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Imagined as a performing arts paradise on the Hudson River, Little Island also stands out as a playground for artists who have been kept away from the stage for too long in their first months.
The island’s operators announced on Tuesday that it will host a free one-month arts festival, which will feature more than 450 artists in more than 160 performances, starting mid-August.
There will be dance with curated works. misty Copeland, robert wreath and Georgina Pazcoguin. There will be music, including pianists Jenny Lin and Adam Tendler, composer Tyshawn Sorey and saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin and his group. And there will be live comedy like TV stars ziwe and Bowen Yang in the show.
Produced by Mikki Shepard, formerly the Apollo Theatre’s executive producer, the festival is one of the New York performing arts community’s efforts to reinvigorate the arts after theaters and concert halls have been darkened by the pandemic for over a year. It’s an opportunity for artists to get paid to create new work and discover where their art is going, after months of pandemic restrictions and the racial justice protests that have swept the country.
“We wanted the artists to have a say, where are they now?” said Shepard. “Where do they want to be when we come out of this pandemic?”
By offering free performances, the goal of the festival is to host an audience that connects the typical arts patrons with people who normally can’t afford to buy tickets to see live music or dance. Performances at Little Island’s 687-seat amphitheater will be ticketed, but there will be no shows taking place elsewhere on the island, allowing tourists and other park visitors to stumble upon them while walking through the 2.4-acre space.
“There’s nothing refined about it,” said George C. Wolfe, senior consultant at the NYC Free festival. “Giving people a place to play.”
Copeland and Garland co-curate a performance on August 18 that features eight Black ballet dancers from three major companies: American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and the Harlem Dance Theater, where Garland is the resident choreographer. During the performance, Copeland will read aloud from hip-hop, soul and funk music, as well as American historical texts.
Other dance performances include the Bale Hispánico, performing an evening of new works by Latina choreographers on August 18, a dance evening curated by choreographer Ronald K. Brown, and a tap dancer’s performance on August 25. dormechiae on September 1
As for the music, John Cage’s “4’33” will take place on the first day of the festival on August 11. It will be performed by students from the Third Street Music School Placement led by Tendler. Other musicians include the jazz duo. Cecile McLorin Salvant and Sullivan Castle; Flor de Toloache, an all-female mariachi group; and Ali Stroker, Tony-winning “Oklahoma!” The artist who will sing and tell stories on stage. The final night of the festival features an all-female jazz performance curated by drummer and composer Shirazette Tinnin.
The comedy series features a stand-up show hosted by it. Michelle Buteau and “I Don’t Think So, Honey!” which grew out of an episode on their podcast hosted by Yang and Matt Rogers. a live show.
The festival is funded by big boss Barry Diller. Paid for Little Island and the family foundation will fund the first two decades of the park’s operations. It will take place from 11 August to 5 September.
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