A group of Spanish dancers cooled off in the sprays of the Battery Park fountain, Monday when temperatures hit a high of 94 degrees. The dancers from Ballet Nacional de la Salsa de Colombia are in New York on a one-month tour celebrating the 196th anniversary of Colombia’s independence. Already having danced in Florida and Queens, the dancers, ranging in ages 7 to 19, started a damp Congo line around the fountain. Soon, they started dancing as a troupe, humming the musical accompaniment to their salsa-based routine as they stepped, jumped and flew through the air.
Children and other onlookers paused as the dancers performed this impromptu 15-minute show. Warrie Price, president of the Battery Conservancy, was pleased to hear about the dancers. “They’re drawn by the beauty and the good design of the fountain,” she said. Price said since its opening last August, the Battery springs, located in the park’s Bosque section, is attracting a lot of attention.
“We’re very pleased with the use and the excitement and the fun that people are having,” she said. With this week’s heat wave, parents and caregivers brought children to the park giving them a chance to cool down. Price also said that the fountain is giving tourists from the Statue of Liberty ferry a reason to linger in the park. “Everyone’s enjoying it so much these days,” she said. “It’s such an incredible resource.”
—Anindita Dasgupta
WWW Downtown Express
