Six international choreographers explore the concept of home in new collaboration at Gibney
Who: Valerie Green/Dance Entropy
What: HOME premiere
Where: Gibney: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center, 280 Broadway (entrance at 53A Chambers St.)
When: September 29 – October 1, $15-$20, 7:30
Why: “Home is acceptance, safety, security, and privacy,” Lebanese choreographer Bassam Abou Diab says about HOME, the new project from Manhattan-based Valerie Green/Dance Entropy. “It is the space in which I feel I can be free, natural, and present, the place in which I entrust my secrets and my details. It is the place that gives me the feeling of being an integral part of, the place that I feel comfortable in despite my racial, gender, and social differences.” Running September 29 through October 1 at Gibney and part of Gibney’s POP (Performance Opportunity Project) series, HOME brings together Green, Abou Diab, Maria Naidu from Sweden, Ashley Lobo from India, Souleymane Badolo from Burkina Faso, and Sandra Paola López Ramírez from Colombia, six choreographers creating movement based on what “home” means to them. The piece will be performed by Entropy dancers Karma Chuki, Aidan Feldman, Erin Giordano, Kristin Licata, Lawson Pinder, Sara Pizzi, and Richard Scandola, with costumes by Irena Romendik and lighting by Kathy Kaufman. The collaboration began in 2019 and involved Green providing a two-week residency for each choreographer.
Badolo explains, “I am like a snail; I carry my house with me wherever I am, wherever I go. I still have my culture, tradition, and my language that I speak, and also my land and my ancestors living in me. My house is my movement, my dance.” For Lobo, home is “the dichotomy of confusion and clarity that is India. Everything is chaotic but within that there seems to be a naturally evolving order, the natural progression from confusion to clarity.” The full evening-length piece is directed by Green, who said in a statement, “The HOME project challenged me as an artist in a new way. To take careful ownership in developing one’s work has been a unique and rewarding experience, and I am excited to offer audiences a glimpse into what home means from distinct cultures and choreographers. In these divided times, connection and understanding across diverse cultures is more important and needed than ever.” Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door.