Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks led to the cancellation of a dance festival beneath the World Trade Center towers, choreographer Bill T. Jones has premiered the work that was originally scheduled to be performed that day. The piece, titled “Curriculum IV: Spin and Spin! Turn! Turn! Turn!,” was unveiled at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park in Lower Manhattan as part of a free outdoor arts festival commemorating the milestone anniversary.

The original event, an installment of the Evening Stars series produced by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, was underway on September 10, 2001, when inclement weather forced a cancellation. The following morning, several dance companies, including Jones’s Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, were set to perform when the first plane struck the North Tower at approximately 8:45 a.m. Liz Thompson, then executive director of the Cultural Council, was among those present and escaped unharmed. The attacks, however, shattered the site and ended the festival, turning the World Trade Center plaza into ground zero.

Jones, whose work often explores themes of race and identity, describes the newly performed piece as a "children’s requiem," shaped in part by the absence of the original September 11 performance. For him, the tragedy gave new meaning to the dance, which had remained unperformed for a quarter-century. In preparing the work, Jones conducted interviews with friends and family who experienced the aftermath of the attacks, citing complex feelings including anger, fragility, and uncertainty.

The Evening Stars series was notable for its publicly accessible, democratic atmosphere, according to Thompson, drawing diverse audiences from all walks of life. The 2001 iteration marked the series’ first exclusive focus on dance, with promotional materials highlighting artists who “defy gravity.” Other companies scheduled to perform on September 11, such as Parsons Dance and David Gordon’s Pick Up Performance Company, also faced disrupted debuts. Gordon, who passed away in 2022, recalled rehearsing a piece beneath the towering buildings a day before the attacks, remarking on the striking heights of the twin towers.

Choreographer Twyla Tharp, whose company performed earlier in the week, described the sense of the stage extending skyward and recounted continuing rehearsals the day after the attacks as a form of resilience and communal healing for her dancers. The attacks catalyzed varied artistic responses: Jones had previously expressed optimism that the tragedy might inspire a “golden age” of dance marked by reflection and rebellion, though he now acknowledges ambivalence over that hope.

Following the destruction, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council lost its studios and archives, including the death of sculptor Michael Richards, who was working on the 90th floor of the North Tower. Despite these losses, the organization maintained operations through temporary spaces and philanthropic support. Evening Stars performances resumed in 2002 at Battery Park City and contributed to the establishment of the River to River Festival, which has expanded artistic offerings in Lower Manhattan.

“Curriculum IV” serves as the culminating event of the 25th River to River Festival, symbolizing both the endurance of the arts community in Lower Manhattan and ongoing reflections on the legacy of September 11. As Jones wrote, the work carries the weight of memory while asserting resilience through its invocation of continuity and hope amid loss.