MorDance Announces Performance At 40th Annual Battery Dance Festival

MorDance, a trailblazing and female-led ballet company that champions artistry and challenges tradition through original collaborative works committed to providing access to dance performance and education, is performing On the Waterfront at the 40th Annual Battery Dance Festival, available for in-person and live-streamed viewing, on Wednesday, August 18th at 7:00pm EST. Artistic Director and Choreographer Morgan McEwen highlights the symbiotic relationship between dance and music in this tribute to the world-renowned American composer Leonard Bernstein.

The score, stark and yet lively, is a concert suite that Bernstein composed for a movie also titled On the Waterfront in 1954. His first and only film score ever composed, he was frustrated with the manipulation and deletion of various elements in the final product of the film, exemplifying two art forms hindering the expression of one another. However, in her work, McEwen draws attention to the harmony between movement and sound, giving retribution to the unity between art forms which Bernstein craved.

Happy to continue the company's mission of free and accessible arts programming for the public, the company has been enjoying the open air of New York City's Open Culture program over the last several weeks to create new work and be a part of the free programming of the dance festival. "After everything both the city and the arts community has endured over the last year and a half, joining this free and accessible festival is the perfect way to connect with audiences and artists all over the world again," explains McEwen. "With a wonderful 40-year legacy of offering free access to dance performances, we are proud to be a part of this incredible roster of artists and look forward to feeling the energy of live dance again."

On the Waterfront will be presented on Wednesday, August 18th at 7:00pm EST to both in-person and live-streamed audiences. Other artists on the bill include Battery Dance, Dancing Wheels, Demi Remick & Dancers, Will Ervin - Erv Works Dance, and William Byram

Tickets for Battery Dance Festival are FREE and available at https://batterydance.org/battery-dance-festival/aug-18-2021/

The link for the live-stream will be posted on the day of the event, and the video will be available to watch for 10 days after the premiere, expiring on August 28th.