During the spring, summer and fall of 2020, during the COVID 19 pandemic, Dance Visions NY has been fully immersed in creating a new work.
The company has navigated a new artform- the result is a film mosaic of poetry, dance, theater, art and nature. Now, having recently presented two of three versions of the film, we are excited to present this last version, a combination of the first two, with the beauty of Zoetropsis (our Cedarmere version) and the depth of the Sands Point Preserve version.
Originally intended to be a poetry/dance work performed in nature, “Evening” is derived from the last section of an original poem by Kyra Jucovy with three sections (Morning, Afternoon, Evening). The poem depicts a journey, which follows a river from its source in caves. It continues through the springs, all the way to the mouth of the ocean.
“Evening” is the part of the poem in which the river gradually flows up to the mouth of the ocean, and a philosophical dilemma ensues. It illustrates the cyclic nature of so much of our world, and has particular relevance today, with its theme of ending in order to begin anew.
The work is designed with the words as the motivating force throughout. Actor Tzena Nicole serves as the voice and unifying presence in the piece, expressing the widely varying emotions that the protagonist and her companion(s) experience. The movements of the dancers inspired by the Isadora Duncan aesthetic and philosophical approach, which are fully complementary to the words, embody the narration. This film incorporates a variety of background music and sounds, as well as imagery and video clips from nature.
Aside from footage recorded at the beautiful outdoor spaces of the presenting organizations, each performer recorded in the outdoor spaces that they could access during the pandemic.
The movement, therefore, takes place in a wide variety of natural and human-made locales throughout the country, broadening the scope of the film to incorporate a picture of the nation in the pandemic, 2020. The film reads like a book, with chapters that can stand on their own, but ultimately informed by all that came before.
Dance Visions NY Inc. is the New York metropolitan area’s celebrated dance company that brings Isadora Duncan’s artistic legacy into the present through the performance of Isadora Duncan repertory as passed on to Beth Jucovy through her 2nd-generation Duncan mentors, as well as through original works, influenced by the aesthetic, that take on a different form in the modern world.
Direction, Video editing, Choreography: Beth Jucovy
Poem: “Evening” – from the third and last section of “The Subject and Power” by Kyra Jucovy
Actor: Tzena Nichole
Dancers: Louisa Cathcart, Beth Jucovy, Albena Kervanbashieva, Hope Kroog, Rebekah Mulkey, Michelle Tilghman
Footage from Cedarmere, Sands Point Preserve and from outdoor spaces in NYC as well as the Hudson Valley, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey
“Beautifully done, and very poignant. Full of humanity…both the light and the darkness of life.” Philip Gardner, Dance and music writer for Oberon’s Grove
“The choreography is lovely and well executed. The photography is often stunning. The music is well-chosen,” Composer and Musician Leonard Lehrman, writer for Soundwordsight.com
“The idea so brilliant, the poem so moving, the dancers so honest and deeply committed,” Barbara Kane, Isadora Dance Specialist, UK.
This project made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislator and administered by the Huntington Arts Council.
This project is also supported by Dance/NYC’s Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund
Beth Jucovy, Artistic Director Dance Visions NY
Great Neck
