four/four presents "Open Air" with Melanie Charles and Kayla Farrish (Sep 12) and Moor Mother and Rena Butler (Sep 21)
Company:
four/four
four/four presents, in partnership with AudioFemme & ThrdCoast:
Open Air
A series of new, site-specific dance and music collaborations, live and outdoors
New Performance Dates
Featuring Melanie Charles and Kayla Farrish on September 12, and
Moor Mother and Rena Butler on September 21
New York, NY (August 30, 2021) – four/four presents, a curatorial platform commissioning collaborations between musicians, choreographers, and dancers, is producing its first series of live collaborative outdoor shows this summer entitled Open Air. The series provides opportunities for artists to connect and create new work once again in a live setting, stepping out of their usual collaborator circles and expanding their network and audience.Upcoming performances include jazz, soul, and experimental vocalist and flutist Melanie Charles and choreographer Kayla Farrish on Sunday, September 12 (originally scheduled for August 8), and musician and poet Moor Mother and choreographer Rena Butler on Tuesday, September 21 (originally scheduled for September 15).
four/four will livestream the shows and film each performance for audiences who are not able to experience the live event. Past Open Air performances have featured singer-songwriter Madison McFerrin with choreographer/dancers Samantha Figgins and Jessica Pinkett at Jackie Robinson Park in Harlem (June), and experimental harpist Mary Lattimore and choreographer Loni Landon at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn (July).
Since four/four began its journey in May 2020, it has been commissioned to create work for such organizations as Central Park SummerStage and Brooklyn music venue Public Records, where it presented a digital music and dance series entitled TETHERED. four/four brought together musicians and dancers from all over the world to collaborate on films for these organizations featuring such artists as Jon Batiste, Madison McFerrin, Charlotte Dos Santos, L’Rain, Xenia Rubinos, Samora Pinderhughes, and Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang (of Son Lux), and dancers from Alvin Ailey, Batsheva Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Martha Graham Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theater, and others.
OPEN AIR SERIES: SEPTEMBER 2021 (UPDATED)
Sunday, September 12, at 5pm
Melanie Charles and Kayla Farrish
Maria Hernandez Park, Bushwick (Knickerbocker Avenue and Starr Street, Brooklyn)
Free with RSVP / $25 reserved seat
Tuesday, September 21, 7pm
Moor Mother and Rena Butler
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1, Dumbo (2 Furman Street, Brooklyn)
Free with RSVP / $25 reserved seat
For reservations, go to fourfourpresents.com/events.
MUSIC BIOS
Melanie Charles: jazz, hiphop, experimental
Moor Mother: experimental, rap, hiphop
CHOREOGRAPHER BIOS
Kayla Farrish: https://www.kaylafarrish.com/
Rena Butler: https://gibneydance.org/people/rena-butler/
ABOUT FOUR/FOUR PRESENTS
four/four presents is a presenting and curatorial platform that commissions collaborations between musicians, choreographers, and dancers. Founded by choreographer Loni Landon and music presenter Rachael Pazdan in April 2020, four/four works to bridge the gap between dance and music audiences and to develop a new network to align artists. four/four believes that at this moment in history it is vital to assure the arts are accessible, equitable, and joyful for all. It values championing up-and-coming artists as much as established talent, and aims to create space for artists to grow and for audiences to grow with them. four/four’s mission is to provide a platform for these artists and to present accessible new commissions to the public.
four/four emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a digital platform for musicians, dancers, and choreographers across the world to connect and create work while stages were dark. Landon and Pazdan’s creative partnership unites dance and music communities in New York City as well as abroad, pulling from their individual networks as career artists and presenters. Since creating digital collaborations, four/four has presented over 75 dancers and choreographers and over 25 musicians, partnering with organizations such as Central Park SummerStage and Public Records to present this work on their digital channels, which includes their built-in audiences.
Share Your Audience Review. Your Words Are Valuable to Dance.
Are you going to see this show, or have you seen it? Share "your" review here on The Dance Enthusiast. Your words are valuable. They help artists, educate audiences, and support the dance field in general. There is no need to be a professional critic. Just click through to our Audience Review Section and you will have the option to write free-form, or answer our helpful Enthusiast Review Questionnaire, or if you feel creative, even write a haiku review. So join the conversation.
