Paul McGill Presents World Premiere of Site-Specific Dance Piece BLOOM, Featuring Gabriel Hyman, Lynette Paz and More

Today, Rockwell Group, the architecture and design firm founded by David Rockwell, Tony Award-winning set designer and architect, and Fisher Brothers announced the completion of the newly renovated lobby at 299 Park Avenue with a live theatrical performance series that will showcase the vital work of New York's theatermakers and performance artists. The series, which is created in celebration of the completion of $20 million dollar capital improvement plan, transforming the interior and exterior lobby spaces at 299 Park Avenue, will launch today with the world premiere of Broadway choreographer Paul McGill's site-specific dance piece Bloom featuring five elite dancers: Gabriel Hyman, Lynette Paz, Aliza Russell, Michael Wang, and Spencer Weidie.

For the ongoing series, Fisher Brothers is commissioning short dance pieces that will be incorporated into 299 Park Avenue's Bloom, Living Canvas, a 60-foot-long LED art installation which blends interactive technology, architecture, and storytelling. The LED canvas has the beauty and delicacy of a painting and unexpected moments of interaction, evolving over the course of the day and across seasons. Future commissions for Living Canvas will be announced in the coming weeks.

Live, in-person performances of Bloom, the first piece in the series, will be free and open to the public today, October 21; Thursday, October 22; and Friday, October 23. There will be three performances per day, at 12:00 PM, 6:00 PM, and 6:30 PM ET. The running time for Bloom is approximately two minutes and audience members will be required to wear a mask, practice social distancing, and will watch the performance outside the main lobby. Audience capacity will be strictly limited and audience members will be accommodated on a first come-first serve basis.

David Rockwell said, "As New York's performers and artists continue to be devastated by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, I looked at our work at 299 Park and saw an opportunity for these artists to create something that will bring a moment of beauty to Midtown while providing them much needed work."

Ken Fisher, Partner at Fisher Brothers said, "We saw Living Canvas as an opportunity to revitalize and electrify Midtown in a way that hasn't been done before. Through our partnership with Rockwell Group, leveraging art, and technology, we were able to change not only how the building looks, but also how it feels. This brand-new performance series is part of our commitment to the arts community of New York. We're thrilled to have Bloom and Paul McGill's vision inaugurate this series."

Paul McGill said, "I feel so grateful to be given the opportunity to create with some of New York's finest dancers in this new wonderful space. The performing arts in New York has taken a real hit during this global pandemic, so this is an especially rare and wonderful opportunity for everyone involved. Because theaters are closed, we innovate, we persevere, and we rise to the occasion. This is no exception. Not one moment of this process has or will be taken for granted. I hope this piece cracks open the hearts of those who drink it in."

McGill's new piece Bloom represents an emergence from confinement and the ability to exist in harmony with a brand new, state of the art workspace. Bloom is the ultimate expression potential: an external manifestation of internal possibility. With this concept, humankind will offer its greatest expression: dance. Inspired by the Shinto blessing of a new home, Bloom will express harmony between nature, man, and kami (spirit world). In this context, the five dancers featured in this world premiere dance are the surrogates for all who enter the space and their dance, their blessing.

For more information about Rockwell Group, please visit www.rockwellgroup.com.

For additional information about Fisher Brothers and 299 Park Avenue, please visit the firm's website at www.fisherbrothers.com.