On Sunday, September 11, beginning at 8 am, Buglisi Dance Theatre and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with Dance/NYC, will present a live performance of the Table of Silence Project 9/11, an annual public ritual for peace first conceived and choreographed by Jacqulyn Buglisi, Artistic Director of Buglisi Dance Theatre, in 2011. The free event, presented in the Josie Robertson Plaza, is open to the public on a general admission, first-come first-served basis; advance reservations and tickets are not required. The performance will also be streamed live, free of charge, on the website, by Nel Shelby Productions.
The site-specific work had its first presentation on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Since the inaugural performance, more than 1400 professional dancers, musicians, and singers representing the diverse voices of the NYC arts community have performed to viewership reaching more than two million people across all 50 states and in 229 countries around the globe via livestream.
This year, the company will present the original full-scale version, with more than 100 dancers slowly ascending onto the Plaza to the sound of a conch shell’s call to action for world peace. Moving to the plaintive strains of the flute, the heartbeat of bass drums, trumpet, bells, and the cries of a chorus, the dancers form patterns of concentric circles around the iconic Revson Fountain to create an ancient Peace Labyrinth while repeating twelve symbolic ritualistic gestures. The intent is to fill the sacred landscape with the transcendent energy of the Mandala for healing, peace, and harmony. The 2022 iteration will also incorporate elements of the reimagined versions presented during the recent pandemic years.
Achieved through community partnerships with Dance/NYC, Chelsea Factory, The Juilliard School, Martha Graham Center, Steps on Broadway, and others, the artistic collaborators for this year’s program include Buglisi Dance Theatre co-founder/principal dancer Terese Capucilli, composer/percussionist Paula Jeanine Bennett, John Ragusa on conch/flute, and Pamela Fleming on trumpet.
For a preview of the event, you can watch the trailer here:
Table of Silence Project 9/11 plays on Sunday, September 11, 2022, beginning at 8:00 am, at the Josie Robertson Plaza, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, NYC. Attendance is free; no tickets are required. To watch the livestream, go online.
