Two Diverse Evenings

NYMYSTERIES.COM

July 29, 2022

I’ve had an exciting week. Tuesday, a friend and I went to Dormeshia Tap Collective at the Joyce. I go on about the wonderful dancers at the Joyce but I don’t mention too often how inventive, clever, cool, whimsical the settings are. Dormeshia’s mis en scene was sexy and backlit. It suggested a cool nightclub. The musicians, Noah Garabedian (Bass), Chris McCarthy (Piano), Shirazette Tinnen (drums) were placed across the back of the stage. Garabedian and Dormeshia composed the original music.

Dormeshia was joined by Melissa Almaguer, Christina Carminucci, and Amanda Castro. To quote my friend, it was intense. The four women were front stage and never stopped moving to the driving, thrilling music. They honor tap’s form and history and  keep pushing it forward.

Thursday, three other Judsonites and I went to the Iglesia Sants Cruz at 179 Street to celebrate overdose prevention centers in NYC. It was a moving evening. People who have been through the drug wringer spoke about how essential the centers are to recovering drug addicts. They also mourned their dying and dead friends. Usually, once a week for over ten years, Kim Kelly has set up Judson’s sessions at which volunteers prepare overdose prevention packets.