Drummer and composer Susie Ibarra, an ACC alumna, leads the DreamTime Ensemble in the performance of Fragility: A Game of Polyrhythms. A dynamic musical ‘game piece’, the performance invites members of the audience to conduct the ensemble through rhythms and musical motifs. Using polyrhythms as a model for human interdependence, the work is a staging of relationships with the ‘game’ element allowing for a spirited shifting of roles and perspectives in live musical experimentation. Drawing on deep knowledge of Asian and jazz percussive traditions, Ibarra and the DreamTime Ensemble lead audiences on a journey into a mesmerizing musical environment of multi-layered sonic textures.

Formed by Susie Ibarra, the DreamTime ensemble includes Claudia Acuña, vocals; Yves Dharamraj, cello; Cornelius Dufallo, violin; Yuka C. Honda, electronics; Susie Ibarra, drumset and percussion; and Jake Landau, guitar, banjo and keyboard. Their first album Perception, released in December 2017, was chosen by The New York Times for their top ten playlist, premiered at WinterJazzFest NYC 2018, and was featured in WBGO’s Take Five Gives the Drummer Some which featured Drummer-Led records. The album has many influences, including the late, great Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos, who was meant to record for the album.

Fragility: A Game of Polyrhythms builds upon explorations conducted in an earlier work Fragility: An Exploration of Polyrhythms, which was commissioned and premiered at Asia Society in June 2018 as part of Creative Common Ground, and developed in partnership with Pioneer Works artist residency program. Creative Common Ground is an initiative that expands contemporary performance practice by commissioning, producing, and presenting artists who explore beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. The initiative is supported by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Fragility: A Game of Polyrhythms is presented in partnership with Harvestworks and their 2019 New York Electronic Art Festival.