1972  Mass – A Fifth Generation Radiator Brought to Us on the Sabbath:                      A dance opera

Choreography:  Maida Withers w Sharron Rose
Music:  John Driscoll
Dance Solo:  Sharron Beckenheimer (Rose)      Dancers/Vocals:  GW MA dance students

Sharron performed a strong and emotional solo on stage with a cast of 15 dancers/vocalist  from the GW Dance Program doing vocals/sounds in the house behind the audience and down the aisles……positioning the audience between the solo performance and the vocalists.  The resulting surround sound was captivating.

Premiere: Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, Washington, DC

The title MASS was selected.  When we discovered that Leonard Bernstein’s production, MASS, was being presented at the Kennedy Center near the time of our performance, it was decided our work would have a poetic extension in the title:  MASS: A 5th Generation Radiator Brought to Us on the Sabbath (Additional title contributed by John Driscoll).

Sharron, who now goes by the name of Rose, is internationally recognized for her work in dance and in music.  She is an expert in Chi Gong and other alternate dance/music forms.  Sharron lived and studied in India for several years and is connected to singers, dancers, musicians related to Asian cultures. In addition to performing, Sharron is an author, teacher, and award winning filmmaker.  Sharron has interviewed many great music and dance practitioners.

http://sacredmysteries.com

This work was created during a period of time1970s  when Maida was active in the effort to pass the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Feminism was a word gaining a open following in the attempt to get the states to pass the Amendment on a state by state basis.  Curiously at this time, GENDER was not such a prominent term, but feminism was penetrating all aspects of life in America. (M. Withers).