As Quiet Fades into Cacophony
On January 5th, many of you headed back into the offices after a wonderfully long holiday break. On this day, the cast of Fêtes de la Nuit also showed up for the very first day of rehearsal. Often jet-lagged as they arrived from distant points around the world, nevertheless filled with energy and dedication and ready to show the world all they have to offer. One of the hallmarks of this production is its emphasis on diversity and Spotlight can tell you right now, the talents…skills…nationalities…training backgrounds… that diversity is in full resplendent glory. It truly is a Fête to admire and watch.
Rehearsals are taking place at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City and Spotlight was there to witness the first week of rehearsals and get to know members of the production. Stay tuned as we bring you into that experience when we post the first batch of photos from rehearsals. Our photographer, Jill Usdan, has taken some stunning shots that totally reflect the mood and dedication within the rehearsal space.
We asked Director Kim Weild for her thoughts as rehearsals began:
Beginnings are always nerve-wracking for me… even when revisiting a piece. I tend to be very self-conscious. I’m loaded up with ideas and inspirations and, like a kid on the first day of a new round of show and tell, I wish to excitedly share them with everyone. Usually, I have to remind myself to slow down. As we start rehearsals, I’m reminded of Ben Okri’s quote “The greatest stories are those that resonate our beginnings and intuit our endings, our mysterious origins and our numinous destinies, and dissolve them both into one.”
And that’s a journey Spotlight is going to take you on. But before we begin that journey, let us tell you about this storied Armory where the story of FetesNYC begins to take shape.
The production is blessed and grateful to be the Park Avenue Armory’s Artist in Residence (AIR) for the month of January. The Armory is a very special place nestled within the City of New York. In its heyday in the late 1800’s, it was both a military facility as well as a social club for the social elites of its time, like the Roosevelts, the Van Rensselaers and many others. And each room was commissioned and designed by artists like Stanford White and Louis Comfort Tiffany. As you enter the rooms, you’re struck by the thoughts shooting out of your mind as you observe completely wood-paneled walls, unique wallpaper designs, floors still worn from years of traffic, grooves deeply embedded by the boots of soldiers and the high heels of society, and the way the light shines through the windows, almost purposely directing you to the treasure that this building offers. And walls covered with plaques, old and worn but still readable, commemorating the soldiers from this Armory who have died in battle, their names reminding us why this country of ours is so special, even when the people who have installed those very plaques have themselves, long since passed.
PHOTO CREDIT- Photograph by Elliott Kaufman
Just LOOK at this picture and you know what most of us feel every time we enter the building for another evening or weekend of rehearsals, If you’re a history buff at heart, just climbing the monumental staircase to our floor, imagining a Roosevelt once climbing these very same stairs, retiring to socialize in one of the rooms and conferring with a Harriman or Livingston about events of the day or planning some important event for the City, you know what we feel.
Or if you’re an artist at heart, seeing the beautiful chandeliers hanging everywhere, the intricate attention paid to detail in the woodwork, the inlaid designs of the flooring, the unique wallpapers. Each room created by an important designer or architect in their young and budding years. People like Tiffany, White, Herter Brothers, Pottier & Stymus. Familiar names today, but new and relatively unknown back then. Just like the AIR program sponsored by the Armory today. It is history repeating itself in the best possible way.
If you ever have the opportunity to be invited to visit the Armory, do NOT pass it up. It truly is an experience you’ll never forget. And if you can’t visit the Armory, visit their web site at http://armoryonpark.org. FetesNYC thanks Rebecca Robertson, President/CEO, and all the staff at the Armory for their wonderful invitation to use their space.
And so begins our journey together, you and Fêtes de la Nuit..
I have to add a quick comment about rehearsing in this incredible space.
If you have ever wanted to know what it feels like to move that velvet cord at the museum and climb onto that antique table to dance a tango, this would be it. The space itself is sumptuous and the work that we are performing reflects it. It does really feel taboo somehow to work here. I am instantly transported to another time when I cross the threshold, my movements become taller, slighter and round, mirroring the balcony and with each step I feel I should reflect it’s art in my own. This particular room has an incredible history of performance since its construction and I am honored to feel those who have come before as I read their names on each door of the wooden lockers.
It is a gift everyday to rehearse here and I wanted to express my gratitude to the armory for giving us the privilege of performing and dancing through its decorated halls.
Many many thanks.
Kyle Knauf playing “Jean Francois”