Video above: Rehearsal Building K for reconstruction.Lights low on stage for performance.

(1982) July Veiled Threat GW is the name for Part III of Families are Forever, a four part work in MWDCCo archive collection.  Veiled Threat reveals the delicacy of the relationships in families. The familiarity of family members gives the members power based on the intimate knowledge they have about each other.  A dancer makes a threatening gesture when touching another dancer and then removes that violence and turns it into love or compassion. No movement is repeated in Part III, Veiled Threat. The genealogy of Woodruff Rust and that of Isabelle Martina Luke, Maida Withers parents, is the source for the audio/sound score.  The statements revealed are from historical & family records.  The male genealogy is spoken in strong clear tones while the female genealogy is whispered, subdued.  Each name is given as follows:  (a) birth date and location of birthplace; (b) one significant incident that occurred in his or her life, and (c) the circumstances of the persons death

Above:  (1982) Dance Construction Company original cast performing Veiled Threat quartet choreography from Families Are Forever in Studio K to create a video record for future reconstruction purposes. The original performance video was difficult to see the intricate manipulataive movements for reconstruction due to the low lighting of the original dance performance due to the challenge of projecting historic family photos (B &W) with text.

(2012) April 26-28 Veiled Threat (Part III of Families Are Forever) was reconstructed on 2 men and 2 women, GW dancers, for performance as part of the George Washington University “DanceWorks” Spring Dance Concert performed in Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre.  (Event featured on this web page entry).

  Ian Ceccarelli, Lydia Mokdessi, Dyllan Mont, Billy Andrews

Masquerade Ball at Blind Whino: SW Arts Club, Washington, DC

(2014) December 8  Veiled Threat, GW student artists, was included in the 40th Anniversary Celebration of Maida Withers and the Dance Construction Company Masquerade Ball at Blind Whino: SW Arts Club, a stunning quartet full of mystery and surprise.

(1988) Families Are Forever, Part III, Veiled Threat, and Part IV,  Gathering Home, were reconstructed by Ram Island Dance Company, Portland Center for Dance, Portland, Maine.

(1983)  May 27, 28, 29  Dance Construction Company, Families Are Forever, evening-length performance, including Veiled Threat, was presented by the the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Division of Performing Arts, National Museum of American Art on Memorial Day Weekend when Americans celebrate the lives of those who have passed away.  Families Are Forever toured to Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City.  Live cello music was performed by Regelio Maxwell for all productions.

What the press is saying

"the most intriguing choreography occurs in the third section where two couples, intertwined like seaweed, explore endless variations on the theme of partnering. The partnering is physically gentle -- one never fears for the safety of the dancers - but often with a gestural undercurrent of malice. A cuddle melds into a stranglehold, a back offered for support jerks into a springboard. A barely audible recital of family genealogy competes for the attention of the audience...." Alexandra Tomalonis (excerpt)

Zachary Krammer, GW Hatchet

Excerpt: Full review, Families Are Forever page.
"Withers created ingenious choreography for the third chapter of Families Are Forever."

"Withers created ingenious choreography for the third chapter. Jamieson, Short and the two men move as a group through events about love and life. They are linked anatomically and kinetically. Although a surprising variety of partnering and individual chancing occurred, the group maintained a sculptured shape.

Subtle in certain sections and schematically blunt in others, Withers' family pageant tries for epic status with great persistence. The performance is repeated today at 3 pm." George Jackson (excerpt)