The 30th annual Lyman A. Beeman, Jr. Golf Tournament, named for a decorated WWII veteran and active community member in the Adirondack region, returned this May 31 to Queensbury’s Hiland Park Country Club. Golfers were invited to compete not only for lowest team score, but also hole-in-one, putting, longest drive and closest to the pin contests. Besides time out on the course, golfers enjoyed a barbecue lunch, clubhouse raffle and cocktail reception. This year’s winning team was defending champs Harold McAfee, Alex Wright, Nick McKinney and Connor Abess. To date, the event has raised more than $366,000 for scholarships at SUNY Adirondack.
Opera Saratoga Celebrates In Lake George
Opera Saratoga hosted its annual summer gala, Opera on the Lake, on the shores of Lake George at the Inn at Erlowest this past Sunday, June 9. The evening featured cocktails and dinner overlooking the beautiful lake, and guests were treated to live opera performances, as well as a live auction featuring exclusive experiences. Longtime Opera Saratoga board of trustees members Jeff and Judy Killeen were recognized for their long-standing commitment and generous support of Opera Saratoga.
The Opera on the Lake Gala is the pinnacle fundraising event for Opera Saratoga. Each year, proceeds raised at the event support educational programs and Opera Saratoga’s Summer Festival.
Saratoga Springs Welcomes Back Local AM/FM Radio Station
Anyone who commutes to work in the Capital Region has a battery of local radio stations to enjoy: everything from Albany’s PYX 106.5 to Manchester‘s WEQX 102.7 and Amsterdam’s WEXT 97.7. But one area that hasn’t had its own signal in awhile? Saratoga Springs. All that has changed, as Saratoga’s Star Radio (WSSV) is now broadcasting to local listeners from 1160AM and streaming playlists on its website and app. And this August, just in time for the Saratoga Race Course crowds, the station plans to also be available at 93.3FM.
Saratoga’s new station, formerly WAIX, was taken off the air when Empire Broadcasting Co. shut down its stations in May of 2018. Dormant for a year, the station was then purchased by Saratoga Radio LLC last month and relaunched as Star Radio, a station dedicated to classic hits from the 1970s to 1990s, including music by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Madonna and Elton John, as well as contemporary music and local news. A survey is still available on Star Radio’s site for listeners to help shape the sound of the station.
“The motivation behind this purchase was the desire to bring local radio back to Saratoga Springs,” says Ricki Lee, owner of Star Radio. “I’ve lived in this area with my wife, Hanna, since last year and we absolutely love it. We felt strongly that this vibrant community deserves a station that super-serves listeners in the area.”
Star Radio will also bring on board General Manager Fran Dingeman, who served in the same role for Star 101.3, a local station that broadcast from 1998 to 2012. Dingeman is a 16-year radio veteran and a 26-year Saratoga resident. “I believe that Saratoga listeners have missed having a signal to call their own,” Dingeman says. “We’re happy to fill that void with great music, information and familiar voices that locals can look forward to waking up to and hearing on the air.”
Daily Racing Form: Saratoga Specialist Voodoo Song Gearing Up For Meet
ELMONT, N.Y. – If any horse benefits from the extension of the Saratoga meet to eight weeks it’s Voodoo Song, who is 5 for 6 at the Spa including a victory in the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap last summer at Saratoga.
Voodoo Song, who has not run since last October, is training toward a return to racing, which will coincide with the Saratoga meet, which begins July 11.
On Sunday, Voodoo Song worked a half-mile in 48.21 seconds over the Belmont turf course. It was his second work since returning to trainer Linda Rice’s barn last month.
“He looks good, he’s doing well, he’s fresh, his two works have been good,” Rice said.
Voodoo Song had resumed training in April but had an issue with a hind leg that required stem cell therapy.
“It looks like he’s in pretty good shape,” Rice said.
Rice said she hopes to run Voodoo Song in the Grade 3, $150,000 Forbidden Apple on July 12. Voodoo Song won the Forbidden Apple last year when it was run at Belmont. The Forbidden Apple is one of three stakes that were moved to Saratoga due to the extended meet.
“We got a month to have him ready for the Forbidden Apple. I think it’s realistic that we’ll have him here,” Rice said.
Rice also put the three-time dirt stakes winner Blindwillie McTell on the turf Sunday and he breezed half-mile in 48.44 seconds. Rice worked him on the turf to see if the $150,000 Spectacular Bid division of the New York Stallion Stakes, a seven-furlong stakes scheduled for turf on June 23, would be an option for him. Rice doesn’t see a good dirt options for the 3-year-old New York-bred son of Posse.
“It’s either two turns on dirt at Finger Lakes” in the New York Derby “or seven-eighths on the turf,” Rice said. “I like [seven-eighths] better. I always thought he could handle the grass.”
This story originally appeared on DRF.com.
Daily Racing Form: Sir Winston, Tacitus, War Of Will Circle Travers Day On Calendar
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Mark Casse on Sunday morning was still trying to wrap his head around the conflicted feelings he had following the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, which he won with Sir Winston while seeing War of Will, his Preakness winner, beat one horse.
“It was emotional,” Casse said. “It’s like having two kids, and you’re excited for one son and upset and hurt for the other son.”
Sir Winston and War of Will gave Casse two-thirds of a Triple Crown that saw a different horse win all three races. Both of his runners came out of the Belmont in good shape, and while both will likely make their next starts this summer at Saratoga, their routes there will differ.
Sir Winston, who got a Beyer Speed Figure of 95 for his Belmont victory, will remain here at Belmont Park with assistant Jamie Begg before heading north to Saratoga around July 6, inside a week of that track’s July 11 opening, Casse said.
War of Will, the only horse to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year, will return to Keeneland, where assistant David Carroll – who oversaw War of Will’s training for Casse at Fair Grounds this winter and spring – is based.
“We’ll let him settle in,” Casse said.
He said War of Will was “great this morning,” but he “thought last night, his stringhalt probably was the worst we’ve seen.
Casse theorized that War of Will might have struggled over the Belmont track on Saturday. He said he “looked good” on Sunday morning.
Casse said both Sir Winston and War of Will will be pointed to the Travers Stakes at Saratoga, a race that is shaping up as potentially pivotal for the 3-year-old male division. He said both would be considered for the Jim Dandy, also at Saratoga, as a prep.
Tacitus, who finished second, also is going to be pointed to the Travers, and he too could prep in the Jim Dandy, trainer Bill Mott said Sunday morning at his Belmont Park barn.
“Seemed fine, ate up,” Mott said when asked how Tacitus had come out of the race.
Mott said he thought the wide trip Tacitus had under Jose Ortiz was “not ideal.” Tacitus broke from the outside post in the field of 10 and never was able to move inside on a track where inside lanes seemed best; Sir Winston, for instance, hugged the rail for the first 1 1/4 miles of the 1 1/2-mile race before switching out.
“I wanted him in contention at the quarter pole,” Mott said. “He moved into contention at the quarter pole, but he had to move wide to do it. I didn’t want him to leave him with much to do at the quarter pole. It’s not a race for a deep closer.”
Mott said Tacitus likely would head to Saratoga, where he also has a stable, in about a week. Country House, his Kentucky Derby winner who has been at Churchill Downs, also will be heading soon to Saratoga.
Mott said he was proud that Tacitus continued his strong series of races this year. He won the Tampa Bay Derby and Wood Memorial before the Derby, in which he crossed the wire fourth and then was moved to third on the disqualification of Maximum Security. Tacitus came into the Belmont off a five-week break.
“He showed up, both in his preps and his Triple Crown races,” Mott said.
Had Tacitus won, it would have been Mott, not Casse, who would have won two Triple Crown races this year with two different horses.
“The horses did well in their training, didn’t really have a lot of problems to overcome,” Mott said. “Everything went fine apart from Country House being sick coming out of the Derby.”
Mott said he thought it was “poetic justice” that Casse won both the Preakness and Belmont.
“He had the horse that was bothered most in the Derby,” he said of War of Will.
This story originally appeared on DRF.com.
Caffè Lena Regular Anaïs Mitchell Wins Big At The Tony Awards For Her ‘Hadestown’
The hit Broadway musical Hadestown had a night to remember at the 2019 Tony Awards. At the ceremony, which took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and aired live on CBS on June 10, the jazz- and blues-inspired folk opera about love in the underworld took home eight Tonys, including Best Director for Rachel Chavkin (just the fourth woman to win a Tony for directing a musical), and Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score for the composer/librettist and author Anaïs Mitchell. “It’s been a really long road with this show, so I share this with so many people,” Mitchell said Sunday night after receiving the award for Best Original Score. Based on the 2010 concept album of the same name, Hadestown and its Vermont-born creator actually have quite the history with the Saratoga Springs and—surprise, surprise—its premier folk venue, Caffè Lena.
Since 2008, Mitchell has been a regular at Lena’s, performing a number of her musical projects there, including an early version of Hadestown, which Mitchell started working on in 2006. “The common thread of all Anaïs’ albums and projects is her deep engagement with the world around her,” says Caffè Lena’s Executive Director Sarah Craig, who saw Hadestown during its Broadway previews back in early April. “[This] leads her to tackle big themes with the same emotional intimacy with which most artists describe their inner lives.” In 2010, Mitchell stopped by Lena’s on the original Hadestown album release tour, performing many of the same songs that are now featured in the award-winning show. At her most recent show there in 2017, the award-winning singer-songwriter played with Hadestown collaborator and Vermont native Michael Chorney, who shared a Tony on Sunday night for Best Orchestrations with bassist Todd Sickafoose.
In addition to her numerous performances at the Caffè, Mitchell is also featured in the 2013 book about the history of the intimate performance space, Caffè Lena: Inside America’s Legendary Folk Music Coffeehouse, as well as the CD box set Live at Caffè Lena: Music from America’s Legendary Coffeehouse, 1967–2013. “For almost 60 years, Caffè Lena has been all about nurturing new talent,” says Lena’s Board President Jim Mastrianni. “To see Anaïs Mitchell’s work rise like this is just an inspiration.”
Based on two classic (and twisted) tales from Greek mythology—but set in an apocalyptic, Great Depression-era landscape—Hadestown follows the young musician Orpheus down into the underworld as he attempts to rescue his fiancée Eurydice from Hades, ruler of Hadestown, and his wife Persephone. The musical debuted Off Broadway in 2016 and had its Broadway premiere at the Walter Kerr Theatre on April 17 of this year.
Gallery: Sir Winston Gives Casse A Classic Double In Belmont Stakes
ELMONT, N.Y. – He had run nine times previously and had yet to win a graded stakes race nor a race on anything other than a synthetic surface. But on Saturday at Belmont Park, a colt named for Winston Churchill had his finest hour.
Sir Winston, who had bypassed both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, jumped into the Triple Crown pool in time to score a 10-1 upset in the 151st Belmont Stakes before a crowd of 56,217. He held off favored Tacitus to prevail by one length in the 1 1/2-mile race, the difference likely being that Sir Winston was able to save ground on both turns while Tacitus took the overland route.
Sir Winston gave trainer Mark Casse his second Triple Crown race win this season, following War of Will in the Preakness three weeks ago. War of Will was the only horse to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown, but the demanding schedule clearly caught up with him Saturday, as he finished ninth in the field of 10.
“Maybe the mile and a half,” Casse said. “It’s a tough grind.”
Joevia, the early pacesetter, held on for third, with Tax, who also had been prominent early, fourth. Master Fencer, the Japanese representative, finished well for fifth, then came, in order, Spinoff, Everfast, Intrepid Heart, War of Will, and Bourbon War.
The win by Sir Winston means that – with Country House declared the Derby winner via disqualification – a different horse won all three legs of the Triple Crown this year. The last time that happened was 2017, a year in which Todd Pletcher, similar to Casse this year, won two Triple Crown races with two different horses.
With so much chaos the first half of the year among the 3-year-old males, it sets up for a compelling second half of the year for the divisional title.
The Belmont was the last of eight Grade 1 races run here on a gorgeous day Saturday, with a high temperature in the upper 70s and a nice breeze. Three of the Grade 1’s went to trainer Chad Brown, two to trainer Steve Asmussen. Brown won the Just a Game with Rushing Fall, the Acorn with Guarana, and the Manhattan with Bricks and Mortar. Asmussen won the Met Mile with Mitole and the Ogden Phipps with Midnight Bisou. World of Trouble won the Jaipur, and Hog Creek Hustle the Woody Stephens.
The Belmont belonged to Sir Winston ($22.40), the race’s fifth choice. He clearly has thrived since arriving at Belmont Park, where assistant Jamie Begg oversees the day-to-day operation for Casse’s far-flung stable.
“Jamie has done a tremendous job with him,” Casse said.
Sir Winston had finished fourth in the Withers, fifth in the Tampa Bay Derby – which was won by Tacitus – and seventh in the Blue Grass Stakes earlier this year, but stepped up his game last time out at Belmont when he finished strongly for second in the Peter Pan.
Joel Rosario rode him for the first time in the Peter Pan, and opted for him in the Belmont over Everfast, who had finished second under Rosario in the Preakness.
Rosario rode a brilliant race to take down his second Belmont. He hugged the fence around the first turn while toward the rear of the pack, then steadily advanced heading into the far turn while still on the rail.
“He seemed like he didn’t mind the inside,” Rosario said.
Rosario and Sir Winston crept closer on the far turn, then had to wait behind the tiring leaders, but found a seam near the quarter pole when Spinoff, who had been pressing the pace, weakened.
Rosario quickly tipped Sir Winston to the three path to go around Joevia and Tax, then used his formidable strength to keep Sir Winston in front of Tacitus in the closing yards. Tacitus, favored at 9-5, was at least three paths wide on the first turn and four to five paths wide on the far turn.
“It was a good trip. A little wide,” said Jose Ortiz, who rode Tacitus.
“I think I was following the right horse, War of Will, the whole time I tried to drop in on the first turn, but Johnny was already there,” he said, referring to John Velazquez, who rode Intrepid Heart.
“I couldn’t do anything. I tried to save as much ground as I could,” Ortiz added. “Unfortunately, War of Will was a little bit flat on the second turn because I think if he had a little more horse he would have kept everyone else in, and I would have won. He gave me a good run. I have no complaints.”
Sir Winston covered 1 1/2 miles on the fast main track in 2:28.30. All the early fractions – 23.92 seconds for the quarter, 48.79 for the half, 1:13.54 for six furlongs, 1:38.27 for a mile, and 2:02.72 for 1 1/4 miles – belonged to Joevia.
Casse was trying to watch both his runners during the race, but near the quarter knew he was down to one chance.
“I could tell where War of Will was and could tell he was struggling,” Casse said. “Joel had ducked inside and to be honest I started hollering for Sir Winston at that point.”
Sir Winston, a colt by Awesome Again, was bred and is owned by Tracy Farmer. He earned $800,000 Saturday from the overall purse of $1.5 million; he had earned $161,733 in his career going into the Belmont. Casse said Farmer had been ill this week, and though he was feeling better Saturday, “he wasn’t able to fly,” Casse said.
“Just a shame,” he said.
Sir Winston is not an imposing individual, and early in his career he showed little.
“He’s an amazing little horse,” Casse said. “At this time last year if you had asked me to rank our top 20 2-year-olds, I would have ranked him 16th or 17th.”
Sir Winston beat one horse in a dirt sprint at Churchill Downs to start his career 51 weeks ago, then beat one horse in a turf route at Saratoga. He began his ascension when subsequently sent to Woodbine, where on that track’s synthetic surface he won twice in three starts to complete his 2018 campaign.
He was 0 for 4 this year going into the Belmont. But his connections kept marching forward. They never gave in.
– additional reporting by Mike Welsch
This story originally appeared on DRF.com.
David Ortiz Recovering After Being Shot In The Dominican Republic Sunday Night
Everybody take a second and do the double-point-up-to-the-sky for David “Big Papi” Ortiz. According to ESPN, the Boston Red Sox legend and one-time saratoga living cover star is in intensive care but stable, following an incident Sunday night at a club in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he was shot at nearly point-blank range in the lower back by a 25-year-old assailant who’s now in custody (following the shooting, the gunman was captured and beaten by a nearby crowd; he, too, was briefly hospitalized, then handed over to police). A surveillance video of the attack has since been released.
Following the shooting, the 43-year-old Ortiz was rushed to the Abel Gonzalez clinic where he underwent an emergency, six-hour surgery, with portions of his intestines and colon removed, along with his gall bladder. Ortiz also sustained liver damage. According to multiple reports, upon reaching the clinic, Ortiz told his doctors, “Please don’t let me die. I’m a good man.”
Ortiz’s father, Leo, told ESPN that what he was told “post-op is that the doctors believe he will recover quickly.”
Two other people, who were with Ortiz at the time, were injured during the shooting, including Jhoel Lopez, a TV host from the Dominican Republic, and a third, unidentified person.
At press time, it’s still unclear what the motives were behind the attack.
Since the attack, the Major League Baseball community has shown an outpouring of support for Ortiz, including an official statement from his former team. Well-wishers have flooded onto Twitter to leave messages for Ortiz, including former Red Sox ace and teammate Pedro Martinez, now a TV analyst; former Red Sox teammate Mike Lowell; recent Hall of Fame inductee and fellow DR native Vladimir Guerrero; and many more.
I’m at peace knowing you out of danger; you a strong man Compai, can’t wait to hear your voice. My thoughts and prayers are with you, see you soon.
Me siento tranquilo de saber que estás fuera de peligro, usted es fuerte Compai, ya quiero oírle la voz. Orando, nos vemos pronto pic.twitter.com/jdSnNsM7eI— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) June 10, 2019
Great to hear @davidortiz is stable and will make a full recovery. My heart sank when I heard the news. Prayers to him, Tiffany and the kids.
— Mike Lowell (@mikelowell25) June 10, 2019
Que terrible enterarse de cosas como estas. David mi hermano mis oraciones están contigo, todo saldrá bien en el nombre de Dios. ?? @davidortiz pic.twitter.com/JANA2yPsvC
— Vladimir Guerrero (@VladGuerrero27) June 10, 2019
As a member of the Red Sox, Ortiz was an integral part of the 2004 team that “reversed the curse,” bringing Boston its first World Series win in 86 years. He also won championships with the team in 2007 and 2013, along with World Series MVP the latter year.
Over the past few years, Ortiz has had a major presence in Saratoga Springs, making appearances at the Saratoga Wine & Food Festival. Last year, a contingent from saratoga living magazine was welcomed into Ortiz’s Boston area home to do a cover photo shoot with him for our Saratoga After Dark Issue and conduct an interview for our cover feature.
Treat Your Dad To A Fun-Packed BBQ At The Adelphi Hotel On Father’s Day
What dad needs another wristwatch or pair of socks for Father’s Day? Think outside of the box this year! There’s a bevy of fun events, great discounts at local stores and delicious food options to choose from in and around Saratoga Springs that’ll help you celebrate your dad in style this Sunday (June 16).
As you might expect, there’s more than one grill-centric option to choose from. Our favorites? The Adelphi Hotel is hosting a Father’s Day BBQ with open-fire pit grilling, beer and spirits tastings, plus live music and lawn games (entry is $65 a person and free for children under 6). Also, keeping the tradition alive, The Gideon Putnam in the Saratoga Spa State Park will be offering a sprawling selection of food for its annual Father’s Day BBQ Brunch from 11am-4pm. Additionally, Saratoga Winery is hosting a Beer & BBQ Father’s Day event with craft beer tastings (any four of your choice), live music by Patrick Sharrow and a menu of in-house-smoked barbecue.
There will also be lots of great discounts going on in the Spa City all day Sunday. At the Art in Mind Creative Wellness Center in Glenville, dads will get to paint for just $10. Dads also get $10 off full service at Vinny’s Barbershop of Saratoga (the discount must be acquired in advance as a gift card), or $5 off all haircuts at Saratoga’s Tru Cutz Barbershop. Of course, there’s no greater discount than free, which is the cost of admission for all dads at the Saratoga Automobile Museum on Father’s Day, as well as at Citroëns in the Park, the museum’s lawn exhibition of rare French automobiles at the Spa State Park on Sunday. Fathers also sail for free with the Lake George Steamboat Company, which is offering a variety of cruise options on Sunday, including a Saint Sacrement Brunch Cruise and a Prime Rib Dinner Cruise.
For those willing to take a short trip down the Northway, Dad Fest will be a happening place from 1-6pm in Washington Park in Albany. Now in its fifth year, Dad Fest is a free event featuring a classic car show, live music, lots of local vendors and great food, plus activities for the whole family.
For everything else that’s worth doing this week, take a look at our hand-curated events calendar below.
Monday
Skidmore College’s Mostly Modern Festival kicks off with more than two weeks of (mostly) new and contemporary classical music (June 10-28)
Tuesday
American composer Kenneth Frazelle will get things started at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s speaker series with “In the Flow: Music and Water,” a discussion on water through the lenses of art, music and nature (June 11)
Clubhouse and Grandstand season passes to the 2019 meet at Saratoga Race Course go on sale—tickets are available both online and at nearly 150 Stewart’s Shops (June 11)
The hit Broadway musical Waitress opens a week of performances at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady (June 11-16)
Wednesday
Caffè Lena and Saratoga Pride are presenting a Pride Open Mic (June 12)
The American Italian Heritage Museum and Cultural Center in Albany is hosting an Open House and 40th Birthday Celebration (June 12)
Thursday
Watch Grateful Dead tribute band The Wheel play live at Putnam Place in Saratoga (June 13)
Enjoy one of Saratoga Springs Public Library’s fascinating Brown Bag Lunch discussions about Saratoga Race Course co-founder John Morrissey (June 13)
Opera Saratoga is presenting a Russian Opera Master Class with Lidiya Yankovskaya at Saratoga Springs Public Library (June 13)
Friday
The “Streb Extreme Action Company” is performing at Skidmore’s Tang Teaching Museum in Saratoga (June 14)
Saratoga’s National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame will be throwing an opening reception for a new exhibit, Art in the Foyer: On Being Still – Portraits By Joanne Savio (June 14)
The New York Racing Association is hosting its annual job fair for positions at the Saratoga Race Course this summer (June 14-15)
Celebrate the Whipple City Festival with the Town of Greenwich (June 14-15)
Catch singer and pianist Chris Dollard with guest artists Nick Horace and Georgia Jones at Panza’s in Saratoga (June 14-15)
The romantic musical comedy Calling All Kates starts off a week of performances at Adirondack Theatre Festival in Glens Falls (June 14-22)
Saturday
Pay a visit to Skidmore’s Tang Museum and enjoy the Sixth Annual Frances Day, the Tang’s annual community open house featuring tours, music and art-making, with special guests Elizabeth Streb and Streb Extreme (June 15)
Eat as many strawberries as you can at the Upper Union Street’s Annual Strawberry Festival in Schenectady (June 15)
Putnam Place in Saratoga is throwing its Summer Jumpoff concert, featuring Lou Got Cash and Bernice Burgos (June 15)
Head on down to River Street and Monument Square in Troy for the 16th Annual Troy River Fest (June 15)
There will be bubbles galore at the Fantastic Bubble Festival, hosted by the Museum of Innovation and Science in Schenectady (June 15)
Don’t miss Vocal Point, South Glens Falls’ talented a cappella group, in concert at the Park Theater in Glens Falls (June 15)
The Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council’s Annual Arts Festival is happening all weekend at City Park in Glens Fall (June 15-16)
Opening at the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls is a new exhibit entitled “From the Rooftops: John Sloan and the Art of a New Urban Space” (on view from June 15 through September 15)
Sunday (Father’s Day)
Get your rainbow-colored pride gear ready for Saratoga Pride’s Annual Festival at High Rock Park (June 16)
Enjoy a free presentation at Temple Sinai in Saratoga called “Jews, Culture & the Comics,” as part of the Saratoga Jewish Cultural Festival (June 16)
R&B artists Ginuwine, Dru Hill and Donell Jones are performing a triple-bill at the Palace Theatre in Albany (June 16)
Tune in to Skidmore College’s WSPN 91.1 FM from 8am to 9am to hear Founder and CEO of Civically Re-Engaged Women (CREW) Sharon Nelson discuss the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote
Skidmore Welcomes Gravity-Defying Streb Extreme Dance Company To The College
Recently, I found myself standing shoeless on a padded red gymnastics mat, partially enclosed in a scaffolding-composed canopy, struggling to balance on one foot, let alone levitate. (Yes, I was supposed to levitate.) I was participating in an invite-only workshop at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College led by the Streb Extreme Dance Company, a group that stages gravity-defying dance performances that combine virtuosity, technical skill and popular appeal. Throughout the session, four company members led a small group of us through sequences of positions that would help hold our bodies in the air, or propel our bodies through the air. Think yoga, with the endgame being flight. (Yeah, it’s as hard as it sounds.)
Founded by American choreographer Elizabeth Streb in New York City in 1985, the dance troupe pushes the limits of how experimental dance is perceived by audiences—not to mention what is humanly possible for a dancer to accomplish during a performance. And the company has made the world its stage. It’s performed in far-off destinations such as Chile, Singapore and Taiwan; as well as some of New York City’s most prestigious venues, including at Madison Square Garden, in front of the Cyclone roller coaster on Coney Island, at the Lincoln Center Festival, under the arches of the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage and on the façade of New York City department store Bergdorf Goodman (yes, on the outside of the building).
If you’re interested in seeing—or dancing with—Streb, you’ll have more than a few opportunities over the next two weeks. On June 8, Streb members will be at Skidmore at 1pm, 1:30pm, 3pm and 3:30pm, leading children ages 5-11 in 30-minute workshops focusing on performance art and overcoming fears. (Reservations are required and should be made by calling the Tang Visitor Services Desk, are required.) On June 13 at 7pm, the Tang will host a dialogue between Elizabeth Streb and Anne Bogart, director of SITI Company, regarding the collaborative piece they’re working on, FALLING & LOVING. On June 14 at 7pm, the company will put on a classic performance, flying high in new and recent works including Molinette, Air, Tilt, Revolution and Remain. The following day, Streb will help the Tang celebrate its 6th annual Frances Day with tours, art-making, music, food, demonstrations and workshops. Then, on Thursday, June 20, Streb will be at Skidmore, offering rehearsal viewings, workshops, talks and performances to the general public. Additionally, Elizabeth Streb and Anne Bogart will present an informal showing of FALLING & LOVING, which is still a work in progress. For more info on the entire schedule of events, click here.