Free Dance Performances Slated Weekend of 9/11 in Rockefeller Park

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. will present two free performances on September 10 and 11 at 5pm in the Nelson A. Rockefeller Park (North end of Battery Park City, west of River Terrace) to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of September 11, 2001.  This special event will feature performances by the Limón Dance Company with Voices of Ascension; the Paul Taylor Dance Company with Orchestra of St. Luke’s; and a new work created by Jessica Lang especially for this occasion, among others to be announced.  This free event, with general lawn-seating on a first-come first-served basis, is made possible through the generosity of TheJoyce Theater Foundation with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.
 
Limón Dance Company will present José Limón’s 1958 Missa Brevis, which features music by Zoltán Kodály, performed by 18 dancers.  Zoltán Kodály, the Hungarian composer, wrote Missa Brevis in Tempore Bellie at the end of World War II.  A Mass in time of war, it was completed under great hardship during the siege of Budapest.  Limón's stirring choreography depicts an indomitable humanity rising up after near destruction. The piece, a memento to cities destroyed during World War II and to those unconquerable qualities that permit hope to survive, perfectly reflects the spirit of this commemorative event.
 
The Paul Taylor Dance Company will present Brandenburgs, Paul Taylor’s 1988 masterwork for six men and three women.  Performed to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 3 and 6, this work displays Taylor’s special affinity for the music of Bach – also seen in such works as Esplanade, Musical Offering and Promethean Fire.  Brandenburgs is a joyous and exuberant showcase of movement invention that matches the uplifting spirit of this commemorative event.