Maria Hassabi and Hristoula Harakas have taken SHOW outside for the River to River Festival (photo by Francis Coy)
Broad & Wall St.
Saturday, June 30, and Sunday, July 1, free, 5:00
rivertorivernyc.com
www.mariahassabi.com
show slideshow
Back in November, Maria Hassabi presented SHOW at the Kitchen, where she and longtime collaborator Hristoula Harakas slowly weaved, wiggled, and wound their way across the floor amid the audience, which was allowed to go wherever they wanted, whether standing in the back or sitting right next to the performers. Hassabi and Harakas are now taking the fab gathering outdoors as part of the free River to River Festival, where they will be interacting not only with an audience specifically there to see them but by passersby who are bound to wonder just what is going on. Featuring sound design by Alex Waterman that incorporates freshly recorded noise and voices, the performance is an intimate experience that is sure to have renewed life from being out in the sun, compared to the more cramped and dark black-box room at the Kitchen. Hassabi and Harakas can do amazing things with their bodies, displaying elegance and strength, in what we called back in November “a brilliant, often erotically charged evening-length piece performed by two dynamic, brave dancers unafraid to take risks, involving the audience in unique and, at times, demanding ways.”
Maria Hassabi and Hristoula Harakas put on quite a SHOW at River to River Festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Update: As it turns out, SHOW does indeed offer a very different kind of experience in its new incarnation outdoors as part of the River to River Festival. On a cobblestone path on Broad St., Maria Hassabi and Hristoula Harakas move incredibly slowly, staring deep into each other’s eyes, crawling over each other’s bodies, and lifting their legs high into the air in breathtaking positions. Depending on which angle you are watching from ― you can sit on sidewalk benches, move around the area, or spread out on the street itself, where you might have to get out of the dancers’ way as they approach you ― you can see the large American flag on the Stock Exchange building or the George Washington statue in front of Federal Hall in the background. Alex Waterman’s score mixes in noises recorded earlier around Wall St., including construction work and sirens, layered with live sound. Despite the intense heat, Hassabi and Harakas soldier on as tourists gawk, shutterbugs surround them, food deliverers speed by on their bicycles, and dogs on leashes amble past them. Yet the two extraordinary dancers manage to maintain the piece’s inherent intimacy, especially when they make extended eye contact with people in the crowd.