THE HANGOVER REPORT – Nick Cave’s immersive THE LET GO asks us to jubilantly dance off our chains

Nick Cave's "The Let Go" at the Park Avenue Armory.

Nick Cave’s “The Let Go” at the Park Avenue Armory.

Despite the continued sell-out success of Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More and Third Rail Project’s Then She Fell, there’s been a relative dearth of notable immersive performances in New York of late. It’s with this in mind that I anticipatedly headed to the Park Avenue Armory, one of the most epic spaces for large-scale art presentations, many of them immersive in nature, in the city. Happily, under the artistic directorship of Pierre Audi, this singular space has been regularly programmed with some of the most diverse, exciting (sometimes visionary) artistic endeavors from around the world.

I was therefore excited to bask in Nick Cave’s latest work, an immersive art installation and performance piece entitled The Let Go. Part political statement, part celebratory dance party, The Let Go asks its visitors to engage with – not through spoken word but through defiant and hopefully cathartic dance – a shimmering, mysterious 100-foot-long mylar sculpture called the “chase”, which represents, perhaps too vaguely, the barriers that hold us back (whatever they may be). But by manifesting the chase as a rainbow-colored, almost carnivalesque mylar sculpture that harmlessly and playfully drifts across the expansive drill hall, Mr. Cave has essentially disempowered these so-called barriers, most of which may have been psychological constructs to begin with, making them easier to approach, confront, and overcome.

The evening I visited the armory, the drill hall – or, ahem, the dance floor – was activated by smooth-voiced baritone Jorell Williams and Vy Higginsen’s youthful Sing Harlem Choir. These enthusiastic musicians provided the uplifting soundtrack for Mr. Cave’s signature “soundsuit” dancers as they performed “Up Right”, a joyous ritual of of transformation, movement, and self-actualization that transcends race, gender, and socio-economic profile. During the performance, these jubilant soundsuits weaved in and out of the chase with utter disregard – without any semblance of inhibition and with total liberation. We have much to learn from these inspiring utopian visions.

RECOMMENDED

 

THE LET GO/”UP RIGHT”
Performance/Dance
Park Avenue Armory
“Up Right” lasts approximately 1 hour (without an intermission)
The installation closes July 1

 

Categories: Dance, Off-Broadway, Theater

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