When Nights Were Dark

Commissioned by and performed at the 2000 Brooklyn Academy Music Next Wave Festival, When Nights Were Dark is a full evening-length collaboration with Joseph Jennings and the Praise Choir. The work was created during a Lower Manhattan Cultural Council residency which allowed Eiko & Koma the full time use of the studio on the 91st floor of the World Trade Center North Tower throughout 2000. The décor of The Caravan Project was hugely expanded for this work and placed on a slowly turning wheel. The hand-created set was manually turned 360 degrees by Eiko & Koma's assistants during the duration of the 75-minute piece. Because the audience members saw different things at different times depending on where they were sitting, the work was a meditation on time and perspective. Joseph Jennings of Chanticleer created a haunting a cappella score performed live by five singers of the Praise Choir of Brooklyn. When Nights Were Dark toured to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Tempe, Arizona and was chosen by Anna Kisselgoff as one of the ten best dances of 2000.