Four Can’t-Miss Performances at 2024’s River to River Festival

The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC)’’s annual River to River Festival is back and better than ever with a robust slate of programming including dance, music, video and other art exhibitions that seek to reflect LMCC’s diverse ethos. This year’s festival — the 23rd annual — also aligns with LMCC’s 50th anniversary celebrations, exploring themes of resonance, reconsideration and resistance. The free summer arts program runs from June 7 through June 23, 2024 and features 13 projects. All events are free and open to all, with reservations requested for some events with limited capacity. Here are four performances to check out this summer — or hit ‘em all!

“The Power of the Bounce”

Join Miguel Gutierrez on June 7 at 5 p.m. at 28 Liberty St. for an interactive, high-energy group dance performance complete with group choreography and costumes. Gutierrez will recreate the “Aerobicon” dance he created in 2000 to question how we keep moving in the chaos of everyday life, alongside exuberant joy as well as systemic injustice. Wear your active clothes and be sure to put on your dancing shoes.

“South Cove Song”

“South Cove Song”is a site-specific musical performance at Battery Park City’s South Cove by John P. Hastings, Aaron Meicht and featuring a 12-piece brass ensemble, centered around the past(s), present(s) and future(s) of Lower Manhattan. Drop in to enjoy the music on June 16 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

“Whale Fall Abyss”

The Tall Ship Wavertree at the South Street Seaport Museum will be the setting for choreographer Mayfield Brooks’spresentation in the cargo hold of the historic ship, based on Brooks’s 2021 experimental dance film of the same name. When “Whale Fall (the film)” premiered, Brooks wrote, “This project was born out of a desire to sit with grief and rage in a world that discards too much and consumes too much. As a result, the bodies of whales and the bodies of Black folk seem to have a kinship in how they have been both targeted, hunted and consumed since the transatlantic slave trade. I have also come to know that some slave ships were used as whaling vessels.” Brooks’s show will take place June 19 through 22 at 7 p.m. accompanied by performer Camilo Restrepo and electric cellist Dorothy Carlos.

“Tremor”

Multidisciplinary artist and composer Samita Sinha presents a special iteration of this performance at Federal Hall on June 20 at 8 p.m., performed in duet with Cecilia Vicuña. The artists will infuse their vocal vibrations and personal lineages into the historically monumental space mixed by sound designer Daniel Neumann and set within a visual design by architect Sunil Bald. Reservations are recommended for this performance as space is limited.

photo: The Illustrious Blacks, River to River 2021