Public Performance: Tuesday, December 6, 11:30pm – 12am | Duffy Square

Times Square Arts will host a live outdoor performance by the Grammy Award-winning ensemble Attacca Quartet in celebration of Rowlson-Hall’s Midnight Moment.

Attacca Quartet’s Times Square performance is supported in part by Glasser NY, as well as Polyarts, a female-driven management team for unique artists across all genres.

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In December, a whimsical welcoming of winter graces the billboards of Times Square. Director-choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall’s First Snow is a hopeful appeal for an unending abundance of beauty amidst the fragile state of our natural world. As snow cascades across a stark, black backdrop, dancers slowly emerge from darkness. Immersed in snowfall, their choreographed movements and personal gestures are swirling and spontaneous, punctuated by pauses of wonderment that evoke memories of a first encounter with snow. Eventually drained of bodily energy, the dancers recede towards the darkness, collapsing beneath the accumulation of the silent storm.

“I have dreamed for many years of creating a piece in Times Square - the mecca of light, concrete, human imagination and drive, that allows the passerby a brief moment of beauty, quiet, and reflection, and invites nature back into this city…immersing the audience in a beautiful snowstorm, one which not only invokes beauty and wonder, but a deep nostalgia through movement and dance. My hope for this piece is to remind people of the power and nature of beauty in all its forms, and a deep wish for mother nature to hold on.”
— Celia Rowlson-Hall

The making of First Snow also mirrors the environmental themes Rowlson-Hall addresses throughout her work. The snow that descends upon the dancers is made from recycled, biodegradable packing. With the intention of making films that leave as little environmental trace as possible, the costumes were lent by designer Sara Lopez of A--Company, a fashion line that seeks to reduce waste. "My films leave as little trace as possible, because I make films that celebrate the beauty of this world," says the director. "I won't add to the waste and destruction of our planet in that pursuit."

Times Square Arts will host a live performance by the Grammy Award-winning ensemble Attacca Quartet on Tuesday, December 6 from 11:30pm-12:00am in celebration of Rowlson-Hall’s Midnight Moment.

Film Credits
Director: Celia Rowlson-Hall

Original Score: Plan & Elevation V. The Beech Tree by Caroline Shaw and the Attacca Quartet

Dancers: Aliza Russell, Connie Jie Hung Shiau, Jesse Kovarsky, Kevin Pajarillaga, Marla Rose Phelan, Nando Morland, Yeman Brown & Zui Gomez

Editor: Kevin Tadge

Director of Photography: Jake Saner
First AC: Tom Van Scoyoc
Gaffer: Kyle Driggs

Makeup Artist: Mandy Bisesti
Wardrobe provided by A—Company

Produced by Kelsey Grills & Marla Rose Phelan
Executive Producer: Ziggy Le Vin at Director’s Lab

First AD: Andrea Murillo
Production Assistants: Makenna Finch & Catheryn Clifford

A Movement Museum Production. Gibney Company’s Moving Toward Justice Fellowships are funded by Andrew A. Davis, a trustee of the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund, the Bay & Paul Foundations, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and The Ready Foundation.