Audience Location:
Hudson River Park-Clinton Cove (Pier 95)
Date and Time:
June 24, 2017 at 1:00pm-2:30pm EST
Water Locale:
Hudson River
Choreographer(s):
Omega Dance Company, New York’s premier professional sacred dance company and one of the oldest sacred dance companies in the United States, was founded in 1974 by sacred dance pioneer Carla DeSola. Omega, in-residence at the Church of the Village in Manhattan, is comprised of professional dancers and educators of diverse backgrounds. Omega ministers to communities of varying faiths throughout the New York City metropolitan area by offering dance in worship settings, presenting concerts with spiritual themes, and giving workshops that explore how movement can reveal the sacred.
History of Site and Related Water Issues:
Omega Dance Company aligns its call-to-action with Riverkeeper’s Protect River Ecology against Crude Oil Transportation campaign.
The Hudson River is not your typical river. In fact, most of the Hudson is actually a tidal estuary where salt water from the ocean combines with freshwater from northern tributaries. This “brackish”, or mixing, water extends from the mouth of the Hudson to the Federal Dam in Troy, NY, approximately 153 miles. The salt front of the estuary, where the freshwater runoff meets the saline water, may range from the Tappan Zee Bridge/Yonkers in the spring to Newburgh Bay/Poughkeepsie in the late summer or during droughts. Because the Hudson River is a tidal estuary, meaning it ebbs and flows with the ocean tide, it supports a biologically rich environment; making it an important ecosystem for various species of aquatic life. For many key species, it provides critical habitats and essential spawning and breeding grounds.
Now, there is a proposal to build two massive pipelines called the “Pilgrim Pipeline” from Albany, NY to the Linden, NJ area. One pipeline is proposed to carry crude oil south, and the other proposed to bring refined petroleum products north. Learn more about the risks of this proposal below.
The potential human and environmental impacts of this “virtual pipeline” are anything but virtual. The Hudson River, its tributaries and every community along the river or the freight rail line are at risk from spills and fires.
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Click here to take action: https://goo.gl/nqhTnx.
Music:
Omega’s “Invocation for Peace” is performed with Tibetan (singing) Bowls and Mallets and “Sanctus and Benedictus” is performed to Paul Winter’s Missa Gaia/Earth Mass released in 1982 for Living Music. The title stems from two languages, Latin (missa = mass) and Greek (gaia = mother nature). The Earth Mass was one of the first contributions made by Paul Winter when he and his Paul Winter Consort became the artists in residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. The mass includes the usual text, such as the Kyrie and the Agnus Dei, and also other text, hymns, and instrumental pieces. The mass is an environmental liturgy of contemporary music. It features the instrumentation of the Paul Winter Consort along with a choir, vocal soloists, and the calls of wolves, whales, and many other animals that are woven into the pieces, sometimes used as the melody. Since it was first written, the mass is performed annually at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine at The Feast of St. Francis which is the blessing of the animals.
The Performance:
Omega Dance Company is honored to perform Invocation for Peace choreographed by Carla DeSola and Sanctus and Benedictus, the water-inspired movement of Paul Winter’s Missa Gaia/Earth Mass originally choreographed by Paco Garcia, with further development by Allan Tung and revised by Sandra Rivera for PBS, at Hudson River Park- Clinton Cove (Pier 95) across from Trump Tower New York, as part of our new partnership with Global Water Dances, a bold visionary worldwide artistic initiative that brings together local environmental experts and organizations, artists and members of the local and global community to raise awareness on the critical need for safe drinking water.
Both masterworks are iconic Omega repertoire, with Sanctus and Benedictus performed by Omega at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for over 25 years for their annual Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
Omega Dance Company feels called to offer GWD near Trump Tower NYC, where the message of the work has the potential for a social and political impact in addition to its artistic impact. We hope you’ll join us.
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For more information, please visit: https://goo.gl/mA1jp8.
Environmental Impact:
Omega Dance Company stands in line with Riverkeeper’s support for the Hudson River Protection Act (H.R. 1504) sponsored by Representatives Sean Patrick Maloney and Eliot Engel, which would limit the areas that may be designated as anchorage grounds for vessels carrying hazardous or flammable cargo.
The Hudson River Protection Act, introduced into the House of Representatives, “amends the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1915 to prohibit the establishment of areas located within five miles of a nuclear power plant, a location on the national register of historic places, a superfund site, or critical habitat of an endangered species as anchorage grounds in U.S. navigable waters for vessels carrying hazardous or flammable material as cargo.”
In effect, this bill would prohibit the creation of new anchorage sites to store crude oil on the river outside of existing locations in Yonkers and Hyde Park. We need all of New York and New Jersey’s congressional delegation behind this bill.
Omega will inform NYC constituents on the Hudson River Protection Act (H.R. 1504) and encourage them to call, write and meet with their members of congress and ask them to co-sponsor the Hudson River Protection Act (H.R. 1504). We will also gather petition signatures on the day of performance.
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Click here to take action: https://goo.gl/nqhTnx.
Directions to the Site of Performance:
Omega’s Global Water Dance performance will take place at Hudson River Park-Clinton Cove (Pier 95), across from Trump Tower New York, located at West 55th Street. Take the B, D, E train to 7th Ave. C, E to 50th Street or the M31 or M57 bus. This family friendly community event is free and all are welcome to attend and/or participate in-person or via Facebook Live. For more information, please visit, https://goo.gl/czlmW2.
Email for more information:
How can I get involved?
Please contact Omega Dance Company at [email protected] for more information regarding Omega’s performance with Global Water Dances.
Local Website: