Table of Silence 9/11
September 14, 2011
phoenix flies at fountain; hearts beat to drumbeat
Striking repetition worked its magic in a new dance commemorating the Twin Towers disaster ten years ago. Choreographer Jacqulyn Buglisi and 100 dancers of varying ages, colors, notoriety, ability, and shapes, invoked timeless ritualistic ceremony in a populist, secular, participatory performance. In white gauzy costumes they nearly floated like angels while marching in formation. Table of Silence's rigor, multitudes, and some of its angular, signaling movements imagined Korean mass gym, while its spirituality recalled Eastern and Muslim prayer, and yes, the Christian notion of heavenly afterlife. This dance held resonating emotion.
Their sameness in unison movement, in ordered and fractured floor patterns, replayed that disastrous day—so many bodies running every which way, or not. Buglisi and collaborator/sculptor Rosella Vasta symbolized life-giving and renewal with 100 white china plates. At best, the earthenware looked as light as the dancers. The Revson Fountain at Josie Robertson Plaza provided a readymade set.
9/11/11 was glorious and clear like that morning. The time? 8:29 a.m.. The kettle drum resounded. An electronic squeal gave ominous signals. Reenacting the essential kindness and community that followed 9/11/01, the congregation around the perimeter joined in a silent benediction with arms outstretched like wings. Two words sum up The Table of Silence 9/11: mourning and morning.