Victoria Mergola
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Freespace Dance put on a roving recital on Sept. 11, using all of the lawn space at the Oakeside Cultural Center in Bloomfield as a stage and bringing the audience to the performers, instead of the other way around.
In seven different performances, the Montclair-based dance company guided groups of audiences around the property of the mansion, beginning on the Great Lawn and circling around to end in the front of the building. It was the dancers’ first performance since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down regular rehearsals in March.
“I would count down to when my next performance was,” Artistic Director Donna Scro Samori said at the event. “I needed to be doing it. So I know how hard it was for them when they were laid off from March to August.”
Samori performed along with Kiersten DiGiacomo, Juliet Goswell, Emily Ingersoll, Andrew Kruep, Victoria Mergola, Alfonse Napolitano and Jasiah Rodriguez. They’ll be doing the same thing at Oakeside again on Oct. 18.
“I’m glad we could partner with Oakeside, because this is what keeps them alive,” Samori said of her dancers. “It’s what keeps us all alive.”
Photos by Amanda Valentovic
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