Turtle Island Performance

Enjoy an interactive outdoor family-friendly puppetry and dance performance by Plasticiens Volants (France) with Haudenosaunee artist G. Peter Jemison (Seneca, Heron Clan) and the Skywoman Iroquois Dance Theater (Seneca) brought to you by Unicycle Productions, Urban Stages Theater, and Prospect Park Alliance.

Step into the world of the Haudenosaunee Creation Story with Turtle Island, a new interactive outdoor performance by French company Plasticiens Volants, designed and guided by the renowned Seneca artist G. Peter Jemison.

A monumental inflatable turtle rises into the sky as the Skywoman Iroquois Dance Theater’s dancers and storytellers bring to life a story of resilience, connection, and care for the Earth, share Haudenosaunee social dances, and invite you to join.

This family-friendly event is filled with awe, beauty, and meaning. Please note: the performance begins at 3 pm.

Presented by Unicycle Productions and Urban Stages, with major support from Villa Albertine, Albertine Foundation, Institut Français, Département du Tarn, Région Occitanie, and Thomas Donahower. Presenting partners: The Friends of Ganondagan, Urban Stages, TurnPark Artspace.

About the Artists

G. Peter Jemison, Heron Clan from the Cattaraugus Territory, Seneca Nation, is a multimedia artist and recently retired site manager of Ganondagan, a New York State Historic Site in Victor, New York. Mr. Jemison is very active politically as an advocate for Native American rights. He was chairman of the Haudenosaunee Standing Committee on Burial Rules and Regulations on burial rules and regulations, fighting for the return of sacred objects to native peoples mandated by the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Mr. Jemison was one of the founders of the Museum of the American Indian in New York City. His book, the Treaty of Canandaigua 1794 has been favorably received as an important contribution to history.

Plasticiens Volants, France: Les Plasticiens Volants, established in 1978, is a street theater company that practices a unique technique of creating and operating giant hand-made inflatable puppetry. Their productions merge street theatre, visual arts, digital projections, sound effects, and nature to create an awe-inspiring story.

William Crouse Sr. is a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians of the Hawk clan. He is a faithkeeper, singer, and speaker of the Coldspring Longhouse. As group leader, singer, lecturer and dancer of the Allegany River Indian Dancers, Bill has traveled all over the U.S. and Canada. He has performed in Rome, Italy and Würzburg, Germany. Bill is the founder of the Skywoman Iroquois Dance Theater.