Performa unites performance and architecture on the streets of NYC

NEW York City's architectural wonders will form an integral part of the upcoming performance biennial Performa, which will feature a program of site-specific live performances around the city.
This year marks the seventh edition of Performa, which features seasoned live performance artists and also commissions visual artists to create works of live performance, some for the first time. For Performa 17, which runs Nov 1-19 under the title "Circulations," the focus will be on performance as a radical tool for rethinking architecture's uses and aesthetics.
Among Performa projects that highlight this interplay between architecture and performance, Estonian artist Flo Kasearu will take over the New York Estonian House, a three-story Beaux Arts building in Manhattan's Murray Hill, for a project examining the American Estonian diaspora and taking place over the building's ten rooms.
South African artist Mohau Modisakeng will lead a procession from Harlem through Central Park to Times Square, stopping at landmarks in the history of racial segregation, while choreographer and artist Eiko Otake will present a movement and video installation inspired by post-nuclear disaster Fukushima at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's three locations around the city.
Architect François Perrin will bring to life a 1965 blueprint by Montreal-based architect François Dallegret called "The Environment Bubble" — an inflatable structure that will roam across New York City, presenting a choreographed program and offering daily public dance workshops.
In Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park, after-school drum line and dance team the Marching Cobras of New York will feature in a performance by Bryony Roberts and Mabel O. Wilson called "Marching On".
While most of Performa takes place in New York's five boroughs, some events are further afield. Among them, artist Jimmy Robert will take over Philip John's Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, presenting a score for two performers that draws on the house's idiosyncratic features.
The Performa Biennial will take place Nov 1-19. Find out more: www.performa-arts.org. — AFP Relaxnews