Murmurations
"A dazzling cloud, swirling, pulsating, drawing together to the thinnest of waists, then wildly twisting in pulses of enlargement and diminution, a fluid choreography of funnels, ribbons, and hourglasses, spills and mixing, ever in motion. Dense in one moment, diffuse in the next." Grainger Hunt in Living Bird Magazine describing a flock of starlings moving in a murmuration.
Murmurations
"A dazzling cloud, swirling, pulsating, drawing together to the thinnest of waists, then wildly twisting in pulses of enlargement and diminution, a fluid choreography of funnels, ribbons, and hourglasses, spills and mixing, ever in motion. Dense in one moment, diffuse in the next." Grainger Hunt in Living Bird Magazine describing a flock of starlings moving in a murmuration.
Garden of Delights
September 11th & 12th, 2021
Horsford Gardens and Nursery
A collective of interdisciplinary artists from throughout Vermont will offer an immersive performance tour throughout the Horsford Gardens and Nursery grounds. Live music, poetry, dance, performance. Come delight!
Past Projects
Owen Leavey Photography
Join us in an immersive dance piece that enacts an underwater decomposition and lays bare the bones. We invite the audience into our process of un-becoming through three-dimensional movement with aerial fabrics, partnering, and embodied sound. Live sound score by Melinda Kinzie, interactive art sculpture by Nicole Colella.
Artistic Director: Nicole Dagesse
Choreography: Nicole Dagesse and Dancers
Dance Artists: Laila Copperansky, Jen Eringis, Mireya Guerra, Toby MacNutt, Jessie Owens, and Hanna Satterlee
Inspiration for piece from the story of Skeleton Woman as well as other myths of self-sacrifice and watery rebirth.
Photography by Owen Leavey
When Women Were birds
August 5th and 6th, 2pm and 7pm
Bread and Butter Farms, Shelburne VT
Murmurations Dance is excited to bring When Women Were Birds to the barns, fields, and forests at Bread and Butter Farms. In this immersive site performance, Murmurations Dance will collaborate with
Chef Thom Corrado,
Halyard Brewing, and
Cellist Liana Nuse
as we explore a moving mythology of becoming (and unbecoming) animal.
Enjoy a Process film of When Women Were Birds:
When Women Were Birds premiered as part of the Winter Dance Gala at Lost Nation Theater in February, see a preview of the work created by David Smith and the Times Argus:
Arts and Community Workshop, Terrific success!
Our first Birthing Bodies Arts and Community Workshop was a great success, thank you so much to the phenomenal teachers and passionate, creative participants! Thank you to the Culture Mill for providing the beautiful Haw River Ballroom to house the workshop, check out their amazing programing at culturemill.org. Through personal stories, Circle singing, and non-verbal play, non-dancers and dancers alike experienced the creative process surrounding motherhood. Look for our next workshop coming in May.
Allie Mullin Photography
Birthing Bodies
Birthing Bodies is a moving history of place, people, and creativity.
Birthing Bodies
Birthing Bodies is a moving history of place, people, and creativity.
Performed at
Duke Homestead, Durham NC
April 29 and 30th, 2016
Graham, NC
June 19th, 2015
Based on the rich history of pregnancy, midwifery, and home birth in North Carolina, this piece is a collage of physical birth stories woven together with choreography, poetry, and live music.
Press
Support the Work
Dance
Sourcing the palimpsest of place, movement phrases will be created by the dancers in ruins and historic homes in the triangle. These motives, inspired by our own stories as well as the stories of midwives, nurses, and mothers will be crafted into a full length installational work.
Poetry
Original poetry is created alongside choreography by the talented Jaki Shelton Green who sources her own history of motherhood and memory in North Carolina.
Myth and Ritual
Herbal remedies, prayer beads, and folk charms. Rocking, swaying, groaning, and writhing. Storytelling and myth inform our choreography and connect our movement with that of the past. We are united in our transformation.
Special Thanks
Murmurations Dance would like to thank DIDA, the Culture Mill, and Duke Homestead for their support of Birthing Bodies in its latest form! Please support these organizations and the incredible work they do in the areas of performing arts, culture, and history in North Carolina!