Photo by Julie Lemberger
The United States Declaration of Independence states that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are three unalienable rights, given to all human beings, which governments are created to protect. THREE RITES involves performance rituals (rites) that integrate live music, dance, text, video and art installations to ask what do these rights mean to Weeks, as a Black woman of Ugandan and Scottish ancestry; how have the rights changed (or not changed) since the forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence; and in the age of Citizen’s United, Black Lives Matter, NAFTA, the Patriot Act, DACA, and the longest war in American history, how and for whom are these rights protected and promoted. HAPPINESS investigates how laughter resides in the body, and taps into the spontaneous exploration of sensation and joy.
THREE RITES: Happiness is the third and final section of THREE RITES, an evening-length interdisciplinary work that features three interactive performance rituals (rites) about life, liberty and happiness. The work examines how these rights are protected and promoted in America, and how they manifest in the body. The full work will premiere in 2020.
6:30pm - Happiness Fête. Pamper your senses and spirits. Experience a Delirious Hair Design, get a massage, learn a line dance, participate in a raffle, have your portrait drawn and more. Food and drinks available.
8pm - Performance with live music by the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International
9pm - Bonfire – Bring an instrument or song to sing/share (weather permitting)
"A gift for simple but striking visual effects" — New York Times
About the Artists
The Occidental Brothers Dance Band International play classic Central and West African dance music—specializing in Soukous, Highlife, Rumba, Dry Guitar, and other delights from the great continent. The multi-racial band mixes their backgrounds in traditional African music, jazz, and underground rock to bring these classic sounds to life.
Edisa Weeks is a choreographer, educator, and director of DELIRIOUS Dances. She creates intimate environments that merge theater with dance. Her work has been performed throughout the US and in Germany. Weeks teaches at Queens College and has received awards from Artists International, Brooklyn Arts Council, New York Foundation for the Arts, and others.About the
Curator Marýa Wethers is an independent creative producer/manager, consultant and curator, Bessie Award-winning dancer, and Director of International Initiatives at Movement Research. She has curated at Gibney, Queer NY International Arts Festival, and Out of Space @ BRIC Studio for Danspace Project.
Performance Program