Buglisi Dance Theatre and Lincoln Center Present a Reimagined Table of Silence Project 9/11

Buglisi Dance Theatre and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with Dance/NYC, present a reimagining of the Table of Silence Project 9/11, an annual free public performance ritual for peace conceived and choreographed in 2011 by Jacqulyn Buglisi, Artistic Director of Buglisi Dance Theatre, Featuring Live and Virtual Performance Elements. Livestream on Lincoln Center at Home on Friday, September 11, 2020 at 7:55am EDT http://lincolncenter.org/lincoln-center-at-home/show/table-of-silence-project-911-386.

Reimagined for our current moment, Ms. Buglisi’s collaborators on the 2020 edition include Composer/Music Director Daniel Bernard Roumain, spoken-word poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Buglisi Dance Theatre Co-Founder/Principal Dancer Terese Capucilli.

The site-specific work had its first presentation on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 on Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center. Since the inaugural performance, more than 1200 professional dancers, musicians, and singers representing the voices of the NYC arts community in all its diversity have performed to viewership reaching close to one million people across all 50 states and in 129 countries via livestream.

A multi-cultural performance ritual for global unity and peace featuring dancers from all corners of the world, the Table of Silence Project 9/11 typically features more than 150 dancers who slowly ascend onto Josie Robertson Plaza from multiple directions with the sound of a conch shell’s call to action for peace. Moving to the minimal, plaintive strains of the flute, the “heartbeat” of bass drums, trumpet, bells, and the cries of a chorus, the dancers form three concentric circles around the iconic Revson Fountain, while repeating twelve symbolic ritualistic gestures to manifest an ancient Peace Labyrinth.

This year, Ms. Buglisi is creating a new Prologue in which 24 dancers from Buglisi Dance Theatre, Ailey II, Alison Cook Beatty Dance, Ballet Hispánico’s BHdos, The Juilliard School, Limón Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company and professional dancers from the NYC community will perform live, encircling Lincoln Center’s Revson Fountain. With featured Guest Artists electric violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain and spoken-word poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph.

The socially-distanced performance will be live streamed from Lincoln Center beginning at 7:55am on Friday, September 11, 2020 and conclude at 8:46am, the time the first tower was hit on 9/11/01, followed by welcome remarks from industry leaders, a new world premiere film featuring dancers from around the world, and the full 2019 Table of Silence Project 9/11. Part of Lincoln Center at Home (#LincolnCenterAtHome), the offering will be streamed at LincolnCenter.org and on Lincoln Center’s Facebook Page. The video will also be available on-demand on LincolnCenter.org/TableOfSilenceProject and Buglisi Dance Theatre’s YouTube channel following the premiere.

The stream will include:
A Prologue, performed live from Lincoln Center;
welcome remarks from industry leaders;
an excerpt from Ms. Buglisi’s Requiem, choreographed in 2001 as an immediate response to the events of 9/11; 
the World Premiere of Études, a new three-minute film by Nel Shelby Productions that features more than 100 dancers from around the world who have been inspired by the Table of Silence Project 9/11 to create and submit small scale works recorded during the month of August; and
the full presentation of the 2019 Table of Silence Project 9/11, a public tribute to the events of 9/11 and a call to action for peace in this world during this 10th anniversary of the work’s creation.

“This reimagining of the Table of Silence Project 9/11 is a powerful message for healing as we struggle with the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice. We honor all those whose lives are impacted by the crises our country is facing,” said Ms. Buglisi. “Expressing so much of what makes us human, the Table of Silence Project’s message of peace and healing is far-reaching and holds great relevance today, in addition to the 9/11 commemoration. It strives to be a transformative experience that reveals the strength and resilience of our collective society.”

“The arts can connect us, reveal collective truths, and help us process so much in our world that can seem overwhelming and impossible,” said Henry Timms, President and CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “This work is a stunning example of the power of the arts. It is our honor to have it on our plaza once again, in a reconfigured form for our current times.”

Lincoln Center at Home is dedicated to maintaining connections to the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic. A free, one-stop portal to all digital offerings from across the iconic campus, offerings also include Lincoln Center Pop-Up Classroom, #ConcertsForKids, Memorial for Us All, as well as array of archival and livestream performances available for free and on demand at LincolnCenter.organd on Lincoln Center’s Facebook Page.

Photos, bios, and production credits are available here.

For digital offerings from Lincoln Center’s resident organizations, please visit LincolnCenter.org or individual websites.

Buglisi Leadership Support provided by Jody and John Arnhold, Arnhold Foundation 
Howard Gilman Foundation, Heinz Family Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. 

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Table of Silence Project 9/11
is made possible by Jody and John Arnhold and the Arnhold Dance Innovation Fund, and the Blavatnik Family Foundation Fund for Dance

Lincoln Center at Home is made possible by Founding Partner The Audrey and Martin Gruss Discovery Fund. Additional support is provided by PGIM, the Global Investment Management Business of Prudential Financial, Inc., the Howard Gilman Foundation, Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser, Comcast NBCUniversal, Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, U.S. Bank, and Lincoln Center’s generous donors and supporters.  

Lincoln Center’s artistic excellence is made possible by the dedication and generosity of our board members.

Public support for Lincoln Center is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Gonzalo Casals, Commissioner, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

NewYork-Presbyterian is the Official Hospital of Lincoln Center

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