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Choreographer:

Alexandra Subak

Dancers:

Beth Berta, Zach Bird, Cheryl Cornacchione, Erika Farkvam, Michael O'Neill

Music:

The sound score in this dance is a collage of music, spoken word, conversations, sounds, and more. Artists listed below sent sound bites responding to the “family prompts,” and they are all cut and pasted together.

“Trying to be” guitar by Alexandra Subak

“But I can’t” voice and guitar by Michael Vinopal and voice and percussion by Ruth Heald

“Red light” synthesizer by Wendi Freeman, teeth brushing by Erin Dunbar and Michael Vinopal, whistling by Paul Applington

“I’ll just stay in my bubble” voice by Ruth Heald, cello and piano by Alexandra Subak

“It makes me feel distrustful” voice and percussion by Ruth Heald, guitar by Michael Vinopal

Voice by Scar, guitar by Paul Applington, upright bass by Elijah Woods

Choreographer's note: This piece is about life. It’s about joy. It’s about loss. It’s about fleeting moments and chapters of our life. Everyone’s experience and definition of a family is different. There is blood family. There is extended family. There is chosen family. There is work family and family that is developed by proximity or convenience. But this piece is also about you. Below are some questions to keep in mind as you witness so you might project your own experiences onto the individuals in this dance, their relationships, and their movement. These questions were used to develop both the dance itself and the soundscape.

Who is your family?

Where is your home?

What family traditions are important to you?

What makes you feel safe?

Think about a family member you lost, doesn’t have to be from a death. What does the loss feel like in your body? Where do you feel it? When do you feel it?

Think about a family member you butt heads with. What about the relationship makes you have conflict?