Risa Jasoslow and the Dancers

New York’s Risa Jaroslow & Dancers presented The Partner Project / Scene in Public, amongst crowds in Times Square. The Partner Project/Scene in Public investigated the nature of intimate relationships and how we are changed by witnessing moments of intimacy in public places. These may have been expressions of affection, anger, frustration, fear or the many other emotional states that shape relationships. In a public setting these moments became performances – the intimate exchange was a duet and the inadvertent observers become the audience.“We are thrilled to work with Risa Jaroslow and her dancers as they explore human connections on the world’s largest stage,” said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance. “Each day hundreds of thousands of visitors come to Times Square, and we can’t think of a more perfect location than the Crossroads of the World to showcase a piece of cutting-edge art that examines how we interact with each other.”The piece began at Duffy Square at 46th Street and Broadway with ten dancers. As it moved to the Broadway Plazas between 45th and 47th Streets, it shifted into duets, quartets and other combinations of dancers. The movement and stillness of the pedestrians who encountered it completed the “performance.”The Partner Project / Scene in Public premiered at the Danspace Project in December, 2011. Eva Yaa Asentewaa in The Infinite Body Blog described it as “a dance filled with grace, relatedness and sensitive response. Jaroslow explores many journeys of human connection, and her discoveries are fresh, never literal or obvious, always evolving in surprising, quirky ways. Her dancers are so alive in their movement and in their interactions that you clearly detect the flow of subtle thoughts and feelings, not only actions.” Risa Jaroslow & Dancers has performed internationally. In New York, they have performed at Dance Theater Workshop, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Sitelines, The 92nd Street Y at The Duke, the Joyce Theater and Central Park Summerstage. For more information, please visit www.hightidedance.com.