[Archived] Free Public Performance Series Brings Music, Movement, and Light to Alexandria’s Waterfront Park

For Immediate Release: June 29, 2019

The City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, through its Arts division, commissioned a series of original site-specific performances for the sound-responsive, interactive installation Mirror Mirror . Composer and violinist David Schulman and Orange Grove Dance will perform on select dates between July and October at Waterfront Park, 1 King St.

All performances are free and feature lawn seating. Lawn chairs and blankets are encouraged. Please leave pets at home.

When the sun is low, sound activates Mirror Mirror’s enclosed LED tubes to produce a panoramic forest of light. The installation casts dynamic rainbow hues, allowing the performers to interact with the installation and affect its appearance using their instruments, voices and bodies. (See and post images and videos via #mirrormirrorALX.) 

Schulman and Orange Grove Dance were selected through a regional open call seeking performing artists and arts groups in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. 

Music Performances: David Schulman
Schulman, who performs on amplified violin with live effects, is composing an original score to interact with Mirror Mirror.  He will be joined at each concert by a second musician—trumpeter, saxophonist, or vocalist—in duo performances reflecting and refracting the site's natural, human, and technological contexts. His six performances will also differ according to changes of light and season. A key point of reference for the music, as for Mirror Mirror, is the fifth-order Fresnel lens that for decades cast its light from Alexandria's Jones Point Lighthouse across the waters of the Potomac.

• Saturday, July 20, 9 p.m.
  Joined by Tillery
  
• Sunday, July 21, 8 p.m  
  Joined by Bonnie Lander
  Rain date: Sunday, July 28, 8 p.m.

• Friday, August 9, 9 p.m.
  Joined by Tillery

• Saturday, August 10, 9 p.m.
  Joined by Sarah Marie Hughes
  Rain date: Sunday, August 11, 9 p.m.

• Saturday, October 5, 8 p.m.
  Joined by Sarah Marie Hughes

• Sunday, October 6, 8 p.m.
  Joined by Bonnie Lander
  Rain date: Saturday, October 19, 8 p.m.
  
  

Movement Performances: Orange Grove Dance
Orange Grove Dance is exploring movement and sound within and around Mirror Mirror, from visceral virtuosic movements, to stomping, clapping, singing and custom-built music scores. Artistic Directors Colette Krogol and Matt Reeves are building site-specific movements that explore both the installation’s and audience’s relationship to land and river to tap into deep relationships that communities have with the spaces they inhabit.

• Friday, September 6, 8 p.m.
• Saturday, September 7, 6 and 8 p.m.
• Friday, September 13, 8 p.m.
• Saturday, September 14, 6 and 8 p.m.
  
  

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact arts@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.5592, Virginia Relay 711.

About Alexandria’s Arts Division

The Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities (RPCA) promotes the value of arts and culture in Alexandria by nurturing, investing in and celebrating the creative contributions of artists and arts organizations through the Arts division. By engaging the community, encouraging participation, and facilitating access to the arts, RPCA works with local artists and arts organizations to build a vibrant community for all of the City's residents, workers and visitors. Learn more at alexandriava.gov/publicart or follow @alexartsoffice on Instagram and Twitter. Add to the conversation with #artsALX.