Live, in-person performances will return to Park Avenue Armory on March 24, the Armory announced on Tuesday. “Social Distance Hall,” a s...
Live, in-person performances will return to Park Avenue Armory on March 24, the Armory announced on Tuesday. “Social Distance Hall,” a season of commissioned works for reduced capacity audiences, will open with “Afterwardsness,” by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, followed by projects by Steven Hoggett, Christine Jones and David Byrne; and Laurie Anderson and Jason Moran.
The March opening puts the Armory a little ahead of the April 2 start date for reduced-capacity performances announced by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last week. The New York State Department of Health approved the early opening, the Armory’s executive producer, Rebecca Robertson, said, partially because the Armory had already tested its safety procedures in October when “Afterwardsness” was filmed before a live audience of volunteers in the Armory’s Drill Hall.
The vast, barrel-roofed Drill Hall has 40,000 square feet of open area (and a huge volume of air), which allows 100 audience members (about 10 percent of the hall’s capacity) to be distanced at least nine feet apart. Since August, the Armory has been hosting rehearsals and workshops for artists experimenting with how to take advantage of the space.
“Afterwardsness,” a new hourlong dance performance with live music, directly addresses the experience of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer. “Social! the social distance dance club,” conceived by the choreographer Hoggett and the set designer Jones, is a dance party. Audience members, each isolated in a designated area, dance to a D.J. set and follow whimsical instructional voice-over by David Byrne.
“Party in the Bardo” is a collaboration between the performance artist Anderson and the jazz pianist Moran. Each night, joined by a rotating cast of young musicians, they will perform over the sound installation “Lou Reed Drones,” which uses feedback from guitars in Reed’s collection.
Further information and ticketing can be found at armoryonpark.org.
COMMENTS