Public Programs "AHOY! Where Lies Henry Hudson?"
Events for October
October 12, 2 – 5 pm. Family Day Festivities
The final event of the 2009 Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, "Ahoy! Where Lies Henry Hudson?" is scheduled for October 12, 2009 beginning at 2 pm. A day of festivities for the whole family reflecting upon the ideals of exploration and discovery, adventure and heroism, is planned. Families are invited to the grounds of the historic Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock, NY to honor Henry Hudson's four voyages of discovery by journeying to four different sites where architects' memorials to Henry Hudson will be found. Special thematic performances will greet the voyagers at each site.
Journey #1, 2 pm: Conjure the spirit of Henry Hudson with magician, Andrew Weintraub. Andrew Weintraub is the president (and resident magician) of the board of The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck. He has been a conjurer for more than fifty years, and currently performs at various venues around the Hudson Valley.
Journey #2, 2:30 pm: Celebrate the musical link between Native Americans and their seafaring visitors with Stephen Johnson and Andrea Pastorella. Singer/songwriter and recording artist, Stephen Johnson, is the musical director with Movita Dance Theatre. Andrea Pastorella is the founder of the Movita Dance Theatre. With a cast of modern dancers ages 8 and up, Movita reveals the relationships between all people; young and adults, men and women.
Journey #3, 3 pm: Recount the Lenape myth of the creation of the Hudson River, tales of pirates and the settling of Woodstock with Jonathan Kruk. Storyteller Jonathan Kruk grew up on tall tales and daydreams. He began telling tales to calm his rambunctious kid brother at bedtime. Now Kruk gives almost 300 performances and workshops each year using varied voices and creative dramatics to feature heroes on the Hudson and wondrous fables. Kruk was selected "Best Storyteller in the Hudson Valley" by Hudson Valley Magazine.
Jonathan Kruk
Journey #4, 3:30 pm: Real–time improvisational composition connecting dance and music with natural and constructed environments with Mark DeGarmo & Dancers. Mark DeGarmo & Dancers have performed internationally, and in New York at BronxFest, Dancespace at St. Mark's Church, Downtown Dance Festival, Joyce Soho, Tribeca Performing Arts Center and the 92nd Street YM–YWHA. DeGarm's artistic vision and research involves partnering with living composers, performing with live music, and presenting multicultural musical traditions to diverse audiences.
Under the Radar, is a site–specific dance theater work choreographed by Mark DeGarmo for architect Evan Stoller's 38–foot diameter circular sculpture, Hudson Museum on the Ecliptic. The performance will take place on Monday, October 12, 3:30 pm outdoors at Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, Woodstock, NY. It is part of the Family Day Festivities that mark the closing of the exhibition AHOY! Where Lies Henry Hudson? The performance is free and open to the public.
Evoking space and time travel and ancestral roots at the time of Columbus and Hudson's voyages, the dance includes 7 associates of Mark DeGarmo & Dancers, including composer Judith Sainte Croix. The dance features a spontaneous orchestra's improvisational composition and audience participation. 2009 is the 20th Anniversary of the first Stoller–DeGarmo outdoor collaboration with DeGarmo's The Colors of Wisdom celebrating Stoller's half–acre sculpture Maya Station at The Neuberger Museum at SUNY Purchase.
Dancer and choreographer Mark DeGarmo has created 100 works and led his dance company on 25 performance, teaching, and research tours to Latin America, Europe, and Russia. The New York Times reported that "Mark DeGarmo made oddly interesting things happen" (Jack Anderson) and that "Mark DeGarmo & Dancers move with a supple measure of freewheeling energy" (Dulcie Leimbach). He has created dance theater works with national and international support based on contemporary social issues in Ecuador (U.S. State Department American Cultural Specialist), El Salvador (U.S. Embassy), and Peru (Fulbright Fellowship). His company's performances include: Café de la Danse, Paris, France; Cankarjev Dom Culture and Congress Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Derngate Theatre, Northampton, England; International Dance Festival, Chichicastenango, Guatemala; Los Talleres Cultural Center, Mexico City and the State of Mexico Festival, Mexico; National Theater of El Salvador; and New Dance Festival, Lima, Peru. Dancers include: Joan Arnold, Marie Baker–Lee, Amelia Uzategui Bonilla, Mark DeGarmo, Susan Thomasson, and Luis Gabriel Zaragoza.
"Ahoy! Where Lies Henry Hudson" is an original and thought–provoking contribution to the state–wide Quadricentennial of Hudson's explorations organized by the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild. Linda Weintraub is guest curator and Alan Baer is architectural coordinator. The exhibition explores the odd fact that Hudson is celebrated as a hero, but his life ended in failure. His crew mutinied and set him adrift to die in the icy waters of Hudson Bay. As a result, he never received a formal burial. The memorials in this exhibition are designed and constructed by distinguished regional architects. They interpret the significance of Hudson's historic journey within the context of 400 years of European occupation. This exhibition is supported, in part, with a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities and the New York State Council on the Arts, and runs through October 12, 2009.
Online Exhibition
The Center for Photography at Woodstock has curated an online exhibition of photographic interpretations and documentation of the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s exhibition “Ahoy! Where Lies Henry Hudson?” curated by Linda Weintraub.
CPW has invited photographers of all ages, skill levels and interests to submit their images for consideration.
The online exhibition will serve as an interpretive archive and area for discussion of the Guild’s temporary outdoor installation exhibition which is part of the Hudson Quadricentennial celebration entitled “AHOY! Where Lies Henry Hudson?” Area architects have designed memorials to Henry Hudson and installed them on the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony property.
For more information contact CPW at 845–679–9957 or visit our website.
