"Whether art and beauty can really make man better and stronger is an open question; but one thing is certain: that like the starry firmament they remind us of light, of order and harmony, and of 'meaning.'"

The Performance Project @ University Settlement provides established, emerging and young artists with opportunities to connect to local audiences and enrich each others' lives. Our aim is to encourage greater participation in the live arts and to help cultivate a diverse creative community on the Lower East Side.  Our exciting performance events take place in intimate and historic Speyer Hall, a cultural landmark in the heart of the neighborhood.

Fall / Winter Calendar                            

Chris Jonas: Garden II: House
World Premiere
Friday, September 30  &  Saturday, October 1, 8pm

TILT Brass presents the world premiere of Garden II: House, a TILT-commissioned work of inter-media (music and video) by composer, performer, and media artist Chris Jonas. The video installation and musical performances will be brought to life over two evenings and feature the music of local heroes Herb Robertson on trumpet and Joe Fiedler on trombone, along with TILT Director Chris McIntyre on trombone and the composer on soprano saxophone. Garden II: House received a Meet the Composer Commissioning Music/USA Award in 2010.

Tickets are $10
Click here to purchase tickets 

Cuarteto Casals
Saturday, October 29, 7PM
In collaboration with Carnegie Hall's Neighborhood Concert Series
Admission is free

Free-spirited audacity and wildly passionate energy: this Spanish string quartet breathes life and bold character into music whenever it takes the stage. Having performed around the world in the most prestigious venues, Cuarteto Casals is currently the Ensemble-in-Residence at Barcelona's leading conservatory. The quartet has worked with important European composers such as Jordi Cervello, David del Puerto, and Jesus Rueda of Spain, as well as with James MacMillan, Gyorgy Kurtag, and Christian Lauba. The program features a graceful string quartet by Boccherini, the vividly dramatic String Quartet No. 8 by Shostakovich, and Schubert's melancholic "Rosamunde" Quartet.

Lucia Pulido
Friday, November 4, 7PM
In collaboration with Carnegie Hall's Neighborhood Concert Series
Admission is free

With a voice that courses with heated emotion and floods the stage with color and life, Colombian singer Lucia Pulido holds nothing back in her canciones de despecho--songs of broken love. Pulido absorbs us in the drama and narrative in each song, guiding us through moments of quiet introspection and fierce grievance. She is rooted in the traditional music of her native country, preserving and honoring its integrity while breathing new life into these despecho songs, which were popular in Latin America between the 1930s and 1960s.

Anneke Hansen Dance: youandyouandyou 
Wednesday and Thursday, November 16-17, 8PM
Friday and Saturday, November 18-19, 7PM  &  9PM
*Seating is extremely limited

Designed for University Settlement's 6th floor gymnasium, youandyouandyou, a new dance choreographed by Anneke Hansen, explores a movement vocabulary of effort and delicacy, the individual working as part of a collective "we," and a sense of abandon and repose. Structure and form craft a space for meaning to be built, accrued, and dissolved. Performed by dancers Aoife McAtamney, Ariel Pierce, and Hansen, the piece features an original score by composer Nathan Koci, lighting design by Holly Ko, and costumes by Deborah Black.

Tickets are $18-22
Click here to purchase

The Panoply Performance Laboratory (PPL):  NATURE FETISH
October 19:  Law and Logic of Nature 
October 26:  The Wild 
November 2: Animalia
November 10: Nature and Consciousness
December 7: The Evolution of Nature
Each event runs from 7PM-9PM.

NATURE FETISH is a participatory performance project, conceived by director/playwright Esther Neff and composer/interactive artist Brian McCorkle, co-artistic directors of Panoply Performance Laboratory (PPL).   It begins with five episodic evening events that pose the question, "What do we think nature is?" These five participatory episodes will lead to a full-scale production, to be presented at The Performance Project in Spring 2012, by the company and any community member who commits to this creative process.  Join us to dialogue, experiment and create along with PPL.

Admission is free.

FESTIVAL OF WORKS-IN-PROCESS/PROCESS AT WORK
Friday and Saturday, January 28 and 29, 8PM

The Performance Project's three resident companies, Kinematic Dance Theater, Trusty Sidekick and The Panoply Performance Laboratory, present their works-in-process, and share their creative process with other guest artists. Join us for performances, workshops, and reflection upon the experiences of artists intentionally working within communities that have limited exposure to the arts. This festival is co-curated by Nellie Perera, Director of Arts in Education at Henry Street Settlement and The Performance Project's curator, Alison Fleminger.     
   

Admission is free

Monday Night Salons                    

More than a performance series, The Performance Project @ University Settlement cultivates creative community by hosting events that connect working artists to residents from the Lower East Side. Our Monday Night Salon Series offers an ongoing series of participatory performance events and conversations about important issues facing the arts and the local community.  Salon events are free, open to the public and include light refreshments.

SHARE!
October 24 and December 5, 7PM

In the style of an open-mic night, SHARE! brings together 10 artists from within and beyond the Settlement house community.  Come to watch 5-minute performances that will run the gamut from spoken word to dance to music. Experience the true spirit of the settlement movement and celebrate the community building power of the live arts. 

SHARE CINEMA!
January 9, 7pm

Join us for an eclectic evening of short new works and fresh perspectives on filmmaking, and become a part of a supportive community of young emerging and established NYC filmmakers. Everyone is welcome to submit video work for inclusion.  Email afleminger@universitysettlement.org for submission information.

Salon-in-Progress
November 21, 7PM

The format of this salon will be co-designed by The Performance Project Artists-in-Residence and a committee of University Settlement staff who are dedicated to making the arts and creativity central in the lives of the people we serve.   We are very excited to see what will arise from this collaboration.  Stay tuned for more information!

Advocates of the Immeasurable
Winter/Spring 2012

All too often, schools marginalize the role of the arts and the centrality of the child's imagination. Join poet, educator and founder of The Touchstone Center Richard Lewis to explore how teachers, artists and parents can join forces to act as mentors and catalysts in helping children preserve the instinctive expressive and imaginative capacities of their childhood.

In early 2012 we will begin a series of conversations on the innate nature of attention and reflectiveness in children as they play, imagine and express themselves through the arts - in a media environment often hostile to these abilities.   Join us along with expert guest speakers.

Tickets                                                         

Ticket prices, unless otherwise noted:           

   $15 adults/$10 for students and seniors

   $5 for youth 18 and under

Advance tickets for indicated shows are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com.

Your ticket purchases help subsidize tickets for families in-need and help make the arts accessible for all.

Location: The Performance Project @ University Settlement is located at the corner of Eldridge Street and Rivington Street. F to Second Avenue, B/D to Grand Street, J/M/Z to Essex Street.

For more information please call 212-453-4532 or e-mail project.audience@gmail.com.

While the type of work our artists present may differ, what unites them is a set of shared values and beliefs including:

• A desire to create opportunities for greater participation in the arts for youth
• A commitment to making the performing arts accessible to people from all walks of life
• A desire to connect to and serve as a role model for young artists
• A need to reach beyond their existing audiences and creatively connect to new communities

Click here to learn more about our 2011-2012 Artists-in-Residence

Click here to learn more about Artist Opportunities with the Performance Project.  

Click here to learn more about renting space in historic Speyer Hall.



Follow The Performance Project on Facebook!