HUDSON, NY – Join The Olana Partnership and Site-Specific Dances for “UNFOLDING OLANA: A Day of Dance” at Olana State Historic Site on Saturday, June 17th. This unique event will immerse visitors in a captivating celebration of movement and artistry, set against the stunning backdrop of Olana’s 250 acres of artist-designed landscape.
“UNFOLDING OLANA” is led by acclaimed choreographer Michael Spencer Phillips and esteemed architect Dino Kiratzidis. Together, they will transform Olana’s picturesque landscape into a dynamic stage, presenting a series of thought-provoking dance pieces that pay homage to the vision of landscape artist Frederic Church.
Visitors are encouraged to pack a picnic and spend the day exploring the site, as pop-up performances will unfold throughout Olana’s breathtaking landscape. From hidden groves to open meadows, every corner will come alive with captivating movement and artistic expression. These performances have been meticulously developed through engaging conversations with art historians, ensuring a deep connection to Church’s original compositions and the ecological richness of the Olana’s contemporary landscape.
“Unfolding Olana” will culminate with a sunset performance at 8:15 PM as the sun sets behind a Catskill Mountains and Hudson River backdrop. This breathtaking culmination promises to be a memorable experience for all who attend.
“We are so excited to make a series of dances on and in response to the historic Olana landscape, which is equally a collection of views that unfold, as well as a space that can only be fully understood by moving through it,” said Michael Spencer Phillips and Dino Kiratzidis, Artistic Directors of Site-Specific Dances. “We are collaborating with composer Darian Donovan Thomas who will create soundscapes across the site, as well as 8 professional dancers from New York City and local community participants, together creating a site-specific performance that emphasizes the 3-dimensional environment Church created.” On June 10 at 1:00 and 3:00 PM Site-Specific Dances choreographer Michael Spencer Phillips will be at Olana’s Wagon House Education Center, for a free community-based dance and movement class for participants of all ages and abilities. Each workshop will bring community members together for an introduction to modern dance and the opportunity to learn choreography for performances at Olana State Historic Site on June 17.
“UNFOLDING OLANA merges the worlds of art, dance, and nature, breathing new life into Church’s masterwork” said Carolyn Keogh, Director of Education and Public Programs at The Olana Partnership. “We invite everyone to join us for this magical day of dance this summer, as we celebrate the intersection of creativity, history, and movement.”
The performance and workshops are part of Site-Specific Dances’ June creative residency at Olana in collaboration with The Olana Partnership. Site-Specific Dances has received funding from Charles E. Culpeper Program of Rockefeller Brothers Fund. To learn more about Site-Specific Dances, visit www.sitespecificdances.com.
Tickets for “UNFOLDING OLANA: A Day of Dance” are free and can be reserved online at https://www.olana.org or in person at the Olana Visitor Center. Limited availability, early booking is encouraged.
About Olana and The Olana Partnership: Olana is the greatest masterwork of Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), the preeminent American artist of the mid-19th century and the most important artist’s home, studio, and designed landscape in the United States. Church designed Olana as a holistic environment integrating his advanced ideas about art, architecture, landscape design, and environmental conservation. Olana’s 250-acre artist-designed landscape with five miles of carriage roads and a Persian-inspired house at its summit embraces unrivaled panoramic views of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains and welcomes more than 170,000 visitors annually. The landscape is open for guided touring, and reservations are highly recommended. The landscape is open daily 8 AM-sunset. Olana State Historic Site, administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, is a designated National Historic Landmark and one of the most visited sites in the state. The Olana Partnership is the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit cooperative partner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation at Olana State Historic Site
About Site-Specific Dances: Through interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement, Site-Specific Dances makes performances that activate landscapes, both wild and urban. Their mission is to facilitate community engagement with diversity that reflects the local site, foster a deeper appreciation for the performing arts (and dance specifically) through participatory programs, use location-based performance to explore an intersectional range of social, environmental, artistic, and historical topics in new ways; and push the boundaries of interdisciplinary and site-specific performance.
