Art and life mingle down by the river

Even for longtime residents of New York, there are still discoveries to uncover in this city. And thanks to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Sitelines annual site-specific dance performance series, these treasures are much easier to find.

For the latest installment of the program, a dozen diverse young women in appliquéd dresses by Caterina Bertolotto descend on Battery Park City’s South Cove Plaza in a 20-minute dance work by director Gabrielle Lansner titled “Turning Heads, Frocks in Flight.”

Wielding hula hoops, several of the women execute movements reminiscent of yoga’s sun salutation — or maybe they’re imitating ships’ figureheads. Others run around, apparently searching for something; One stands on the bridge pretending to apply makeup. One performer, McKenzie Frye, descends a tall staircase topped with a crown that echoes Lady Liberty, out in the harbor just to the west.  

The trouble with such site-specific work is that the site itself — a junction between land and water, between wildness and corporate towers — provides plenty to look at: fabulous plantings, tourists, focused workers, and major architectural statements. Adding a layer of choreography merely clutters the landscape.

Lansner’s movement ideas are not original or compelling; they don’t make passersby stop to pay attention. We who showed up especially to see them were distracted by the native flora and fauna. But it’s cool out there, and worth the trip.

Gabrielle Lansner & Co.
‘Turning Heads, Frocks in Flight’
Tonight and Aug. 12 at 6:30 p.m., Aug. 10, 11 and 13 at 12:30 p.m.
South Cove Plaza at the Mary Miss Staircase
Battery Park City
Free, 212-219-9401
www.lmcc.net/art