Pathways is our series of free and low-cost workshops, classes, installations, and immersive performances offered across our campus, in nature, and in the community. This year’s Pathways programming led us on trails far beyond the PS21 grounds: to neighboring Crellin Park for juggling workshops with Sean Gandini, to Tivoli for a high-flying performance by Quebec’s Cirque Kikasse, and to Hudson’s Shiloh Baptist Church for a special Father’s Day service with the Legendary Ingramettes.
Closer to home, the community lit up our Dance Barn with hip-hop classes taught by Tokyo-based MWMW, a master class from the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and a weekly Movement Without Borders roster that included Modern Dance, Vinyasa Yoga, Community Fitness, Ballet and Contemporary Dance.
We are so grateful to everyone — over a thousand of you, in fact — who participated in these free and low-cost events. It is always such a joy to see our community in action (especially when that action involves being suspended in one of Janet Echelman’s aerial nets!).
FROM BALLET TO HIP-HOP | May 14
Dancers from BEYOND BALLET, BEYOND HIP-HOP will give a masterclass to those with moderate dance experience. Dancers from the MWMW group will lead a 45-minute hip-hop class in the Dance Barn.
REBECCA LAZIER | May 31
During the residency to develop Noli Timere, the net sculpture will be activated as a civic gathering site for everyone to experience. Dancers from the performance will guide a limited number of community members in a movement workshop, taking place within the suspended nets.
NEXT FEST｜May 27–June 2
The NEXT Festival of Emerging Artists with concert benefiting Crellin Park Summer Camp
ARTURO O’FARRILL｜June 15. Global | Local series and PATHWAYS.
Pursuing his passion for sharing the vital musical traditions of Afro-Latin jazz with a wide audience, O’Farrill leads workshops for a group of students from the Chatham public school, and Kids 4 Harmony.
LEGENDARY INGRAMETTES｜June 16
Juneteenth Performance in partnership with Who We Be!. Before the performance, the Legendary Ingramettes will offer a brief history of the gospel tradition and a Q&A open to audience members at Shiloh Baptist Church.
CATARINA AND THE BEAUTY OF KILLING FASCISTS｜July 5-6,9th
In conjunction with the main stage performance, Bard Professor Thomas Bartscherer will lead three seminar-style discussions, presented live and online, as a dialogical exchange with assigned readings. The discussions will explore the intersection of theater and politics, past and present, and will consider the presence of violence in political life and artistic representation.
GANDINI JUGGLING. JUGGLING FOR ALL workshop | July 13
On July 13, world-renowned juggler Sean Gandini will lead the public through a series of fun juggling patterns in his “Juggling for All” workshop that PS21 will host in partnership with the Town of Chatham during the Community Picnic at the town’s Crellin Park on July 13. Later that evening, following a performance of SMASHED2, Joshua Glick – juggling aficionado and professor of film and media studies at Bard College – will lead a post-show conversation highlighting Sean’s fascination with group patterns, juggling individuality, and how his company grew from controversial to legendary in the community over 30 years.
ENCHANTED ECOLOGY｜July 19-21
Upstate Art Weekend (Hudson Valley Artists) with Free Community Indigo Dye Baths
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY | July 31 – August 3
Masterclasses, August 2, film screening, July 31, free and open to all
GAMELAN Y｜August 4
Yowana Sari director Michael Lipsey and members of the gamelan ensemble on August 4 will lead a workshop-demonstration and discussion of gamelan traditions and technique, composition and performance of traditional music and modern contributions to the genre. Composers for the gamelan and percussionist will join the conversation. An invitation to hands-on training and an opportunity to try out the instruments, a fun experience for individuals and entire families.
CIRQUE KIKASSE at CRELLIN PARK DAY｜August 17
Cirque Kikasse (Québec) will join the annual Crellin Park Day to perform “SANTE!” Following their performance, Ruth Wikler, former Deputy Director of Programming, Circus Arts at TOHU (Montréal), will lead a discussion about how we can be transformed through Circus Arts.
