UNFOLDING OLANA

“Church was much more than a landscape painter, and one of the things that distinguishes him from other landscape painters is the fact that he also designed a three-dimensional landscape, the Olana State Historic Site. The landscape is equally a collection of views that unfold, as well as a space that can only be fully understood by moving through it. That’s a really exciting premise–the intersection of painting and three-dimensional design and how to explore that in both the performances as well as the exhibition design in the second part of the project. We are also excited to be working with composer Darian Donovan Thomas on soundscapes that we will distribute across the site, emphasizing the three-dimensional environment Church created.”

– Dino Kiratzidis and Michael Spencer Phillips, Artistic Directors: Site-Specific Dances

Join the artistic director of Site-Specific Dances, choreographer Michael Spencer Phillips, at the Wagon House Education Center for a community-based dance and movement class for participants of all ages and abilities. FREE one hour classes will be offered as part of Site-Specific Dances’ June engagement with The Olana Partnership. Each workshop will bring community members together for an introduction to modern dance and the opportunity to learn choreography for performances at Olana State Historic Site on June 17. The culminating on-site performance, UNFOLDING OLANA, will take place at Olana on June 17 from 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM, with a community sunset performance at 8:15 PM.

UNFOLDING OLANA is designed to offer an opportunity to engage with Olana through movement in the landscape. Join us to learn more about Olana and to experience the joy of collective performance alongside professional dancers.

Join The Olana Partnership and Site-Specific Dances at Olana State Historic Site on Saturday, June 17th for a day of dance, distributed throughout Olana’s 250 acres of artist-designed landscape. Pack a picnic and spend the day exploring pop-up performances across the site or enjoy a summer evening at the sunset finale performance. Site-Specific Dances, led by choreographer Michael Spencer Phillips and architect Dino Kiratzidis, will stage a series of dance pieces throughout Olana’s landscape. These performances are a result of conversations with art historians and developed specifically for Church’s designed landscape, highlighting the artist’s compositions, the site’s contemporary ecology, and the legacy of Olana and its protected viewshed.

Prior to June 17th, a series of community dance workshops will be offered on June 10th. Participants will be invited to join in the final performance, staged at sunset on June 17th at 8:15 PM. Everyone can dance and everyone is invited.

Site-Specific Dances was founded by choreographer Michael Spencer Phillips and architect Dino Kiratzidis to investigate the synthesis of performance and place. Site-Specific Dances connects dance and music to unique places to activate the theatricality of the natural world and explore pressing environmental or social issues in playful or unconventional ways. The creative team for UNFOLDING OLANA includes Darian Donovan Thomas (composer) and Emma Kazaryan and Nate Reininga (videography).