(solo) (2001)

Dedicated In Loving Memory of Jane Thorne Kauppi (1930-2001)

"In this solo, the dancer enacts a reaction to catastrophic loss. In four movements, Germond illustrates an organic grief process, growing from private to public expression. Germond's choreography of this piece calls to mind the vast effort necessary to maintain emotional balance and composure when faced with trauma. She often bends over and holds her stomach, shaking from side to side as if in severe pain. Her leg quakes uncontrollably, and she looks at it as if she cannot fathom what is happening. Memory repeatedly exerts its strength on her, pulling her into the past despite her best efforts to remain in the present. She ends the piece by becoming supine on the floor, curled around an oil lamp and blowing out the light, effectively ending her permission for us to witness this intense, personal course of grief."

-Kathleen Duffy Chicago, IL

Music: Phillip Glass
Running length: 12 min