CWP Evolution Festival Presents 1518

The Center at West Park is a home for arts, culture, and community in the landmark West Park Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. The Center is a secular not-for-profit organization that offers a diverse range of programs for artists, audiences, and the neighborhood; manages the building’s venues; and stewards the restoration of its historic exterior.

The Center at West Park

In 1518, they started dancing. They could not stop. In 2025 it's happening again.

St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church

Welcome to 1518. Things here are... well, bad. Political leaders are absolutely corrupt, the climate is in crisis, women are subjected to oppressive legislation and rules, the wealth gap is massive, and there's generally a feeling that the end of the world could happen at any moment.Sound familiar?It's in this world that one woman begins an uncontrollable, unstoppable dance, starting a contagious mass-hysteria-slash-public-revolt. In the two months that follow, over four hundred people join in her dance.'1518' puts this bizarre-but-real event in the context of a modern pop concert in order to build a bridge from then to now. As we traverse through time, guided by an ensemble of vibrant performer-musicians, audience and cast embodies the story of a people possessed by their political circumstances. In resurrecting the dancing dead, we ask, what can we all learn about overcoming, healing, and resisting in the face of an oppressive society?Part séance, part pop concert, full theatrical extravaganza, '1518' is sure to move you, body, mind, and soul.Cast and Creative TeamKait Warner - Composer / performerDanica Jensen - Director / performerChloe Geller - Music DirectorJbroc - Design consultantTalk back after the performance with mentor John Waller, a historian at Michigan State University, teaches and writes about the history of medicine and mass psychogenic illness. He is the author of The Dancing Plague: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness.About the CWP Evolution FestivalThe CWP EVOLUTION FESTIVAL presents original works of theater, dance, music, comedy, and interdisciplinary performance by NYC-based artists in September and October 2025 at venues across Upper Manhattan! For more information and to view the full festival line-up, visit www.centeratwestpark.org/evolution-festival-2025

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CWP Evolution Festival Presents 1518

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CWP Evolution Festival Presents 1518

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