MFA Thesis work presented through the Smith College Dance Department in the Spring of 2019
To whom shall I hire my self out? What beast should I adore? What holy image is attacked? What hearts shall I break? What lies should I uphold? In what blood tread? – Arthur Rimbaud
Anna M. Maynard’s thesis work, performed by a cast of nine dancers, explores possibilities for collective and personal empowerment through explorations into story, ritual, place, and history. Foregrounding the expressivity of bodies and the centrality of somatic experience, Maynard activates an individuated and united force, while troubling the dichotomy between strength and softness, between holding fast and letting go. Robust, visceral movement and simple, elegant design open onto a complex landscape of personal history, memory, mutuality, and individuality. Over the course of the work, each dancer gradually reveals themselves, eventually coming to fully inhabit a space that is both apart from them and a part of them and coming to recognize themselves as both one and many.
Choreography: Anna M. Maynard Set and Costume Design: Anna M. Maynard in collaboration with Smith Theater Production Lighting Design: Kathy Couch in collaboration with Anna M. Maynard