
Year: 2024-2025
DanceForce Member: Cynthia Williams
Artist: Julie Ludwick
Community Partner: Hobart & William Smith Colleges Dance & Movement Studies Department, Geneva
Audience: 221
County: Ontario
We hosted Fly By Night Dance Theater for a four day teaching and performing residency, September 18-21, 2024. Julie Ludwick, artistic director, was joined by two dancers: Cecilia Fontanesi and Maia Ramnath in a performance entitled “Where Shall I Send My Joys?” The company presented three workshops: two Skinner Releasing Technique workshops and one Somatic Low Aerial Trapeze workshop, the aerial dance concert, and a talk-back session following the performance.
Our goals and objectives were to introduce dance students and audience members of the Geneva community to aerial dance, especially aerial dance that was created and performed from a modern dance choreographic lens—not circus tricks, but original and artistic choreography that showcases the spatial and aesthetic possibilities of movement. “Where Shall I Send My Joys?” is a beautifully crafted work begun in response to Ludwick’s terminally ill sister who requested art “that brings you joy.” The piece evolved from a two- year Joy Project of workshops focused on cultivating joy and exploring the ways that loss and grief can be balanced by acknowledging and sharing the joys of everyday life. The resultant work premiered at John Jay College in NYC in 2022.
The planning process involved multiple conversations between Ludwick, Williams, and the department technical director/lighting designer over nine months. Planning prioritized making sure we could provide the artists with sufficient time in the theatre to tailor the work to our theatre, support them in recreating the 2022 performance, and scheduling creative time so they could work in a space that allowed full rigging of their trapezes and silks.
Ludwick taught two Sinner Releasing Technique workshops, bringing that important somatic method to our community. Additionally, she offered a Somatic Low Aerial Trapeze workshop, a totally new movement form for our community. Fly By Night company members participated in all workshops, and were a great resource for the participants.
Marketing and promotion was created in the form of color posters, fliers, Instagram postings, facebook postings, articles on the HWS Colleges’ website, and in the local “Finger Lakes Times,” and public service announcements about the residency on our NPR Radio affiliate, WEOS. Additionally, copies of the press release and posters were mailed electronically to our concert mailing list.
The workshops were well-attended and offered participants an introduction to somatic and aerial methodology that was new and exciting. “Where Shall I Send My Joys?” was an artistic success, with poignant visual images, kinesthetically engaging movement, and a beautiful fusion of text, movement, video, and poetry. The company’s experience was equally positive, with Ludwick writing “…the residency allowed us to deepen our artistry on many levels…In the rehearsal studio, the dancers and artistic director expanded on their collaborative process to nudge the material into more expressive territory. [Additionally] our lighting designer was able to thoroughly record her design for the work so that it is ready for future performances.” The project was a complete success.