Site-Specific Dances, Site-Specific Dances, led by Michael Spencer Phillips and Dino Kiratzidis, is an interdisciplinary performing arts collective of artists, choreographers, musicians, and designers. Much like architecture, our projects emerge from a direct engagement with a particular place. Our work moves beyond the stage to engage deeply with the world around us, with the site as a protagonist - and not a backdrop.
Our practice unfolds across three primary typologies
STAGE PIECES about sites
SITE ACTIVATIONS in spaces not designed for performance
COMMUNITY-DANCE, a participation-based project that invites local participants to create a community performance in public space
Our performances often feature original scores by collaborating composers in a range of styles, frequently performed live. Recent collaborating composers have included Phong Tran, Darian Donovan Thomas, Steven Sametz, Polina Nazaykinskaya, Emma O’Halloran and Dmitry Selipanov.
Site-Specific Dances began its location-based work during the pandemic and officially launched in April 2023 with a sold-out series of media-performances at the Paul Taylor Dance Studios in New York City. Recent projects include site-specific performances at Frederic Church’s Olana in 2023, a summer 2024 performance at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center at Pocantico, and a collaboration with MASS Design Group Fringe Cities Design Lab to activate a decommissioned water cistern in Poughkeepsie as part of a broader urban initiative.
S-SD’s performance works are inspired by the theatricality inherent in the world around us, the growing awareness of pressing environmental issues, and the belief that performance, when liberated from the confines of the conventional stage, can affect positive change in communities and places.
S-SD’s projects hope to foster a diverse and ever-expanding network of interdisciplinary collaborators around the world.
Site-Specific Dances is a registered 501(c)(3).
Support: Site-Specific Dances has received generous support from the Charles E. Culpeper Program of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Tauck Ritzau Innovative Philanthropy, The O’Donnel Green Music and Dance Foundation, ArtBridge, ArtsEverywhere Canada, The Musagetes Foundation, The Olana Partnership, Guild Hall, ALLARTS, The Arts Council of Northern Ireland, The Bloody Sunday Trust, and The Swedish Arts Council.