THE FLOCK: JO'S DREAM to Transform Bannerman Island

The Bannerman Castle Trust and the Skyla Schreter Dance Company will present an immersive experience on Bannerman Island entitled “The Flock: Jo's Dream” on Saturday & Sunday, October 3rd & 4th.   There will be two tours only, with a tour boat departure time of 4:30pm on both days.

The Flock is a large-scale dance and film project created by SSD based on Richard Bach's 1970 novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull and led by Beacon-based choreographer and SSD founder and director Skyla Schreter.  Thanks to funding from the New York State Council on the Arts and partnership with Bannerman Castle Trust, the 5th chapter of this project, titled “Jo's Dream” will be filmed entirely on Bannerman's Island in September 2026.  The film will premiere in Spring 2027 and will be included in a larger full-evening length professional dance work upon completion.

In this one-weekend only experience, specially designed sound and light installations imagined by SSD creative director Aaron Sanders will be featured, and an illustrated map of Bannerman's Island created in collaboration with Beacon-based artist Chris Ams will guide visitors on their journey. This self-guided tour will provide visitors with a unique experience on Bannerman's Island, offering a different way to explore the historic island through imagination and immersive storytelling.

The event begins by boarding the BCT's tour boat, the Estuary Steward, at the Beacon Dock located at 2 Red Flynn Drive, in Beacon, NY, directly across from the Metro-North train station.  Following a 25-minute scenic boat ride, visitors will have an hour and a half to explore the island before returning to Beacon. Attendees will be invited into the world of “The Flock” with music from the larger dance-film work, as well as a recorded monologue from one of the story's characters.

Using their maps, attendees will traverse the various waypoints on the Island, which will each have a distinct soundscape as well as visual lighting elements. Visitors will not be observing or watching the characters, they will put themselves into the story, and journey through the island as the characters, experiencing the world of “The Flock" first-hand.  This is an experience that is guided by imagination - it's not a dance performance, theater or concert, it is an immersive exploration of storytelling and nature that centers the visitor as the main character of a fantasy world.   

The Flock tells the story of a restless young seagull named Jo, who dreams and strives to transcend the limitations imposed upon her by the rigid traditions of her home Flock.  In her quest to perfect her ability of flight and turn it into an art form and more than just a means to consume, she breaks with both her family and the Flock and is banished and exiled for her transgressions. This opens her up a whole new world of self-exploration and artistry, where she is free to learn and grow, build a new community rooted in her values, and live the life she chooses for herself.  

Skyla Schreter Dance combines classical ballet with a contemporary aesthetic to convey modern-day stories and perspectives.  Taking an interdisciplinary approach, their work often integrates film, visual art and musical collaboration to expand the common boundaries of dance as a presentational art form, while maintaining the body as the primary instrument for creation and expression.  Founded and led by choreographer and director Skyla Schreter, a former professional ballerina with the San Francisco Ballet and now an established choreographer based in the Hudson Valley; SSD is a collective of dancers, designers and collaborators working across professional dance, music and visual arts to connect and elevate our shared human experience through creation.