HWS News
6 September 2024 Fly-By-Night Dance Theater Comes to HWS
This month, the HWS Department of Dance and Movement Studies will host New York City-based Fly-By-Night Dance Theater in a four-day teaching and performing residency.
Tickets for the performance will be available at the Gearan Center box office beginning at 6:30 p.m. the night of the performance and are available to reserve through the CUR8 platform.
Click here to reserve a ticket
A modern dance company committed to stretching the boundaries of aerial dance into expressive territory, Fly-By-Night Dance Theater has produced multiple seasons of repertory since 1999. The company has presented nine NYC Aerial Dance Festivals showcasing aerial artists from across the United States, numerous college dance residencies, and multiple Free-for-Kids projects, allowing audience members 18 years of age and under to attend free performances and workshops. The company is committed to diversity among its community; scholarship auditions for the BIPOC community have been offered annually for more than 15 years, and scholarships for the LGBTQIA+ community began in the fall of 2023.
Professor of Dance and Movement Studies Cynthia Williams first met Ludwick as a presenter in the Somatic Dance Conference and Performance Festival she has held on campus, and was immediately struck by the integrity and artistry of Ludwick’s choreography.
“Aerial dance is often exciting and kinesthetically engaging, but sometimes focuses more on the spectacular tricks and acrobatic moves of the performers. Fly-By-Night has both artistic depth and theatrical sparkle, not sacrificing one for the other,” Williams says.
Williams says she was especially moved by the evening-length work the company will perform during their residency. “Where Shall I Send My Joys?” evolved out of The Joy Project, which was motivated by a request from Ludwick’s terminally ill sister for “a poem that moves you, or a link to some music you love, or a snapshot of something that brings you joy — whatever makes life worth living.” The project spurred workshops on cultivating joy and an exploration of the ways that loss and grief can be balanced by cultivating and sharing the joys of everyday life. “Where Sall I Send My Joys?” is a choreographic embodiment of that research, featuring three performers on trapezes and ropes.
Three workshops are open to the campus community during Fly-By-Night's residency at HWS.
Ludwick will offer a workshop on Skinner Releasing Technique on Thursday, Sept. 19 and Friday, Sept. 20. On Thursday, in conjunction with the DAN 101 "Body and Self" course, the workshop will be held from 10:20 - 11:50 a.m. in Studio 104 in the Gearan Center. The Friday workshop will be held from 9:40 - 11:10 a.m. in conjunction with the DAN 940 "Modern Dance Technique: Somatic Foundations" course in Deming Dance Theatre. Skinner Releasing Technique is an improvisational somatic dance technique developed by Joan Skinner that aids participants in letting go of tension and exercising their imagination.
On Friday, Sept. 20, Ludwick will also offer an Introduction to Somatic Low-Flying Trapeze workshop from 3 to 5 p.m. in Deming Dance Theatre. Participants will explore basic hangs on a low trapeze bar and discover the skills of skimming flights and whisper-soft landings.
For more information about the workshops, please contact Cynthia Williams at williams@hws.edu.
The Fly-By-Night Dance Theater residency is supported the department of Dance and Movement Studies and the New York State DanceForce, a partnership program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
