This will be the 19th anniversary of what has come to be known as the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City (Two planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, crashed into the North and South towers), American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon Building in Arlington County, Virginia, and a fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was initially flown toward Washington, D.C., but crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, after passengers onboard impeded the hijackers.
In memory of the 2,977 people killed and the over 25,000 injured, the Buglisi Dance Theater and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with Dance/NYC will present a reimagining of the Table of Silence Project 9/11 featuring live and virtual performance elements. The event will livestream on Lincoln Center at Home on Friday, September 11, 2020 at 7:55am EDT. The Table of Silence Project 9/11 is an annual public performance ritual for peace that was conceived and choreographed in 2011 by Jacqulyn Buglisi, Artistic Director of the New York City based Buglisi Dance Company.
Jacqulyn Buglisi – Photo courtesy of Michelle Tabnick PR
The Table of Silence Project 9/11 was first performed on Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Since its inception, more than 1200 professional dancers, musicians, and singers representing the voices of the NYC arts community have performed this piece. With the aid of internet streaming, it has reached approximately one million people across all 50 states and in 129 countries. For the 2020 reimagined performance, Ms. Buglisi collaborated with Composer/Music Director Daniel Bernard Roumain, spoken-word poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Buglisi Dance Theatre Co-Founder/Principal Dancer Terese Capucilli.
Featuring more than 150 dancers from around the world, the Table of Silence Project 9/11 is a multi-cultural performance ritual for global unity and peace. The performers “slowly ascend onto Josie Robertson Plaza from multiple directions with the sound of a conch shell’s call to action for peace”. They then move to the lamenting tensions of the flute, a bass drums “heartbeat”, trumpet, bells, and the cries of a chorus. The dancers form three concentric circles around the iconic Revson Fountain, while repeating twelve symbolic ritualistic gestures to manifest an ancient Peace Labyrinth.
New this year, Buglisi ass created a new Prologue in which 24 members from Buglisi Dance Theatre, Ailey II, Alison Cook Beatty Dance, Ballet Hispánico’s BHdos, The Juilliard School, Limón Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company and professional dancers from the NYC community will perform live while encircling Lincoln Center’s Revson Fountain. The Prologue will feature guest artists composer, violinist and educator Daniel Bernard Roumain and spoken-word poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph.
This socially-distanced performance will be live streamed from Lincoln Center starting at 7:55am EDT on Friday, September 11, 2020 and conclude at 8:46am – the time when the first tower was hit on 9/11/01. This will be followed by welcome remarks from industry leaders, a new world premiere film featuring dancers from around the world, and the full 2019 Table of Silence Project 9/11. Part of Lincoln Center at Home (#LincolnCenterAtHome), the offering will be streamed at LincolnCenter.org and on Lincoln Center’s Facebook Page. The video will also be available on-demand on LincolnCenter.org/TableOfSilenceProject and Buglisi Dance Theatre’s YouTube channel following the premiere.
Labyrinth of Peace and Table of Silence Project 9/11 – Photo by Terri Gold
“This reimagining of the Table of Silence Project 9/11 is a powerful message for healing as we struggle with the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice. We honor all those whose lives are impacted by the crises our country is facing,” said Ms. Buglisi. “Expressing so much of what makes us human, the Table of Silence Project’s message of peace and healing is far-reaching and holds great relevance today, in addition to the 9/11 commemoration. It strives to be a transformative experience that reveals the strength and resilience of our collective society.”
“The arts can connect us, reveal collective truths, and help us process so much in our world that can seem overwhelming and impossible,” said Henry Timms, President and CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “This work is a stunning example of the power of the arts. It is our honor to have it on our plaza once again, in a reconfigured form for our current times.”
Lincoln Center at Home offers a free, one-stop portal to all digital offerings from across the iconic campus, offerings also include Lincoln Center Pop-Up Classroom, #ConcertsForKids, Memorial for Us All, as well as array of archival and livestream performances available for free and on demand at LincolnCenter.org and on Lincoln Center’s Facebook Page.
Table of Silence Project 9/11. Part of Lincoln Center at Home (#LincolnCenterAtHome), the offering will be streamed at LincolnCenter.org and on Lincoln Center’s Facebook Page. The video will also be available on-demand on LincolnCenter.org/TableOfSilenceProject and Buglisi Dance Theatre’s YouTube channel following the premiere.
Full Credits:
PROLOGUE (2020)
Artistic Director/Choreographer: Jacqulyn Buglisi
Artistic Collaborators
Composer/Music Director: Daniel Bernard Roumain
Spoken Word Poet: Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Lead Principal Dancer/Bell Master: Terese Capucilli
Video & Live Stream: Nel Shelby, Nel Shelby Productions
Musicians: Electric Violin: Daniel Bernard Roumain; Conch: John Ragusa; Symbolic Sculptural Plates: Rossella Vasta | Execution: Bizzirri Ceramics
Costume Design: A. Christina Giannini | Execution: Alessandro Gherardi
24 Dancers
Buglisi Dance Theatre with professional dancers who make up the diverse NYC arts community including the Martha Graham Dance Company, Ailey II, Alison Cook Beatty Dance, Ballet
Hispanico BHdos, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Gibney Dance, Limón Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Rioult, and The Juilliard School.
Featuring
Terese Capucilli, Christine Dakin, Virginie Mecene, Kevin Predmore, Jessica Higgins, Lauren Jaeger, Lloyd Knight, Shaun Parry, Jessica Sgambelluri, Blakeley White-McGuire. Full List to Follow.
ÉTUDES (2020)
Edited by: Nel Shelby Productions
Featuring videos submitted by dancers from around the world inspired by the Table of Silence
Project 9/11 to lend their voice for peace.
TABLE OF SILENCE PROJECT 9/11 (2011)
Filmed in 2019 by Nel Shelby Productions
Conceived, Directed and Choreographed by: Jacqulyn Buglisi
Artist sculptures: Rossella Vasta
Composers: Voice Tones: Libby Larsen; Flute: Andrea Ceccomori; Recessional: Paula Jeanine Bennett
Credits as of 8/12/20 | Updates to Follow
Surplice Design: A. Christina Giannini
Rehearsal Direction/Bell Master: BDT Associate Founder Terese Capucilli
Singing Bowls and Bells: Virginie Mécène
Opening Gong: Sensei Robert Chodo Campbell and Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison
Conch/Flute: John Ragusa
Conch/Trumpet: Pamela Fleming
Percussion: Paula Jeanine Bennett, Brandon Ilaw
Flute: Lisa Lorraine Johnson, Simon Hutchings
Chorus: Mary Elizabeth Poore, Lydia Graham, Francesca Dawis, Isabella Dawis, Luisa Fernanda Munster, Sadie Dawkins Rosales, Michelle Trovato
182 Dancers:
Buglisi Dance Theatre with professional artists who make up the diverse NYC arts community including dancers from The Martha Graham Dance Company, Graham 2, Ailey II, Limón Dance Company, Gibney Dance Company, The Juilliard School, The Ailey School, Steps Conservatory, Hunter College, Infinity Dance, Marymount Manhattan College, LaGuardia H.S. of the Performing Arts, among others.
Compiled by Jeff Slayton from a press release sent out by Michelle Tabnick Public Relations.
For more information on the Buglisi Dance Company, click HERE.
For more information on Table of Silence Project, click HERE.
For more information about Michelle Tabnick Public Relations, click HERE.
Featured image: Table of Silence Project 9/11 – Photo Paul B Goode
