The Piers Project, 'a safe haven for gay men'
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) -- As part of a monthlong Pride celebration, there’s an interesting dance project at the Whitney Museum of American Art that tells the story of a forgotten part of LGBT history.
In the 1970s and 80s, the Christopher Street pier and those just north of it acted as a safe haven for gay men, now the piers are being remembered in a dance performance called the Piers Project.
Eight male dancers performed in two sold-out performances at the Whitney's Hess Theater.
The Piers Project was created by choreographer Matthew Westerby, who wanted more people to know about this part of the history of gay men in New York City, after the Stonewall Rebellion and before the aids crisis.
“The piers were a safe haven for gay men,” Matthew Westerby, the choreographer of The Piers Project, told PIX11 News. “It gave them a space in the city where they could be free, a space that literally belonged to them. Most places were unfriendly. There was so much discrimination against gay me,” he added. “It gave them a safe space to be liberated and be out.”
Little is left of the Christopher Street Pier and Pier 45, just to the north of it, has been rebuilt and is now filled with New Yorkers and tourists alike.
The Matthew Westerby dancers even rehearsed on Pier 45 to get a feel for life on the Piers.
“It has done a lot for me to find and rebuild a community,” Robert Mark Burke, one of the dancers, told PIX11 News. “And to bring some representation to audiences about what was there.”
After the performance, many audience members said they learned that the Piers, while they were a safe social place, was also a place where gay men were vulnerable to gay bashers, and getting rousted by the NYPD for lewdness.
Some even drowned because the piers were unstable.
“To have it in the location. The screen opened to actually see the pier, where they were in the 70s and 80s,” Anna Driscoll, an audience member, told PIX11 News.
Another audience member George Licata added “It’s something that most people don’t know about. It’s an interesting concept to bring to the people.”
The Piers Project is part of New York City’s month-long Pride Month celebration.