THE TOWER is a new evening-length dance work that explores how inherited behaviors, survival patterns, and emotional reflexes accumulate within modern bodies. I am interested in the way personal histories and collective systems embed themselves in the body, shaping our experience of the present. 

At the center of the work is the construction of a sculptural object referred to as a light tower. The gesture of the light turning toward a body is an invitation: “It’s your turn." Throughout the performance, dancers collaboratively build this tower by stacking their bodies, climbing upon one another, and chairs to create height. 

Ultimately, the work examines the tension between inheritance and agency. It asks how individuals navigate the responsibilities they inherit from families, communities, and cultures. The work also asks what generational trauma we unconsciously carry and repeat, and what we consciously choose to transform in the light. 

Humor appears throughout the work as an important counterbalance and alchemizing force. My long-term interest and recent intensive study in Commedia dell’Arte have deepened my understanding and application in humor as a structural and emotional tool. Moments of levity work well in interrupting the heavier content, allowing for audiences to recognize themselves and digest the meaning they make of this content. Humor also helps us to remember that inheritance is not only made of trauma or difficulty. It also includes quirks, habits, and patterns of joy that continue to surface across generations.




CAST OF THE TOWER

Ann Barksdale, Sarah Speigel, Hannah Haines, Daija Paradis, Hannah Ranco, Kay Nadine, Sharoan Cohen, Cassidy Brown, Jennifer Hoffer.