Anna Sokolow and the Reimagined Roots of Anti-fascist Dance

About

Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble’s artistic director Samantha Géracht introduced the story of restoring early activist dances of American choreographer Anna Sokolow in a program of performances, panel discussion and movement as demonstration. After the Library of Congress announced the extraordinary discovery of handwritten scores composed by Alex North for two of Sokolow’s dances, Géracht reimagined the dances using archival evidence and the music. “Ballad in a Popular Style” is a wistful lyrical excursion into jazz first performed in 1936. “Slaughter of the Innocents” is Sokolow’s 1937 lament for Basque women suffering under Nazi aerial bombing. Both were performed by members of the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble to the original scores for the first time in 80 years, showing that the creative collaboration of Anna Sokolow (1910-2000) and Alex North (1910-1991) remains fresh, compelling and relevant for today’s audiences. A panel discussion of the revival of the music and dance and the lives of North and Sokolow was followed by an audience question and answer session. Participants: Samantha Géracht, artistic director, Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble; James May, founding director, Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble; Eleanor Bunker, associate artistic director, Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble; Lauren Naslund, associate artistic director, Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble; Ilana Ruth Cohen, Erin Gottwald, Margherita Tisato, dancers; Lakey Evans-Peña, associate director, Ailey School…

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Archive

Library of Congress, in Library of Congress: talks and concerts

Licence or status

Rights statement at the Library of Congress, as the Library of Congress states it.

Credit

Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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