, fluttering choreography.

The beguiling seven-member ensemble — garbed by Harriet Jung and Reid Bartelme, whose costumes simply evoke the progression from day into night — was excellent. Each are expert purveyors of Tanowitz’s rigorous and clear-eyed aesthetic, and they infused the piece with an inquisitive albeit poker-faced energy. An especially beguiling presence is Toogood, whose credit as a longtime Merce Cunningham dancer brings gravitas to the proceedings. As an epilogue to Day for Night, game audience members were guided to the Glade — a separate, more intimate space on Little Island — where Toogood herself seductively beckoned us to lean in even closer to further unlock the mysteries of the world around us.

RECOMMENDED

DAY FOR NIGHT
Dance
The Amph at Little Island
1 hour (without an intermission)
Through July 21