Battery Dance Festival Will Perform in Remembrance On 9/11

Tribeca-based Battery Dance will mark the 20th Anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center near its home at 8:46am on Saturday morning, September 11, 2021. Five performers will gather on the traffic island bordered by Varick and Franklin Streets and West Broadway, dancing to the strains of a solo violin in tribute to the victims of 9/11 while symbolizing resilience and healing.

This activation reflects back to September 2001, when the Company emerged from its loft located in the Frozen Zone below Canal Street. Tadej Brdnik danced a solo accompanied by four musicians on the same traffic island in view of the empty sky corridor that had previously been punctuated by the Twin Towers.

Battery Dance's Vivake Khamsingsavath will direct the tribute, dancing alongside fellow Company members Sarah Housepian and Jill Linkowski, joined by Tadej Brdnik who will come out of retirement to participate in the memorial, accompanied by solo violinist Yu-Wei Hsiao. Together these artists carry their mixed heritage of Laos, Armenia, Ireland, Poland, Slovenia and Taiwan, a microcosm of those lost on that tragic day.

Just as it was 20 years earlier, the event will be devoid of speeches or fanfare, a simple prayer in movement and music, echoing off the nearby buildings and available for anyone to witness as they walk by.

"We welcome passers-by, neighbors and anyone who may feel inspired to join us as a way of marking this tragic, life-changing occasion with the beauty and solemnity of this performance", said Jonathan Hollander, Artistic Director and Founder of Battery Dance.