Perhaps a Maypole dance in Gowanus would float your boat? We got an email from Proteus Gowanus about one they’re having on Sunday, May 4 at 3PM. There’s nothing we can add to what we received, so we’ll simply go to the copy and past:
A Dance Around the Maypole: proto-speed-dating and the ancient rite of spring. We enthusiastically welcome your participation in this sculptural performance /performative sculpture, conceived and coordinated by artists Janice Everett & Karolyn Hatton…It is spring, and summer is fast approaching. The blossoms burst their winter bodices; green shoots erupt. A heady fragrance fills the air. Please join us to celebrate this moment of renewal.
A maypole has been erected on the village green at Proteus Gowanus. Music begins. The men and women assemble. Each begins to dress for the occasion, putting on a T-shirt, a waistcoat, or maybe a dress, which extends to the pole at the center, physically and materially connecting him or her to the pole like an elongated umbilical cord. These extensions, rising from the belly or sleeve, will determine how the dancers move round each other, negotiating each encounter to weave their cords together into a central whole. With each revolution they are drawn closer to the center – and to each other. At some point they may stop, turn back, retreat, then re-weave in a new sequence of turns. The resulting sculpture will be placed in the gallery, a trace of these encounters, a totem of their moments together…
Proteus Gowanus is at 543 Union Street. The entrance is on Nevins Street.