PASS: New New Prayer For Now (excerpts) by Stephen Petronio Company
Thursday, April 21, Staten Island, NY— Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden is excited to present New New Prayer For Now (excerpts) by Stephen Petronio Company as part of the 2022 PASS (Performing Arts Salon Saturdays) series. The performance will take place on Saturday, April 23 from 2:00 PM – 3:20 PM in the Dance Center at Snug Harbor, on the second floor of Building G at 1000 Richmond Terrace. General admission tickets are $10 and $8 for Snug Harbor Members, and can be purchased at https://snug-harbor.org/event/pass-new-new-prayer-for-now-excerpts-by-stephen-petronio-company/
“We are thrilled to welcome the Stephen Petronio Company to Staten Island for their inaugural residency at Snug Harbor,” said Melissa West, Vice President of Curation at Snug Harbor. “As the company develops its upcoming work to premiere at the Joyce, New New Prayer for Now, we are reminded of the power of art to move us and inspire our community. We a proud to host this residency in partnership with the CUNY Dance Initiative and the College of Staten Island.”
“Snug Harbor is a protective and beautiful respite to dance at in this insane world,” said Stephen Petronio. “It’s a perfect place to work and feel apart from the madness!”
A bold and visceral dialogue between bodies, space and the viewer’s eye, New New Prayer For Now will premiere at The Joyce Theater on May 17-22. This work is a continuation of a period of moving meditations on connected-ness and is a collaboration with composer/performance artist Monstah Black, creating music based on the treasured songs ‘Balm in Gilead’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ performed live by The Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC), under the direction of Francisco Nuñez. This is a reach for healing through embodiment and connection.
The mission of Stephen Petronio Company (SPC) is to support the vision of choreographer Stephen Petronio, which includes the creation and presentation of his existing and new works, alongside legacy initiatives meant to preserve the history of postmodern dance lineage, while also advancing its future through new works that honor and extend the history and offer a platform for a greater inclusivity of artistic voices.
SPC was founded in 1984 to support the creative work of modern dance choreographer Stephen Petronio. The incredible milestone of the 25th anniversary of the Company in 2009 catalyzed Stephen to explore how SPC could expand from a single-choreographer model dance company to also honor the past, present, and future in the field of dance through new initiatives (residency programs and re-staging of important postmodern works) designed to amplify and complement Petronio’s original mission. In 2014 the Bloodlines initiative, which preserves a legacy of postmodern dance through restaging projects, was launched, and in 2017, the Petronio Residency Center (PRC) opened. The Company’s mission expanded to include the creation and presentation of Petronio’s works alongside legacy initiatives meant to secure the history and future of postmodern dance lineage: 1) Stephen Petronio continues to develop and present original choreography; 2) through the Bloodlines initiative, SPC has restaged and presented 12 postmodern dance projects, and commissioned two new solo works from young choreographers to date; and 3) PRC, located in the Hudson Valley, supports future choreographic invention in the field with artist residencies as well as education initiatives.
Considered a leading talent of his generation, SPC has produced more than 80 works since founding his company nearly 40 years ago, and Petronio and his dancers have performed before thousands of audience members nationally and internationally, including a regular New York City performance presence.
Petronio has collaborated with some of the most talented and provocative artists in the world, working across disciplines and genres, to build a multi-faceted repertoire of artistic work. He was greatly influenced by working with Steve Paxton and was the first male dancer of the Trisha Brown Dance Company (1979 to 1986). He has gone on to build a unique career, receiving numerous accolades, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, an American Choreographer Award, a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award, and a 2015 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award.
PASS: Performing Arts Salon Saturdays residency program is made possible through generous lead support from the Howard Gilman Foundation, with additional support from the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Snug Harbor is a proud partner with the CUNY Dance Initiative.
Stephen Petronio Company recognizes Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, and SHS Foundation as lead supporters of the 2022 Season and Bloodlines. Stephen Petronio Company’s 2022 Season and Bloodlines are made possible, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, Small Business Administration’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, New York State Council on the Arts with support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and with additional support from Joseph & Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, New Music USA’s New Music Organizational Development Fund, The Shubert Foundation, Serena Foundation and James E. Robinson Foundation.
The opinions, results, findings and/or interpretations of data contained herein are the responsibility of the Recipient and do not necessarily represent the opinions, interpretations or policy of the State or if funded with Federal funds, the applicable.
Image credit: New Prayer For Now by Stephen Petronio. Video still by John Fitzgerald
ABOUT PASS (PERFORMING ARTS SALON SATURDAYS)
PASS is a performing artist residency focused on the creation and development of original works of performing arts: dance, music, theatre, multi-disciplinary. Snug Harbor offers six residencies per year, five of which are selected through an open call process. Artists live (and sometimes work) in one of Snug Harbor’s historic cottages, with studio space available at the Dance Center for the creation, development and performance of new work. At the end of each residency, artists share their work in public work-in-progress performances across the campus. PASS provides time, space, an honorarium, and curatorial support to incubate artists in the development of their work.
ABOUT SNUG HARBOR CULTURAL CENTER & BOTANICAL GARDEN
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden offers dynamic programming in the arts, horticulture, and agriculture for diverse communities and all ages, on our historic 83-acre campus. We envision being a locally impactful, globally renowned destination, true to our values of artistic vibrancy and community, inclusion and discovery, stewardship and conservation.
Snug Harbor is the result of more than four decades of restoration and development to convert a 19th-century charitable rest home for sailors into a regional arts center, botanical gardens and public park. One of the largest ongoing adaptive reuse projects in America, Snug Harbor encompasses 26 historic structures, 14 botanical gardens, a 2.5-acre urban farm, wetlands, forests and park land on a free, open campus. Snug Harbor is a proud Smithsonian Affiliate organization. Learn more at snug-harbor.org.
For Immediate Release – Contact: Meredith Sladek, msladek@snug-harbor.org, (718) 425-3515
