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ERGO/movement presents
Adult $25
Student $15
Plus fees
They Say a Lady Was the Cause of It is an evening-length dance production, that embodies a contemporary exploration of agency, identity, intimacy, and relationships. The eleven dancers performing in this work will be accompanied by live, original music, composed and performed by Matt LaRocca, along with three additional musicians. Vocals will be performed by Roxanne Vought, and Allison and Cameron Steinmetz.
Inspired, in part, by Orlando, by Virginia Woolf, and Undine Geht by Ingeborg Bachmann, this work examines the complexities of gender roles imposed by society, as well as the fight to reclaim individual narratives and rewrite what society has prescribed. The eleven dancers performing in this work contribute their own narratives and voices to this important conversation.
This exploration occurs in two parts;
Part 1: The Dinner Party
This piece exists as a framework or a setting, in which much of the content is created by the performers themselves. In keeping with the tradition of Tanztheater, a dance form born out of German Expressionism, this work is an exploration of individual experience and emotion, in which the performers will make use of theatrical methods (set, props, costumes), and will intentionally reference reality in the creation process.
Part 2, The Wet Frontier Between Me and Me
This is a raw and physical work, in which the performers contend with themselves, as they negotiate more directly their relationships with each other and with the audience.
For more information about the performance visit https://jessieowens.com/they-say-a-lady.
Jessie Owens, creator and choreographer, is interested in pushing the parameters and boundaries of dance. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Smith College in 2015, with a major in Dance and a minor in German. when she was 36 years old. The experience of formal training at this stage of her life, combined with her practical knowledge, contextualized her previous dance experience, and helped her to hone a new approach to her work. In 2015, she founded ERGO/movement, a performance project based in Burlington, VT, where she seeks to create works that are accessible to both dancers and audience. Jessie serves as the current Vice President of the Vermont Dance Alliance, a non-profit organization serving as a foundation for dancers and a public platform for dance in Vermont.
Matt LaRocca is a composer, conductor and educator based in Burlington, VT. He is on the composition and theory faculty at the University of Vermont, and is the Artistic Director of the Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra. Matt is also the Executive Director of Music-COMP, an organization that teaches composition to students throughout the country and facilitates live performances of their music by professional musicians. Committed to new music and innovation, Matt is the Chair of Creative Projects and Artistic Curator for the Vermont Symphony.
Vocalist, Roxanne Vought has been performing professionally since age eleven, and spent her formative years touring with the Vermont-based vocal ensembles, Village Harmony and Northern Harmony. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Vermont under David Neiweem, and continued her studies with Beth Thompson and Bill Reed. An experienced soloist, ensemble member, and teacher, she has performed a diverse body of repertoire, including Early American, Eastern European and West African folk music, a wide array of sacred music and choral works from baroque to contemporary, art song, oratorio, opera, musical theater, and jazz. She has been a soloist with Burlington Choral Society, Onion River Chorus, and Vermont Opera Theater, performed art song programs in collaboration with pianists Annemieke Spoelstra and Randal Pierce, and served as a soloist and section leader for the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, and been a member of Counterpoint, Vermont’s only professional vocal ensemble.
Town Hall Theater
68 South Pleasant Street
Middlebury, VT 05753
The Box Office is also open one hour prior to performances.
Adults $25
Students $15
plus applicable fees
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