Slow Turn: September 11, 2021 at 7AM
Slow Turn: September 11, 2021 at 6PM
Commissioned by NYU Skirball
Produced by Battery Park City, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and NYU Skirball
Performed at 7AM and 6PM at Belvedere Plaza in Battery Park City by the Hudson River, directly west of where the Twin Towers once stood
Conceived, written, performed by Eiko Otake
Dramaturgy by Iris McCloughan
Camera by Yiru Chen
Edit by Eiko Otake and Yiru Chen
Eiko rehearsing at the site, photos by William Johnston
On September 11, 2021, Eiko Otake performed at 7AM and 6PM at Belvedere Plaza in Battery Park City by the Hudson River, directly west of where the Twin Towers once stood.
Marking 20 years since the 9/11 attacks, this free public event was presented in partnership with NYU Skirball, Battery Park City Authority, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC). Eiko & Koma were artists-in-residence in the North Tower throughout the year 2000. In 2002, on this very plaza, they premiered Offering: A Ritual of Mourning with David Krakauer, an internationally acclaimed clarinetist/composer. Offering was produced and presented by Dancing in the Streets with free admission in parks throughout Manhattan. Eiko & Koma later performed Offering in many cities around the world.
Created specifically for this occasion and this site, Eiko’s piece, Slow Turn, centers on a monologue of her personal memories of that day and its aftermath. She invited David Krakauer to perform short solo pieces to bookend her monologue, with Iris McCloughan as a dramaturg.
Eiko’s early morning performance started at 7AM where the sun reaches the plaza. The second performance, which started at 6PM, ended before the sun sets on the Hudson River.
Eiko Otake writes:
How each of us remembers or learns from other people’s memories 20 years ago will determine how we, collectively and individually, will live in our future with the knowledge of history and our own thoughts, as well as how we can inform those who weren’t born yet or were too young to remember what happened.
“As we now mark 20 years since the September 11th attacks we’re honored to welcome Eiko Otake back to Battery Park City to reflect on an event that forever impacted downtown and the lives of the people who call it home,” said BPCA President & CEO B.J. Jones. “We thank our partners at NYU Skirball and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for delivering these moving and inclusive performances on an anniversary that brings with it the enormity of emotion that stems from both loss and resilience on this solemn day.
“As the site of our offices and studio programs for artists until 2001, the Twin Towers are deeply intertwined with the history of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC). Twenty years after the devastating attacks of 9/11, we will always remember those who perished that day, including Michael Richards, an LMCC artist-in-residence at work in Tower One whose prescient work continues to resonate to this day,” said Diego S. Segalini, Executive Director, Finance & Administration, LMCC. “Eiko Otake’s Slow Turn captures with the deepest care and solemnity the arc of a day that forever changed our lives. Weaving the necessity of memory with narrative and responsibility, it evokes a spirit of resiliency emerging from loss,” said Lili Chopra, Executive Director, Artistic Programs, LMCC.
Eiko Otake: Slow Turn is presented in partnership with NYU Skirball, Battery Park City Authority (BPCA), and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC).
