For the fourth and final beach session, the enigmatic mover and insatiable creator Shannon Gillen brings her innovative language, heightened imagination and cinematic imagery to the beach, with the debut of "Horizon High." The piece explores how different the brain operates when exposed to the intoxicating heat one can't escape on the beach. It references the sense of isolation and the internal thought process - that blinding clarity - that occurs when you sit on the beach, blanketed by the sun. Horizon High showcases the seduction of inner life and the disrupting of that space with the interference of another person.
Shannon Gillen is the founder, artistic director and choreographer of New York's visionary new dance company VIM VIGOR, which is currently being launched. In a 2013 Brooklyn Magazine article that named her as one of city's top twenty artists, Gillen was championed for her 'emotionally compelling' work that 'transcends the things it references and achieves a sort of platonic ideal of intelligent and elevated movement'. And L Magazine later wrote that Gillen's dancers 'force you to the edge of your seat, breath held, hands clenched.' For more information, click here: beachsessions.tumblr.com/shannongillen
DIRECTIONS: Far Rockaway A-Train to Broad Channel. Transfer to Shuttle (S-train) to Beach 90th Street. Walk to the beach and down to Beach 84th Street. Entrances at Beach 86 and 84.
RAIN DATE: Rain date will be announced morning of Saturday performance. Beach Sessions has paired each presenting choreographer up with a fine art photographer to create original content. Every Monday we released a new story. Click here for Shannon Gillen | VIM VIGOR series by Samantha Casolari. And visit our Facebook page for all the previous stories!
Lavinia Vago and Jason Cianciulli by Samantha Casolari
HIGHLIGHTS
Loni Landon Dance Project | August 15
Photos by Ursula Sommer and John Suhar
IN THE NEWS
ABOUT US
Beach Sessions'mission is to support creation, to inspire sustained investment in the natural beauty, and raise awareness of the unifying social importance of our oceans and beaches. This project is meant to show that dance has remarkable range of possibilities.
The series aspires to become a Rockaway Beach annual summertime tradition providing a unique platform for contemporary choreographers and dancers to connect with a new audience, and offering beachgoers and dance lovers a fresh and exciting way to experience the waterfront, its concessions, and the local Rockaway community.
Beach Sessions is partnering with Surfrider Foundation,an organization that is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans and beaches, to have organized beach clean-ups after each dance performance. By participating in the clean-up, a drink ticket will be handed out to Rippers at Beach 86th to enjoy a nice cool refreshment sponsored by SixPoint Brewery.
Beach Sessions was developed by Sasha Okshteyn and produced in collaboration with
Black & White Project Space, Brooklyn, NY.
The inaugural season has been made possible by all of our Kickstarter supporters and local partners!
