Time Lapse Dance to Present SHAPES OF CHANGE, Honoring Gail Merrifield Papp
The two-performance run will take place New York Society for Ethical Culture's Adler Hall, with pay-what-you-can tickets.
Jody Sperling and Time Lapse Dance's upcoming program, Shapes of Change, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the company will honor behind-the-scenes theatrical force Gail Merrifield Papp. There will be two performances of Shapes of Change from April 24-25, 2026 at New York Society for Ethical Culture, Adler Hall, 2 West 64th Street, New York, NY, 10023 and a post-show reception on Friday, April 24 to raise a glass and celebrate Gail and her contributions to the field.
In keeping with an ethical ethos, all performance tickets are offered at pay-what-you-can pricing. Suggested general admission is $35 with lower-cost and free ticket options available here.
As a founding Board Member of Time Lapse Dance, Gail Merrifield Papp harnessed her expertise and insight to launch the company and advance the Time Lapse Dance mission. More broadly in the performing arts field, Gail is known for her involvement with the Public Theater since its inception - as a creative force developing innovative, socially-conscious, and award-winning theatrical productions.
For two-and-a-half decades, choreographer Jody Sperling and her Time Lapse Dance ensemble have been creating stunning spectacles that illuminate the relationship between the human body and the natural world while reckoning with climate change realities. Since 2022, Sperling and company have been Eco-Artists-in-Residence at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, co-presenting programs that embody an ethical and ecological ethos. Shapes of Change celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Time Lapse Dance and the 150th Anniversary of the New York Society for Ethical Culture with two unique performances (come to both!) featuring a world premiere and repertory favorites at the Society's historic Adler Hall.
The world premiere piece Sea Change is a poetic reimagining of humanity's relationship with water in the wake of rising sea levels. Performed by the company's six exquisite dancers, the dance delves into somatic experiences of submersion and conjures a misty realm between sea and sky. The work continues a decade-long collaboration between Sperling and Emmy Award-winning environmental composer Matthew Burtner. For the season, Burtner performs live and conducts The New Consort vocal ensemble to evoke a hauntingly luminous sea of sound.
Program A (Friday) features two other Sperling-Burtner collaborations: Fractal Memories, originally created for the documentary Obsessed with Light, which traces the entanglement of bodies through time; and Plastic Harvest, a romp about plastic proliferations. Performance followed by a reception honoring a special guest to be announced. Program B (Saturday) features the Sperling-Burtner collaborations: Wind Rose, visualizing patterns of atmospheric disturbance; and excerpts from the visually-hypnotic Arbor, dwelling on the intimacy of trees. Saturday's performance is followed by an artist talkback.
All of these works feature transformative costumes that abstract human movement into elemental and organic forces, with the dancers appearing to conjure the oceans eddies, a growing forest, or hovering storm clouds. The company's unique style of movement draws inspiration from and furthers the art form created by dance icon Loie Fuller (1862-1928) a century ago. Lighting design by Bessie Award-winning designer David Ferri.
Program A - Friday, April 24
+Ticketed Reception
Program B - Saturday, April 25
+Artist Talkback
Time Lapse Dance ensemble: Frances Barker, Elinor Kleber Diggs, Tessa Fungo, Anika Hunter, Maki Kitahara, Lo Poppy, Sarah Tracy, and Rathi Varma
The New Consort, vocal ensemble: Madeline Apple Healey (soprano), Heather Jones (mezzo-soprano), Noé Kains (tenor), Brian Mummert (artistic director & baritone)
Performance-Only Tickets (Friday or Saturday)
No minimum, suggested pricing as follows
$10 - accessible price (e.g. senior, student, artist)
$35 - general admission
$75 - patron ticket (subsidizes accessible tickets for others)
Performance + Post-Performance Reception (Friday 4/24 only)
$50 - accessible price
$150 - patron ticket
$500+ - Leadership Circle Access (perks include VIP seating & rehearsal invitations)
residency at The New York Society for Ethical Culture, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, with support from the Heinrich Böll Foundation Washington, DC, and the Harkness Foundation for Dance.
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