Global Water Dances - Putnam County Dance Project

State Senator, Pete Harcum will be the guest speaker for the Global Water Info Expo.

Join the movement for safe water everywhere in a coordinated weekend of arts, advocacy, and education. Arts on the Lake, Putnam County Dance Project, Sustainable Putnam and Putnam County Land Trust collaborate locally as part of the 7th international Global Water Dances event. This free family-friendly event starts the week of June 5th, with a local youth art exhibit in the gallery and continues with live performances and an environmental exposition on June 9th and 10th.

Global Water Performance opens with an outdoor ceremony featuring Westchester Spirited Drummers, Putnam County Dance with guest Fire-Dancer Jeffrey Lyon, and a large outdoor sculpture by Roy Volpe. Catch the pulsing rhythms on the shore of Lake Carmel, Friday, June 9th at 8 p.m. The intricate and mesmerizing fire dancing by Jeff Lyon brings us to dusk, when PCDP dancers and a trail of lights will lead viewers to the grassy Boyd Family Concert lawn for a final dance encircling the Earth Globe sculpture created by artist Roy Volpe.

The festival continues and culminates on Saturday, June 10th at Arts on the Lake, Kent, NY with a Sustainability Expo, art activities and a free outdoor performance featuring Putnam County Dance Project and Aerial dancer, Kyla Ernst-Alper. All are invited to visit the gallery, opening at 11 a.m. Get a fresh perspective on Water and Nature Conservancy from the viewpoint of local youth. A special thanks to Rachel Berry from Kent Elementary, Sandra Swarm from George Fischer Middle School, and Carolyn Nielsen at Pied Piper Youth Theater for organizing youth artwork. Discover a wealth of information amongst eco-expo tables offering information/activities for adults and kids! Learn from Putnam Sustainable about household water conservation devices, Putnam Land Trust’s Pollinator Pathway, Brewster Garden Club’s Dig Deep, Pat Tindell Septic’s latest environmental technology and contributions from Kent Conservation, Kent Lakes Association, and more. A Special guest speaker at 2 p.m. is followed by the outdoor performance.

This performance introduces Kyla Ernst-Alper, who was a featured aerialist for Alicia Keys, to the area to dance in front of Lake Carmel. PCDP debuts a site-specific dance with "Belle", a large interactive sculpture by artist Melanie Armer; and continues with Global Water Dances, a movement choir dance as part of the ripple around the world at 3 p.m. local time in over 150 locations, on June 10th. Carmel student musicians will play the interlude between dances. The day concludes with a Participatory Dance inviting everyone to join in the worldwide participatory movement choir, dancing for safe water everywhere.

All activities are free of charge, however donations to any of the participating non-profits is strongly encouraged.

Participating in a Global Water Dances event near you contributes to building communities of movement enthusiasts and water advocates around the world. www.globalwaterdances.org

Children’s dance and art pre-event workshops for the Global Water Dance are being held at Pied Piper Youth Theater on Saturday, May 27th, 10 a.m.-12 noon (register at pipertheater.org) and Kent Library on Friday, June 2nd at 1 p.m. (register at Kent Library). Registration is required for these free, pre-event workshops.

This event is made possible in part through the Putnam Arts Council’s Arts link Grant program with public funds provided through the NY State Council on the Arts with support from the Governor and the NY State Legislature.
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• June 9th 8:00 pm, Opening Ceremony at Arts on the Lake & adjacent Beach 5 Park.
• June 10 11-1 pm, Eco-Expo Information Tables and Children’s Art Gallery
• 2 pm, Guest Speaker
• 2:30, Live Dance Performance Boyd Family Concert Lawn