This is a past event

Philippe Petit: Open Practice (virtual)

Recommended for grades 3 - 12

To prepare for his high wire walks around the globe – more than 80 of them so far — Philippe Petit has practiced almost daily for the last 55 years.  His newest performance, OPEN PRACTICE, is a rare opportunity to peer into the fascinating backstage world of a unique master. Petit’s most notable adventure was his illegal walk between the Twin Towers, a caper recounted in his book To Reach the Clouds, on which the 2009 Academy Award-winning documentary Man On Wire was based. OPEN PRACTICE gives audiences front row seats to observe Petit’s creative process and the origins of many of his unique walks and moves on the wire.  Beautifully shot in the majestic Ulster Performing Arts Center, the show leaves audiences marveling at Petit’s mastery of his art, enchanted by anecdotes from his life and intrigued by his thoughts on  creativity, risk, and what he calls “cheating the impossible.”

The author of eight published books (most translated into multiple languages), Philippe is currently writing his autobiography. He gives lectures on creativity and other topics to audiences all over the world, directs plays, performs a one man show, and gives master classes on tight rope walking. He continues to perform on the wire. Among his dream projects is a walk on an inclined cable on Easter Island amid the giant sacred stone Moai and another between the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one has walked a wire between the Twin Towers.

Virtual School time & Family Matinee (35 minutes)

Note that our market is limited contractually to NY’s Hudson Valley. 

Photo Credit: Raimi Fasula-Moore

Made possible with funding from The Beechwood Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, Church Communities Foundation, George A. Strba Charitable Trust, H. W. Wilson Foundation, ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Kvistad Foundation, Second Hand Rose, Klock Foundation, Louis Greenspan Charitable Trust, Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Cornelia Bailey, JM McDonald, Poughkeepsie and Kingston Community Development Block Grant, Ralph E. Ogden Foundation, Peckham Family Foundation, Rhinebeck Bank, Stewarts Shops, TD Charitable Foundation, Vassar Brothers Institute, Wells Fargo & Company, and from the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley: Anonymous Fund; Ann and Abe Effron Fund; Charlie Carroll Music Enrichment Fund; Dutchess Community Grants Fund; and the Ed & Barbara Joba Fund for the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. Additional support comes from the Dyson Foundation, James J. McCann Charitable Trust, Jane W. Nuhn Charitable Trust, NoVo Foundation, and Jeanette F. Schlobach Charitable Trust. We extend special thanks to all of the donors who contributed to the Field-Trip Fund. This program is also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.