R.O.S.E.
WADE THOMPSON DRILL HALL
SEPTEMBER 5–12, 2024
Sharon Eyal Choreography
Gai Behar Co-Direction
Caius Pawson of Young Co-Direction
Mattis With of Young Musical Curation
Ben UFO DJ
Maria Grazia Chiuri, Christian Dior Couture Costume Design
Daphnée Lanternier Creative Direction and Stage Design
Alon Cohen Co-Lighting Design
Brandon Stirling Baker Co-Lighting Design
Noa Eyal Behar Jewelry and Makeup Design
Commissioned by Park Avenue Armory, Factory International, and Sadler’s Wells
Produced by Factory International for Manchester International Festival
Adapted by Park Avenue Armory
SEASON SPONSORS
PUBLIC SUPPORT
R.O.S.E. is supported, in part, by Jody and John Arnhold and the Harkness Foundation for Dance. Support for Park Avenue Armory’s artistic season has been generously provided by the Thompson Family Foundation, Charina Endowment Fund, the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, The Shubert Foundation, Wescustogo Foundation, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Marc Haas Foundation, Mary W. Harriman Foundation, the Reed Foundation, the Leon Levy Foundation, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg, The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation, the Richenthal Foundation, and the Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Armory’s Artistic Council. Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature as well as the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council under the leadership of Speaker Adrienne Adams.
PERFORMERS COMPANY DANCERS
Darren Devaney
Guido Dutlih
Juan Gil
Alice Godfrey
Heloise Jocqueviel
Gregory Lau
Johnny McMillan
Keren Lurie Pardes
Nitzan Ressler
NEW YORK DANCERS
Julia Ciesielska
Blu Furutate
Antonia Gillette
Michaella Ho
Destinee Jimenez
Nick LaMaina
Natalie Wong
Nina Longid
Julian Sanchez
Luc Simpson
Kailei Sin
Jeremy Villas
OTHER HAPPENINGS
THE LOT RADIO
The esteemed underground music station broadcasts from the Wade Thompson Drill Hall three hours prior to each R.O.S.E. performance. Go to armoryonpark.org for DJ lineup and schedule and tune in at thelotradio.com.
RAVE: SLINK
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 AT 7:00PM
DAY FOR NIGHT: A SALON ON ART AND NIGHTLIFE
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 AT 3:00PM
This afternoon salon brings together scholars, writers, artists, and nightlife makers to enlighten nightlife as an art form, and discover the ways social and performative dance have intertwined in recent years. Participants include: indomitable force in the worlds of drag, music, fashion, and nightlife Kevin Aviance; artist-scholar and DJ madison moore; scholar-practitioner of dance performance Ariel Osterweis; and artist, performer, and event planner at The Spectrum BK Gage Spex.
RAVE: STUNT QUEEN!!!
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 AT 6:00PM
WELCOME
How do you harness the raw power, electric energy, and freedom of dance in a space for everyone? This is the question that has informed the practice of award-winning choreographer Sharon Eyal and innovator of the underground club scene Gai Behar for over a decade. After years of iteration, finding fruitful collaborators in Caius Pawson, founder of London-based music and arts organization Young, and pioneering DJ Ben UFO, they have found their answer in R.O.S.E., now premiering to New York audiences at Park Avenue Armory.
Eyal has lived and breathed dance since she was a child, becoming one of the youngest members and choreographers of the Batsheva Dance Company. Eyal met Behar at a club in the late 90s, where they connected on their shared love of the intimacy and collective release they experienced in club culture. Upon visiting Eyal in the studio and experiencing her visceral and boundary-blurring work, Behar encouraged her to lean into her own artistic vision and form her own company. Behar and Eyal have since gone on to create captivating performances bristling with dark hedonism, futuristic androgyny, hypnotic repetition, and remarkable muscular control for companies across the world.
Throughout their years-long collaboration, the duo was pulled towards the idea of bridging the gap between dance, community, and space. Collectively, they knew they wanted to make Eyal’s contemporary works accessible in a simple, straightforward way. They bemoaned the arbitrary distances created by the arrangement of a traditional theater, with performers and audiences separated by a proscenium and pit. By bringing contemporary dance into the club environment, they hoped to dissolve physical boundaries and introduce live, uninhibited feedback of crowds to make the feeling of the work immediately intelligible. They struggled with how to execute the borderless concept until they met Caius Pawson, founder of multi-genre music and arts organization Young. After a series of conversations, the artistic pair invited Pawson to the studio, who immediately resonated with the electricity and physicality of the dancers’ movements. In Pawson, they found the piece they had been missing, the connector between where they were and where they wanted to go.
Much experimentation led them to the conclusion that the music needed to be curated and performed by a DJ, in real time. The integration of a DJ would allow for communication between the choreographer and the musical artist on the spot, in a way that simple pre-recorded tracks and live bands did not. With a DJ, they could piece something together out of fragments: fragments of Sharon’s work, fragments of music, and fragments of emotion woven into one cohesive experience. They tapped pioneering DJ Ben UFO to use his wide-ranging musical knowledge and experience across rave culture to build a musical language around Eyal’s choreography that moves both the dancers and the audiences in between and is reactive to the individual feedback of the audience during each performance.
The resulting work, R.O.S.E., had its world premiere at the Manchester International Festival in the summer of 2023, transforming Manchester’s New Century Hall nightclub into a hybrid stage and dance floor. The creative team slowly and carefully built the pieces during rehearsals and workshops, and their rigorous work came to a full release in the performances. Led by the music, the crowds and the dancers exchanged energy back and forth, with the room alternately rapt with attention and shaking like a club at peak time. By the end of each show, the dancers had found that elusive state of flow, where creation and performance came easily.
At Park Avenue Armory, audiences are invited to move with the ensemble of nearly 20 dancers from the original cast and New York-based artists in a bespoke club architecture within the soaring Wade Thompson Drill Hall. Aligning with the creative’s vision for an intimate and ecstatic exchange between audience and performers, each performance becomes an extended DJ set, creating a completely unique feel and experience every night. Uniting the freedom of the audience and the feedback loop created by audience engagement with the dancers, Ben UFO adapts and responds to the live environment. The result is a celebration of the joy and intimacy of nightlife and dance, with artists pushing their craft alongside the audience to find freedom and community in an artistic world unlike any other.
— Sharon Eyal, Gai Behar, Caius Pawson, and Ben UFO
PRODUCTION CREDITS
SHARON EYAL DANCE
Maya Manor Production Manager
Roy Bedarshi Company Manager and Stage Manager
Maëlle Tournadre Administration
Clyde Emmanuel Archer Rehearsal Manager
Alon Cohen Technical Manager
Noa Eyal Behar Backstage Manager
Yair Salman Light Technician
Hillel Sherf Sound Engineer
Sebastien Van Den Berg Stage Design Assistant
ARMORY PRODUCTION STAFF
Emma Cameron Freelance Producer, Factory
Lissy Barnes-Flint Stage Manager
Kana Morita Company Manager
Yuki Sato Rochefort Assistant Company Manager
Eden Battice, Blue Price, Naomi Santos Production Assistants
Alisa Rabin, Ruby Carmel Production Assistants, Production
Nicholas Houfek Lighting Supervisor
Dave “Tater” Polato Production Electrician
Andrew Carey Deck Electrician
Mark Grey Audio Supervisor
Andrew Lulling Audio Systems Engineer
Jeff Rowell Production Audio
Carl Whipple Production Carpenter
Justin Hill Deck Carpenter
Stephen Pucci Production Rigger
Theodore Sarge Staging Supervisor
Victoria Bek Wardrobe Supervisor
Eleanor Bauer Dresser
Sarah Cimino Make Up Consultant
Madison Frie Makeup Artist
PRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
BNW Rigging; Five Ohm Productions; Odeum Labor Services; Premier Stagehands; Lighting and Rigging Equipment by 4Wall Entertainment; Audio Equipment by Masque Sound; SteelDeck NY.
SPECIAL THANKS
Covey Law; DJP Immigration; Gwyneth Naylor and Beth Davies of Young; Francois Vaxelaire of The Lot Radio; Artistic Director and Chief
Executive John McGrath, Executive Producer Fiona Pride, and Producer
Emma Cameron of Factory International.
ABOUT PARK AVENUE ARMORY
Part palace, part industrial shed, Park Avenue Armory supports unconventional works in the performing and visual arts that cannot be fully realized in a traditional proscenium theater, concert hall, or white wall gallery. With its soaring 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall—reminiscent of 19th-century European train stations—and an array of exuberant period rooms, the Armory provides a platform for artists to push the boundaries of their practice, collaborate across disciplines, and create new work in dialogue with the historic building. Across its grand and intimate spaces, the Armory enables a diverse range of artists to create, students to explore, and audiences to experience epic, adventurous, relevant work that cannot be done elsewhere in New York.
The Armory both commissions and presents performances and installations in the grand Drill Hall and offers more intimate programming through its acclaimed Recital Series, which showcases musical talent from across the globe within the salon setting of the Board of Officers Room; its Artists Studio series curated by Jason Moran in the restored Veterans Room; Making Space at the Armory, a public programming series that brings together a discipline-spanning group of artists and cultural thought-leaders around the important issues of our time; and the Malkin Lecture Series that features presentations by scholars and writers on topics related to Park Avenue Armory and its history. In addition, the Armory also has a year-round Artists-in-Residence program, providing space and support for artists to create new work and expand their practices.
The Armory’s creativity-based arts education programs provide access to the arts to thousands of students from underserved New York City public schools, engaging them with the institutions artistic programming and outside-the-box creative processes. Through its education initiatives, the Armory provides access to all Drill Hall performances, workshops taught by Master Teaching Artists, and in-depth residencies that support the schools’ curriculum. Youth Corps, the Armory’s year-round paid internship program, begins in high school and continues into the critical post-high school years, providing interns with mentored employment, job training, and skill development, as well as a network of peers and mentors to support their individual college and career goals.
The Armory is undergoing a multi-phase renovation and restoration of its historic building led by architects Herzog & de Meuron, with Platt Byard Dovell White as Executive Architects.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairman Emeritus
Elihu Rose
Co-Chairs
Adam R. Flatto
Amanda J.T. Riegel
President
Rebecca Robertson
Vice Presidents
David Fox
Pablo Legorreta
Emanuel Stern
Treasurer
Emanuel Stern
Marina Abramović
Abigail Baratta
Joyce F. Brown
Cora Cahan
Hélène Comfort
Paul Cronson
Jonathan Davis
Tina R. Davis
Jessie Ding
Sanford B. Ehrenkranz
Roberta Garza
Kim Greenberg
Samhita Jayanti
Branden JacobsJenkins
Edward G. Klein, Brigadier General NYNG (Ret.)
Ralph Lemon
Jason Moran
Janet C. Ross
Stephanie Sharp
Joan Steinberg
Dabie Tsai
Avant-Garde Chair
Adrienne Katz
Directors Emeriti
Harrison M. Bains
Angela E. Thompson*
Wade F.B. Thompson*
Founding Chairman, 2000-2009
Pierre Audi
Anita K. Hersh Artistic Director
*Deceased
PARK AVENUE ARMORY STAFF
Rebecca Robertson Adam R. Flatto Founding President and Executive Producer
Pierre Audi Anita K. Hersh Artistic Director
Jason Moran Curator, Artists Studio
Tavia Nyong’o Curator, Public Programming
ARTISTIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING
Michael Lonergan Senior Vice President and Chief Artistic Producer
Kevin Condardo General Manager, Programming
Rachel Rosado Producer
Samantha Cortez Producer
Darian Suggs Associate Director, Public Programming
Kanako Morita Company Manager/Associate Producer
Oscar Peña Programming Coordinator
ARTISTIC PRODUCTION
Paul E. King Director of Production
Claire Marberg Deputy Director of Production
Nicholas Lazzaro Technical Director
Lars Nelson Technical Director
Mars Doutey Technical Director
Rachel Baumann Assistant Production Manager
ARTS EDUCATION
Cassidy L. Jones Chief Education Officer
Monica Weigel McCarthy Director of Education
Aarti Ogirala Associate Director of Education, School Programs
Biviana Sanchez School Programs Manager
Nadia Parfait Education Programs Manager
Ciara Ward Youth Corps Manager
Bev Vega Youth Corps Manager
Milen Yimer Youth Corps Assistant
Drew Petersen Education Special Projects Manager
Emily Bruner, Donna Costello, Alexander Davis, Asma Feyijinmi, Hawley Hussey, Larry Jackson, Drew Petersen, Leigh Poulos, Neil Tyrone Pritchard,
Vickie Tanner Teaching Artists
Wilson Castro, Shar Galarza, Daniel Gomez, Nancy K. Gomez, Maxim Ibadov, Amo Ortiz Teaching Associates
Arabia Elliot Currence, Victoria Fernandez, Sebastian Harris Teaching Assistants
Felipe Aguirre, Marc Keven Chaudry, Moon Emigli, Lia Fortune, Raven Garcia, Melina Jorge, Yenupaak Konlan, Nephthali Mathieu, Sofia Maza, Kailo Meng, Alan Munoz, MJ Polanco, Elijah Tejeda Youth Corps
BUILDING OPERATIONS
Karen Quigley Vice President of Capital Projects and Facilities
Marc Von Braunsberg Director of Operations and Security
Samuel Denitz Director of Facilities
Xavier Everett Security/Operations Manager
David Burnhauser Collection Manager
Emma Paton Administrative and Office Coordinator
Williams Say Superintendent
Olga Cruz, Leandro Dasso, Mayra DeLeon, Jeferson Avila, Felipe Calle, Jose Campoverde, Branden Fell, Jacob Garrity, Ira Martin, Jonathan Mays, Juan Parker, Joshua Rosa, Tyrell Shannon Castillo Maintenance Staff
DEVELOPMENT
Patrick Galvin Chief Development Officer
Alan Lane Director of Development
Caity Miret Executive Assistant to the Chief Development Officer
Jessica Pomeroy Major Gifts Officer
Chiara Bosco Manager of Individual Giving
Angel Genares Director of Institutional Giving
Hans Rasch Manager of Institutional Giving
Margaret Breed Director of Special Events
Séverine Kaufman Manager of Special Events
Michael Buffer Director of Database and Development Operations
Maeghan Suzik Development Coordinator
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
Lori Nelson Executive Assistant to the President
Nathalie Etienne Administrative Assistant, President’s Office
Simone Elhart Rentals and Project Manager
FINANCE, HR, AND IT
Judy Rubin Chief Financial Officer
Tejal Patel Controller
Khemraj Dat Accounting Manager
Zeinebou Dia Junior Accountant
Oku Okoko Director of IT
Jorge Sanchez IT Helpdesk Administrator
MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS, AND AUDIENCE SERVICES
Tom Trayer Chief Marketing Officer
Nick Yarbrough Associate Director of Digital Marketing
Dileiny Cruz Digital Marketing Coordinator
Allison Abbott Senior Press and Editorial Manager
Mark Ho-Kane Graphic Designer
Joe Petrowski Director of Ticketing and Customer Relations
Monica Diaz Box Office Manager
John Hooper Assistant Box Office Manager
Jordan Isaacs Box Office Lead
Victor Daniel Ayala, Fiona Garner, Meghan Lara Hrinkevich, Sarah Jack, Matthew Kamen, Emma Komisar, Michelle Meged, Caleb Moreno, Arriah Ratanapan, Ester Teixeira Vianna, Miciah Wallace Box Office Associates
Caitlin O’Keefe, Anne Wolf Tour Guides
Natasha Michele Norton Director of House Management
Dawn Clements, Nancy Gill Sanchez, Clayton McInerney House Managers
Nazlah Black, Rachel Carmona, Cody Castro, Becky Ho Assistant House Managers
Yao Adja, Edwin Adkins, Nas Aidid, Ivy Alban, Darren Aponte, Jacqueline Babek, Joseph Balbuena, Victoria Braga Dos Santos, Olivia Casper, Janneurys Colon, Janelyne Devoe, Adonai Fletcher-Jones, Sarah Gallick, Raven Garcia, Eliza Goldsteen, Aiyana Greene, Eboni Greene, Lana Hankinson, Eric
Sebastian Harris, Christina Johns, AJ Jones, Melina Jorge, Sandra Kitt, Tess Kondratiev, Yenupaak Konlan, Christine Lemme, Nephthali Mathieu, Mariel Mercedes, Beth Miller, Yanitza Ordonez, Gloriveht Ortiz, Regina Pearsall, Zoe Rhinehart, Kedesia Robinson, Kathleen Rodriguez, Eileen Rouke, MJ Ryerson, Heather Sander, Naomi Santos, Emma Stephens, John Summers, Kin Tam, Elijah Tejeda, Kathleen White, Neda Yeganeh, Milen Yimer Ushers
Resnicow + Associates Press Representatives