Photos by Anna E Henderson
Even the trees know it
7 dancers ; 30 minutes
Music: Henryk Górecki, ABBA
A culmination of years of movement research exploring unique and universal grief, Even the trees know it intentionally seeps itself into its own sadness. Set to segments of Henryk Goreki’s “Symphony No.3” (and ABBA,) and built out of the rubble of several semi-unfinished pandemic dances, the work broaches questions such as: How does the unique dancing body reflect sorrow? How is this melancholy processed, regurgitated, and eventually celebrated? How do we adopt our pain and eventually wear it as armor?
Taking its title from “Lament” by Anne Sexton, and using Michael Moon’s queer analysis of Freud’s theory on Melancholia: what if there is no return to a state of normalcy after this type of mourning? What if there was only mourning to begin with? Instead of trying to mask its undercurrent of low-grade despair, the work decides to live in this space and state of misery as an act of defiance and of acceptance. As such, Even the trees know it is an unhealed wound: quietly and defiantly so.
Performance History:
Emerging Artists Theatre's New Works Series // New York, NY // April 2022
Complex @ Canal // Cambridge, MA // August 2022
mignolo arts center // Metuchen, NJ // November 2022
The Mark O'Donnell Theater // Brooklyn, NJ // December 2022 (Premiere)
Original Cast: Tori Breen, Chiemi Ip, Grant Jacoby, Sarah Liebau, Audrey MacLean, Arielle Ridley, and Anne Tantuico
This work was made possible thanks to support from Endicott College, the Endicott Repertory Dance Ensemble, Center for Dance Arts, and mignolo arts center.
Music: Henryk Górecki, ABBA
A culmination of years of movement research exploring unique and universal grief, Even the trees know it intentionally seeps itself into its own sadness. Set to segments of Henryk Goreki’s “Symphony No.3” (and ABBA,) and built out of the rubble of several semi-unfinished pandemic dances, the work broaches questions such as: How does the unique dancing body reflect sorrow? How is this melancholy processed, regurgitated, and eventually celebrated? How do we adopt our pain and eventually wear it as armor?
Taking its title from “Lament” by Anne Sexton, and using Michael Moon’s queer analysis of Freud’s theory on Melancholia: what if there is no return to a state of normalcy after this type of mourning? What if there was only mourning to begin with? Instead of trying to mask its undercurrent of low-grade despair, the work decides to live in this space and state of misery as an act of defiance and of acceptance. As such, Even the trees know it is an unhealed wound: quietly and defiantly so.
Performance History:
Emerging Artists Theatre's New Works Series // New York, NY // April 2022
Complex @ Canal // Cambridge, MA // August 2022
mignolo arts center // Metuchen, NJ // November 2022
The Mark O'Donnell Theater // Brooklyn, NJ // December 2022 (Premiere)
Original Cast: Tori Breen, Chiemi Ip, Grant Jacoby, Sarah Liebau, Audrey MacLean, Arielle Ridley, and Anne Tantuico
This work was made possible thanks to support from Endicott College, the Endicott Repertory Dance Ensemble, Center for Dance Arts, and mignolo arts center.
