CITY STORIES is a multimedia performance inspired by the verve, challenges, and elation of living in New York City. This interdisciplinary collaboration brings together choreography and immersive video projections by Ashley McQueen, and paintings on Metropolitan Transit Authority subway maps by Benny Cruz.
Upon entry, attendees received a miniature subway map and were encouraged to share their own words for integration into the live performance. CITY STORIES honors a multiplicity of experiences with narratives that overlap and diverge: a joyride no matter whose strand you follow.
Drawing together choreography, video installation, visual art, and audience participation, CITY STORIES is a malleable and deeply personal expression of everyday life in an unpredictable mirage. Choreography is sourced from the dancers’ reflections and personal narratives and improvisations based on written audience submissions throughout the performance.
With wall-to-wall-to-wall video installation, CITY STORIES is a surreal, gritty, sarcastic, self-aware, and poetic performance experience.
Originally premiered at CPR--Center for Performance Research, November 18-19, 2022.