(Photo: John J. Young)
Synchronized construction cranes danced high in the sky above Downtown July 15 during a unique performance called “Dance of the Cranes” as part of this year’s annual Capital Fringe Festival.
Hundreds of observers gathered at dusk in Chinatown Park (I Street between 5th and 6th NW) and watched as two giant cranes towering above 600 Massachusetts Avenue NW turned and swayed to an hour of music in a public performance carefully choreographed by artist Brandon Vickerd. The event was presented by the Capital Fringe Festival and supported by several Downtown stakeholders and the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID).
The two cranes, adorned with blue lights, revolved in unison, crossed paths, dipped and swayed to music through the actions of riggers and operators following Vickerd’s instruction.
“Repurposing these utilitarian machines as the star performers in a delicate dance, creates the opportunity to forever change the way the audience relates to the city around them,” according to festival organizers.
[Click here to watch a Capital Fringe Festival video of the cranes]
The event occurred with the support of Kingdon Gould III of Gould Property Company, who is on the board of the festival as well as that of the BID, Oxford Properties Group, Clark Construction Group and Miller & Long Co., Inc.
The National Park Service (NPS) and the BID quickly mobilized prior to the event to help prepare Chinatown Park, officially named Reservation #72 under NPS, for the event, maintaining the green space and removing trash. The BID’s Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance employees (SAMs) later joined members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the U. S. Park Police on the evening of the event to assist attendees.
The BID worked with NPS in 2012 to rehabilitate Reservation 72 with contributions from the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, local developers and a Transportation Enhancements grant from the District Department of Transportation. The effort included replacing the interior sidewalk, adding new sod, upgrading the irrigation system and installing new benches and trash cans. NPS also planted new trees in Reservation 72 that fall.
The annual Capital Fringe Festival began in 2006 with support from the BID as a summer event designed to offer non-stop theatre, music, visual art, dance and more from fringe artists, animating traditional and non-traditional spaces throughout Downtown.
The BID honored the festival in 2007 with a Momentum Award for Best Downtown Program for “making a lasting impression upon the local arts scene and for bringing hundreds of new artists and patrons into Downtown.”