Bryant Park Presents Modern Dance Leaps to Life

Bryant Park Presents Modern Dance presents an expanded offering for Summer 2014. This series is presented in collaboration with Inception to Exhibition, a non-profit interdisciplinary arts space.

For three consecutive Friday evenings, established and emerging dance companies take the stage to celebrate the expressive power of the human body. The series kicks off with performances from Elisa Monte Dance, Buglisi Dance Theater,  and Jennifer Muller/The Works; on week two, enjoy Stephen Petronio Company, NØA Dance, UnderOne Dances, and The Dash Ensemble; on week three, TAKE Dance, Steps Repertory Ensemble, and Body Stories: Teresa Fellion Dance take the stage.

This series is not your typical dance series. As the word "modern" might suggest, this series has some very cool updates that integrate the audience into the dance itself. On June 20, the company UnderOne Dances will do its interactive TweetDance--think of it as charades in which audience members live-tweet topics for the dancers to interpret through movement for 20 seconds each.

#TweetDance @ Britefest NYC 2013 from Kygwen on Vimeo.

The audience also has the opportunity to get the inside scoop from the dance companies during three Twitter chats set up the evening before each of the dance events. At 8pm on June 12, 19, and 26, the public can interact with the dance companies, ask questions about anything pertaining to the dancers' preparation, the upcoming program, or anything else they may desire. Simply tweet using the hashtag #ITEchat and the founders of Inception to Exhibition and representatives from that week's dance companies will answer your questions. After you've participated in the Twitter chat, attend the performance the following day with an enhanced understanding of what you're seeing on stage.

Behind-the-scenes preparations from Elisa Monte Dance.
Photo credit: Pascal Sonnet. 

Dancers from Elisa Monte Dance practice their pieces to be performed at Bryant Park.
Photo credit: Pascal Sonnet.

The Friday following the end of the Bryant Park Presents Modern Dance series is a special presentation from the Booking Dance Festival, which we've been proud to host in the park in past summers. Called a "festival within a festival," this festival is a spinoff of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest arts festival in the world.

This series pushes the boundaries of dance as we know it, and makes the genre more accessible than ever.

Bryant Park Presents Modern Dance
Fridays, June 13 to June 27
6pm - 7:30pm
Bryant Park Stage

Booking Dance Festival 
July 4
2pm - 4pm
Bryant Park Stage