Boats Leaving
2006 | 28 minutes | 8 dancers
Music by Arvo Pärt, Te Deum
Lighting by Jane Cox
Costumes by Liz Prince
Boats Leaving concerns community and an unfailing faith in the triumph of the human spirit. As the works unfolds, the gatherings and brief encounters of strangers convey both isolation and collective solidarity amidst strife; images emerge, linger and disperse, creating a panorama of fleeting humanity. In today's global environment, Boats Leaving is an important dance to re-share for its universal message crosses diverse boundaries, languages and cultures, creating dialogues that embrace our similarities not our differences.
Boats Leaving was the recipient of a "Bessie Award" for Outstanding Choreography (the New York Dance and Performance Awards).
"A masterpiece. Varone's genius here consists of using tactics that are strictly formal, utterly devoid of sentiment, to arouse the spectators' deepest feelings." BLOOMBERG.ORG
Original Cast: Adriane Fang, Natalie Desch, Stephanie Liapis, Catherine Miller, Eddie Taketa, Daniel Charon, John Beasant III, Ryan Corristan
Boats Leaving premiered at the American Dance Festival, July 6, 2006. It was commissioned by the American Dance Festival with funding support from the Doris Duke Awards for New Work. Major funding support for Boats Leaving was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.