1964 thru 1973 – Works were created by Maida Withers in Washington, DC prior to establishing Maida Withers Dance Construction Company (1974).  Performers included dancers from the community and MA and BA dance alumni or students at George Washington University.  Regrettably, complete information (photos, programs, other) is not available at this time (See GW Gelman Library archives).

Maida danced with others such as Contemporary Dance Company of Washington, DC (see below) and Erica Thimey Dance and Theatre Co. on two occasions.  Thimey was a noted German dance artist with a prominent studio in Georgetown, Washington, DC.

1974 – Dance Concert by Maida Withers (the year MWDCCo became a group and began the process of applying for DC and federal 501-C-3 tax-exempt status as a non-profit cultural organization.  501-C3 Status document available in 1976.  (See listing in works)

1973- Passage Nine;            Choreography by Withers for 9 dancers doing 9 phrases to music for nine horns by Riegger and Davies; 12 minutes.
Premiere: Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC
Male Dancers:  Brook Andrews, John Bailey, Michael Kasper, Bill Hollingsworth
Female Dancers:  Carole Drake; Liz Lerman;  Quincy Northrup; Lynda Spikell; Betty Tittsworth;  Emily Waddams.
Music:  Davies / Riegger
Premiere: Lisner Auditorium. DATE?  (Notes for the choreography are in MWDCCo files.)

1972 – Mass – A Fifth Generation Radiator Brought to Us on the Sabbath;
A dance opera
Choreography:  Maida Withers;
Music:  John Driscoll;
Soloist, Sharron Beckenheimer (Rose)
3men and 21 women were positioned behind the last row. They made vocal sounds while surrounding the audience.
Premiere, Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, Washington, D.C.

1972 Dance Collective: Title given to a group of dancers working together to explore dance improvisation and group process in creating works and dance events.  No specific leader.

1971 – Laser I (Duet)  (12 minutes length)
First laser collaboration of Maida Withers with Rockne Krebs, noted laser sculptor (laser was new – late 60s) Rockne was exploring laser in visual art.
Laser I – A Duet for male/female built similarly and dancing physically entwined yet achieving sexual neutrality
Laser Sculpture: Rockne Krebs
Choreographer: Maida Withers
Dancers: Michael Killgore and Lynda Spikell (later, 1974 or l975, Lynda Spikell and Brook Andrews, dancers)
Music:  Beatles, Harrison;
Laser Installation – Rockne Krebs;
Premiere:  Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, Washington, DC

1971 – Take Off;  Sound: National Airport Radio Tower Sound Score; Choreographed by Maida Withers.  Six DC women dancers: Carolyn Tate; Rosemary Wells Shelley Chaffin, Susan Eidson, others. Premiere, Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC  (15 minutes)

  l970 – Suite 6:  Near Miss; Ties That Bind; Here, There, and Somewhere; Tic Tac Toe; Square in the Round; Balloons to you Too! (The freshness and whimsy of dance)  20 minutes
Dancers:  1 man, 5 women; Music:  Ramsey Lewis Trio / Badings / Gaburo / Dockstader / Partch; Premiere: Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, Washington, DC.

1970 – Maneuvers – A political statement of mass movement and arrest.
Yvonne Rainer created a political work that asked the question, Why Are We IN Vietnam?” for GW students in the 3-week GW Summer Dance Workshop that was part of one of the amazing 15 years of three-week Summer Dance Workshops created by Withers and offered by George Washington University dance program. The sign was carried by students down 23 rd Street and across to the back side of the White House (across the street from the tourist lined up to visit inside the White House).  The choreography was various scores about confrontation or cooperation in the group. The tourists booed….25 minutes in length. Premiere:  Marvin Betts Theatre, GW campus, Washington, DC.

1969 – 18 Hours of Invisible Dance with 15 Minutes of Visible Dance  – Dancing in such a way that you would generally not be perceived as dancing. Choreographed and improvised for the University of Maryland Choreothon.

1968-69 – Psychedelic Dance.  Oil was mixed in water and videotaped and projected on dancers in white attire.  This dance was invited to be on Channel 4, NBC-TV.  However when we arrived at the television station, the production staff insisted on manipulating the clear glass bowl holding the oil/water. Sadly, they did not have the skill of the practiced artist.  The TV station refused because the artist was NOT a TV union member.  The program went on with the stage hand manipulating the oil/water/color art work. See interesting notes in file about violence in America (Kennedy family, race, other.

1969 – 18 Hours of Invisible Dance with 15 minutes of Visible Dance ; 2 dancers; performance at the University of Maryland.

1969 – Malaise; A pervasive vulgarity; 2 men 4 women; Premiere – Music: Dixon; Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC (trio photo). Jim Bunting, Julie Hart, Jeanne Jones?

1968 – Media Message – A tribute of sorts to the writings of that employed bizarre and exaggerated organs (i.e. a mouth (lips) that moved up and down on hinges performed with two dancers each on the end of the lips; a large ear that enveloped the dancers body, etc. Inspiration from Marshall McLuhan’s the Media is the Message.  Projections by Psychedelic Power and Light company;  Large puppet-like costumes/set by Maida Withers (giant ear, movable mouth); Dancers:  one man, four women; premiere: Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC (Jim Bunting; Julie Hart, Jeanne Jones?)

1967 – Silence;  Premiere: 1 man, 5 women; Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC

1966 – Essays: Part I – Of the Mind; Part II – Of the Heart; Six women dancers; Premiere:  Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC Music: Foss / Lieberson; (Jim Bunting; Julie Hart; Jeanne Jones?, others);

1964 – Contemporary Dance Company of Washington, DC was founded by local professional dancers in the spring of 1964 to perform concerts, lecture demonstrations, and improvisations with local dancers, musicians.  Dance artists included Kathy Mason, Sandra McLain, Naima Prevots and Maida Withers. Musicians included Joe Clark, Edward Cunningham, and Lyn G. McLain.  Our early work was on improvisation with music and dance.  Eventually the group included Jan Van Dyke, Carol Surman, Barbara Katz, Nancy Tartt and others.  Maida created a dance titled, MOD with colleagues, that took a humorous, yet surrealistic look at fashion and the changing of models to move rather than pose.

Additional Photos:
Passage Nine

Malaise. Julie Hart and Jim Bunting

Passage Nine; Carole Drake and Michael Kasper
Passage Nine JoAnn Sellars and Carole Drake