Maureen Whiting’s Burden of Joy is an interactive dance and music quartet that combines elements of grief and joy to open the door for transformation, viewing joy as a radical act or amid death and sorrow. It is inspired by Maureen Whiting’s mother’s life and experience of her suicide over twenty years ago. The stark Western ranching world she grew up in—the bear stories, red cowboy boots, the fences and horses—is embedded in this work as much as the cryptic messages of her mother’s dreams that she wrote about in the months and days before she took her life. From Maureen, “ I hope the audience can see life and death with equanimity, and we can be encouraged to live more fully through an experience of art. “
Live music is by Motoko Honda (performer) and recorded music is by Composers Michael Zapruder and Eyvind Kang (soloist Kala Ramnath). Dancers are Ezra Dickinson, Valencia James, and Maureen Whiting. Costumes and Design are by Danielle Blackwell.
APRIL 10 + 11 @ 8PM | APRIL 11 + 12 @ 4PM
Tickets $20 available here or at the door
*Join the artists for a post show celebration on April 12th at 5pm
SPEAKEASY with Maureen Whiting: April 9th at 6pm, Velocity Dance Center
More info coming soon!
Photo by Hillary Goidell