High Line Blog

This special High Line Live! performance turned the High Line at Little West 13th Street into an open theater at sunset. Photo by Julienne Schaer

This week we kicked off High Line Live! – our new program series that brings live theater, performance, and music to the park, thanks to the generous support of MetLife Foundation. More than 150 people joined us on Thursday, June 7 for the Hudson Guild Theater Company debut of their new production, The Sleeping Beauty on the High Line, a contemporary dance adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s classic The Sleeping Beauty. The performance coincided with the first anniversary of the opening of Section 2, making it an extra special occasion to gather with some of our closest neighbors.

Matthew Westerby choreographed the modern dance piece, which featured dancers of all ages and experience levels – many from our own community. The performance was produced by Jim Furlong, Director of Arts at Hudson Guild, a multi-service community center serving those who live, work, or go to school in Chelsea, with a focus on those in need. The Sleeping Beauty is one of many public programs we’ve presented at the High Line in partnership with Hudson Guild.

Join us after the jump to see more photos from The Sleeping Beauty on the High Line.

Two varieties of foxtail lilies are currently blooming at the High Line. Above Eremurus stenophyllus adds bright yellow color to the landscape on the High Line near West 18th Street. Photo by Patrick Cullina.

The High Line’s planting design is inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew up between rail tracks after the trains stopped running in the 1980s. Today, the High Line includes more than 300 species of perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees — chosen for their hardiness, adaptability, diversity, and seasonal variation in color and texture. Some of the species that originally grew on the High Line’s rail bed are reflected in the park landscape today.

This week we share with you one of our gardeners’ current favorites.

"Instead of a daily sales goal, I reversed the normal rules of the game and developed a daily rejection goal. If I wasn’t getting rejected, I wasn’t trying hard enough. If I got a lot of rejections, I made my goal… Sometimes rejection can be a good teacher, and sometimes you almost need to seek it out to be freed from it."

Earlier this morning, a three-block portion of the High Line was temporarily closed to allow emergency responders to investigate a small construction accident at a nearby work site. The NYC Fire Department and NYC Department of Buildings have determined that the High Line sustained no damage and the elevated park itself is structurally sound. The City agencies have cleared the closed portion of the park to reopen to the public.