Thursday, July 14, 2011

World Premiere of STREB's "Human Fountain" Makes A Splash At World Financial Center Plaza In Downtown Manhattan

Elizabeth Streb





Earlier this evening, the world premiere of STREB’s “Human Fountain” took place at the World Financial Center Plaza in downtown Manhattan as part of “Extraordinary Moves: A Celebration of Dance through Movement, Film and Art.” This fantastic outdoor performance art involves artists leaping from as high as 30 feet from a three-story structure in order to create cascades of airborne bodies, like a human fountain. This work was inspired by the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas. The free performances will be repeated on Friday July 15 at 12:00 noon and 6:00 PM, and on Saturday, July 16 at 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 PM at the World Financial Center.

Dance Review from the New York Times (Gia Kourlas):

The main attraction is Elizabeth Streb’s new “Human Fountain,” inspired by the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas, and it doesn’t disappoint. Ms. Streb is a rare choreographer whose work looks amazing outside: in “Human Fountain” the juxtaposition of sky, steel and flesh add up to a breathtaking convergence of materials. The dancers take their spots on a three-tiered structure — it rises 30 feet — designed by Ms. Streb and Hudson Scenic Studio. Dropping like logs, they fall horizontally through the air and land on thick mats to mimic the speed and frequency of shooting water. It seems inconceivable, but with lightness and force, the dancers show the distinction between a graceful arc and a harsh, humorous spurt. For the company, which operates with military precision, getting to the right spot on time might be even more harrowing than jumping. (You can even sense the performers’ brief flash of trepidation.) Watching “Human Fountain” is to live a little vicariously, but even better, the piece is about what you see in a delicate split second: the point at which danger and beauty hang in the air.

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