Beach Sessions: Dancing On Sand
By Dan Guarino
On Saturday, August 23, the shore and sand off the boardwalk at Beach 112th Street will come alive as Beach Sessions, Rockaway’s own professional dance series, leaps into its 11th year. Starting at 6 p.m., the beach will become its stage and the ocean its backdrop.
The performance is free and open to the public.
Previous Beach Sessions presentations have seen dancers moving along the beach, the jetties and even into the waves as part of its performances. Last year, about 1,000 beachgoers became a part of the event as they followed along with the professional dancers who emerged from disparate points on the beach to draw closer and closer, ending with a group finale set in the rolling surf.
This year, 18 performers will bring to life a new work by choreographer Kim Brandt. A Beach Sessions’ release notes, it “draws on the mutable textures of sand, sea, and sky,” while playing on the ideas of space and perception, transforming the beach “from a static backdrop into a dynamic field of shifting” landscapes.
The dance itself “resists fixed positioning,” but instead opens itself up to explore the ideas of “transience, erosion, and emergence.” As Beach Sessions explains, “Brandt invites viewers to consider not only what defines a boundary, but how the very act of definition is a temporary, shifting condition—contingent on environment, context, and collective presence.
“Taking inspiration from the horizon line—the tenuous edge where ocean meets sky…Brandt’s new work investigates how perception and orientation unravel when visual and physical borders become indistinguishable,” the press release said.
Beach Sessions Dance Series, now entering its second decade, is brought to life each year through the planning, hard work and close collaboration of co-producers Sasha Okshteyn and Morgan Griffin, ably assisted by their creative and technical team.
“I am a freelance dancer, choreographer, performer, teacher and producer,” Griffin explained to Bold Journey magazine last year. “I consistently teach dance at an organization called Figure Skating in Harlem.” She was “a producer for an art amusement park….in LA called Luna Luna,” as well as co-producer of Beach Sessions. Griffin has performed in works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Pace Gallery, as well as danced in, produced and choreographed her own original works.
“I want to bring dance to more people, to more places, bring opportunities to myself and others, bring people together, create more space and funding for dance,” Griffin told Bold Journey. She joined Okshteyn as co-producer in 2023.
Okshteyn is currently Associate Director of Artist Programs at The Watermill Center, LI, and has worked in live performance, dance production, art and music videos, and with the Museum of Modern Art, Pace Gallery, MET, the biennial Performa citywide art/music/dance/performance festival and more.
She moved to Rockaway after Hurricane Sandy in 2013. Her new home became the inspiration for Beach Sessions. She had seen open air dance performances and festivals all across the city, in places like Bryant Park and Lincoln Center, but never any at what some might consider the most beautiful outdoor stage- the beach.
“Beach Sessions began in 2015 as a way to bring contemporary dance out of traditional performance spaces and into the natural, unpredictable environment of Rockaway Beach,” Okshteyn said. “The idea was to break down barriers between artists and audiences by creating site-specific performances directly on the sand, the boardwalk, and even in the ocean.”
In essence, Okshteyn said, “We wanted to reimagine what a stage could be—and how dance could respond to the textures, sounds, and rhythms of the beach itself. From the beginning, it’s been about deep collaboration with artists and inviting the public to experience dance in a completely new way: free, immersive, and in the open air.”
The annual Beach Sessions Dance Series has since become a genuine NYC cultural event, drawing thousands from all over the city and all over Rockaway. It has gone from minimal platform stages to pieces that range for blocks along the sand. “Over the past 11 years, Beach Sessions has evolved from a performance experiment into a respected platform for experimental dance, known for its bold commissions and its commitment to artistic risk-taking,” Okshteyn noted.
“We’ve presented over 25 acclaimed choreographers and companies, supported residencies and new work, and built lasting relationships with the Rockaway community. What started as a grassroots project is now a recognized part of New York’s cultural landscape.”
Beach Sessions 2025 is made possible by WOAH (Work of Art Holdings), with additional support from John C. Robinson, along with in-kind support from The Rockaway Hotel + Spa. They also give special thanks to NYC Parks, NYC Ferry, and Something Special Studios.
From its beginnings to where it is now, founder Okshteyn says Beach Sessions’ path has been “an incredibly rewarding journey. Every year presents new surprises: changing tides, unpredictable weather, shifting sands. But that’s part of the beauty of working in such a raw, living environment. Watching the series grow has been humbling; we’ve seen audiences return year after year, and we’ve watched artists push their practice in ways they never expected.”
As Saturday’s performance draws near, she reflects, “For our team, it’s a labor of love—driven by the belief that art can thrive outside the walls of institutions and that Rockaway Beach, with its unique spirit and energy, is a powerful place for artistic innovation.”
Photos by Dan Guarino.
