In the Valley Pools our Sorrow

In the Valley Pools our Sorrow was an experimental nightclub dedicated to carving out a collective space for sanity & emotion. Commissioned by Performance Space New York, the project was a resource for people living in a world possessed by extraordinary change & turmoil—climate crisis, political upheaval, & an ongoing pandemic. Amidst these conditions, capitalist expectations for unceasing production persist, driving us to continue without pause, in spite of pain, grief, or exhaustion. In the Valley was created as a space to pause and feel together; as a vessel to honor our sorrow, anger, hope, exhaustion, & our drive to keep trying.

The night took place inside a constructed landscape of tiered platforms, plants & stone, cascading into an interactive centerpiece of foraged materials. NYC-based DJ Akanbi led a 2-hour sonic journey, moving from soft, contemplative sound into intense, bassy techno. Movement artists Aarron Ricks & Ley sculpted an improvisational movement score, guiding the collective arc of interaction & dance.

As the night went on, participants danced, reclined, embraced & yelled, emotions bubbling out organically. In what one participant deemed “a ritual with no name,” people played with soil, flowers, ribbons, stone—weaving, squashing, burying & gifting materials. The materials themselves each carried their own signatures: stone shards from New Jersey’s Palisades Cliffs, a decapitated tree stump from the side of a local highway, soil from an urban immigrant family garden. Altogether, the project repositions essential elements of the club experience—deep listening, collective movement, & catharsis—using these to create a momentary balm, a valley carved out in the midst of the city.

Location Performance Space New York
Year 2022