The New York Society for Ethical Culture presents the world premiere of Arbor, a FREE evening of stunning ecologically themed works by its Eco-Artist-in-Residence, dancer-choreographer Jody Sperling, and her Time Lapse Dance ensemble. The ongoing residency is a unique and timely collaboration between the Society—whose mission is to encourage respect for humanity and nature and to create a better world—and Sperling’s company, whose mission is to deploy dance toward envisioning a more embodied, sustainable, and equitable future. For more info, visit https://www.timelapsedance.com/events/arbor-2023, and RSVP for the event here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/arbor-world-premiere-with-jody-sperling-and-time-lapse-dance-tickets-727865785157.
Arbor is a meditation on the nature of trees. The work, which culminates two years of investigation, is the latest outgrowth of the long climate-engaged collaboration between Sperling as choreographer and environmental composer Matthew Burtner. The music will be performed live for this one-night-only event by the composer and a string quartet of musicians from The MET Orchestra. In voluminous costumes meticulously painted with tree limbs (by textile artist Gina Nagy Burns and costume designer Mary Jo Mecca), the dancers spiral, billow, and encircle one another in gusts of action resembling timelapses of tree motion. Lighting is by Bessie-Award-winning designer David Ferri.
Arbor has been described as “breathtaking,” by Tom Phillips, Dance Enthusiast, and according to Karen Hildebrand, Fjord Review, “Sperling was a master of stage presence as she evoked the deep-rooted majesty of the tree.”
The evening also features performances of other eco-themed Sperling-Burtner collaborations that are visually and sonically stunning. Wind Rose, which renders changing atmospheric patterns palpable to sight, sound, and touch, has been described as “a stunning, spinning white cloud that both moves and is moved by wind” (Karen Hildebrand, Fjord Review). Plastic Harvest creates a surreal spectacle of plastic pollution while provoking contemplation about the beauty of what—and who—society throws away. Concluding the program, Sperling offers her whirling solo Piece for a Northern Sky, a meditation on planetary motion which Jerry Hochman (Critical Dance) calls “a compelling piece, brilliantly executed. Collectively these dances stir the senses to awaken a deeper ecological consciousness.”
Choreographed & performed by Jody Sperling
Prior to its world premiere as Arbor, the work will be shown as a part of Communi-tree: dances about nature, an educational dance program offering a creative experience of nature for students of all ages. The program features highlights from Arbor, a dance cultivating kinship between trees and people, and Plastic Harvest, a romp about plastic pollution that provokes conversations about what—and who—society throws away. Sperling offers enlightening commentary between pieces and, with composer Matthew Burtner, a participatory movement/music-making experience. This program is hosted by Ethical NYC’s Young Ethical Explorers.
The performance will be followed by an artist talkback.